Lower Decks

For the past few months, I’ve been tagging on a supplemental feature to my regular column, HYGOTS, in an attempt to further justify why I include the QB comics awards every year for a guy who doesn’t seem to talk about comics all that often. As I’ve explained in the past, prior to the relaunch of Lower Decks and the start of HYGOTS, I previously wrote a weekly column (in its final phase actually called ‘Weekly’) about comics for Paperback Reader.com, and it was there I began the QBs (where they started out as a top ten of my favorite comics from 2005, and expanded to fifty in 2006). During the transition between the two sites, I actually posted the same format at my semi-regular blog, Scouring Monk, and that’s where I really started to featured the QB designation (“QB” being short for ‘Quarter Bin,’ which was the original name of my comics column). But since HYGOTS, I haven’t really written, as I said, a whole lot about my comics experience beyond the QBs (first week of January for the past two years). It was sort of okay, because a previous contributor was writing a column about comics here, and he did a fine job of keeping the pulse alive. Except, now ‘Comics I Like’ has been absent for some time now, and as I said, I started to feel a little funny. And then I got to thinking, tacking something at the end of a column and not really acknowledging it in the front page teaser doesn’t do that much more justice, does it? Who’s really going to know? The solution seemed obvious.

Now, I read a lot of comics, but I’m not what you’d consider a real part of the wider comics community (part of the whole HYGOTS mentality, really). I guess I’ve learned over the years that I’m probably better off like that. On the rare occasion, I’ve had a friend turn me onto Jeff Smith, and that I’ve been grateful beyond words, but most other times, it’s things like, “You’ve got to read Brubaker’s ‘Captain America,’” or “‘Young Avengers’ is the hot new thing,” which I start reading, and Allan Heinberg chooses that moment to quit. The only real conversation I’ve ever had about comics in a comics store was about ‘The Twelve,’ about whether or not it was ever going to return (theoretically yes, it now seems). But I’m not really a Marvel guy, and most people don’t really want to talk DC, the company I’ve been faithful to since before, technically, I ever read comics, through a process of evolution that has gone well beyond brand loyalty.

Recently I read an essay that tried to argue that the diminishing readership of comics centers around an increasingly constricting nostalgia campaign that has reduced the available pool of fans to the point where it’s become virtually impossible to expand, despite the popularity of superheroes at the box office that has more than amply demonstrated the appeal they have with the general public. But being a fan of Star Trek and professional wrestling, I have other experiences that contradict any pure interpretation from within a given community. I know how petty fans can be, shifting their interests at the drop of a dime, sometimes for decades at a time, for no other reason than what originally fascinated them was no longer new, that they had no interest in being tied down with something they considered overly familiar. How to find a balance between pleasing long-term and short-term fans? It’s probably impossible. Any fan of ‘Lost’ will tell you it isn’t simply by setting a firm end-date. Any fan of soap operas will tell you it isn’t about ritual. It’s really just about being in the right place at the right time, quality and opportunity. If you’ve got what they want when they want it, then that’s what’s going to be popular, regardless of any other consideration. Comics were a hot commodity during WWII, when people really wanted to believe in heroes. Marvel cashed in on the rebellious ’60s to launch a new kind of hero. People were looking for gritty escapism in the ’80s, and comics were ready in any number of ways. Last decade, no one knew what to make of anything, and comics were there asking the same questions.

It’s a transition period, that’s all. When the recession hit, everyone assumed that comics would take one of the biggest hits, but the truth is, hardly any medium has responded with quite the same level of renewed enthusiasm and hope as comics. Marvel kept being Marvel, DC kept being DC, and smaller companies like Boom! Studios, IDW, and Dynamite Entertainment took it as an opportunity to expand, filling the void left by their predecessors at that level, Image and Dark Horse, neither of which seemed all that interested in asserting themselves, even though they’d been at the vanguard of the boom twenty years earlier. Costs have gone way up, so it’s only natural that people struggling to stay afloat wouldn’t make it their first priority to indulge in the incredible opportunity comics have afforded them to explore a medium more ready than ever to reach its potential, but it won’t be long before they realize, once the economy has stabilized, just who was busy making the most of it, who never slacked off, never gave up. I’m no economist, but the way I see it, the way to make things better for everyone is to quit taking things for granted, to quit squandering assets, whether they’re practical or bested suited for more recreational endeavors. The goal anyone has, the whole point of civilization, is to reach a point where relying on each other is second nature, where something like comics isn’t a luxury, but an ordinary feature of life. If you have people dedicating themselves to making comics their best when you’re at a point where it doesn’t seem practical, it’s not that these people don’t appreciate the hardships involved in recovering a sense of security, but that they’re kindling a sense of hope. It’s not about making their lives better, but making yours better, in the long run. What ruins an economy is short-term thinking. What improves it is long-term thinking. Comics creators demonstrated that they were willing to push themselves when it seemed like the least important thing in the world. That’s the kind of dedication we need.

So when I say I read a lot of comics, it’s not that I’m trying to say I have a lot of disposable income. Rather, quite the opposite. What I’m really saying is that I’m willing to support these creators and what they’re doing because they deserve it, for what they’re doing now and what they promise to do in the future, which will only be possible if the trust they engender now is allowed to blossom.

***

Now that the rather extended preamble is over, let me put in a few more words about the point of this column. Since January, I’ve written at the conclusion of each month about the comics I most enjoyed, were the most noteworthy, and the most likely to end up in the 2010 QB50. Because at one point I wrote about every comics I read, it’s been somewhat difficult to write only about certain ones, and ‘Comics I Like,’ much as it pains me, will still continue that trend. I select the twenty-five best comics, and cheat with a few more in a shortened section, and write about those at my accustomed length.

As always, the list is alphabetical.

1. Air #19 (Vertigo)
I may be waiting a long time before any real movement springs up around this title, but I’m as proud to be a fan of ‘Air’ as when I selected it as my favorite comic for the 2009 QB50 (as discussed in HYGOTS #64). G. Willow Wilson has been crafting an intricate and deliberate mythology since the first issue, methodically introducing former flight attendant Blythe to the concept of next-generation hyperpract flight technology and how its existence relates to the world around her. It involves both the concept of travel in a post-9/11 world, the ability to trust strangers, and familiar elements of our history, which started out by folding Amelia Earhart into the story last year. This issue Jules Verne informally joins the group when Blythe discovers a forgotten manuscript by the venerated elder of sci-fi literature at the culmination of her first official test as a hyperprax pilot. Her relationship with a serpent who appears to her when she travels, Quetzalcoatl, is also further explored, in a manner ‘Lost’ fans may find intriguing.

2. American Vampire #1 (Vertigo)
An ambitious attempt by the long-time mature readers DC imprint to capitalize on the vampire craze that apparently seems to be growing instead of shrinking, a lot of buzz around this title centers on famed horror novelist Stephen King, no stranger to the medium in recent years thanks to a continuing stream of his books being adapted in various forms to comics, taking on his first regular assignment with a regular co-feature in this title. Creator Scott Snyder handles the bulk of the material, but this effort to establish a uniquely American strain of vampire (hence, ah, the title) gets off to a fine start, diving deeply into character, as any good King story does, with elements set in the Old West and 1920s Hollywood.

3. The Anchor #6 (Boom!)
Phil Hester started out as a favorite artist of mine, but his efforts over the past several years to establish himself as a writer have culminated in this book, in which he has conjured a warrior trapped in the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell. This issues spells out how he became an agent of the former even while becoming tormented by the latter, a tragic history that reaches back to earlier issues and sets the stage for greater things to come. I’ve been on the fence as to my level of dedication to this book, but each month Hester seems to find a new reason to retain my interest, and increase it incrementally. This is probably the issue that solidifies the deal.

4. Azrael #6 (DC)
Comics fans like to debate the stagnancy of the medium by pointing out how few lasting new characters have been introduced in recent years (to overlook the contributions Image and its splinter companies have contributed, from Spawn to Invincible). Azrael never really seems to come up, even though the concept managed to outlive its inclusion in the “Knightfall” saga of Batman, sustaining an ongoing book for a hundred issues, and recently being reintroduced with a new face behind the mask. Fabien Nicieza wasted little time establishing what he intended to do with the concept, affirming right from the first issue that he knew Azrael, character or comics property, was, well, somewhat cursed. This is another issue released last month that serves as an excellent point readers might use to determine whether or not a series is worth following, delving deeply into the mythology and coming up with strong material. Michael Lane has already been determined to reach a bad end. This is not only an issue that will help determine how, but what he ends up doing with the time he has.

5. Batgirl #8 (DC)
Stephanie Brown is another important new addition to mainstream lore, who from the start, when she was introduced as Spoiler, was integral to Tim Drake’s early attempts at asserting his independence, then under the guise of Robin, a role Stephanie herself took over for a time, before apparently becoming the second one to die in the line of duty. As a more fully-realized conception of the dynamic between Dick Grayson (the first Robin) and Barbara Gordon (the first Batgirl), Tim and Stephanie’s relationship has been a highlight since the start, and it’s only gotten better since she returned a few years ago. Now that she has accepted the role of Batgirl, she has her own series, and this is a great issue to appreciate all of this, because Tim visits. It’s a crossover that continues in ‘Red Robin,’ but this is the better book to read them in, at least this time.

6. Batman #697 (DC)
Dick Grayson has been Batman for months now, and while it’s easy to say he’s best read in that role in Grant Morrison’s ‘Batman and Robin,’ that book has a great many things on its mind. Tony Daniel has gotten to explore Dick a little more intimately, and has chosen to do so with the villainous figure of Black Mask, as well as the Falcone family. It’s easy to make comparisons between what Daniel has been doing here and what Ed Brubaker has done with Bucky in ‘Captain America,’ but where Brubaker has favored spending his time on deliberate storytelling, Daniel has allowed Dick to be caught up in the mire of his foes, so that at times, you can forget that you aren’t reading Bruce Wayne’s Batman, only to remind you that it’s Dick. Dick has held the mantle before, in the wake of the mess the previous Azrael once made of things, the last time Bruce was out of commission, but never quite like this. Whatever happens when Bruce returns, Daniel seems content in letting him have a lasting impression, a legacy in his cases, both in ways older fans will appreciate, and ways that will be significant for Dick as well. Strides are being made, history is being made. He is becoming a part of the Batman legacy, not as Robin, but as Batman. This issue, the identity of the current Black Mask is revealed, and Dick’s relationship with Catwoman evolves as well. It’s different from Bucky as Cap in that Captain America is not Batman. Captain America is as much symbol as he is anything, and while Bruce Wayne created Batman as a symbol, he has long since become something more. There’s a community that exists because Batman was created. You can have Red Skull with an eternal vendetta, plots and schemes and all that, but the Falcon, Sharon Carter, their lives may revolve a great deal around Captain America, but without him, they continue, but are less significant. With Batman, there’s a significance that has taken years to grow, and it continues organically around him, regardless of who’s behind the mask, but especially because it’s Dick behind it. It makes sense when you’re reading Tony Daniel’s ‘Batman.’

7. Batman and Robin #10 (DC)
But the legacy is so rich, there’s much to explore. What Morrison’s been doing since he first came aboard ‘Batman’ was enrich it to what he considered its potential. He quickly set about establishing Bruce Wayne’s son Damian, conceived by Talia, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, a foe heavily featured in ‘Batman Begins,’ but whom only Morrison seemed capable of tackling properly in the comics, the lasting impact others had established but failed to capitalize on. When Bruce Wayne vanished at the end of ‘Final Crisis,’ Dick Grayson became Batman, and Damian became the new Robin, probably the most ingenious and logical move possible, and again, only Grant Morrison would have done it. In many ways, that’s what this book is all about, further establishing Damian, whom Morrison already tapped as a future Dark Knight in ‘Batman #666,’ who from the start has been attempting to make his way from the paths set out for him by his mother and father. This issue flashes back to conversations he had with his mother after recovering from rather extensive rehabilitation, and explores clues Bruce has left concerning his fate, right inside Wayne Manor. It’s a tease, sure, because Morrison’s ‘Return of Bruce Wayne’ comic will be starting next month, but as long as he has the opportunity, right?

8. Blackest Night #8 (DC)
Another debate comics fans love these days is the real value of a single driving creator, which Marvel has had with Brian Michael Bendis for the past five or so years, and DC has with Geoff Johns. Are these guys actually assets, or have they been driving a more destructive agenda that won’t be sustainable when they inevitably move on? Johns has revolutionized the Green Lantern franchise, and ‘Blackest Night’ has been the event he’s been working toward since ‘Rebirth,’ exploring the idea of the power ring and how its source is actually conceived. Building on concepts that have been around for decades, that trace DC’s history all the way back to the Big Bang and how a rogue Guardian of the Universe (the little blue Oans whose homeworld houses the central Green Lantern power battery) created the multiverse when he tried to find some benefit for himself (viewers of last week’s ‘Fringe’ might consider parallels), Johns first recontextualized Parallax as the personification of Fear, the source of the yellow ring that Sinestro eventually built his own corps around, and then introduced the Blue, Red, Orange Lanterns, the Indigo Tribe, brought the Star Sapphires into the fold, and eventually, the Black Lanterns, around whom ‘Blackest Night’ folded, and this issue collapsed around, when the villainous Nekron, personification of death itself, lost his tether in Black Hand, an old foe of Hal Jordan’s amplified by the story. Now, cleverly, Johns took ‘Blackest Night’ as an opportunity to address why DC’s heroes have a hard time staying dead (and to bring a few more back this issue), the nature of existence, both for the characters and for the reader, making it much more than just another event book, elevating it to the point where DC could have a crisis without redefining itself once again so much as giving everyone a chance to sit back and reflect just what everything is really worth. Bringing back Aquaman and Martian Manhunter is certainly one thing, but bringing back Hank Hall and Maxwell Lord affords storytelling possibilities that were only becoming apparent when these characters truly got interesting. ‘Blackest Night’ became, in the end, an argument for possibilities, not in the way a multiverse introduces variables, but a challenge for other creators to do what Johns has been doing since ‘Rebirth,’ truly taking an opportunity and running with it.

9. Daytripper #4 (Vertigo)
From the expansive back to the intimate, this is the kind of comic I think people should have in mind when they want to talk about alternatives, which a lot of people frequently do, mostly because they’re embarrassed about the superheroes, who they think can never be taken seriously. Now, when these people talk about alternatives, they’re not usually thinking about some smaller publisher and whatever they’re attempting to put out in the usual monthly format, but rather graphic novels that take comics form without the bother of the comics reading schedule, the meat and potatoes of the medium. (Could I ever be a “wait for the trade” kind of reader? Well, probably, on the whole, no. I don’t think it’s quite the same that way.) ‘Daytripper’ is a constant exercise in contradiction of these assumptions. A single life is examined every issue, and every month, there’s another way to define it. A simple approach, taken anew each time, as only a monthly comic could represent it.

10. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #9 (Boom!)
One of two issues that shipped this month, as literal an adaptation as you’ll ever find, the exact text of the Philip K. Dick book that inspired ‘Blade Runner’ transposed with the comics format. I’ve been reading from the start, but this is probably the first time an issue really grabbed me. Not only are the events here not present in the film version (I’ll admit now that until now, I’ve never read the book), they’re also ridiculously compelling. Rick Deckard, in the midst of his effort to retire Luba Luft, an android posing as an opera singer, is taken into custody by a police department he doesn’t recognize, and vice versa. The following issue continues the drama, but if you want the shock, you can really appreciate it with this one. The issue also sees the first part of a Jonathan Lethem essay on Dick that continues a tradition that nearly every issue has carried from the start, famous personalities ruminating on their passion for the author. For those keeping score, March’s releases put the series squarely on track with the book, with the tenth issue coinciding exactly with the tenth chapter of the book. The comic has twenty-four planned issues, which will certainly make it interesting to see how that works out, since there are only twenty-two chapters…

11. First Wave #1 (DC)
The apparent failure of the Red Circle initiative certainly makes it a dicey proposition for DC to have launched this latest expansion effort, revolving around Doc Savage and The Spirit (who’s had a comic relaunch in recent years and a movie that didn’t exactly catch fire as it is), among other vintage human superheroes. But Brian Azzarello should at least have some luck here, where he gets to have a contained story to explore these characters in, immersing himself as deeply as he wants. Doc Savage has been described as a prototype Superman (Ed Brubaker, in an essay he did for his ‘Incognito’ series), but few modern readers are all that familiar with him. ‘First Wave’ does a good job of making him immediately readable, though, so it’s not really much of a problem.

12. G.I. Joe: Cobra II #3 (IDW)
The book is going to be monthly come June, so I hesitated reminding readers that this is the second mini-series. Why it wasn’t a part of the monthly schedule from the start is a mystery, because Mike Costa’s approach to center a new examination of how Cobra was first discovered around the previously undistinguished figure of Chuckles was gold from the start. Since partnering with Christos Gage, it hasn’t slowed down, either, as Chuckles has been plotting his revenge even as the specter of his dead girlfriend Jinx has surfaced in the form of Chameleon, while within Cobra itself, Erika Le Tene has been questioning her involvement, which isn’t hard when figures like Crystal Ball and Croc Master are your only real ties to the greater scheme beyond the Paoli brothers, Tomax and Xamot, who are hardly a unified front. It helps to be familiar with the mythos, but you don’t need to be a G.I. Joe fan to appreciate this book, brilliant in its sustained moody atmosphere and sense of controlled urgency. A consistent must-read, one of the best books on the market. The Howard Chaykin covers are also an awesome touch.

13. The Great Ten #5 (DC)
Tony Bedard is becoming one of DC’s featured writers, but this is going to be his signature books for some time to come. The company has had a history of great books featuring unknown or obscure characters readers unfairly overlook. At least this one’s planned at ten issues, so there isn’t any fear of cancellation. Based on characters created for ‘52,’ ‘The Great Ten’ has been an exemplary character book from the start, because each issue, it literally studies a different character, a member of the eponymous Chinese superhero team, taking the opportunity to explore traditional comic book themes in a new context, and evolving a central story at the same time. August General in Iron, the leader of the Great Ten, is in the spotlight, and as his origin unfolds, new secrets of the series arc are also examined. Like ‘G.I. Joe: Cobra,’ a consistent must-read.

14. Hunter’s Fortune #s 3-4 (Boom!)
Now I’ve got to admit, I originally became interested in this book because it was written by Caleb Monroe, a creator I first discovered during my Digital Webbing days (when I discovered that fledging creators can make it just as difficult to learn how to break in as help; Caleb was the rare exception), but what drew me in was how the story gradually expanded not just into an adventure in the form of a treasure hunt, but how it cleverly enveloped the King Arthur element. You might consider this ‘Da Vinci Code’-lite, but I found it charming and enjoyable, a return to the kind of storytelling I liked so much in ‘Blue Beetle.’ These issues were either delayed, or Midtown Comics had its own issues. Regardless, it was worth the wait.

15. Incorruptible #4 (Boom!)
Mark Waid has been struggling since ‘Kingdom Come’ and ‘Empire’ to find a worthy follow-up to his work on ‘The Flash.’ This is a statement that readers of his runs on ‘Captain America,’ ‘Legion of Super-Heroes,’ or ‘The Brave and the Bold’ may find offensive, but it’s just this side of opinion. He hasn’t really tapped into something truly special since Wally West’s connection to the Speed Force, until he envisioned the Plutonian, and here he is with his second ongoing series around that concept, the fallen Superman and the world he leaves in his wake. Max Damage was the ultimate foe who suddenly realizes he’s found himself in a role-reversal situation of his own, which his own running mate Jailbait doesn’t want to accept. This is a fine issue to read into some of the nuances, how difficult it is change a reputation, to do the right thing, and take unpopular steps in that direction.

16. Joe the Barbarian #3 (Vertigo)
Grant Morrison is not known to make his storytelling approach obvious. Sometimes, he’s gotten around it by making his ends obvious instead, such as the anarchistic ‘Invisibles,’ or the superhero deconstruction in ‘Animal Man,’ but recently, he’s been going out of his way to do exactly what he wants, how he wants. He took on ‘JLA,’ ‘All Star Superman,’ and Batman in attempts to update superheroes with concepts he liked from previous eras, revamped the idea of the team in ‘Seven Soldiers of Victory,’ tried to take mutants kicking and screaming back into advancing plots with ‘New X-Men,’ and turned the event book on its head with ‘Final Crisis.’ ‘Seaguy,’ well, that was just him messing around. ‘Joe the Barbarian,’ though, is another story. This is Grant’s idea of fantasy. I haven’t read ‘We3,’ but I imagine that’s what he was doing there, too, just his version of storytelling without a lot of the usual restraints. He’s allowing himself to do exactly what he wants. As a result, you’re literally at his mercy, and it’s amazing. I love a book like ‘Mice Templar,’ but sometimes, I just don’t want to be led by the hand. I want the creator to let loose, no matter how little makes sense. Grant’s great for letting his associations run wild (he’s the comic book equivalent of Thomas Pynchon, which I’m learning as I’ve navigated ‘Against the Day’). It makes sense in a nonsensical sort of way. It’s like reading a dream.

17. Justice League: Cry for Justice #7 (DC)
I’ve been championing this book from the start, so it only makes sense to mark the end, too. James Robinson, a creator who very much likes to control his environment, has been participating in trends before anyone realized the trends were there, and culminating this character study series with Green Arrow’s murder of Prometheus maybe doesn’t resolve the things that earlier issues were doing, but does put the writer squarely on the map as a creator affecting the regular DC universe at least. It’s been a long time coming. Since he transitioned to the regular ‘Justice League of America’ book, he gets the chance to continue the themes started here regardless of what ‘Cry for Justice’ ultimately accomplished, which I can be happy with. Maybe if he were the continued driving force behind ‘Rise and Fall,’ I might be more interested (no offense, J.T. Krul), but sometimes, things take on a life of their own.

18. Justice Society of America #37 (DC)
However this story eventually resolves itself, it’s about as clever a thing as Bill Willingham could have done to properly introduce himself to the JSA. I haven’t read ‘Fables,’ but I was a fan of his work on ‘Shadowpact,’ which he never got around to truly satisfying with a complete and weighty story, something he was always teasing with the cast of characters he liked to explore, but never truly expand. Maybe doing an arc where you know things won’t stay this way is cheating, but the Fourth Reich triumph over the team of Michael “Mr. Terrific” Holt’s struggle to reconcile his survival and in effect cooperation gets turned on its head this issue when we learn there is resistance brewing, and Bruce Wayne is about to sacrifice himself to ensure its success. It’s twisty good.

19. Milestone Forever #2 (DC)
Let’s face facts: there are only really two comic book universes, DC’s and Marvel’s, and it’s been that way for decades. When Image sprang up, there was a resurgence of new creations, but none of them really overlapped (until ‘Image United,’ of course). Then books like ‘Astro City,’ ‘Rising Stars,’ ‘Project Superpowers’ appeared, attempts to duplicate not only ‘Marvels’ and ‘Kingdom Come,’ but the success of their true predecessor, ‘Watchmen.’ WildStorm exists today as an imprint at DC (and one of the 52 alternate realities), but its success rests in the wake of Milestone, an earlier DC imprint that attempted to create a line of black superheroes, and persisted for a number of years before collapsing, its only real legacy being the cartoon spin-off ‘Static Shock,’ which eventually helped bring the characters back as another company folded into DC’s existing stock. ‘Milestone Forever’ is a belated eulogy, and this issue lays to rest Static and Hardware as they were originally envisioned. Static currently exists as a member of the Teen Titans, and the Milestone heroes have recently made appearances in other books, but this is still a powerful testament to the attempt to have them stand on their own, crafted by some of the original creators, with an ending that like the New Gods, leaves the door open for a new beginning. I’d be happy for that to happen, whenever that may be. This time I vow to pay better attention.

20. RASL #7 (Cartoon)
‘Bone’ is now a fixture in bookstores, having completed a reprinting cycle via Scholastic that makes the original volumes available in color editions certain to attract readers to the epic adventure that happens to feature a couple of cartoon cousins. Jeff Smith, meanwhile, has moved onto another of those comics that might interest viewers of ‘Fringe,’ where a saga of alternate realities and the consequences of breaking down barriers continue to unfold. Rob Johnson was once a scientist dedicated to the legacy of Nikola Tesla, a task he inadvertently complicated when started drifting through realities via a harness only he knows how to operate. Somehow he became known as Rasl. His story continues and grows ever more intriguing each issue.

21. Scalped #36 (Vertigo)
When I first saw the Vertigo imprint advertised in DC commercials almost two decades ago, I had no idea that I would eventually be such a regular reader, certainly not after a skipped over ‘Sandman’ and most of ‘Y: The Last Man.’ But it’s a tradition I’ve grown to appreciate, and for me, symbolized best in ‘Air’ and this book, which explores the complexities of Native American society in the modern world. While most issues revolve around the ruthless Red Crow and Bad Horse, the FBI agent assigned to bring him down, Jason Aaron is at heart of studier of character, and so he leaves frequent pauses open so he can go off on tangents, which include this issue and the figure of Shunka, one of Red Crow’s enforcers, and the odd secrets he holds. A frequently devastating but always rewarding read.

22. Star Trek: The Official Motion Picture Adaptation #2 (IDW)
If you really want to see the difference between comic book and screen storytelling (and want to ignore the overused “no budgets” explanation), you can read this comic, which adapts the popular 2009 Star Trek reinvention pretty directly, taking detours only with material those who got the DVD could have seen already. But the storytelling is different all the same. Faced with static images for a fairly kinetic story, the comic instead turns its attention to the possibilities word balloons offer, how grouping lines of dialogue can affect just as dramatically a well-crafted sequence in action and music. You don’t need examples. You just need to read this latest example of how perfectly IDW, out of everyone who’s attempted it over the years, captures Star Trek on the comic book page.

23. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Fool’s Gold #4 (IDW)
If I’ll consent other publishers have done Star Trek justice in the past, it’s a fair bet that no one else has captured ‘DS9’ quite so perfectly. Instead of playing with that “no budgets” concept (which may unfairly characterize my prior experiences with such efforts), this comic is content to let the characters and character of the series speak for themselves. Garak, by the way, gets to steal the conclusion, quite literally, which may be the only quibble here. Would the “plain, simple” Cardassian tailor really act so selfishly in a move that has no real meaning for him? Maybe that’s a possibility such comics can legitimately explore. I beg IDW for more.

24. Stephen King’s N. #1 (Marvel)
Marc Guggenheim’s been a favorite of mine for years, so he’s the only reason I gave this one a shot. While I’ve gradually become a big fan of King’s, I was unfamiliar with this story, which came from the short story collection ‘Just After Sunset,’ and no preview I saw told me enough about it to really entice me. Now, granted, the Dark Tower comics were a good start, ‘The Stand’ comics great, and even Del Rey’s ‘Talisman’ has been amusing, I wasn’t sure I was ready for another. At this point, it seemed like rank exploitation. I didn’t know Marvel had previously used Guggenheim to adapt “N.” for its website. So when I read the issue, I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome it was. At this point, I’ll reference the undervalued movie ‘Fourth Kind’ as shorthand, as a psychological abduction tale that can be related to this story. One of those you-need-to-read-to-believe deals.

25. The Twelve: Spearhead (Marvel)
When J. Michael Straczynski started working on his movie career in earnest and at DC, it seemed he’d left ‘The Twelve’ behind. ‘The Twelve’ was brilliant. ‘The Twelve’ was genius. It was a stab at ‘Watchmen’ storytelling, and it totally worked. It was, in concept, like Captain America being revived in the present, with eleven of his good WWII buddies, no Avengers to help the transition, just there you are. Make it work. So it was terrible when I gradually realized new issues weren’t just being delayed, they might possibly never come. This is a one-shot from the artist, Chris Weston, carrying on both duties, a flashback to the war as the characters meet each other for the first time, a reflection both on the continued potential of the series as on the impact of superheroes in real world settings. For the uninitiated, it should probably pique some interest. For those still waiting, it makes you salivate. We’re now told the series will be completed. Just don’t know when that’ll be. Hey, did I tell you the one about ‘All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder’…?

Also…

‘Action Comics #887’ (DC) Greg Rucka in the best post- New Krypton book, featuring Flamebird, Nightwing/Chris Kent, and Kryptonian hijinx; ‘Adventure Comics #9’ (DC) Notably, Brainiac-5 reflecting on his legacy; ‘Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way #s 1-2 (Marvel) A bevy of new artists in character studies; ‘Green Lantern #52’ (DC) Geoff Johns fleshing out White Lantern Sinestro and the history lesson; ‘Green Lantern Corps #46’ (DC) Guy Gardner and Ice, almost exactly like old times; ‘Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1’ (Marvel) Eulogies for the fallen Herc from Van Lente and Pak; ‘Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal #1’ (DC) J.T. Krul attempts to help Roy Harper carry his own title again; ‘Magog #7’ (DC) Magog realizes he’s on his own; ‘Nemesis: The Impostors #1’ (DC) Wonder Woman’s one-time beau is finally on his own!; ‘Power Girl #10’ (DC) PG led around by fanboy, learns Terra has been taken over by Ultra-Humanite; ‘Red Robin #10’ (DC) Second half of Batgirl reunion for ol’ Tim Drake; ‘Resurrection #9’ (Oni) Marc Guggenheim has fun with post-alien invasions and the quasi-religions that spring up after them!; ‘Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time #1’ (Dynamite) Seriously, how is this not just a rehash of Lord of the Rings?; ‘Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #1’ (DC) Brainiac is finally back, and he brought Lex Luthor with him; ‘The Stand: Soul Survivors #5’ (Marvel) Brings the adaptation to midway point; ‘X-Men: Second Coming #1’ (Marvel) Mutants, Hope, and Bastion, oh my!; ‘The Web #7’ (DC) Only three more issues, better tie everything up…

That was March 2010 (there were other comics, too!). Now, onto April…