Year In Review - The Best of 2008

[GNR]

Another year is coming to an end comic fans,let's be positive and talk about the best and brightest 2008 had to offer according to you.

Favorite Publisher - Marvel.Even if you don't follow their big events,they still have a variety of quality books to choose from.They're not afraid to take risks and having JQ enforcing real creative freedom among his writers seems to be paying off.

Favorite Writer - Ed Brubaker.Consistency is the name of the game.Cap and DD have been fantastic reads every month.Excellent supporting casts and carefully plotted twists and turns make these books must reads.I've heard nothing but praise for Criminal as well,a series I plan on checking out after I'm done Powers.Incognito looks to be another winner.

Favorite Up and Coming Writer - Fred Van Lente.He's been co plotting Herc with Pak and seems to be infusing alot of genuine laughs into it.I'm interested to see what he can do on his own on a more established book.

Favorite Artist - Mike Deodato JR.Thunderbolts looked oh so pretty.Everything from the unorthodox scattered layouts to the highly kinetic action sequences was just insane.

Favorite Up and Coming Artist - Clay Mann.He can draw gods and winged horses doing battle with giants,double page spreads of people doing kung fu and subtle drama/romance in Hell's Kitchen.Lot of potential here.

Favorite Ongoing Series - Daredevil.Although the Mr.Fear arc had a few missteps in the middle,I just need my monthly fix of this book.Lark never misses a beat,beautiful images of NYC.Bru's really throwing everything into the mix here,we got legal drama,supervillains,sexual tension,kung fu and ninjas.

Favorite Mini/Maxi Series - Umbrella Academy.I thought the big ideas ran out quickly near the end,but Ba's art is just stunning and Way's debut was just entertaining all the way through.

Favorite One Shot -Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California.A fun noir tinted adventure.

Favorite Hero - Thor.JMS and Fraction have different takes on the god of thunder,but both seem to work pretty well.JMS' long running arc of a house divided and ready to fall is just as awesome as seeing Thor kick the **** out of giants,gods and genetically alerted Skrulls.

Favorite Villain - Loki.Thanks to JMS' writing,it's hard not to side with alot of what Loki is saying.

Favorite Moment - Thor and Cap's final words.Long time coming,short and sweet.

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - Incredible Hulk with Iron Man right behind it.2 totally different films,one man is discovering his potential while the other chooses to run away from something he created.Iron Man was an origin story done right with one of the ballsiest endings for a cape flick.Hulk was just one hell of an action movie with just enough drama.I liked how the origins were skipped over in the first 2 minutes,great setup.Looking forward to the next series of Avenger films.

Favorite Series from any year you just so happened to discover this year - Powers and Alias.Engrossing reads from start to finish.Bendis' noir influences shine through here in both books,as they did in DD.Alias,which features beautiful art from Gaydos,is more of a character study than a CSI type series that really sees Jessica Jones(who meet for the first time) come full circle with her past.Powers is the ultimate and possibly the greatest combination of superhero and crime fiction,I don't see anyone surpassing what Bendis did here anytime soon.Oeming's art cannot be praised enough here.

 

[Phaedrus45]

I have to think about my Best choices after looking at what all came out this past year. (Plus, I'm debating whether to do what I did last year, and doing a "Year In Review," going over everything Marvel put out.)

I will say this (and, sorry to bring negative into your positive thread):;;;

Worst Comic Of The Year: This takes no thought at all. In 2007, that distinction belonged to Blade. This year's winner of that Raspberry Award makes Blade look like Watchmen. What franchise saw such great stories, almost consistently, for 100 issues, only to get one of the worst make-overs in Comic History? New Exiles! Thankfully, at the beginning of the 2009, this title will be cancelled.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Favorite Publisher - Vertigo

Favorite Writer - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (they're a team, so I figure they can share even though it's "writer," singular). Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, The Authority, various Annihilation: Conquest comics, etc.--all great. Conquest could've been better, but their track record is still pretty impressive overall.

Favorite Up and Coming Writer - Matt Sturges. Everything he touches turns to gold. Jack of Fables and House of Mystery are impressive enough, but to top it all off, he hopped on Blue Beetle after John Rogers' stellar run and did a great job of keeping it just as witty and engaging as it was under Rogers.

Favorite Artist - John Romita, Jr. He'll probably always be in this slot, regardless of what year or anything. I am 100% in love with his art and, basically, I think it's the pinnacle of the superhero comic art form.

Favorite Up and Coming Artist - This is tough for me. So many good artists are coming out of the woodwork lately. I'm gonna go with Marcos Martin, though. I'm not reading Amazing Spider-Man, but even with all my disdain for it at the moment, I know that getting assigned to it is a huge deal for a creator's career and I can't think of anyone more deserving of making the leap to the big time than Marcos Martin. His work is clean, energetic, structurally clear, and a pleasure to read.

Favorite Ongoing Series - Incredible Hercules. It's had one or two missteps, but for the majority of the year it's been the comic I get most excited about seeing in my stack.

Favorite Mini/Maxi Series - I Kill Giants. Wonderful series that actually makes you think and covers practically every emotional note you could want out of a comic.

Favorite Hero - Thor, of course.

Favorite Villain - Black Adam. Thank you, Pete Tomasi, for keeping Black Adam a shiny beacon of villainous greatness amid a sea of mediocrity this year. With heroes busy fighting Skrulls and each other in Marvel and everyone busy trying to just generate some sales so Marvel doesn't completely crush them at DC, the villains have suffered a bit this year. Black Adam, however, has not (barring that lame cannibal appearance early in Countdown, but I try not to think of that). The Dark Age was a fantastic mini-series that kicked all kinds of ass and kept Black Adam going strong as one of the most charismatic and interesting villains in DC's stable.

Favorite Moment - The Black Knight returns in Captain Britain and MI-13 #1. Yes, I realize it wasn't a major moment and that probably nobody else would even consider it a "moment," per se, but Dane springing off that motorcycle to rock some Skrull ass and save Faiza was awesome. Not only was it a cool moment in and of itself, but it signaled his return to major stardom within a series, which has eluded him since way back in the post-Onslaught Heroes for Hire series.

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - Iron Man. Yeah, The Dark Knight was super-acclaimed and all, but Iron Man was more fun.

Favorite Series from any year you just so happened to discover this year - The Damned. It didn't come out too long ago, but I just discovered the first trade earlier this year and was pleased to learn that a sequel was scheduled to come out shortly after I'd finished it. Basically, it's the story of a guy who's got a curse that allows him to transfer his mortal wounds to the first person who touches him after he's killed, and he's a real hard-boiled type in a noirish, '30s New York that's run by demon-controlled mobs. It takes the best elements of supernatural horror and noirish detective mysteries and merges them into an absolutely brilliant whole. Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, the creators, have done an amazing job with it.

 

[Blader5489]

I added a few categories.

Favorite Publisher - Marvel; there's a lot I didn't care for this year, but a lot that I really ended up enjoying.

Favorite Writer - Tie: Brian K. Vaughan and Greg Rucka

Favorite Up and Coming Writer - Fred Van Lente; between Incredible Hercules and MODOK's 11, this guy is quickly becoming Marvel's best.

Favorite Ongoing Series - Y: The Last Man (read the whole thing this year)

Favorite Mini/Maxi Series - All Star Superman

Favorite Hero - Hercules/Amadeus Cho

Favorite Villain - Norman Osborn

Favorite Moment - Green Goblin's rampage through Thunderbolts Mountain

Favorite New Comic - Incredible Hercules

Favorite Comic Cancelled This Year - Checkmate

Favorite Story - "Haunted" in Iron Man: Director of SHIELD

Favorite Creative Run - Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr.

Worst Comic - Ultimates 3

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - The Dark Knight (how the hell am I the first person to post this?)

Favorite Series from any year - 3-way tie: Supreme, Hitman, and Mark Waid's Flash

 

[CaptainCanada]

Favorite Publisher - Marvel; as with all things, there's some bad (in some cases, miserable) stuff, but they've pretty much cornered the market on the books I really look forward to each month.

Favorite Writer - Ed Brubaker; Captain America, Daredevil, and Criminal are all strong and reliable reads. It's a shame he's been cutting back his workload lately for the nefarious Other Media.

Favorite Up and Coming Writer - Fred Van Lente; Incredible Herc is consistently excellent, and the new X-Men Noir looks to be a lot of fun.

Favorite Artist - Jim Cheung; poor, slow Jim Cheung, who spent the year writing Skrull-centric NA issues.

Favorite Up and Coming Artist - Rafa Sandoval (his 5 issues of Incredible Herc were treasures)

Favorite Ongoing Series - Incredible Hercules

Favorite Mini/Maxi Series - Huntress: Year One; a really strong writing debut from Ivory Madison, with great art; the conclusion is a bit weak in parts (Madison seems keen to impose parts of the pre-Crisis Helena on the post-Crisis one), but it holds together quite well.

Favorite Hero - New Cap

Favorite Villain - Doctor Faustus; for knowing how to make a graceful exit.

Favorite Moment - Hercules vs. Kly'bn the Eternal Skrull in Incredible Hercules #120; from Kly'bn killing Ajak and seeming Cho, to Herc's full power being unleashed, the nature of Cho's realization, and Snowbird returning to deliver the coup de grace; a truly classic climax.

Favorite New Comic - Captain Britain and MI13; having already given IH the Best Series title, share the wealth.

Favorite Comic Cancelled This Year - Checkmate; well, it wasn't my favourite by the time it was actually cancelled, but you know what I mean.

Favorite Story - "Sacred Invasion" in Incredible Hercules.

Favorite Creative Run - Captain America by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Luke Ross, et al.

Worst Comic - Ultimates 3; so aggressively stupid.

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - The Dark Knight; yes, it's that good.

Favorite Series from any year you just so happened to discover this year - Cerebus; sticking to the early volumes, before Sim went both crazy and really self-indulgent, there's a lot of fantastic stuff ("High Society", "Church & State I", and "Jaka's Story", mainly).

A few new categories:

Worst Moment - Red Hulk beats up Thor via colossal logic failure in Hulk #5.

Favourite Single Issue Story/One-Shot - Young Avengers Presents #4

Favourite New Hero - Faiza (Captain Britain and MI13); a fun character, and also an unstereotyped Western Muslim character.

Favourite New Villain - Lady Bullseye (Daredevil); we haven't seen a whole lot of her yet, but she's been well-done so far.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Just talking about the comics, not anything to do with writers, publishers, and such. I'm just interested in good comics.

Best Marvel Comic: So many to chose from; but, I think the one I actually loved the most is Kick-Ass. Honorable mention to the following: Captain America, Avengers: The Initiative, The Twelve, The Stand, Secret Invasion, Daredevil, and Eternals.

Best DC Comic: Action Comics, hands down! I never I thought a Superman comic would end up being my favorite from DC; but, this year has just been phenominal. Honorable mention: All-Star Superman, JSA, House Of Mystery.

Best Independant Comic: The Sword! I probably enjoyed the Independant books more than those produced by the Big Two. Honorable Mention: Umbrella Academy, Echo, Proof, Walking Dead, and Hercules (Radical). (People may brag about Marvel's Hercules; Radicals was definitely the better of the two.)

Best Event: Secret Invasion. Honorable Mention to Messiah Complex, that ended at the beginning of the year. The Worst Event, though, belongs to Wildstorm's "World's End." The miniseries went on forever, and the results in the four current titles has been mediocre at best.

Biggest Improvement: Wolverine! Whether talking about the regular series or Origins, Wolverine is so much better than the entirety of the previous year.

Where Are They??? Award: For a title that was suppose to get back on track, All-Star Batman And Robin did very little in 2008. For that matter, what happened to Guttsville and Mouse Guard???

Most Confusing Comic: I could easily put Final Crisis or Batman: R.I.P. here...but, the title has to go to Omega, The Unknown. Unknown fits this title perfectly, because this ended up being absolute garbage, and Marvel did the best job of tarnashing a classic character.

Best Western: Jonah Hex. I love this title...although, it would fit better in the Vertigo line.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Almost forgot!

Best Superhero Movie: TIE! Iron Man and The Dark Knight!!! Depending on my mood, the best for this year changes. Iron Man is more fun, but The Dark Knight has such edge. Sorry, I can't choose between the two. An honorable mention HAS to go out to Hellboy 2.

Worst Superhero Movie: Hancock! Crappy villian, crappy romance, crappy ending!!!! The previews seemed to promise so much more, but the movie failed to deliver in so many ways. I even liked Superhero Movie better.

 

[Darthphere]

Son of a *****, I was going to do this (like I do every year) I had graphics and everything. *******.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

You can still do it. I'll merge them into one thread, but you can still do it.

 

[Darthphere]

Not the same.

This was also the last year I was going to do it because I'm retiring from comics.

 

[Dread]

I'll bite.

DREAD'S THE BEST OF 2008:

BEST PUBLISHER: Actually, a tough choice. I buy more Image books than DC books and I enjoy all of them (INVINCIBLE, ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN, WALKING DEAD). But despite any fumbles or disappointments, I still am a Marvel Zombie at heart, so, Make Mine Marvel.

WORST PUBLISHER: DC, easy. The sheer amount of poor decisions that have come forth in the past year is astounding for people who call themselves professionals. DC in 2008 sometimes make Joe Q's worst blunders look like golden mana from heaven.

BEST WRITER: Hard choice. While Dan Slott has been kicking butt on AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE alongside Christos Gage, it probably has to come down to either Brubaker on CAPTAIN AMERICA (and co-writing IMMORTAL IRON FIST) or Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning for NOVA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Those 3 books are among the cream of the Marvel crop for me. As much as I like CAPTAIN AMERICA, though, I think deep down I may enjoy NOVA a bit more sometimes, so got to give it up to Abnett & Lanning (DnA). Sure, ANNIHILATION CONQUEST wasn't perfect, but it was far better than the blemish on Brubaker's record that was DEADLY GENESIS.

WORST WRITER: Bendis, easy. 2008 has provided him more chances to prove he simply does not grasp team comics well, nor does he have the execution to properly pull off some of his ideas. One day he might make a competent editor, but as a writer, he is past his prime.

BEST MARVEL COMIC: Either NOVA or CAPTAIN AMERICA, with Honorable Mentions given to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13.

BEST DC COMIC: BLUE BEETLE, with honorable mentions to BOOSTER GOLD. Incidentally, these are the only two DC books I read.

BEST THIRD PARTY COMIC: INVINCIBLE, easily.

WORST COMIC: NEW AVENGERS & MIGHTY AVENGERS under Bendis continued to be terrible. But, based on nothing but a few flip throughs at the store, I second ULTIMATES 3.

FAVORITE UP AND COMING WRITER: Christos Gage. He's getting a solo shot on AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE and is doing a good X-MEN AND SPIDER-MAN mini right now. He's been a bit of an under appreciated talent at Marvel, but he always knows his stuff and usually provides goodness.

FAVORITE ARTIST: Paul Pelletier. The sheer range of things he has drawn from the end of his FF run to NOVA & GOTG really shows off talent. Of course, honorable mentions go to Leonard Kirk, John Romita Jr. and Steve Epting.

WORST ARTIST: Humberto Ramos.

BEST MOMENT: Another tough one to call. James Barnes proclaiming himself as Captain America on live TV while saving a senator from Sin's sniping talents in CAPTAIN AMERICA made for a bold climax to an issue. I also enjoyed Captain Britain being revived by Merlin via a smattering of Union Jack flags and the willpower of a nation, and then chopping a Mystical Super Skrull down with Excalibur at the conclusion of CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13 #4.

Honorable mentions go to the revival of Quasar in NOVA, and, I hate to say it, the bold "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" cry in SECRET INVASION.

WORST MOMENT: Either the ending of SECRET INVASION in which Wasp is pointlessly sacrificed and Norman Osborn becomes Superman, or the start of BRAND NEW DAY, which may as well be called BACK TO THE 70'S. When Spider-Man's current status quo is as complicated as explaining Pre and Post Crisis at DC, you know that is a colossal step backwards. An entire planet has been mindwiped and a man's loving marriage erased from history, and we're expected to be thrilled by the man's dating hyjinks? No way. A shameless way to trade fans in their 20's for fans in their mid-late 30's.

Dishonorable mentions go to the suck-tastic way Hank Pym was taken down by a Skrull in MIGHTY AVENGERS, and especially the wimpy way Dr. Doom was portrayed and taken down in, hey, MIGHTY AVENGERS again. Slott couldn't come aboard that book any faster.

FAVORITE MINI/MAXI SERIES: THE ORDER, which ended early in the year. Honorable mention goes to THE TWELVE, which has been MIA since October. X-MEN AND SPIDER-MAN has been good.

BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE: IRON MAN, with Honorable Mentions going to INCREDIBLE HULK, HELLBOY 2 (which SO did not deserve to be buried) and, of course, the great but overrated DARK KNIGHT.

WORST COMIC BOOK MOVIE: PUNISHER WAR ZONE. It is one of those, "so bad it is hilarious" movies. Just when you don't think the lines could get any dumber, they do. Just when you think the action couldn't get any more cartoonishly over the top, VENTURE BROS. style, they do. Ray Stevenson puts in a Wax Statue caliber performance as Frank Castle, with Dominic West's Jigsaw so zany that he makes Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face from BATMAN FOREVER look dramatic. When so many great comic book characters have never had a chance at a movie, some might be frustrated that Punisher has had THREE and yet he's never gotten it completely right (although I did like 2003's THE PUNISHER).

BEST EVENT: ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, which ended earlier in the year. It had a lot of hiccups, but it still was heads-and-tails above a lot of the more official events. Ultron was rehabilitated from his MIGHTY AVENGERS abomination (without dismissing that it happened) and it had some great art and some nice sequences. The ending was satisfying, if not a little too easy for the heroes (Sailor Moon & Tuxedo Mask, I mean Phyla & Adam Warlock, vanquish Great Ultron with one melodramatic attack). You had a genuine villain, genuine heroes, aliens putting aside differences for a common good, and of course, a great NOVA tie in that brought back the NEW MUTANTS Warlock in a brilliant way.

WORST EVENT: SECRET INVASION was a mess; better than HOUSE OF M, but then again, so is a stomach pump. DARK REIGN really isn't thrilling me thus far, either. The Skrulls were both overpowered, then underpowered, then incompetent. Their threat was overhyped and for the life of me, I cannot buy that a menace like Norman Osborn is now an unheralded champion, more popular than the Fantastic Four or Jesus Christ himself. Please. That's just as much unrealistic bull**** as talking chimps.

BEST MARVEL HERO: James "New Cap" Barnes or Richard "Nova Prime" Rider. Honorable mentions go to Star-Lord, Captain Britain, and Black Knight.

WORST MARVEL HERO: Hardball. Way to screw up a sweet romance, guy. Dishonorable Mentions go to Iron Man, Spider-Man Child, and of course, Sentry, the psychosis with legs.

BEST MARVEL VILLAIN: Not a good year for villains, but I still pick Ultron. He finished off the Kree, killed Moondragon & Praxagora, and even grew to giant ULTRAMAN form at the end. Merging him with the Phalanx was a brilliant move. Honorable mentions go to Red Skull and Loki.

WORST MARVEL VILLAIN: Doctor Doom. He gets completely blindsided by heroes with no plan, is too stupid to turn off his time machine in the middle of an invasion, makes some of the most low-life insults about women ever, and gets his ass handed to him by the sissiest superhero around, Sentry. That's like Darth Vader losing to Captain Planet. He is thus reduced to being fuel alongside Johnny "Human Spaz" Storm for alternate reality mooks, and then having to GRAVEL alongside Namor to Norman Osborn. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Dishonorable mentions go to Jigsaw, for taping Tigra's pointless beating at the hands of Hood and going down like a complete blubbering wuss in PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL.

FAVORITE SERIES YOU HAPPENED TO DISCOVER THIS YEAR: In advance of the DTV, Darwyn Cooke's DC: THE NEW FRONTIER.

BEST NEW HERO: Cosmo. Don't mess with psychic Commie space dogs. Honorable mention goes to Faiza from CB&MI13. Fun, Muslim heroine who can cover contemporary topics without being a cliche.

WORST NEW HERO: Yo-Yo, of the Secret Warriors. Worst. Name. Ever.

BEST COMIC BOOK CARTOON: SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, which wrapped up the excellent first season on Kid's WB/CW 4KIDS. Honorable mention to JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER DTV, and one hardly anyone saw, the TUROK: SON OF STONE DTV that also launched early in the year to coincide with a new video game.

WORST COMIC BOOK CARTOON: THE BATMAN, which ended on a mediocre note earlier in the year.

 

[GNR]

I'll bite.


WRITER: Hard choice. While Dan Slott has been kicking butt on AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE alongside Christos Gage, it probably has to come down to either Brubaker on CAPTAIN AMERICA (and co-writing IMMORTAL IRON FIST) or Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning for NOVA and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Those 3 books are among the cream of the Marvel crop for me. As much as I like CAPTAIN AMERICA, though, I think deep down I may enjoy NOVA a bit more sometimes, so got to give it up to Abnett & Lanning (DnA). Sure, ANNIHILATION CONQUEST wasn't perfect, but it was far better than the blemish on Brubaker's record that was DEADLY GENESIS.


BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE: IRON MAN, with Honorable Mentions going to INCREDIBLE HULK, HELLBOY 2 (which SO did not deserve to be buried) and, of course, the great but overrated DARK KNIGHT.

Slott hasn't really impressed me since his fantastic run on The Thing and his Spider Man/Human Torch:I'm With Stupid.I'm not jumping onto Mighty right away,but I'm curious to see how he handles the book.

Totally agree about Dark Knight,good movie but HIGHLY overrated

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Avengers: The Initiative has been hit-or-miss for me, but the promise of a more classic take on the Avengers makes me very excited for Mighty Avengers. We classic Avengers fans have had to go a pretty long time without a fix.

 

[Blader5489]

Totally agree about Dark Knight,good movie but HIGHLY overrated

You can't rate it highly enough.

 

[Max J Power]

I never read that many comics released in a given year, so my options are limited, but here are my picks:

Favorite Publisher - Marvel

Favorite Writer - Ed Brubaker

Favorite Artist - John Romita, Jr.

Favorite Ongoing Series - Captain America

Favorite Hero - Thor

Favorite Villain - Red Skull

Favorite Moment - New Cap foils assassination and strikes pose while saying "I am Captain America."

Favorite Comic Cancelled This Year - Cable & Deadpool

Favorite Story - Captain America, "Death of Captain America Part 3"; but if you count the whole "Death of Captain America" story as one arc, then my choice would be Criminal, "Bad Night"

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - Iron Man

Favorite Series from any year you just so happened to discover this year - 100 Bullets

Favorite Single Issue Story/One-Shot - Criminal #2, "A Wolf Among Wolves"

Favorite New Villain - Lady Bullseye

 

[The Geek Vault]

Favorite WriterDan slott, Avengers: The Intiative has quickly become one of my favorite books. I picked it up not knowing it was going to be an on-going and was immediatly hooked.

Favorite Artist
Jefte Palo, Even though I have only seen him in the Black Panther Secret invasion tie in, his art grew on me and I loved the way he made Black Panther look, I had never seen anyone do that before.

Worst Comic book one shotSecret Invasion: Dark Reign

 

[Spade]

Favorite Publisher - Marvel. I'm not going to pretend as if they've gotten everything right- far from it- but in comparison to DC, their titles have been much more satisfying.

Favorite Writer - Grant Morrison. Not the most popular opinion since Batman R.I.P. hit the shelves, but I found his work on the title and on All Star Superman to be stellar.

Favorite Up and Coming Writer - Does Matt Fraction count? If so, him. His Punisher work was so-so, but his time on Immortal Iron Fist is nothing to scoff at and he's doing a good job with Iron Man.

Favorite Artist - Mike Deodato. His art is consistently striking and commanding.

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - The Dark Knight. Stereotypical choice at this point, I know, but my only problem was that the film's less Batman-centric than it probably should be. Other than that, I'm okay with saying that it's a favorite.

Favorite Moment - Red Hulk floored, with the Hulk hovering over him. I don't like that gun-wielding knockoff, so it was pretty satisfying to see.

Favorite Series from any year you just so happened to discover this year - Watchmen...yes, I know I was incredibly late on hopping onto the bus.

Best Comic Book Cartoon - The Spectacular Spider-Man. The CW needs to air more, because it's the best thing that's happened to their Saturday morning lineup since they revamped themselves.

 

[GNR]

Favorite WriterDan slott, Avengers: The Intiative has quickly become one of my favorite books. I picked it up not knowing it was going to be an on-going and was immediatly hooked.

Favorite Artist
Jefte Palo, Even though I have only seen him in the Black Panther Secret invasion tie in, his art grew on me and I loved the way he made Black Panther look, I had never seen anyone do that before.

Worst Comic book one shotSecret Invasion: Dark Reign

Palo did the Moon Knight Annual with Swiercynski,find yourself a copy if you can,great one shot.

 

[Manic]

Favorite Publisher - IDW really came to my attention this year, and I've found myself more and more interested in their adaptations and original work.

Favorite Writer - Matt Fraction.
This was the year I discovered that he dominates all of his collaborations with Ed Brubaker, and when I started to notice just how great he is on his own. From his natural dialogue to his ability to reinvent long forgotten Golden Age characters, he has amazed me at every turn.

Favorite Artist - Choi & Oback
This was also the year that I discovered Mike Choi and Sonia Oback, the awesome pencil/color team that has swept the X-books all year. They started off in Uncanny, and have continued to draw the pages of X-Force. They had me at "hello."

Favorite Ongoing Series - Captain Britain & MI-13
Despite my refusal to read Secret Invasion's main miniseries, this ongoing launched with an amazing tie-in, a strong cast of characters, and solid artwork.

Favorite Mini/Maxi Series - Doctor Who: The Forgotten
This mini, which will actually conclude in January, has captured everything great about Doctor Who, both old and new. It even featured art from Y's Pia Guerra, who simply doesn't get enough work.

Favorite One Shot - X-Factor: Layla Miller
She's still creepy, and she still knows stuff. Layla escapes from prison, manipulates the masses, and causes the Summers Rebellion with a few words. Plus, we got our first glimpse of Ruby Summers.

Favorite Hero - Spoiler
She's back!

Favorite Villain - Loki.
He came back as a she. She has a nice rack. She's playing everyone like a fiddle, and she's loving it!

Favorite Moment - Layla Miller breaks down and finally lets on that her visions of the future are too terrible for her to take. There's nothing worse than waking up in tears because you know that soon you're going to be branded, dehumanized, and tortured in prison-- and you're only 12.

Favorite Comic Adaption to Film - The Dark Knight
Honorable mention to Iron Man.

Favorite Series From Any Year, Discovered This Year - Miracleman.
That's right. I only discovered it this year, and I loved it.

 

[Dread]

Slott hasn't really impressed me since his fantastic run on The Thing and his Spider Man/Human Torch:I'm With Stupid.I'm not jumping onto Mighty right away,but I'm curious to see how he handles the book.

Totally agree about Dark Knight,good movie but HIGHLY overrated

You forgot GLA.

I do agree those were his best works, but I have enjoyed AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE as a whole, and eagerly look forward to his MIGHTY AVENGERS run.

Avengers: The Initiative has been hit-or-miss for me, but the promise of a more classic take on the Avengers makes me very excited for Mighty Avengers. We classic Avengers fans have had to go a pretty long time without a fix.

Indeed. Again, I have liked A:TI as a whole. It hasn't been perfect, and has been at times bleak, and had Slott sort of do some of the things with "event" type stories that he mocked in GLA, such as killing off characters or making "goofy" ones "edgy", but I liked a lot of the older lessor known characters getting some play, and some of the newer ones were cool, too.

But, yeah, MIGHTY AVENGERS is comin' up, and I am psyched.

 

[GNR]

Favorite Series From Any Year, Discovered This Year - Miracleman.
That's right. I only discovered it this year, and I loved it.

It is hard to find,I managed to find 1,3 and 4 earlier this year but didn't want to shell out 8 to 10 bucks for each single issue after that.I hope they settle the rights soon and get this in trade.From what I read so far,this was Moore's best IMO.

 

[Manic]

Well, I came by it through less-than-legal means. Quite frankly, it's the only comic I've ever downloaded guilt-free. I'm not robbing anyone of royalties because no one's publishing, and no one can figure out who owns the rights. Once they finally iron out the rights (here's hoping it goes to Gaiman), I'm totally buying whatever trades or hardcovers get published.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I hope Gaiman gets the rights and works out an agreement with Vertigo to publish an Absolute edition. That would be a dream come true.

 

[Manic]

I heard a rumor that Gaiman wanted to publish it under a Marvel imprint so he could change the title back to Marvelman.

 

[cdk]

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