Top Ten Best Comics of 2010

I’m actually getting this thing out on time? It’s a Kwanzaa miracle! This is my list for the top ten stories of 2010! Woo hoo! Now, before we get to all the fun of me voicing my opinions and you disagreeing with them, I have to get a few rules out of the way.

1. These are the top ten stories/arcs/whatever. Not comic in general, not trade, but best stories (What can I say, I’m trying to be somewhat unique).

2. These are stories that ended in 2010. They could begin at any time, but as long as they concluded in 2010, they’re eligible.

3. I tried to keep the list as diverse and reader-friendly as possible. I love certain writers, but it would be boring if it was three Morrison books, two Ennis books, etc. So, a writer/artist will only appear once on the list. I tried to spread the love evenly. You will see Marvel, DC, and even Indies on this list.

Wow, with all those rules, how did I come up with a great top ten? Well, I hope I did. Anyway, let’s begin the fun!

Review: Crossed #3

(****1/2)

I’ve absorbed a lot of stories in my time. I’ve read them, watched them and heard them. Along the way, I’ve seen quite a lot of violence. Thankfully, I haven’t seen much in my personal life, but I’ve seen an abundance of gore in stories. It comes with the territory. There are times when I fear I’ve become desensitized. Crossed has made me aware that I’m not. Well, at least to a certain extent. You see, I’ve seen several, probably even hundreds of men decapitated. It’s gotten to the point where that despicable act, in a story, doesn’t faze me. However, Crossed has found away to test my emotions each and every issue.

I think that’s one of the most terrifying things about Crossed. Each issue strangles your soul and makes you want to look away. But this is just a comic. Crossed began with commentary on a society that is incapable of shock. It is therefore appropriate that each and every issue of Crossed shocks me. Every month, this book is near the top of my stack though I don’t know why. I guess that’s the appeal of the horror genre. Jacen Burrows has deceptively simple art, but it can twist your gut at just the right moment. Crossed wouldn’t be the same without his talent. And as for Garth Ennis, I think we’re seeing a different side of him. Oh sure, the violence isn’t a surprise, but I’m not sure if I was aware of just how much that man can grab my emotions. He’s always known for absurd wit or even some immature humor at times, but nothing like this.

So please, buy Crossed if you want to challenge yourself. It will test your limits without the use of “torture porn”. Crossed is one hell of a scary book.

Bruce Castle Presents: Do You Like Your Zombies Mild Or Etreme? – Spoilers!

Crossed #2 (****)

What do you want in a zombie story? Memorable characters and/or memorable “Holy shit!” moments. This book still lacks the former, but makes it up in spades with the latter. Last issue’s review I wrote about how this isn’t a zombie story, it’s an Ennis zombie-esque story. These characters are very different from your traditional zombies. Do zombie tales contain bodies crashing down on Earth from a flying plane? Nope. What about zombies talking, planning, and eating each other? Didn’t think so. Again, this book will challenge you. There is another moment in here that will stop you for a moment before you can continue. It is very disgusting, but the world can be too, right? I’m still waiting for the character stuff and more of the “Ennis touch”, but there was a concept in here that just caught me off guard. So, a guy gets shot by the Crossed. He’s getting patched up by the token medical survivor. Our two main characters are studying the Crossed’s movements hoping to stop an attack. What do they see? A bunch of them circle jerking (Pardon my French) onto something. What is it? Bullets! The survivor that was shot turns. How fucking crazy and cool is that?

Walking Dead #55 (****)

It’s always hard to review this book because Walking Dead is one big epic story. I can never really say “nothing happened” or “the story sucks” or whatever. I just have to report on things, which is the reason for the spoilers, and express what I liked and what I disliked. Ok? So this issue has a lot of mind fuck stuff that has been present since Lori died. Remember the phone issue that broke your heart? Well, Rick still has the phone and he still talks to Lori. So we get the sad crazy stuff, the survivors sleep, and they also get some supplies. And then of course there’s the WTF ending. Kirkman is a master of these and they mostly occur in Walking Dead. So since this review is spoilerific, Maggie is (Hanging? Hung?) dead. Well, I guess she could be alive. She could have been up there for five seconds I guess. See? This series used to be realistic, but ever since the fucking Governor came back I never know! Anyway, Kirkman did say at the beginning of Letter Hacks, “it’s time to start killing characters again! Yay!” Too bad. And that’s it, that’s the issue. See? Not much happened, but it was all great and I can’t wait for the next issue. Oh and did anyone notice that the last issue only came out two weeks ago? Yay! Keep it up Kirkman!

Bruce Castle Presents: It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

Final Crisis: Revelations #3 (*****)

Do you know what the last Final Crisis tie-in was before Revelations #3? Revelations #2! But you know what? It doesn’t matter because all of the FC books (except Requiem) have been fantastic! This issue continues that. This book is biblical both in its literary tone and scope. This is so much more than a “street” book. A friend of mine recently complained about how weak Spectre was and why isn’t God doing anything to help. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed the absence of God in most works of fiction. Satan is always aiding his cronies but God rarely helps out his. I always think about the finale of the original Omen. When Gregory Peck’s character is about to kill the Antichrist and says “God help me”, he is then shot dead. The Devil seems to be running rampant all over the DCU. Hopefully God will get off his cloud and help out. Anyway, this book is phenomenal and I highly recommend it even if you’re not reading Final Crisis.

Crossed #1 (****)

Whew, this book is tough. I’ll start the review with a warning; this book is not for the squeamish. I’m way too desensitized for my own good but this stuff is hard even for me. I have to praise Jacen Burrows for his brutal and memorable art. There are two pages in this issue that I guarantee you will have to pause for a moment before continuing. There have been a few zombie stories that weren’t with zombies like 28 Days Later, but it was always hard to tell the difference. In this issue alone, Ennis has already made these creatures unique. They aren’t mindless beasts, they think, they plan, they work together, and they use weapons. They’ll do anything they can to inflict as much harm as possible. I have two complaints about this book but I have good excuses for them. Why does this book have to cost 4 bucks? Because there aren’t any advertisements and hey, you got an issue 0 for one dollar. It doesn’t seem like much happened in this issue. That’s true, but the characters were fleshed out and we know exactly what’s happened since issue 0. As with all great horror stories, this has to have great characters, we still have eight issues to get that. Hopefully we’ll get more character stuff and I know we’ll be informed about those cross rashes. So please, if you like Ennis, if you like horror, or if you want to challenge yourself, pick this book up.

Walking Dead #53 (****1/2)

Slow down Kirkman! Things have been moving very quickly with this book. It would have been nice to get a little more Rick and Carl alone time. There are a lot of goods packed in this issue alone. Mysteries established 30 issues ago were dealt with, a lot of reunions, and something else at the end that is pretty intriguing and slightly frustrating. This was a fantastic issue, but I wish Kirkman would spread things out a bit more. I guess he’s just pleasing all the fans who complained about all the time spent in the prison. Oh and it will be interesting to see how long Kirkman will stay on this “everything is on time” schedule. Hopefully it will last but I doubt it.

Bruce Castle Presents: Garth Ennis Gets Political!

The Boys #21 (****1/2): The Boys just keeps getting better. I originally picked this book up because of Ennis. I stayed on board because it was a fun anti-superhero book with some laughs, entertainment, and some good character drama. During the last arc of The Boys, everything improved and we actually got some genuine romance from this cynical book. With this arc, Ennis shows that he is indeed a great writer. The laughs and the character development take a bit of a backseat in this arc. Though both of those elements are still present, they are pushed into the background to showcase the book’s political objective. I’m sure quite a few people dislike the new direction, but thankfully I’m not one of those people. I think it’s great that the story is getting more epic and I can enjoy some politics in my comics. This issue is probably the best issue of The Boys so far. It covers a single event in great detail brilliantly. Bravo Garth.

Crossed #0 (****): There are many stories that would be horrendous if placed in the wrong hands. Just look at that startling cover and I think you’ll know what I’m talking about. Thankfully, I think Garth Ennis will have the skills necessary to keep this away from the typical gore fest realm. With America’s economy in the currently atrocious state that it’s in and the ever climbing gas prices, I’m always thankful when I can get my money’s worth. This issue is only one dollar and for that you get 11 pages of actual story. This isn’t a preview. This is the beginning of the tale. This is the “outbreak” if you will, where everything goes to hell. This was advertised as the most deplorable Ennis book ever and I suppose it does deliver. Although honestly I was expecting something a bit more gruesome, but we’re only 11 pages into the story and I’m pretty desensitized to violence. My main complaint with this issue was that it was advertised as a different kind of zombie story with normal humans as the zombies instead of the undead. At this point I can’t really tell the difference. But I’m more than willing to overlook that because again, it’s only 11 pages and I thoroughly enjoyed the social commentary mixed in with the gore. For those of you who enjoy George Romero’s zombie films or comics such as Walking Dead, you should definitely through down the dollar to give this a try.

Foilball’s Review Roundup #43 – Wildstorm Trumps Secret Invasion?

Crossed #0 (***1/2)

Hmm, zombies by Ennis? Couldn’t be worse than Black Gas by Ellis, right? For the money, it’s worth checking out if you’re an Ennis fan. If you’re not, I still wouldn’t bother with this book since you probably won’t like it. It is very much you’re standard Ennis book.

Gravel #3 (****)

How much of this is Wolfer and how much of this is Ellis? I tell you what, there are parts of this that don’t read like Ellis at all, and I have to admit, those are my favorite parts. Kudos to you Mile Wolfer. You took the Combat Magician concept and raised the bar. The art by Oscar Jimenez is brilliant, especially for an Avatar book. Mystery and Magic– I’m on for the ride.

Number of the Beast #8 (****1/2)

This series is the first of the big summer minis to conclude and it completely exceeded my expectations. AND! It ended on a decidedly high note, although the Wildstorm Universe has probably never been so messed up. It wasn’t as enjoyable as Wildstorm Revelations, but it was enjoyable enough. AND! It was also consistently more entertaining than Secret Invasion. AND! I’m uber excited about World’s End, and more than that, I’m excited about Wildstorm again! AND! The High tossing Eidolon into what I hope is space was pretty fricking awesome as far as final pages go. LOOK!

Quick Hits:
• Black Panther #39 (****1/2): This is not a Black Panther story. This is some editor calling up Aaron and asking him if he has any cool sci-fi alien stories on the back burner and Aaron responding, “Sure do, bro!” It’s really good, and I loved it, but this is better than any Black Panther story has any right to be. Just saying.
• Green Lantern Corps #26 (***1/2): A decent end to a messy story. I don’t know if I like the “Thano-fication” of Mongul, but I definitely don’t like what happens to him in the end. It’s almost like the last 10 issues have been a big waste of time.
• Justice League of America #23 (***): It wasn’t a particularly bad story, I just didn’t care. I think I’m dropping this book. It’s not interesting anymore and it’s definitely not the flagship title it used to be. Hmm, maybe that’s because the roster currently includes every stainer you could possibly imagine: Red Arrow? Vixen? Red Tornado? Black Lightning? Enough already. I want the Big Seven! This isn’t the fricking Defenders!
• Skaar: Son of Hulk #2 (****): This series is going to be EPIC! I expected the fight inside to last two, maybe three pages max. I figured anything more than that and it would get boring. Nope. Wrong on both counts. And then we get a back-up story too?! Greg Pak, you spoil us.
• Superman #678 (***1/2): Better, much better than last time, but Superman still feels kind of “off”. I like the Atlas character’s origin story. I’m also looking forward to next issue’s fight. Should be fun, at least.
• Trinity #8-9 (*): Someone stole The Joker’s laugh? HUH?!? God, I can’t believe it’s actually gotten dumber.
• Ultimate Spider-Man #124 (***): More flashback nonsense. YUCK.
• X-Men Legacy #214 (***1/2): The lamest issue in an otherwise solid arc. I don’t know how I feel about “Miss Sinister” yet, but I’m definitely sticking around to find out.