This Year's Comics: One Man's View
Jan. 2nd, 2007 09:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteSo, what was 2006 like to this here comic book reader?
Let's start with the simple fact that my PoV of 2006 is unlike so many others. I don't read much in the way of contemporary graphic novels. I don't read much Vertigo, or Marvel, or manga. I have missed out on a vast array of high-profile and low-budget comics and suspect that to many, 2006 was a great year, or a lousy one, or a revelatory one, or an average one, and that those people didn't read anything I did.
So my first thought is that the comic book, changing into something new with the rise of mainstream graphic novels and the webcomic and trends yet to surface, is in fine shape. But the comics I love, mainly those of DC Comics...well...
Let's say this now. One Year Later was a bust. Checkmate? Boring. Shadowpact? Competent but little else. Flash? A mess. Why did they retire Wally West? I have no idea. Martian Manhunter? Hideous. There is not one new DCU title that I want to read. (I am not including JSA and JLA as "new" though I haven't read either yet.) The first effort to restart Nightwing was a disaster. Wonder Woman can't come out on time. And is anyone reading Aquaman or Hawkgirl?
This isn't to say that there aren't good DCU comics. Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes has worked much better than I would have expected. The Batman books benefit from Paul Dini and Grant Morrison. The return of Marv Wolfman to Nightwing has been a success. And I have heard nothing but good things about JSA and Firestorm, and will likely get them as collections.
But One Year Later was supposed to re-energize the DCU line. It didn't. It didn't clairfy muddled continuity, nor did Infinite Crisis, which for all its great moments was ultimately as much of a mess as anything else DC did in this effort. DC still has plenty of talent, but it's being squandered.
And yet, DC is still doing enough things right that I am not about to drop their wares any time soon. The new Spirit comic, after just one issue, feels like a winner. All-Star Superman is a delight, if an infrequently published one. And there's 52. 2/3rds of the way home, and unless the big finale is a total botch job, I will be happy with the remarkable weekly comic and miss it sorely. It could have been a flop. But no deadlines have been missed. Plot twists and character play remain gripping. The art is always passable at worst, stunning at best. And the covers by JG Jones are astounding. Books like 52 restore my faith in DC and my love of the DCU even when the rest of the company is producing dross.
Of course, I'm not just a DC guy, but I have steered clear of Marvel's Civil War event, and while I have not liked most of what I've heard, I cannot comment on the stories fairly. I will say that it's as likely as ever that I will continue to buy Marvel comics selectively, and long for the day when I can read something by PAD that is not linked to every other Marvel comic. In the meantime, there's still Brian K. Vaughan's final work on other people's heroes, in Runaways and Dr. Strange. The man cannot write a bad comic (though I just don't find Y or Ex Machina appealing). He will be missed at Marvel, no doubt.
But then, if he writes more comics like The Escapists, we won't mind much. Vaughan, based on the three comics of his that I have read, is my pick as the year's best writer. Mark Waid, for his contributions to 52 and his scripts in Legion, is first runner-up, and Bill Willingham is second runner-up for Fables.
Ah, yes. Fables. What can I say that hasn't been said? It gets stronger with each passing year, and it looks like some big stuff is brewing. It's true that the Fables hardcover was a little disappointing, but that cannot be said for the monthly. It's the vest comic book out there. By far. Runners-up for this title include 52, Detective, and Legion.
Artist? Well, I can happily say that I wasn't reading a single book this year that didn't have at least good art (though the rush job on the finale of Infinite Crisis did need help). I can't single out just one artist are above the rest, but special mention goes to Mark Buckingham for Fables, Joe Bennett for his contributions to 52, Barry Kitson for Legion, Darwyn Cooke for the initial issues of The Spirit, and Jason Alexander for the Escapist sequences in The Escapists.
And what was the best single issue of any comic this year? I think I have to go with Fables 50, featuring the return of Bigby Wolf to action, Prince Charming's big plan for the Adversary, and a wedding we all wanted to see. Other than that, no single issue really stands out in memory, even from the good comics.
And that's it for 2006. Except it's not it, since I will be getting Jack of Fables in trade, along with many other comics, and I might even read Civil War in that format. That's the thing about comic books today. Just when you think you've read all there is to read, something new, or something old, or something you never though you could read or afford, something different, arrives. That happy fact hasn't changed in a while, no matter how much DC and Marvel and the hordes of new artists and publishers and approaches seem to have changed things. And I would have to say that this is good.
Let's start with the simple fact that my PoV of 2006 is unlike so many others. I don't read much in the way of contemporary graphic novels. I don't read much Vertigo, or Marvel, or manga. I have missed out on a vast array of high-profile and low-budget comics and suspect that to many, 2006 was a great year, or a lousy one, or a revelatory one, or an average one, and that those people didn't read anything I did.
So my first thought is that the comic book, changing into something new with the rise of mainstream graphic novels and the webcomic and trends yet to surface, is in fine shape. But the comics I love, mainly those of DC Comics...well...
Let's say this now. One Year Later was a bust. Checkmate? Boring. Shadowpact? Competent but little else. Flash? A mess. Why did they retire Wally West? I have no idea. Martian Manhunter? Hideous. There is not one new DCU title that I want to read. (I am not including JSA and JLA as "new" though I haven't read either yet.) The first effort to restart Nightwing was a disaster. Wonder Woman can't come out on time. And is anyone reading Aquaman or Hawkgirl?
This isn't to say that there aren't good DCU comics. Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes has worked much better than I would have expected. The Batman books benefit from Paul Dini and Grant Morrison. The return of Marv Wolfman to Nightwing has been a success. And I have heard nothing but good things about JSA and Firestorm, and will likely get them as collections.
But One Year Later was supposed to re-energize the DCU line. It didn't. It didn't clairfy muddled continuity, nor did Infinite Crisis, which for all its great moments was ultimately as much of a mess as anything else DC did in this effort. DC still has plenty of talent, but it's being squandered.
And yet, DC is still doing enough things right that I am not about to drop their wares any time soon. The new Spirit comic, after just one issue, feels like a winner. All-Star Superman is a delight, if an infrequently published one. And there's 52. 2/3rds of the way home, and unless the big finale is a total botch job, I will be happy with the remarkable weekly comic and miss it sorely. It could have been a flop. But no deadlines have been missed. Plot twists and character play remain gripping. The art is always passable at worst, stunning at best. And the covers by JG Jones are astounding. Books like 52 restore my faith in DC and my love of the DCU even when the rest of the company is producing dross.
Of course, I'm not just a DC guy, but I have steered clear of Marvel's Civil War event, and while I have not liked most of what I've heard, I cannot comment on the stories fairly. I will say that it's as likely as ever that I will continue to buy Marvel comics selectively, and long for the day when I can read something by PAD that is not linked to every other Marvel comic. In the meantime, there's still Brian K. Vaughan's final work on other people's heroes, in Runaways and Dr. Strange. The man cannot write a bad comic (though I just don't find Y or Ex Machina appealing). He will be missed at Marvel, no doubt.
But then, if he writes more comics like The Escapists, we won't mind much. Vaughan, based on the three comics of his that I have read, is my pick as the year's best writer. Mark Waid, for his contributions to 52 and his scripts in Legion, is first runner-up, and Bill Willingham is second runner-up for Fables.
Ah, yes. Fables. What can I say that hasn't been said? It gets stronger with each passing year, and it looks like some big stuff is brewing. It's true that the Fables hardcover was a little disappointing, but that cannot be said for the monthly. It's the vest comic book out there. By far. Runners-up for this title include 52, Detective, and Legion.
Artist? Well, I can happily say that I wasn't reading a single book this year that didn't have at least good art (though the rush job on the finale of Infinite Crisis did need help). I can't single out just one artist are above the rest, but special mention goes to Mark Buckingham for Fables, Joe Bennett for his contributions to 52, Barry Kitson for Legion, Darwyn Cooke for the initial issues of The Spirit, and Jason Alexander for the Escapist sequences in The Escapists.
And what was the best single issue of any comic this year? I think I have to go with Fables 50, featuring the return of Bigby Wolf to action, Prince Charming's big plan for the Adversary, and a wedding we all wanted to see. Other than that, no single issue really stands out in memory, even from the good comics.
And that's it for 2006. Except it's not it, since I will be getting Jack of Fables in trade, along with many other comics, and I might even read Civil War in that format. That's the thing about comic books today. Just when you think you've read all there is to read, something new, or something old, or something you never though you could read or afford, something different, arrives. That happy fact hasn't changed in a while, no matter how much DC and Marvel and the hordes of new artists and publishers and approaches seem to have changed things. And I would have to say that this is good.
(no subject)
Date: Jan. 3rd, 2007 03:40 am (UTC)And I'll give a shout-out to the 'Connor Hawke' miniseries. My only complaint is that it's reminding me how much I enjoyed the Bat-universe when Dixon was running things.
The main thing is, neither OYL nor 'Civil War' came even close to rejuvenating their respective lines. (And I don't think you're missing anything on the Marvel side, though I've been pretty happy with Brubaker's 'Captain America'.)