Lower Decks

This was supposed to be a transition year. Everything about January 2009 said as much. Heroes & Dragons, the comics shop I’d been visiting since I moved to Colorado Springs in November of 2007, was moving. I didn’t know if I could depend on Bargain Comics to deliver quite the same experience. Everything about it had contradicted Heroes – sure, there were always comics I could find there I couldn’t at Heroes, but Heroes was always more reliable. On top of purely logistical concerns, Batman was going away, Geoff Johns was leaving virtually every series I’d been following him in, from ‘Action Comics’ to ‘Justice Society of America.’ I didn’t even know that Superman was going to be abandoning Earth for New Krypton. And I didn’t know that I’d be switching from Bargain to Midtown Comics.com at the midpoint of the year. I’d truly believed I’d be reading far fewer comics in 2009 than I had in 2008, or 2007, or 2006 (the year I started writing about comics and began what became the QB50) or even 2005, when I was taking my first steps back into the medium and all the rules were gone. And heck, the economy was officially terrible, not terrible as in the presidential candidates were talking about emergency stimulus ideas in their campaigns. I mean terrible in that jobs kept getting lost even as everyone was talking about a theoretical recovery. I mean that there were rumors that although Marvel was in a position to weather the storm relatively intact, DC might have to eliminate virtually every title not including the words “Superman” and “Batman.”

But somehow, I just kept reading comics. I started reading in 1992, snatching what I could from my brothers. I started buying in 1993. I became a serious reader in 1994. I had to give it up in 1999. I dabbed my toes around in 2004. Then, yes, I started writing about comics. I began the QBs. I mean, I’m no authority today, but the QB50 has begun to take on a life of its own. Comics don’t dominate my life – I’ve been desperately trying to finish my second book the whole time this year’s ranking finally came due – and I now write a column that only occasionally handles the subject. But finally, it’s time for the 2009 QB50.

Aside from everything else, there were a lot of expectations for comics in 2009. From a public standpoint, ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Iron Man’ had combined to make superheroes perhaps more visible and part of the zeitgeist than ever before. That’s not to say that it made everyone aware of comics in the way that radio and cinematic serials did in the 1940s, TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, ‘Superman’ in the 1970s, ‘Batman’ in the 1980s, or ‘Spider-Man’ for the 2000s. But the success of superheroes in 2008 at the box office wasn’t hinged entirely on superheroes, but on their ability to finally transcend a single category. People marveled at Heath Ledger’s final complete performance. Robert Downey, Jr. finally completed his comeback. And both roles were contained within garish outfits that in any other context would be preposterous. No, audiences were tricked into taking superheroes seriously last year, and so, what of 2009? ‘Watchmen,’ it turns out, wasn’t the logical progression. ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ did, at least, help shape a big year for Ryan Reynolds, for a role that eventually saw his face totally obscured, launching a potential spin-off and an entire line of Deadpool comics. DC, far from cutting back, expanded and innovated. Boom! Studios had a breakout year. Dynamite Entertainment built on the success of ‘Project Superpowers’ for a new superhero universe. Image Comics brought its founders back together for a historic jam session. Marvel pledged that it was on the road to reconciliation with its good guys, after years of letting internal squabbling and crafty villains get in their way. Oh, and Spidey helped make President Obama a comics sensation. I can only compare it, really, to professional wrestling in the wake of the shocking murders surrounding Chris Benoit’s suicide. Everyone feared that wrestling would lose all credibility and public support, a trend that had been developing ever since Bret Hart parted ways with WWE under less than amicable circumstances, only to watch his brother Owen stick behind and eventually plummet to his death for a stunt. Professional wrestling proved to be a survivor, with deep roots and too much support to die off that easily. Comics, too, with their increasingly steep prices, just kept getting published in the midst of the worst economic crash in more than half a century, and kept getting bought. A tradition more than seventy years old, that had survived the apparent death of superheroes as a popular phenomenon after the boom years of WWII, comics proved once again to be resilient. Or at least stubborn, hard to kill.

How exactly to account for that? They’ve grown increasingly sophisticated, hard to write off as child’s play, and this was the best decade for comics yet. Why quit now?

Now, I started reading as a fan of superhero comics, and this was a good year for that sort of things, but it was also a good year to see what else might be out there. I’m not talking graphic novels, the “respectable” or even straight alternative work that’s easy to gravitate toward when you’re still wondering if superheroes are still a little too juvenile. I’m talking monthly comics, the kind you’ll be able to find in a comic book store without too much difficulty, the ones that will routinely gain in value, will get all the buzz. I’m not being elitist, or, bizarrely, even reverse-elitist. This is what comics are for me. This is what I want to see win awards, the things most people will at least have heard of, not just the people only reading because they want to support creators most people will never hear of. That’s great, that’s noble, but it’s not a very accurate reflection. I read the books that entertain me, and I read a lot. The things I’m not reading I’m not reading for a reason, and the things I am are still plentiful enough to give an accurate ranking of. I’m not embarrassed to say I think these books really are the best. Popular opinion and sales don’t affect what and how things appear on this list. As it is, people reading ‘Wizard’ magazine might scratch their heads a lot. But that’s okay. The QB50 is entirely the work of Tony Laplume (Waterloo), my opinion, the things I read, and it reflects what I thought was the best of comics in 2009. I wish I could include Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s ‘All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder’ or J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston’s ‘The Twelve,’ which are still among the best ongoing titles being published, even if not a stitch of them was completed during the year. I was reunited with other books I hadn’t read in a while, and they’re sitting comfortably here. Which reminds me, let’s get started!

(Included in the listings are publisher in parentheses and bracketed rankings in previous QBs)

1. Air (Vertigo) [2008 rank = 50]
You might say last year I was something of a fool. I knew that I liked ‘Air,’ but I wasn’t quite sure how much. I had read a handful of issues, but I guess I still didn’t know where the series was going. This was the first Vertigo book I started from the beginning and read on a regular basis. Basically, it was the first time I’d really followed a book that didn’t feature superheroes. Writer G. Willow Wilson was completely unknown to me. She’d been given a Vixen mini-series, to give her a little mainstream exposure, but I didn’t end up continuing that one, and that’s probably why I ranked ‘Air’ so low, because I still thought it might be a flash in the pan. 2009 quickly proved how stupid and shortsighted I really was. Issue 6 introduced Amelia Earhart as a working element. Issue 7 completely exploded whatever I might have thought about Zayn, the mysterious romantic prospect for Blythe, the stewardess who suffers from a fear of heights but who nonetheless has become embroiled in a vast conspiracy of technology that has the potential to completely revolutionize not only travel but the entire world. This creates a lot of problems, and that’s basically what ‘Air’ is about. Issue 11 dealt with the origins of all this in an increasingly common, for this series, fashion: completely unexpected. Issue 16 finally reunited Blythe and Zayn. To see how all of it works, to follow Blythe as she tries to make sense of all of it, is a new definition for a gradual, deliberate style of storytelling, real confidence and not just cashing in something because it’s cool. Even with an issue priced for easy access, ‘Air’ still couldn’t win the audience it deserves. It asks too much, and there’s nothing easy to grasp about its concept, no central figure who even represents something that popular culture might recognize. Yet it’s an utterly modern tale, something 9/11 anticipated and what everyone’s been trying address. ‘Up in the Air’ might be comparable, in the way George Clooney casually assumes his life is perfect, and the casual way in which all his assumptions are challenged. Go see that movie and then you might be ready for ‘Air.’ It’ll be waiting.

2. The Flash: Rebirth/Blackest Night: The Flash (DC)
It’s hard to say how ‘The Flash’ previously ranked, because this was a reboot year. Last year, the ongoing series (which is itself too complicated to get into right now) ranked at the 19 spot. In 2007, it ranked both at 9 and at 40, because I had to juggle my appreciation of the brilliant Marc Guggenheim and the returning Mark Waid, which were too distinctive to juggle with a single position. Waid was at the short end, even though he defined what it was to write the Scarlet Speedster in the previous decade. Geoff Johns came back to the character in 2009, and “the character” wasn’t Wally West but Barry Allen, a character who died in the 1980s. I had skipped over his run with The Flash in 2005, even though it was some of his work that helped bring me back a year earlier, because it seemed to draw more from Silver Age, Barry Allen-era material than the mythology that Waid had created. A funny thing happened on the way to the present day, however. In bringing Barry back, Johns found his inner Waid. ‘The Flash: Rebirth’ is everything a Flash fan from the 1990s would have died to read, when Waid was only teasing Barry’s return. Johns took everything Waid did and completely justified Barry’s return. In ‘Blackest Night: The Flash,’ he offered a companion piece. Comics fans might wonder why I’d laud ‘Rebirth’ so decisively over ‘Captain America Reborn,’ but to me the distinctions are as clear as Guggenheim and Waid in 2007: Geoff knows what he’s doing, which is exactly what he brought to the table with Hal Jordan, which doesn’t mean he’s just using gimmicks to resurrect dead characters but rather tapping into enrich the worlds and mythologies they inhabit; Ed Brubaker, on the other hand, in fine Marvel tradition, appreciates only form over substance. It’s all about the storytelling. It was no more necessary to bring Barry or Hal back than it was for Steve Rogers to survive his assassination, but time travel works in ‘Lost,’ not for a character who has nothing to do with it. Parallax as a personification of the yellow impurity, Professor Zoom exacting his final revenge is riveting, relevant work. This is superhero comics at its best.

3. G.I. Joe: Cobra (IDW)
Wow. So, yeah. Wow. I thought DDP’s ‘G.I. Joe: America’s Elite!’ was the best it could get (reached 30 in 2008, and 11 in 2007), and so was pretty upset when the rights switched companies. I was suspicious that IDW wanted to launch not one but three series. DDP had stuck with the original Marvel continuity, and had actually pushed the story, finally, past Cobra. IDW wanted to push it back…to the beginning. I quickly narrowed my interests to only one of the three, ‘G.I. Joe: Cobra.’ I was quickly rewarded. Chuckles, who had never in his life been taken seriously as far as I now, suddenly became the most interesting Joe ever. Ditched was the usual idea of a whole supporting cast (imagine a Legion of Super-heroes book featuring only one Legionnaire). Chuckles was turned into James Bond, left on his own and in the field. There was no concept that Cobra was real and out there manipulating the world. Chuckles had to learn that on his own, eventually ending up with…Tomax and Xamot. Yeah, the twins. But even they were fascinating, the subject of their own spin-off special (there will be a straight sequel in 2010). In breaking all the rules, even as a limited series, ‘G.I. Joe: Cobra’ more than made up for what I thought I’d lost (and that was a book that spent the last twelve issues of its run in an ambitious “WWIII” scenario).

4. The Incredible Hercules (Marvel) [2008 rank = 8]
No one was more surprised than I was when I first started reading this one. At the start of 2008, Hercules took on the title and numbering of ‘Incredible Hulk’ in the aftermath of “World War Hulk.” As a superhero entity, Marvel’s Hercules was only known to me as part of the Champions, which was well before my time (a fact gleamed from a Marvel teams calendar). I assumed he was another lame instanta-character, and probably, that’s exactly what he was. But not in the hands of Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente. Pak had been writing ‘Incredible’ already. I have to assume it was the addition of Van Lente that made everything awesome. I don’t know. Point is, I started reading, and kept reading, because ‘Incredible Hercules’ was one of the most fun titles I’d ever come across, like a grown-up version of Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos on ‘Impulse,’ steeped heavily in mythology as well as modern lore. Herc’s sidekick Amadeus Cho lent the book the modern equivalent of Robin, not a surrogate but a chance to bring the big guy down to earth. Cho’s a genius, though, so it’s like Spider-Man but without the wisecracks and web-shooting, just pure ego. And it works, well, incredibly, and it keeps working. This year Herc and Cho handled the Dark Reign thing, Zeus’s murder and resurrection, and an apparent split in their alliance that ended up with separate, bi-weekly installments, which eventually converged back to the split of alliances in the Greek gods. ‘Incredible Hercules’ is all about using history, whatever history you’ve got, to your best advantage.

5. Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
I never did get around to reading a lot of James Robinson’s acclaimed run on ‘Starman’ (which might as well be considered a predecessor of ‘Incredible Hercules’), but I knew the reputation so well it was almost as if I had, so when he made his big comeback I was more than thrilled that he had better work than ‘Action Comics’ or ‘Captain America Comics 70th Anniversary Special’ to show for it. ‘Cry for Justice’ sounded clichéd, but one issue was enough to convince me it was a signature work, and not just because Robinson started writing commentary from the very start. The art from Mauro Cascioli, whom I’d first experienced in ‘The Trials of Shazam!’ was the best in comics, besides, and the juggling of a bunch of characters who hadn’t exactly been considered Justice League material (beyond Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen, naturally) was top-notch, way beyond the call for a mere mini-series set in current continuity. Plus ‘Cry for Justice’ brings Prometheus back as a true supervillain, something no one since his creator (some dude named Grant Morrison) seemed capable of doing.

6. Final Crisis (DC) [2008 rank = 4]
A lot of people ended up scoffing at Grant Morrison’s second official crack at a DC event book, saying it was too convoluted to stand up to much scrutiny, and while it may be true that ‘Final Crisis’ itself didn’t change things so much as was published during a time when Batman and Superman both ended up going in other directions (okay, so Batman was certainly directly affected, but that story is still in progress), only really affecting complicated Fourth World mythology (in ways Morrison’s own fans from ‘Seven Soldiers of Victory’ might best appreciate). It was billed as the third of three Crises, but didn’t really have anything to do with the other two. It was merely the final integration of the multiverse back into DC continuity. But it was written by Grant Morrison. No one else could have done it, and it once again introduced a few new creations (see: Super Young Team at #27) that might do what seemingly no one else can do, which is introduce something new into mainstream comics. Batman died in Issue 6, and Superman saved the world in Issue 7. How many times has he actually done that?

7. Blackest Night (DC)
To lampoon this one as DC’s zombie story was sometimes easy, but at its heart this latest marvel from Geoff Johns did exactly what it had to, bring his Green Lantern mythos into the center of the company and bring back the feel of ‘Identity Crisis,’ which was the birth of the modern DCU. Epic on an intimate scale, ‘Blackest Night’ manages to tell a big story without Batman or Superman, which is something few writers could do, whether in DC or a Marvel-equivalent situation (except for the fact that Spider-Man is almost never important in a big event, however that works). Plus, Johns manages to include a text supplement story with every issues that plunges still deeper into things you don’t have to be a superhero to understand.

8. Batman and Robin (DC)
After the events of “R.I.P.” and ‘Final Crisis,’ Grant Morrison was left without Bruce Wayne, one of the defining pillars of DC and the character that has helped make Morrison essential not just in a mind-blowing expansive sense but as a superhero writer. You can argue his work on ‘JLA’ and ‘New X-Men’ did that, but as important as those works were, they were impossible for anyone else to live up to. Here, he’s actually competing with Frank Miller and Jeph Loeb as a definitive writer of the Dark Knight, and to take away his meal ticket and tell him that he has to keep eating is like saying, “Here’s Ambush Bug, Now give me the sequel to ‘Doomsday.’” But clever as he is, Morrison was planning for this moment all along. He introduced Damian during his initial run on ‘Batman,’ and s if he didn’t have Bruce Wayne, he had his son. He made the new Robin the new Batman, and he made the original Robin the new Batman, too. How’s that for shaking things up? The whole idea of Robin had become so antiquated even thirty years ago that it was an easy call for readers to kill him off, regardless of the circumstances. Tim Drake took on the role as much as a favor for Batman than out of any real necessity. Dick Grayson grew up, but he never became essential, because who knew what to do with Nightwing when everyone knew he was still just Batman Jr.? So to finally have him be Batman is so radical that only Morrison could truly handle it, and figure out the best way to do a new Batman is to do a new Robin, too, and make it perfectly clear, as ‘Batman #666’ did two years ago, that Damian will be Batman one day, too. Forget Bruce Wayne for a moment. Grant Morrison’s here, and he’s writing ‘Batman and Robin.’ Confused yet? Grant likes it that way.

9. Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel) [2008 rank = 34]
I was never this much of a Spider-Man reader. I was, at one point, this much of a Spider-Man fan, but I never seemed to find a reason to be a Spider-Man reader. When it was decided that continuity would be altered, the marriage discarded and circumstances streamlined back to the simplicities of years past, I couldn’t appreciate how appropriate all of that was for me. I’d been reading ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ at the time, and dabbled the main books often enough to know I didn’t need those, too, not when Peter was making himself the center of ‘Civil War’ by adopting Iron Man-created costumes or unmasking. But “Brand New Day” eventually coalesced into at least two writers I would follow without too much hesitation, Marc Guggenheim and Mark Waid (ironically). Issues 584-588 (“Character Assassination”), from Guggenheim, were pure dynamite, cleverly concluding the first year’s worth of the new direction into the big reveal of Menace’s identity. Issues 592-594 (“24/7”) from Waid distilled a nightmare scenario for Peter Parker (J. Jonah Jameson’s the mayor!) into pure gold. Joe Kelly turned “American Son” (issues 595-599) into the best expression of Dark Reign. Waid’s examination of Mary Jane’s return and reflection on her past in issue 601 was perfection, and Fred Van Lente’s subsequent arc (issues 602-604) with the Chameleon was breathtaking. Guggenheim’s last official arc, revisiting the Clone Saga in issues 608-610, was an excellent way for me to say goodbye, too, at least for now (ironically, again, Waid turned to Geoff Johns tactics by crafting “The Gauntlet” with a bunch of old rogues).

10. RASL (Cartoon Books) [2008 rank = 50]
My other big blunder in the 2008 QB50 was much the same as the other one, since they were both lumped into the final slot as new series I needed more experience with to properly judge. Really? In my heart, I knew that Jeff Smith’s long-anticipated follow-up to ‘Bone’ was another masterpiece in the making. I had to wait for the first oversize trade to read the third issue of the series, but that trade was what made me an official fan of the book, which centers around a man who tries to navigate alternate realities both to prove his theories and to survive. Two issues were put out during the year, which is a fine pace for writer-artist Smith (working an entirely new style), but maddening for fans who just want to read more of ‘RASL’! Okay, so I was spoiled, in that I read much of ‘Bone’ in the One Volume Edition, at whatever pace I wanted. I had a friend who tried everything to get me into that one. This time I have to suffer right from the start!

11. Wasteland (Oni)
Last ranked in 2007, not because I lost my interest, but because it became increasingly impossible to do so. Heroes & Dragons didn’t carry it, and Bargain became convinced that the series was cancelled, when it most certainly wasn’t. I caught up with trade collections, and through the magic of Midtown, got to read my first new ongoing installments in two years, issues 25 (anniversary issue in color!) and 26. This twist of the post-apocalypse saga weaves its own story with unique elements that blend religion and politics masterfully. I cannot say enough that this book, which doesn’t even have a proper cult following, deserves to be one of the most famous books on the stands, outclassing ‘The Walking Dead’ and outstripping every expectation, as the best always do.

12. The Stand: Captain Trips/American Nightmares/Soul Survivors (Marvel) [2008 rank = 35]
While Marvel’s Dark Tower comics get all the attention, the glory really belongs to the adaptations of Stephen King’s masterpiece ‘The Stand,’ which is like a modern version of the same story ‘Wasteland’ is telling, regular people trying to make it in a world turned upside down. I became a little obsessed with the book early in the year at the prompting of ‘Captain Trips’ last year, even tracked down the TV adaptation. This thing’s a classic no matter the medium.

13. Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
It’s one thing to say Geoff Johns is leaving ‘Action Comics,’ where he helped make Superman that most dynamic and interesting he’s been in a decade, to launch a new version of his origins, and quite another to wait for it to debut. But, oh baby, it was worth the wait. Together with signature collaborator Gary Frank, who’s more than capable and willing to indulge making easy comparisons with Christopher Reeve for the man who once worked as an assistant to Richard Donner (who eventually worked with Johns on Superman comics), it’s not an understatement to say this book is now going to be the definitive version of familiar stories.

14. Mice Templar: Destiny (Image) [2008 rank = 36, 2007 = 29]
I used to rant that this is far more interesting than ‘Mouse Guard,’ but I’m not sure that’s relevant anymore. ‘Mice Templar’ is a fascinating new take on the heroic quest that encompasses trying to survive in a fallen world, where competing ideologies succeeded in ruining a good thing, and it’s an experience that only grows richer in time.

15. Green Lantern (DC) [2008 = 15, 2007 = 19]
It’s not that his work in ‘Green Lantern’ is any less essential than some of his other projects, but it’s easy to take Geoff Johns for granted in what has amounted to a career statement, and this is a significant statement coming from a Green Lantern fan first and Geoff Johns fan second. Much of the year was spent laying down the last few necessary elements for Blackest Night, which included further exploration of the multiple color corps, from Orange to Blue to Red Lanterns. Because he juggles so much, not just in the various titles he works on but within ‘Green Lantern,’ it can sometimes be easy for me to criticize Johns for not being to concentrate enough, but that was almost an asset this year. In issues 45 and 46, he nailed both Carol Ferris and Sinestro, two essential Green Lantern characters who haven’t always gotten their due. Hal’s got so much on his plate, he makes a good case for being more important than Superman or Batman, not just in this transition kind of year, but any.

16. Wolverine (Marvel) [2008 rank =39, 2007 = 31]
Simply put, “Old Man Logan” was essential reading exactly in the same way ‘Dark Knight Returns’ was (as well as ‘Spider-Man: Reign’), a glimpse at the future of an iconic character so definitive it might as well be considered canon. It came from ‘Civil War’ creators Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. I swear, I don’t often find Wolverine all that interesting, because few creators know what to do with him. Marc Guggenheim did in 2007, and this story began the next year. They’ll be tough acts to follow.

17. Scalped (Vertigo) [2008 rank = 42]
One of today’s most acclaimed writers has been doing his best work in his least-appreciated book, Vertigo’s ‘Scalped,’ set on an Indian reservation but far more than what that seems to imply. Jason Aaron makes the suspense of whether or not Red Crow will ever be caught for any of the multiple heinous crimes he’s committed, if Bad Horse will be able to do it, or deserve to, like the best kind of intrigue possible, all capped with the kind of intricacy that’s hard to believe fits in a single book. Issues 25-29, “High Lonesome” read like an anthology, but eventually turn back to the central story, which has hit classic status, much like ‘Air,’ without the benefit of any traditionally flashy gimmicks, just the right scenario and exceptional writing.

18. Simon Dark (DC) [2008 rank = 8, 2007 =20]
This is another book that became almost impossible to find, because no one was reading it. A creator-owned book with DC is inevitably doomed from the start (see: #23), and it rarely has to do with the quality of the material, but rather the inability of fans to accept new things. Steve Niles, acclaimed for his work in ‘30 Days of Night,’ got to explore the mysterious Simon Dark, his arcane world, and the few people who helped make it seem almost normal. The art from Scott Hampton was familiarly distinctive, too.

19. Irredeemable/Incorruptible (Boom!)
For one of the defining writers of the 1990s, the 2000s were one long effort to lock on a new signature project. Mark Waid had already conquered DC and Marvel lore, and he was interested in finding something on the indy scene that might compare. Finally, he landed at Boom! and reversed ‘Kingdom Come,’ relating in ‘Irredeemable’ the tale of a superman who was brought down to earth. Later, he launched the reverse reverse-‘Kingdom Come’ with ‘Incorruptible,’ which improbably tells the story of a supervillain who finally turns the corner. 2009 was an exceptional year to explore superheroes in alternative ways, and Waid led the way.

20. Atomic Robo: Shadows from Beyond Time (Red 5)
This is the second year where I’ve found myself reading the adventures of Atomic Robo, but the first one where everything really seemed to coalesce. Robo is kind of similar to Hellboy, in that he’s a bit of an improbable heroic figure, but makes a fine one on the page all the same. The invention of Nikola Tesla, Robo’s intellect and that of the scientists around him, really started to shine through in ‘Shadows from Beyond Time.’ It’s not as easy to classify Robo as it is Hellboy, the demon made good, because Robo is both himself as he was made to be, which also makes him refreshingly straightforward in a madcap kind of way. It’s all just so demented it works.

21. Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps (DC)
Before the event really kicked off, this supplemental series ran that managed to tell all the essential stories that didn’t fit in either ‘Green Lantern’ or ‘Green Lantern Corps’ (thereby making it all that much more a mockery for anyone who ever doubted there was much to Green Lantern, such as certain classmates of mine, who now have “FrankenCastle” to choke on).

22. Captain Britain and MI13 (Marvel) [2008 rank = 25]
This ranking doesn’t really do justice to the enjoyment I derived from this book, which by all accounts really had no right to be published by Marvel, whose sensibilities Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk contradicted on a monthly basis. The issues this year covered all the subtleties and joys of the series while dealing with vampires, a culmination in far too short a time of a great series.

23. The Mighty (DC)
Pete Tomasi in a creator-owned series that will be coming to an end with its twelfth issue centering on a reality with only a single superhero, who just so happened to not be what he seemed, and only the latest in a string of lieutenants could see or do anything about it. Similar to ‘Life and Times of Savior 28’ (#28), but more focused and expansive, more imaginative.

24. Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine (Marvel)
I’ve bee waiting for this one to conclude since, what, 2005? ‘Lost’ co-creator Damon Lindelof made good on one of those ‘Ultimates’ books by sending Wolverine after Bruce Banner, who’d gone into hiding after his execution didn’t, well, happen. Mining the same dynamic that “Old Man Logan” completely turned on its head, this book actually got better after the long wait (issue 3 was especially clever about it), proving that it’s sometimes perfectly okay to be a little patient.

25. Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds (DC) [2008 rank = 23]
No one writes the Legion of Super-heroes like Geoff Johns does, and this was the ultimate Legion story, and beyond that, issue 3 features the return of Kid Flash Bart Allen and issue 4 the return of Superboy. Sure, death really should be permanent sometimes, but these were two modern creations that deserve long lives, not quick deaths. Also notable for Johns continuing the saga of the other Superboy, Prime, one of the modern age’s great villains.

26. Star Trek: Countdown (IDW)
The best surprise of 2009 was this prequel of the new Star Trek movie, which takes advantage of the fact that the story technically begins in the ‘Next Generation’ era by incorporating Picard, Data, Geordi, and Worf while also, in the third issue, explaining Nero’s tattoos. There were a bunch of other great Star Trek comics during the year (#31), but this was the standout.

27. Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance (DC)
In the fine tradition of ‘Superboy and the Ravers,’ ‘Primal Force,’ ‘The Next,’ and ‘Shadowpact’ comes Super Young Team, a totally new team hardly anyone’s going to care about even though they star in some of the best comics being published (‘Dark Avengers,’ bah!), sprung from the mind of Grant Morrison and introduced in ‘Final Crisis.’ The whole mini-series seems to know exactly what’s going to happen, because it works overtime in telling a complete story about them (much as Allan Heinberg was doing with ‘Young Avengers’).

28. Life and Times of Savior 28 (IDW)
Like ‘Irredeemable’ and ‘The Mighty,’ ‘Savior 28’ was an entirely unexpected alternate look at superhero comics, from the mind of J.M. DeMatteis, with cartoonish art but a dead-serious approach that wondered what might happen to the world’s greatest superhero in the wake of 9/11. At only five issues, and already knowing what happens to Savior 28, there’s no surprise, just a lot of meditation to be followed. (By the way, I did not put its ranking at 28 on purpose. It just happened that way.)

29. Resurrection (Oni)
Marc Guggenheim in an original creation is a series in the vein of ‘Wasteland’ and ‘The Walking Dead.’ After ten years of an alien invasion that forced humanity to lock themselves underground in order to survive, the aliens mysteriously leave, which doesn’t make life all that more easy for the survivors. Instead, it’s one giant game of chess, trying to ensure continuity of leadership and eventually discovering that good ‘ol Bill Clinton did survive after all and is therefore technically still president. Never does what you expect. You know the drill.

30. Adventure Comics (DC)
Continuing the, ah, adventures of Superboy post-resurrection (again, not intended!) with Geoff Johns and a Legion second feature, not what you might have expected after what Johns had been doing the past few years, but ends up feeling so natural you don’t care. Even those who never cared for Superboy would thoroughly enjoy this one. Plus, the Blackest Night issues (4-5) finally put a definitive conclusion in an exceedingly clever way to the saga of Superboy-Prime. If Johns doesn’t really need other writers to think of this stuff, does he really need readers to enjoy it? He’s living a heck of a dream here. Stuff it, Bendis.

31. Star Trek: Spock Reflections/Nero/Romulans: Schism/Deep Space Nine: Fool’s Gold (IDW)
IDW cracked the formula what good this year. Previously, while I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Klingons: Blood Will Tell,’ I didn’t really believe the company could sustain that kind of momentum, but here it is, the first two clearly trading on the success of ‘Countdown’ and the other two proving the diversity of it. John Byrne, venerable creator who keeps on working, writes and draws ‘Schism’ as a culmination of his Star Trek comics, bringing about the end of the Romulan/Klingon alliance circa the end of the original TV show, while ‘Fool’s Gold’ feels exactly like the show in which it is set, more or less between the third and fourth seasons. All of it is so natural, it’s hard to understand no one has been able to do this before. Everyone writing books and comics, it seems, is so busy exploring their unlimited options without budgets that they fail to consider the storytelling is still important, that it’s still got to feel like Star Trek in order to be Star Trek.

32. The Great Ten (DC)
Another book spun from the mind of Grant Morrison (this time from the pages of ‘52,’ which for two years stood atop the QBs and thus acquired its legendary status, at least in my mind, just as the continuing dominance of Morrison and Geoff Johns over the same span of at least DC did theirs), featuring Chinese heroes (Super Young Team is, of course, Japanese). For so long, international superheroes was more a farce than anything, but ‘Great Ten’ is an excellent example of how easy it really is. From the first issue, I knew that the book was going to hit the QB50, and the second one only affirmed its status. With art from Scott McDaniel, who seemed born for this assignment, this will be a must-read mini-series throughout 2010.

33. Marvelous Land of Oz (Marvel)
It wasn’t until this book that I properly understood that Eric Shanower has two great obsessions in his life, the Trojan War (‘Age of Bronze’) and Oz. I admit that I skipped over ‘Wonderful Wizard of Oz,’ the adaptation of the first book and the most famous of Frank Baum’s series, partly because I was already familiar with it, both from the movie and the actual book, which I read years ago, but I was ignorant of the extent to which the Oz saga goes. Greg Maguire, your books don’t quite seem to understand that Oz is a land of whimsy, not drama, which ‘Marvelous’ captures vividly, an entirely surreal experience. Not long after reading the first issue, I got an offer in the mail to get each of the books in deluxe editions, an expense I had to bite my hand against. I already spend too much on one of my own obsessions!

34. The Complete Dracula (Dynamite)
The other great trend of the year was literary adaptations, not in the Illustrated Classics tradition, but so that they truly come to life and you feel the excitement of those putting them together. This, of course, is Bram Stoker’s classic. Even if you know it, this is well worth following, partly because it’s another book that appreciates the need for good commentary with every issue.

35. Green Lantern Corps (DC) [2008 rank = 40, 2007 = 23]
Another book that never seems to get the QB respect it’s due, this was actually a really good year, with Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason (one of my favorite artists, easily) tracking a number of important supporting material while also occasionally putting a hard spotlight on its exclusive characters. Issues 35 and 36 explain how important Sinestro is to Soranik Natu, for instance, while Natu also becomes romantically linked to Kyle Rayner. The series can sometimes become trapped in the mentality that it’s almost there to feature all the dramatic space battles Green Lantern events dictate, and it becomes a little distracting. But following Mongul and Kryb and Arisia in their private dramas is always worth it.

36. Final Crisis: Superman Beyond/Final Crisis Secret Files (DC) [2008 rank = 23]
Grant Morrison concludes ‘Superman Beyond,’ his companion book that helps explain how important Superman is to ‘Final Crisis’ and vice versa, while ‘Secret Files’ helps vintage creator Len Wein revisit key villain Libra in a throwback tale that’s also completely modern, a trick Wein pulls off again in ‘Justice League of America #29’ with Starbreaker.

37. Power Girl (DC)
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, along with artist extraordinaire Amanda Conner, do the impossible and give Power Girl her own book. Impossible? Only because, incredibly, it’s never been done (she was once added to Chris Clairmont’s classic ‘Sovereign Seven,’ though, as a display of star power). You’d never understand why after reading an issue of this series, because it reads so effortlessly, it’s easily DC’s own ‘Incredible Hercules.’ Just absolute magic.

38. Red Robin (DC) [Robin 2008 rank = 11, 2007 = 44]
Robin has always been a favorite character, and Fabien Nicieza helped make him a standout last year once again, so when Tim Drake went all nutters attempting to prove Bruce Wayne is still alive by aligning himself with the League of Assassins and dawning the Red Robin costume last worn by Jason Todd in ‘Countdown to Final Crisis,’ it turned out surprisingly well. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to imagine Tim on his own, even though he’s always been, right from the start. This time it’s because he wants to be, more than he has to be, so turning his back on his friends and allies seems as temporary as that time Bill Willingham took him out of the Robin costume, or Bruce Wayne’s absence.

39. Justice League of America (DC) [2008 rank = 18, 2007 = 24]
The Justice League failed to stay relevant both in its own book and for this reader, who got his big shiny reward when James Robinson was finally announced as coming to the main book after launching the stellar limited series ‘Cry for Justice,’ bringing with him Mark Bagley. These days, it’s as much tradition to ruminate on the League itself as tell stories featuring the League, so it’s not like anything new has been done this year. But really, it’s time to start telling some Justice League adventures again. This year’s handful of issues from the collaboration cover Blackest Night material, and open up room for a new line-up ready to take over in 2010.

40. Mister X: The Condemned (Dark Horse)
When I started shopping at Midtown, that was the first I heard of the new ‘Mister X,’ Dean Motter’s signature creation of technology and psychology run amok. This book’s actually a retelling of the Mister X saga, but in any form, this is still some of the best comics not featuring superheroes or trying to be clever and/or slice of life.

41. Superman: World of New Krypton (DC)
I spent the first few issues convinced that Geoff Johns was writing this, but as it turns out, this was a jam session between Greg Rucka and James Robinson, exploring, well, the world of New Krypton, in all the dirty politics therein. It can sometimes seem weird to know you’re reading Superman, because here he’s just Kal-El, and he has no familiar associations around, only Zod (when he isn’t suffering debilitating assassination attempts) and Alura, his aunt and Supergirl’s mom. With the regular Superman titles carrying on in more or less a “Reign of the Supermen” situation, it’s still kind of weird knowing that Superman is still around. It gets convoluted every time the other titles try to pretend that Superman isn’t around, or that he can somehow be made to look like an enemy of Earth. That’s why this has been the best place to read Superman. Okay, so the book’s also good.

42. Talisman: Road of Trials (Del Rey)
I absolutely did not expect this one. With the success of the Dark Tower and ‘The Stand’ comics, book publisher Del Rey got into the act with an adaptation of this Stephen King/Peter Straub collaboration. I never had found out what the book was all about, but as it turns out, the tale of Jack Sawyer is all about an alternate reality that butts up against our own in surprising ways.

43. Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye (Vertigo)
Grant Morrison in a completely irreverent continuation of one of his side projects that could have served as an ironic commentary of his own ‘Final Crisis.’ Three issues that don’t do anything dramatic, but are just fun to read.

44. Galactica 1980 (Dynamite)
While all the attention in the Battlestar Galactica community has been on the reinterpretation that’s just concluded, there suddenly opened up a chance to revisit the final year of the original series, with Marc Guggenheim either making a mockery of its poor reputation, or merely making it a thousand times better. I don’t know which, but it’s made me curious to watch the episodes.

45. Batman (DC) [2008 rank = 1, 2007 = 4]
The title Grant Morrison rocketed into the atmosphere became almost an afterthought in 2009. Morrison himself concluded his run with issue 683, making way for Neil Gaiman’s requiem “Whatever Happened to the Cape Crusader,” which began in 684. The series picked back up with Judd Winick doing a few low-key but integral observations with Dick Grayson as the new Batman, then quickly, starting with 692, transitioned to Tony Daniel on story and art, basically telling his version of a sequel to ‘The Long Halloween’ and ‘Dark Victory,’ as if he didn’t already have enough tall orders to fill. It’s not that Winick and Daniel did bad work, but hey, they were no Grant Morrison.

46. Action Comics (DC) [2008 rank = 2, 2007 = 3]
Speaking of tall orders, Greg Rucka took on ‘Action Comics’ after the defining run from Geoff Johns, bringing with him newbies Nightwing (not that Nightwing, but rather Christopher Kent, Superman’s “son” from ‘Last Son,’ actually Zod’s boy) and his Kryptonian soul mate Flamebird, who only really started clicking as dramatic leads when their origin was told in ‘Action Comics Annual #12.’ It didn’t make sense how they and Mon-El were basically just dropped into the Superman books, but it worked out okay. This was the better, more consistent of the two. Also notable for the Captain Atom second feature, which basically carries on the tradition begun by the WildStorm series that was featured in the original QBs, making Atom a stranger in a strange land, for wont of anything more interesting (much less specifically character-driven) to do. At least it also incorporates Steel’s niece, Natasha Irons, who was last seen in ‘Infinity, Inc.’

47. Tangent: Superman’s Reign (DC) [2008 rank = 9]
I absolutely loved the early issues of this mini-series, which saw Dan Jurgens revisit the Tangent “skip week” reality, but I guess when I couldn’t find the final issues and had to order them through Midtown, my enthusiasm waned. Still, it’s pretty clever how ‘Superman’s Reign’ ended up reflecting the events of ‘Final Crisis’ by killing off Tangent Batman, too. I bet if I reread the whole thing, I would end up with a more rounded satisfaction.

48. Wednesday Comics (DC)
Pretty low on the list for an experiment I thoroughly enjoyed, or I guess, it might be said I was amused by. Neil Gaiman’s Metamorpho, The Flash, and Wonder Woman were the highlights of the twelve week Sunday funnies-size comic.

49. Zero Killer (Dark Horse)
I waited just as long to continue reading this as ‘Wasteland,’ but this time, it was because Arvid Nelson took a break, not the retailers. This was another post-apocalypse book that actually rewrote history so that it was basically present-day, the Twin Towers still stood, and were inhabited by rival gangs, to which Zero once belonged, until he finally worked up the courage to follow his dream.

50. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dynamite)
This adaptation of the classic Phillip K. Dick book, from which Ridley Scott’s equally classic ‘Blade Runner’ was derived, is an odd sort of book to read, with not a lot of natural beats to follow (it’ll apparently take twenty-four issues to complete), but still worth following all the same.

That’s concludes the QB50, but there’s still some QBs left to award, namely the titles of best writer, artist, and single issue, some of which might already be evident (I used to give one for best character, but I’ve decided to omit that one), but are worth singling out all the same:

Best Writer: Geoff Johns
It’s been a toss-up each year between Johns and Grant Morrison, but the edge has to go in Geoff’s favor, simply because he did more, and arguably more interesting things (it’s arguable to me, if not to others), with ‘Blackest Night,’ ‘Flash: Rebirth,’ ‘Superman: Secret Origin,’ and ‘Adventure Comics,’ not to mention his continuing work in ‘Green Lantern.’ I don’t really feel the need to justify it further.

Best Artist: Mauro Cascioli
This one’s always a little more difficult for me, because it’s so much harder to narrow down. I had Scott McDaniel for his work in ‘Trinity’ and ‘The Great Ten’ pegged at one point. Even though his style never changes, or hasn’t changed since I first saw it in ‘Nightwing,’ he always seems to mesh and look distinctive in his projects. J.H. Williams in ‘Detective Comics’ would have been an easy call, too, and was another early choice. But I had to go with Cascioli for his work in ‘Justice League: Cry for Justice.’ As I said, I’ve loved his work since ‘Trials of Shazam,’ and I love to champion artists who aren’t being talked about a whole lot. Mauro definitely deserves it.

Best Single Issue: ‘Air #7’
This was the issue that ultimately got me to award ‘Air’ series of the year, so it only stands that it would be issue of the year, because it sums up so perfectly what makes the book unique and impact. Again, there’s not much more to say than that, except to read it, you’ll instantly understand my love for ‘Air,’ and that in itself should say enough.

That’s it, then, the 2009 QBs, everyone. I look forward to seeing what 2010 has to offer.