So let’s the make the best of it, shall we? The end of the world was completely rubbish, but we are also in the midst of that most magical of seasons – I speak to you of Boxing Day, of course.
Boxing Day. It is a time of infinite joy and jest, when thousands of Canadians will strap on 18 ounce gloves and randomly pummel the indigenous peoples as their ancestors once did. Families will sit warm by a crackling fire, eating beets and poutine. Fathers will spin chilling yarns about Mike Tyson, and perhaps share a sniff of brandy to rose their children’s blood drained cheeks. To observe Canadian Boxing Day is to bask in the holidays at their pinnacle. I’m not Canadian, by the way, (was the name of the column an indicator?) but I’m pretty sure I read all this stuff on Wikipedia.
But that’s not the real subject of this week’s column. I’m here to list for you my Top 10 Comics of 2012. A few words before we begin – like all lists, mine is largely meaningless and futile. Unlike most lists, I’m going to be up front about that. The problem is that there are a LOT of comics out there, and I’m reading less than 5% of what’s out there. A top 10 list for me really just amounts to a top 25% of what I’m reading, and that’s not exactly an informed or comprehensive platform to opine from. This has never stopped me in the past, and certainly won’t be stopping me now.
Before I get to the list of things that made it to the top, a few notable omissions that might have made it under different circumstances. Witch Doctor is an exceptional book, a tour de force of comedic Cthulhian world-building by Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner. It absolutely positively would have cracked my top five but for the fact that 2012 only saw two issues hit the racks. (And those have shown up in the past couple of weeks) As expected, they’ve been brilliant, but that’s not enough of a body of work to earn a spot on the list for this year. Almost certainly next year, we’ll see how Witch Doctor: Mal Practice turns out. And by “we”, I mean go out and buy the damn thing already. You won’t be sorry.
Secret was an extra interesting book that also shipped only two issues this year, or it might have warranted inclusion. I enjoyed what little Secret I was getting more than Hickman’s Manhattan Projects, which is also quite good. Finally, Nick Spencer’s Bedlam came out of the gate super strong. Madder Red is one of the more interesting characters in comics right now. It’s hard to tell exactly what he is or what he’s become, but I think he might be classified as an altruistic sociopath? That book and that character are inventive and fascinating in a way that few comics are these days, but again…two issues. Not enough material to declare it a “best” anything just yet. But I’ve definitely got my eye on Bedlam, and you probably should as well.
But enough about the stuff that didn’t make the cut. Here’s what did:
# 10: Fantastic Four/FF, Marvel Comics
I’m not convinced that he quite stuck the landing. It was satisfying, but the implied impact was “mind completely blown”, and what I felt was a couple of solid right crosses. But hey, she is my wife, she is awesome, and she deserves to be on this list and on your shelf in collected form.
# 9: Batman, DC Comics
I appreciated the literal technical twist of issue # 5, where the page layout made the reader feel the same vertigo Bruce was experiencing. The recent Joker appearances have paid off as well, and I think if there is a new generation of readers out there, they will properly remember this as “their” Joker story. Batman is a team of consummate pros at the top of their game, and if you’re avoiding Batman because it just seems too obvious, you’re missing a really great comic.
# 8: Harvest, Image Comics
Harvest is dark, sharp, and witty – it’s everything you like about Millar with none of the absurd aftertaste. What I love about Harvest is that as over-the-top dramatic as it is…all of this could probably happen. All of this probably is happening somewhere. I also adore the fact that it knows exactly what it is, where it’s going, and wastes not one panel getting there.
# 7: Harbinger, Valiant Comics
All of the pieces feel thematically correct, but emotionally you end up feeling conflicted about everything, especially leads Pete Stanchek and Toyo Harada, who you end up respecting and hating in equal measure. Out of the blue Dysart has truly turned this into a true Harbinger book instead of a Pete book, and Kris is now driving the ship more than anybody, which has been a pleasant surprise.
# 6: Revival, Image Comics
Now that Lapham is off of Crossed I have no qualms declaring this the best horror book on the stands. You take the creepiness of something like Severed, throw in a few cloves of Morning Glories mystery plot, and then a pinch of Terry Moore and you get Revival. That’s a pretty damn good stew!
# 5: Bloodshot, Valiant Comics
Consider Duane atoned, and then consider the art in this book, which to me is off the charts. I like the Manuel Garcia stuff on its own when it isn’t so glossy, and I like the “CGI” effects that I think Arturo Lozzi is putting on the Garcia pencils. It all looks jaw-dropping to me. Bloodshot # 1 is one of the finest debut issues I’ve ever read – it perfectly sets up the hook, style and tone of the series, and it does so with striking visuals.
The genius of Bloodshot, though, is the dirt-simple hook and the pacing. Bloodshot is a Total Recall style mind-frak. Each individual issue is frenetic and packed, and here we are at issue # 6 and Swierczynski is not afraid to amp up and start giving us what we really want – a crack at Project Rising Spirit. I have no fears about Bloodshot playing out its hand early though. Every month I pick it up and say “thrill me”, and every month it delivers.
# 4: Daredevil, Marvel Comics
The magic of Daredevil is still the fact that Mark Waid obviously still feels the magic of Daredevil. There’s a “honeymoon infatuation” quality to the affection paid. When you’re in love, you notice everything little nuance of your attraction, from her laugh to her eyelashes. Every issue of Daredevil, Mark Waid shows you something wonderful about the character only a fixated beau would notice, and you delight with Waid as he trots out every new possibility that Murdock’s rich history provides.
Also, Chris Samnee is one of the best pencillers in ever. There’s nothing not to love about this comic, and for some ridiculous reason it charts beneath Bendis’ “End of Days” mini. Are you kidding me, people? Start buying Daredevil. Immediately.
Before I move to my top three entries, I’d like to declare that a good case could be made for any of these to be considered as the # 1 comic of 2012. I often say that now is the “best of times and worst of times” to be a comic reader. The increasing marketing stink and rising costs will tend to sting the rectum, but on the flip side, some of the finest work the medium has ever produced is happening right now. These next three titles are emblematic of that modern excellence.
# 3: Action Comics, DC Comics (major spoilers ahead)
Of particular note are issues # 9 and # 15, which again, could carry their own columns in analysis. But just as an example, one of the consistent (and I thought valid) criticisms of Action was its fragmented, disjointed hopping about in time and space. Why are we looking at President Superman in another world right now? Why are we suddenly in a different universe completely disconnected from what happened last month? And then you get to # 15 and you find out that Mxyzptlk is a 5th dimensional dude, and what Grant has been showing you is what a 5th dimensional attack in a 2 dimensional comic book looks like.
And this might not pay off for certain readers, but I got to that part and my mind = blown, and who in the world is even attempting this stuff? Hickman, maybe. No, Grant Morrison is playing on a different level, it’s almost over, and are you missing it? Don’t miss it. Special, special stuff.
# 2: Saga, Image Comics
Fiona Staples does pretty much everything but script, and the results are spectacular. I really don’t know what to say every element of Saga feels fresh when compared to other comics. Pick it up and marvel at how wonderfully bizarre The Stalk is. (and then recognize that she has the same relationship drama with TheWill as you probably do) Recognize how that bright pink or teal cover pops compared to that ugly ass, Marvel NOW! cluttered garbage next to it. Then turn it over and notice that the back is solid pink or teal. Fantastic.
Then turn to the back and observe that the letters page is quietly creating its own little separate world, and that Bryan Vaughan is actually addressing you as a human being and encouraging that world to grow.
Saga is a complex, daring piece of sci-fi that is wise enough to let the simple love of a parent for his or her child is more than enough to drive these otherwise untenable elements along nicely. It’s a legend because of its purity of creative expression. This is Bryan Vaughan and Fiona Staples digging into their hearts and showing it to you, and you need to be on board for it.
# 1: Journey Into Mystery, Marvel Comics
That’s all.
For the absurdly few people who read JIM, we will remember these issues fondly and forever. Each issue was acutely aware of building character, and they were so wicked clever! Did you ever finish an issue of JIM without laughing out loud and at least three times musing to yourself –
“God, I wish I had thought of that!”
What is perhaps most amazing is that all of this was created by incorporating all the usual corporate bullshit instead of defying it. Kieron Gillen took the industry’s most vexing junk and wove it into monthly (and sometimes more than monthly) gold, including the inevitable fact that it couldn’t last.
I’m being purposefully vague about plot because I want other readers to experience the arc without foreknowledge or bias. I want you to feel the ending as I did – it’s so hard to stick the landing, and JIM pays off on an epic level. For those of you (and you are legion) that insist on spouting that old, tired mantra about how “superhero comics are just men in underwear punching each other”….go read the end of JIM and come talk to me.
Because Journey Into Mystery took some of the mediums greatest obstacles and alchemically turned them into inspired opportunities, and because it ended so perfectly JIM, it represents my # 1 book of 2012.
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