MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 15, 2020 0:50:22 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2020 0:50:22 GMT -5

And onwards we go...

#16

Ascender Vol. 1 by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen (Image Comics; 2019)

Jeff Lemire (yes him again) and Dustin Nguyen's follow up to their series Descender, set 10 years after the conclusion of that series. While Descender was pretty much straight up sci-fi, this series starts out as fantasy with a hint of sci-fi in the mix. Magic has replaced machinery, and the galaxy is under the thumb of a vampire witch known only as mother. Andy and Effie, two of the protagonists of Descender have settled down and had a daughter Mila before Effie passed, and now Andy and Mila try to keep themselves from being noticed by the Mother's disciples, but the apple cart gets upset when a certain robot friend of Andy' shows up (no, not the one you might think of first), and everything hits the fan setting everything on a precarious roller coaster ride that forces the reader to strap in as they are carried away. Descender was a slow build, a great first volumes of the trade, but the pace picked up as the series went along and didn't hit breakneck speed until about halfway through the series. This one hits breakneck speed about halfway through the first issue and doesn't slow down after that. The second volume came out recently, and it's in my TBR pile and I plan on diving in soon. I've talked about my appreciation for Lemire before, so I will just say Dustin Nguyen's art is spectacularly beautiful, especially witht he water color-eque wash for the coloring, and he is simply put a great visual storyteller.

#15

Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark (and others on X+66) (including Lazarus Vol. 1-6 and Lazarus X+66, i.e. Lazarus #1-28, Lazarus X+66 #1-6, Lazarus Risen #1-3); Image; 2013-2019

I started reading this as single issues when it came out and switched to trades after the second arc. This was the fourth time I had read the first three trades, the second for Vol. 4 and the first time for everything else. Rucka builds post-apocalyptic world where the globe is controlled not by political governments, but by corporations led by families. each family was the leader of a corporate business that controlled certain aspects of the marketplace (agriculture/food production or pharmaceuticals for example) and carved the globe up dividing it into territories after a global war took place. Balance of power politics has been normalized between the families by a series of alliances (some firm, some shifting) and a series of accords regulating interactions, business dealings, and conflicts between the families. Each family has a Lazarus, or enforcer who is enhanced using means available to the different families (some by pharmaceuticals, some by cybernetics, some by genetic manipulation and cloning, etc.) who act as bodyguards, enforcers, special ops, ambassadors and various other roles as needed. Society is structured into three groups, family, serfs (i.e. skilled laborers), and waste (everyone else). The story centers on Forever Carlyle, the Lazarus of the Carlyle family who holds the western United States and Canada, and has a monopoly on seed production and agriculture. As the story progresses a number of themes are explored on the micro level (nature vs nurture through the lens of Forever for example) and macro levels (social structures, business ethics, liberty vs, security, etc.) while the conflicts between families erode the accords and war breaks out again.

This is a dystopian sci-fi political epic of superior quality. Lark is at the top of his game artistically, and this is perhaps my favorite thing Rucka has done (and I have loved some of his other stuff like Gotham Central). There are so many twists and turns as the story progresses despite a slow pace at times, that it is a gripping read. The world-building is well thought out (there are back matter pages in the single issues that expand it even more, they are not however in the standard trades), logical and passes the verisimilitude test, and like the best sci-fi has something to say about the world we live in too.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 16, 2020 0:01:24 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2020 0:01:24 GMT -5

And here we go again...

#14

Batman/The Spirit #1 by Darwyn Cooke (with Jeph Loeb & J.Bone (DC; 2007)

another of my selections from the most recent 12 Days of Classic Comics Christmas for me, this is what I said then:

This book won the 2007 Eisner for best single issue as well as other accolades, and all of them were deserved. Darwyn presents a Batman/Spirit story that is the perfect marriage of the visual storytelling techniques of Dick Sprang and Will Eisner and is more fun than a barrel of rolling monks.

One of my favorite scenes is the introduction of the Spirit, running on the rooftops filled with giant Sprang-like prop lettering and then when the criminals detonate the sign he is running across causing the Spirit and all the letters to go for a tumble and they spell out the Spirit in Eisneresque fashion as he falls. But from the opening scene of the Commissioners Dolan and Gordon meeting in a hunting lodge reminiscing about the first time the Spirit and Batman met to the final scene of the criminals being taken away this is one giant fun adventure. When the criminal underworld learns of a law enforcement convention in Hawaii, The Octopus orchestrates a plan for the rogues of both Gotham and Central City (Spirit's Central City not the Flash's) t have their own convention there and to get Dolan and Gordon there so they can take out all of the cops at once. P'Gell lures Gordon there as she romances him and Poison Ivy gains control over Dolan with a kiss bringing them to Hawaii where the remaining rogues await, soon to be followed there by Batman and the Spirit, and of course the Joker has his own ideas of what should happen and the hilarity, hijinks and high adventure ensues. I think I enjoy this comic more each time I read it, and there are so many little interesting visual jokes and asides filling the backgrounds of some of the panels (one of my favorites is the Penguin in touristy Hawaiian garb sipping a drink out a pineapple that is just so absurd it is hilarious) that I find something new to amuse or entertain me every time I read it. And besides, who can't love a comic that features Batman and the Spirit in an exploding room filled with giant tikis...

I know I put this on the first day, but it would probably rank much higher in retrospect.

#13

Something is Killing the Children Vol. 1 (or #1-5) by James Tynion IV & Werther Dell'Edera (BOOM! Studios; 2019-2020)

I love monster hunter characters and this one is about a young woman named Erica Slaughter who is a monster hunter. Another book that the buzz for caught my attention and I ended up checking out on Hoopla, loving the series and buying the first trade. Another book by James Tynion, a writer who is quickly climbing in my esteem for his creator-owned work (I have not read as much of his work-for-hire super-hero stuff but I have enjoyed most of what I have sampled of it). And another book from BOOM! I am really digging. And there is so much wonderfully intriguing world-building behind the monster's in Archer's Peak story that comprises the first arc that I so desperately want to learn more about, so I hope the series lasts a good long time. The art is stylistic and moody, and has solid narrative storytelling. The characters both lead and supporting, are interesting, and the book is a fun ride with just the right amount of dark humor mixed in to make it an engaging and enjoyable read.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 16, 2020 23:42:39 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2020 23:42:39 GMT -5

Rounding out 20-10...

#12

#12 is one I have read and raved about here recently...

Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower adapted by Damien Duffy and John Jennings (Abrams ComicArts; 2020)

so I am just going to quote my review of it rather than say more...

This is their (Duffy & Jennings) second GN adaptation of Butler's works, the first being The Kindred, which garnered a lot of critical success and awards.

Octavia Butler's name has been ubiquitous since I began my delve into the realm of Afrofuturism (one of the trinity of foundation stones for the movement that pre-dated the movement along with Sun Ra and George Clinton). I was familiar with her name before I began my exploration, but not her work. I have already read Dawn, the first book of her Xenogenesis trilogy, in prose and wanted to explore more, and when I searched my library's catalog for a copy of the Parable books (there's a sequel, Parable of the Talents, which Duffy and Jennings are working on adapting now as well), they only had the GN not the novel in their catalog, but seeing Jennngs name attached, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did.

Butler creates a near-future dystopian world set in California in 2024-2027. It was written in 1993, but Butler's vision of the future is hauntingly realistic and are reflected in the headlines of 2019 and 2020. The protagonist is a young black girl, Lauren Olamina, who is 15 at the start of the story. She is the daughter of a baptist preacher, but her mother was a rug addict and a a result of drug abuse during her pregnancy, Lauren suffers from hyperempathy, i.e. she feels the pain and pleasure of those around her. She and her family live within a walled community in Southern California, and the book follows the events over a four year span.

Lauren does not share her father's beliefs and through her experiences, she begins to conceive of a new philosophy/religion called Earthseed, which revolves around the tenet that God is change, and whatever we change, changes us. God is not to be worshiped, but can be shaped just as it shapes us, and that our ultimate destiny is in stars, but we mush shape the change to come. When the community is eventually attacked and destroyed, Lauren begins a new journey and gathers folks around her who slowly begin the listen and accept her message of Earthseed.

The book is not preachy, it's not promulgating a new religion, but it is examining the human condition, the hardships and joys of life, the precipitous future we face and how we might react, the need for community, the inhumanity people can show to others, and how new systems of thought can take root and give hope in such situations.

I've not read the prose novel yet (I will when I can), so I can't speak to how faithful Duffy was in his adaptation, but the Kindred adaptation has a rep of being extremely faithful to Butler's novel so I expect this too is very faithful. And I look forward to reading the sequel (The Parable of Talent) when I can (wither the novel or the GN when Duffy & Jennings finish it (I have already tracked down a copy of the Kindred GN and added it to my TRR list). Butler planned a third book, but died before she could start it, so it is an unfinished trilogy, but the first book at least is good enough to stand on its own and well worth checking out in some format.

Jennings art has a distinct look here. It portrays an ugly world and has a purposeful ugliness to parts of it, but there is a beauty in his art as well. His visual storytelling is strong. If you are looking for mainstream comic book style art you would find as a house-style in a big 2 book, you won't find what you are looking for here, and that style would be completely inappropriate for the subject matter. Jennings art fits the mood and tone of the book to a tee. It is stylized, makes use of some "cartoonish expressionism" to convey some of the horrors the characters experience and their reaction to it, but it all feels very realistic and at time horrific when the events call for it.

The story is amazing. Parable of the Sower is one of those books once read, you will never forget, whether you love it or hate it. It is a seminal work and a watershed story. One I highly recommend checking out in any format. For those who enjoy comics outside the niche hobby "mainstream" of direct market super-hero comics, the graphic novel is a phenomenal read as well.

I am still processing this one, and I suspect it might wind up higher on some of my favorites lists once I do. I really do need to read Butler's novel as well so I can assess for myself how good or faithful an adaptation it is. I have since read the Kindred adaptation, and were it in the proper time frame for this overview, it would have made the list as well, as brutal as its story is.

#11

this is another one with some heavy themes that takes some time to process, a clue to one of which is there for folks to see if they read the quotes in my signature

Invisible Kingdom Vol. 1 (or #1-5) by G. Willow Wilson & Christian Ward, from Dark Horse's Berger Books imprint; 2019.

Grix is the captain of a freighter, but her last haul runs into some problems and uncovers a secret her contractor, a mega-corporation is willing to kill to suppress. Vess is an acolyte and in her duties helping the abbess she discovers a dark secret about her church and its collaboration with that same mega-corporation in a deep conspiracy that the church will also go to desperate measures to keep secret. Now Grix (and her crew) and Vess are on the run together.This is a sci-fi epic, but like all great sci-fi, has a lot to say about the world outside our window. Grix and Vess are tremendous characters, well-developed, each with their unique voice and motivations and the supporting cast is wonderful as well. It is a gripping story, that alternates between some break-neck paced action sequences and some slower moving drama that lets us discover the characters and the world. Willow and Ward are hitting on all cylinders in this so far. I read it as single issues, but it does read better in chunks, so I recommend the trade. I am still supporting it in singles, but I am waiting until I have a whole arc to read it, so the second arc is near the top of my to read pile currently.

-M

berkley
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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 17, 2020 0:13:23 GMT -5

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Post by berkley on Jul 17, 2020 0:13:23 GMT -5

Ascender looks good. I might have to give that a try, though I'm starting to wonder if Lemire just isn't my kind of writer: I'm not overly impressed with Gideon Falls so far, though I saw you mention that it starts to come together in Volum 3, which I have been putting off; and Essex County, while I liked the first couple stories in a mild way, hasn't really grabbed me yet. Didn't care for the first volume of his Moon Knght either, though that's arguably down to my distaste for the current Marvel/DC house style of writing, if it's fair to call it that.

Not too interested in the Darwyn Cooke Batman/Spirit team-up. Cooke's style at first glance looks like the kind of thing I usually enjoy but whenever I look more closely there's something about it that doesn't quite click for me. Also, this team-up in itself doesn't appeal to me much. Batman (or Superman) + anyone is automatically cause for suspicion, in my mind.

Butler's Parable, I think I'll wait to read in the original first.

Something is Killing the Children strikes me as an awkward title, for some reason i can't quite put my finger on. Whatever it is, it doesn't draw me in. Nothing against the Buffy-ish premise but I am very tired of hearing that Nietzsche line trivialised in comics, tv shows, and back cover blurbs.

Lazarus, I think I might have a copy of here that I even started reading at some point and was distracted by something else before I'd gone far enough to really see how I felt about it. Will have to give it another try soon. I still haven't read anything by Rucka all the way through.

Christian Ward is one of those contemporary comics artists whose style I like a lot whenever I see it but who never seems to be working on anything I want to read - especially the Marvel stuff, which is mostly what I see on the stands. Invisible Kingdom might be a possibility, though. Will add this one to my list.

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 18, 2020 0:57:59 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2020 0:57:59 GMT -5

Let's start the top 10...

#10

Metamorphosis Odyssey by Jim Starlin (in Epic Illustrated #1-5-no not a typo, I only got to the first 5 parts in the time frame covered here) (Marvel/Epic; 1980-1981)

There is certainly a lot of nostalgia wrapped up with this one. Starlin was a favorite growing up, and Dreadstar is what broke me of my super-hero comics only mentality in the mid-80s, and Dreadstar was the first indy title I added to my pull list when it switched form Epic to First. Epic Illustrated also introduced me to a lot of different stuff (my first experience of Richard Corben was there) when I tracked down the first 9 issues to read Metamorphosis Odyssey shortly after discovering Dreadstar, and The Price OGN was the first indy back issue I ever specifically hunted, so Starlin's epic plays a fairly central role in my voyage of comic discovery particularly in the 1980s. All that said, I try to set those feelings of nostalgia aside whenever I revisit any part of the Dreadstar saga. I didn't set out to intentionally reread just M.O. this time though. Once I had the comic room set, I decided to finally try to get through the entire Epic Illustrated run, as I had finally finished filling in the run a little over a year ago. I only got through the first five issues when the reopening from the COVID shutdown started here in Ohio and I went back to work, and I had a lot less time to spend upstairs and did not bring the stack of Epic issues downstairs (and still haven't). The standouts from that run for me were Howard's Almuric (which has already been covered here in the countdown), and Starlin's Metamorphosis Odyssey. There's lots of other good stuff, but either it was too short to stand out over other stuff I read, incomplete (like the PCR Elric tale which finished elsewhere), or was just outshown by other stuff I read.

So why did M.O. stand out and rank here even though I only read the first half? A lot has to do with the craft-the way Starlin put together the story-character designs, ship designs, world-building, page layouts, panel construction, alien designs, etc. all outstanding. Starlin put on a clinic of how to put together a sci-fi epic here. Sure, there are many familiar tropes in some of the designs, but they are tweaked or altered to avoid feeling stale when they do appear and so while they may feel familiar they do not feel hackeneyed or played out. Part of the very essence of innovation is taking something old and doing something new with it. And that is a second part of it-looking at this epic in context of what was going on in comics, it was groundbreaking in a number of way. Since then, a lot of comic sci-fi epics have achieved as much or even far surpassed M.O. but for its time it was doing things not commonly seen before (there are exceptions for sure, but they were outside the comics mainstream and not commonly seen). Another part is that every time I read this saga, I discover new things, or new things stand out that had faded to the background before. It offers new perspectives with rereadings, its not just rereading an old favorite to try to recapture previous experiences, it provides a new experience with each new reading for me. I'll get back and finish it at some point in the near future, and may continue with the rest of theDreadstar saga as I wait for the new Dreadstar I backed on Kickstarter from Starlin to arrive), but just this chunk made the top 10 for me.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 19, 2020 0:53:42 GMT -5 thwhtguardian likes this

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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2020 0:53:42 GMT -5

#9

sorry Slam_Bradley but ole Supes makes the list...

Superman Smashes the Klan #1-3 by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (DC; 2019-2020; also collected in trade)

inspired by the episodes of the Superman radio drama where Supes takes on the Klan, Gene Luen Yang crafts his own version of the story where a Chinese family who emigrated to Metropolis come under attack by the Klan and Superman gets involved. This so much evokes the Superman of the Fleischer cartoons and the original take on Superman by Siegel and Shuster that appeared in the early issues of Action Comics and the Superman daily newspaper strips. This is Superman who is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound (not fly), is faster than a speeding bullet, and fighting for truth, justice, and the American way, and one who is free of all the accretions and barnacles attached to the mythos in the Silver Age. This series of stories works on several levels-it is a fun romp of a Superman adventure, it is a story with heart and that encapsulates the ideals that make Superman an American icon, it is a story with an engaging plot, heroes to root for, vile villains to root against, and well developed supporting characters, and it is a story that has strong thematic underpinnings and something to say about the world around us. This is simply the best Superman comic I have read in years, and may have leaped to the top of the list of favorite Superman comic of all time. Yang gets what makes Superman, Superman and what made him the sensation he was in the 30s and 40s and finds a way to bring it into today's marketplace as a fresh feeling product.

-M

Last Edit: Jul 19, 2020 0:54:36 GMT -5 by Deleted

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 19, 2020 23:35:06 GMT -5 The Cheat, Confessor, and 2 more like this

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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2020 23:35:06 GMT -5

and now...

#8

Elfquest by Wendy & Richard Pini (#1-32 from Marvel/Epic)

There are other formats to read this in, there are probably better formats to read this in, but this is the one I had complete and available, so it is the one I read. I have some of the magazine issues and one of the oversized album trades form the early days of the trade paperback market, but the Marvel Epic edition is where I discovered Elfquest in comic form (I had seen ads for the miniatures and rpg products in ads in Dragon magazine previously) and it is the one I have the original saga in complete form.

In the summer of 1986 (early July iirc), I bought a handful of comics off a spinner rack in a drugstore in rural Maine while on vacation with my parents visiting my grandparents. It was the last time I went with my folks on a family vacation and I was bored out of my mind, so when we went into town I dropped a few bucks on some comics I normally didn't buy at my lcs to try something new. I came home with 4 comics-Action 583, Superman 423, and issues 13 and 14 (iirc) of Elfquest from the Marvel Epic line. As I mentioned, I was familiar with Elfquest from gaming sources, but this was my first dive into the actual story. i read and enjoyed the Alan Moore Superman stuff, but I really tore into the Elfquest stuff, trying to figure out what was going on, who was who, etc. Those two issues made an impression on me, but not enough to add Elfquest to my pull list-I had a pretty strict budget at the time-my pull list could not exceed 10 books and any time I added a book, I needed to drop one to keep it at 10. This was a pretty heady time for comics with lots of new interesting stuff coming out, and I just didn't have room to add Elfquest at the time. I did add Siege at Blue Mountain to my pulls when it started in early '87 but my pull list had expanded to 15 books by then as I was making more money. I never did get to read the whole original Elfqust saga at the time. Flash forward to college and discovering the big Elquest album collections at a Waldenbooks in the town where my freshman dorm was (Newton, Ma). It was more than I could afford as a poor freshman, but I read a little bit of it every time I visited the bookstore. Still didn't get all of the original saga. In the early 2000s the Pini cut a deal with DC to produce collected editions. I read the only Archive edition (which had the story from Fantasy Quarterly and the first few magazine issues), and then read the rest in the smaller manga-sized trade collections that one of my D&D friends had, so I finally got to read the whole original saga some 15-20 years later. Flash forward to early 2019 when at a show I stumbled across most of the Marvel Epic run in a bargain longbox and on impulse bought them all. A little hunting to fill int he missing issues took a few months, but finally got it all together and decided it was time to revisit the original saga. And I really enjoyed my time spent with the Wolfriders this time. I spent a lot more time and attention this time looking a the craft of the story than I did the first time (when I was completely absorbed by the narrative itself). Little touches in the worldbuilding, the way some things were foreshadowed and paid off later, the panel and page construction etc. There was so much to take in, so much talent and storytelling ability on display. It's just a masterful work through and through, and it's also just a damn good story with great characters.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 20, 2020 22:41:27 GMT -5 shaxper and thwhtguardian like this

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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2020 22:41:27 GMT -5

And now lucky seven...

#7

Descender Vol. 1-6 (or #1-32) by Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen (Image Comics; 2015-2018)

Everything I said about Lemire & Nguyen in the entry on Ascender applies here as well-just masterful storytelling on both their parts. Sometime in the early-mid 2000s I had mostly burned out on sci-fi. I had been a sci-fi fan since I was a wee lad, but nothing I was reading was doing much for me. I had gone through a similar burn out phase with fantasy before, and with comics in general, and they were just phases, and I knew it would be the same with sci-fi, but I was waiting for something to hit me and reignite my love of the genre (I am currently feeling that burnout doldrums with Marvel stuff which is why I haven't read too much Marvel the last year or so). I got some inklings of a reawakening of my love of sci-fi out of Saga in 2012, but that didn't shake the doldrums for the genre, it was just an exceptional book that I was enjoying despite it being sci-fi. I tried indulging in some classics of the genre, and while I appreciated them, it still didn't shake the doldrums. The closest thing that came to doing it was Jeff Lemire's Trillium, but again that was more I liked it despite it being sci-fi. So when I saw Descender announced with Lemire attached, I was intrigued, but hesitant. I passed on the single issue when it was released, but there were a few members here (I believe shaxper was one of them) who were singing the praises of the book, so when the first trade dropped I decided to give it a try, I mean Image trade vol. one are usually priced right ($9.99 less on Amazon or with a discount at the lcs), so I took a chance. It hit me like brick. I was enraptured by the first trade and couldn't wait for the next volume to hit. Moreso, it made me want to explore sci-fi again, and I started checking out a lot of other sci-fi titles both in comics and prose. Watching the Expanse when it debuted a few months after the first Descender trade dropped solidified things and my love of sci-fi had been reignited, but this book was a big, big factor in it. I picked up each volume as it was released, and with volumes 1-4 wound up rereading the the previous volume before devouring the new one each time, but Vol. 5 and 6 came out and both sat in the to read pile for a while for multiple reasons. Last summer, I finally decided to dive back in and as I had done before, I reread the previous volumes before diving into 5 and 6. What a ride! Great characters, great story, great world building and lot sot say about lots of things. All the hallmarks of great sci-fi. It leads to Ascender, which I have only read Vol. 1 of (Vol. 2 just dropped recently), but that is a follow up but of a different nature. Descender is one of those sci-fi epics and comic book sagas I will return to periodically. For me, it's just that good.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 20, 2020 23:09:02 GMT -5 via mobile

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Post by shaxper on Jul 20, 2020 23:09:02 GMT -5

All credit for praising Descender here is owed to thwhtguardian, I believe. Oh, I tried it and liked it at his suggestion, but I ultimately dropped it due to a general lack of enthusiasm for new comics. As I understand it, I really missed out as a result.

Last Edit: Jul 20, 2020 23:09:13 GMT -5 by shaxper

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 21, 2020 18:30:43 GMT -5 shaxper likes this

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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 21, 2020 18:30:43 GMT -5

Jul 20, 2020 23:09:02 GMT -5 shaxper said:

All credit for praising Descender here is owed to thwhtguardian , I believe. Oh, I tried it and liked it at his suggestion, but I ultimately dropped it due to a general lack of enthusiasm for new comics. As I understand it, I really missed out as a result.

It is a great ride but it definitely read better when collected. I liked Ascender too, though I preferred the sci-fi feel of Descender to the fantasy feel of the sequel but the art was every bit as stunning.

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 21, 2020 23:58:24 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2020 23:58:24 GMT -5

And now,

#6

Manhunter by Archie Goodwin & Walt Simonson (version read: Manhunter The Special Edition TPB; originally presented in Detective Comics 437-443)

This was another one I reread in preparation for the CCF Twelve Days of Christmas event last year, as the last part is a Manhunter/Batman cross-over. This series has gotten a lot of discussion here, particularly by codystarbuck who has done a much fuller review and has a lot more cogent things to say about the series than I do. The Goodwin/Simonson team is one of my favorite pairings of writer/artists in comics (their adaptation of Alien is a must read if you like their work), and it is a case where the creators' collaborative efforts is greater then the sum of its parts. This is a gripping action/thriller with a super-hero bent, making it worthwhile to read on that level alone but looking at the level of craft in creation of this book is amazing. Looking at the wordless epilogue that is included in the Special Edition tpb showcases just how good of a visual storyteller Simonson is (if you hadn't already gotten that from the main story), but Goodwin's writing and character work are magnificent as well. For me, this is simply one of the best mainstream comic stories of the Bronze Age.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 22, 2020 22:46:53 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2020 22:46:53 GMT -5

We've reached the top 5...

#5

Criminal #3-12 by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips (Image; 2019-2020)

This is the most recent Criminal series. I had just reread the entire run of Criminal up through the start of this last series ending in May/June of 2019, so they just missed being eligible for this list, but I read most of the current series in the time-frame this list covers. Brubaker is one of my favorite writer's currently working in comics. He's had some misses for me (his X-Men run in particular), but I can pretty much count on at least enjoying if not downright being blown away by the stuff he works on, particularly his creator-owned stuff, and of that creator-owned stuff, Criminal is perhaps the creme de la creme of it. And Sean Phillips is just a dynamic storyteller who creates a mood and a palpable sense of verisimilitude in his settings that just ground these crime and noir stories and make them such a visceral read. The world Brubaker builds is expansive yet tight knit. The people, places and events feel real and Bru just sucks you into their world and doesn't let you go until the final page. Knowing #12 was the last issue of Criminal we will get for the foreseeable future made it bittersweet, but there is such an great body of work in this series that can be revisited an time and each time it offers an exceptional reading experience.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 24, 2020 23:03:46 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2020 23:03:46 GMT -5

#4

Planetary Vol. 1-4 (or #1-27) by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday (Wildstorm/DC; 1999-2009)

Before we begin, all the disclaimers about Warren Ellis I mentioned in the Injection listing still apply.

I had been itchin' to reread Planetary when Slam_Bradley started his Planetary thread, so took the dive and read all through the series again. If you want more detailed analysis and issue by issue reviews, please check out Slam's thread.I finished my reread a week or two before the allegations about Warren Ellis surfaced, so my experience was not tainted by that, but my future experiences with Ellis' work might be. That said, Planetary is the kind of series I would have wanted to write if I was writing comics...

Mysteries and conspiracy theories galore? Check.
Pulp roots? Check!
Edgy science fiction? Check!
Influences, nods or homages to stuff across a broad spectrum of geek culture? Check!
Interesting characters? Check!
Kick-ass action scenes? Check!
Mind-blowing reveals? Check!
Story with a beginning, middle and end? Check!
Gorgeous art with great storytelling? Check!
Took 10 years to put out 27 issues including a three year gap between #26 and #27? Che- uh what?

Yeah, reading this as it came out was a bit of a challenge. I started with the preview story when it came out in '99 and read individual issues until 2006 (when #36 was released). I took a hiatus from comics from 2007-2012 and never saw the final issue until I ended up replacing the single issues with trades when I got back in the game in 2012. The wait was well worth it though. This series (and the cross-over spin-offs Planetary/Authority and Planetary/Batman) remains one of my favorites despite the extenuating circumstances. It's that good. I'm just sad I have to frame it in terms of those extenuating circumstances.

-M

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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 25, 2020 23:17:58 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2020 23:17:58 GMT -5

Down to the top 3, the second runner-up at...

#3

H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness Vol. 1 adapted by Gou Tanabe

I don't read much manga, and when I do, it still feels weird reading from right to left, front to back, but man was this one worth getting through that weird feeling. I am a huge fan of Lovecraft, but I find that (outside of tabletop rpgs based on his works) adaptations into other media usually lose a little something (and sometimes a lot) in the process. Not so here. In fact, I think the gorgeous artwork by Tanabe actually adds something to the experience.

I haven't included examples of art outside of covers for any of the entries, but here a picture really is worth more than any words I could come up with to describe the effect of that art on the reading experience, so I am going to include a couple of samples...

the adaptation is spot on and amazingly faithful. The art is simply mind-blowing, and this is by far my favorite adaptation of Lovecraft in any medium.

-M

Last Edit: Jul 25, 2020 23:20:29 GMT -5 by Deleted

chaykinstevens
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MRP's Top 50 Comics Read in my 50th Year Jul 26, 2020 8:19:59 GMT -5

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Post by chaykinstevens on Jul 26, 2020 8:19:59 GMT -5

Jul 6, 2020 18:28:13 GMT -5 @mrp said:

#25

Batman #232 by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams (read via facsimile edition released in 2019, originally published by DC in 1971)

The introduction of Talia al Ghul is one of the standout stories of the O'Neill/Adams era of Batman.

This was Ra's al Ghul's first appearance, but Talia had appeared the previous month in Detective Comics #411 by O'Neil and Bob Brown.