Lower Decks

Now, I assume it’s always preferable to truly enjoy the things you enjoy. I mention this because as far as comics go, I think 2010 has been a pretty good year so far. I won’t try and suggest it’s been a great year, with a lot of things everyone will still remember ten years from now, but as far as my comics experience goes, it’s been pretty memorable, with a lot of strong material, deep into the pile, so to speak, so much so that, spoiler alert, there will be seventy-five ranked titles on the list that follows, which by no means is to be mistaken for the annual QB awards, but more like a rough draft (I fully intend to limit the 2010 QB50 exactly to that, where it’s been for three of the four years I’ve been doing it, with the first year limited to an even more exclusive ten). Some of what follows will be ongoing series, others limited, with a few individual issues sprinkled throughout.

1. Air (Vertigo)
The book has actually been cancelled at this point, with two issues remaining to be published, but I still can’t help (it was ranked at this spot in the 2009 QB50) consider it the finest comics material I’ve been reading, regardless of its lack of a popular audience. Blythe’s journey this year has reunited her with star-crossed lover Zayn, added Jules Verne and ‘The Little Prince’ author Antoine de St. Exupery to the famous historical figures alongside Amelia Earhart that have been enveloped in the story, and generally continued along G. Willow Wilson’s path of euphoric literary storytelling.

2. The Great Ten (DC)
Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel took a kernel of an idea Grant Morrison had (featured previously in the landmark series ‘52’) and exploded it into a socio-historical survey of China and what kind of heroes it would produce. I would not even hesitate to compare this book to ‘Watchmen.’

3. Scalped (Vertigo)
Jason Aaron has developed a reputation and stature in his work for Marvel, but here’s what you really should be reading, a consistently compelling and gut-wrenching exploration of Native Americans in the modern world.

4. G.I. Joe: Cobra (IDW)
In the rare instance of something I love getting a popular dose of encouragement, this book started out the year as the second mini-series from the creative team of Mike Costa, Christos Gage, and Antonio Fuso, but was eventually promoted to ongoing series, following the journey of Chuckles into the emerging reality of the threat posed by Cobra, a sort of James Bond meets G.I. Joe: Year One that’s been consistently stellar, introducing a continuing stream of established characters into the mix in new and dynamic ways.

5. RASL (Cartoon)
Jeff Smith continues his second great comics creation, throwing a heavy dose of Nikola Tesla into the mix in the few issues he’s managed to release so far this year, broadening and expanding on the mythology so far introduced in Rob Johnson’s journey through alternate realities, chased every step of the way by those who would use the technology he helped develop for far less benign reasons.

6. Wasteland (Oni)
Speaking of personally beloved indy comics struggling to get new issues published very frequently, this one’s my favorite post-apocalypse, lately putting the spotlight on individual characters, demonstrating how their unique perspectives and positions in this less-than-ideal society more than adequately keeps the story going while Antony Johnston and Christopher Mitten take their well-deserved time. Johnston, meanwhile, is getting some mainstream at Marvel these days, helping to guide Daredevil through his latest crisis.

7. The Twelve: Spearhead (Marvel)
It’s been many months since ‘The Twelve’ as a mini-series has delivered a new issue, possibly because writer J. Michael Straczynski has been distracted by Hollywood and DC, but artist Chris Weston finally gave fans some relief with this one-shot, a flashback to WWII, where the characters originally came from and met each other. Heck, at this point, and especially with this example, I wouldn’t be upset if Weston completed the mini-series himself.

8. Brightest Day (DC)
For two years, ‘52’ topped the QBs. This is the time DC has delivered a quasi-follow-up that has a chance to duplicate that feat. Geoff Johns and Pete Tomasi share writing duties in this sequel to ‘Blackest Night,’ featuring the twelve characters resurrected at the end of that event, led by Deadman, in the stroke of genius that really got me excited about the project, and so far, I haven’t been disappointed. Through five bi-weekly issues, the rotating arcs have developed nicely.

9. Batman and Robin (DC)
One of my favorite writers, certainly over the period I’ve been doing the QBs, has been Grant Morrison, and this has been his baby since “Batman R.I.P.” and ‘Final Crisis’ last year. Issue #8 has been my favorite one so far, featuring the revelation that the corpse Superman brought back with him was one of Darkseid’s Batman clones, as well as Batwoman and the best use of the Crime Bible concept since ‘52.’ Damian has continued to develop nicely, meanwhile, while Dick Grayson has been able to demonstrate his detective skills, and not just as he’s scoured Wayne Manor for clues concerning a certain figure’s return.

10. [forty-five] 45 (Com.X)
From the mind of Andi Ewington comes this innovative graphic novel that tracks expectant father James Stanley as he interviews forty-five Super-S gene individuals (superheroes), with a page for the graphics (each from a different artist) and the next with the interview. Published out of the UK and snatched up pretty quickly, I had some fun tracking this one down, but it was definitely worth the effort. Hopefully it’ll be talked about for years to come.

11. The Stand: Soul Survivors/Hardcases (Marvel)
This adaptation of the Stephen King book continues to be the most significant of the efforts in recent years to make the horror (I would say human) master a staple in comics, finally reaching the confluence points in Nebraska and Las Vegas.

12. The Mighty (DC)
Pete Tomasi exercised some independent muscles putting this one together, a creator-owned mini-series with the twelfth and concluding issue completing his version of the Superman saga going horribly wrong, something that a number of writers have been looking at recently. But this was the best one.

13. Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (DC)
Using the kind of framework he employed with ‘Seven Soldiers of Victory,’ Grant Morrison continues his epic Batman run with the inevitable return of the most famous man behind the cowl, exploring different historic eras (and favorite pulp scenarios, from cavemen to pirates) as Bruce Wayne struggles along his way, trying to adapt at each stop, and figure out what’s going on.

14. The Marvelous Land of Oz (Marvel)
Eric Shanower and Skottie Young continue their adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s famous fantasy creation, this time beyond the story of Dorothy Gale, but featuring no less beguiling a cast of misfits, and storytelling that’s as enchanting as ever.

15. Star Trek – The Official Motion Picture Adaptation (IDW)
Now, normally I really wouldn’t consider adaptations of any kind all that noteworthy, at least in comparison to original comics work, but there seems to be a lot of good stuff going on at the moment. This one’s managed to draw a lot of interesting comics reading out of a pretty straight version of the movie released last summer, with some material previously seen in home video releases added in. Issue #2 would be a good one to see what I mean about this one.

16. Stephen King’s N. (Marvel)
Previously adapted by Marc Guggenheim for Marvel’s website, this is an expanded version, of a psychological story from King’s ‘Just After Sunset’ that’s repetitive, but in an entirely compelling manner. Given that a lot of the comics being made from King’s books are more well-known, this was a well-chosen exception.

17. Power Girl (DC)
A consistently charming comic from Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Amanda Conner (who collectively completed their run with #12), and a remarkable demonstration that any character, however little established they actually are in the popular consciousness, can star in exceedingly readable material. While I wouldn’t say abandon ship now that a different creative team is onboard, it’s unlikely that the precise appeal practiced by the original team will be matched.

18. Justice Society of America (DC)
I have a pretty inconsistent relationship with Bill Willingham. I loved his work on ‘Shadowpact.’ I still have yet to care much about his acclaimed Vertigo book ‘Fables.’ But he has proven a resourceful successor to Geoff Johns on this book, eventually launching into “Fatherland,” a story centered around Mr. Terrific and an alternate nightmare of a future that happily and cleverly is rebooted by its conclusion.

19. Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
Well…as if no one has ever seen this story told before…But Geoff Johns and Gary Frank have reunited to breath new life into it, and while there have been considerable delays since its launch, it is still must-read material. Hey, Geoff, think you could write Superman on an ongoing basis again?

20. Mice Templar: Destiny (Image)
A new version – richly envisioned and with a keen sense of mythology, both its own and inspirational source material – of the heroic journey, which has just reached a culmination point, but with plenty more to say.

21. Green Lantern Corps (DC)
I’ve loved this book from the start, but never to this level. It’s as if ‘Blackest Night’ helped Pete Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and various other collaborators, including new writer Tony Bedard, fully realize the book’s potential, with memorable turns for Mogo, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and Soranik Natu (the one character created for the modern GLC with apparent staying power), plus recently, the Alpha Lanterns.

22. Joe the Barbarian (Vertigo)
Grant Morrison has from the start been known as a big ideas kind of guy, but often, he lets those ideas bounce around a few too many moving parts. Here is perhaps his most streamlined effort to date, with a lot of details that perhaps don’t ultimately matter, so much as the surreal journey of a hypoglycemic boy.

23. Blackest Night (DC)
Geoff Johns has been the other most consistent writerly presence in the QBs, and this is perhaps his best effort to date at competing with Morrison in the big ideas category, literally the culmination of all his Green Lantern work to date, which has finally pushed the concept into the popular consciousness (hey, bestseller status and movies aren’t often associated with it).

24. Hulk #23 (Marvel)
I don’t know why I forget so easily, but every time I read Jeph Loeb, I can’t help but feel as if I’m experiencing indisputably one of the finest writers in comics today. I haven’t kept up with his Hulk at all, and so possibly have stumbled into the very story a lot of lapsed readers have been waiting years for, the origin of the Red Hulk, which at least from my perspective, was probably worth the wait.

25. Green Lantern (DC)
It’s been difficult to distinguish between this title and ‘Blackest Night,’ in some ways, which is the only reason it ranks so low, because Geoff Johns is certainly one of my favorite writers, and he hasn’t been slacking off here. It’s really, I guess, because Hal Jordan is hardly ever at the center, by himself, of the book I assume should be his (I guess I channel Larfleeze in that sense), frequently sharing it with Carol Ferris and Sinestro these days. It’s been one epic after another in this book, actually, and that has not been a bad thing. It will certainly be interesting to see how long Johns keeps it up.

26. American Vampire (Vertigo)
The next best thing, or perhaps even better, to adapting Stephen King into comics is to actually have King himself write them. That’s what Scott Snyder figured out when presenting this idea to the author, who prompted set about collaborating with him in establishing a whole new breed of a really popular trend at the moment.

27. Daytripper (Vertigo)
An astonishingly profound examination of a single life a different way each issue, featuring the same characters and the same kind of piercing perspective about a man deeply, fatally committed to what gives him a sense of fulfillment.

28. The Incredible Hercules (Marvel)
When you aren’t a top-selling book, much less feature characters who haven’t topped a company’s marquee, it can sometimes be difficult to maintain your own book. Did I say sometimes? I mean, all the time. But Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente have already stretched a temporary assignment with Herc farther than it was ever intended to go. In the final issues of the series they took over from the Hulk (don’t worry about him; he got over it), a completely different kind of Greek tragedy saw the run end in the only way it could: with massive, epic death. But the story doesn’t end here.

29. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Fool’s Gold (IDW)
The first comic based on this particular Star Trek that actually seems comfortable inhabiting the feel of the series, this was a pretty incredible read, even if the art sometimes got away from it.

30. Red Robin (DC)
Chris Yost concludes his run on Tim Drake with #12, finally arriving at the epic confrontation with Ra’s al Ghul, and then Fabien Nicieza returns to the character and resumes what he was doing prior to “Batman R.I.P.” One of the most consistent characters in DC since his introduction some twenty years ago, Tim Drake is what a completely modern Dick Grayson would be like, but then, Dick’s been doing pretty well for himself these days, too.

31. Atomic Robo: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension (Red 5)
Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener are a powerful dynamo of a team, and Atomic Robo has been their baby for the past few years. You’d be hard-pressed to name a book that better depicts this kind of carefree yet completely controlled anarchy.

32. Resurrection (Oni)
Marc Guggenheim is one of the hardest working writers in the business, and is sought after by Hollywood, Marvel and DC, but his signature work is this book, which follows the aftermath of a devastating alien invasion, and the quagmire of politics that unexpectedly and yet inevitably follows.

33. The Flash (DC)
Returning to one of his most well-known projects, Geoff Johns may be writing Barry Allen this time, but his love for the Rogues clearly continues unabated, with the added ripple of the Renegades from the future throwing everything Barry assumes into the air. Like the early issues of his ‘Green Lantern’ series, Johns seems to be favoring pulling back from the mythology-heavy elements of the reboot in favor of a more intimate character exploration, at least to start off with.

34. Royal Historian of Oz (SLG)
Strangely enough, I really wasn’t that involved a fan of Oz until it came to comics. Along with the excellent Marvel adaptations already noted, here’s a recently launched book that looks at a reality where Oz is real, and it needs a human to bring in new inspiration for jaded readers in our world. Maybe all this attention will finally bring all the L. Frank Baum books back into print. It’s already made me finally discover the ‘Return to Oz’ movie that improved in accuracy over the more famous original film everyone thinks about when Oz normally enters the discussion. So who knows what the future actually holds. And maybe I’m becoming a fan after all…

35. Whatever Happened to the World’s Fastest Man? (Accent UK)
A second exceptional graphic novel from the world of English comics (the first being [forty-five]), this one explores a single individual who ends up discovering his ability to displace himself from regular time – around him time freezes for everyone else, but not for him, making it only seem like he’s a speedster – is as much a blessing as a curse, especially when he uses up the rest of his time rescuing the victims of a terrorist attack.

36. Red Hood: The Lost Days (DC)
One of the more controversial resurrections in modern comics was Jason Todd, and remarkably enough, he’s been used fairly sparingly since his return. Judd Winick, himself somewhat controversial, has launched this book in anticipation of the animated movie that will explores what this character means to Batman mythos.

37. Blackest Night: Director’s Cut (DC)
A lot of times, when a company does an issue like this, they do a lot of extras, sure, but this one really takes the cake, covering the entire ‘Blackest Night’ mini-series, with comments from just about every collaborator, including writer Geoff Johns that truly offers a behind-the-scenes perspective.

38. Wonder Woman #600 (DC)
Everyone knows that Wonder Woman makes up the third part of DC’s Trinity (you can figure out the other two), but pretty much throughout her existence, it’s been a more or less default distinction. No one’s going to argue that she’s gotten the kind of expansive, innovative storytelling that’s given us ‘The Dark Knight Returns,’ for example. But that is probably about to change, now that J. Michael Straczynski will be writing her, if the preview in this anniversary issue is any indication. Finally reaching past the basics of Wonder Woman’s origins, we may finally get to see what really makes her tick.

39. Superman/Batman Annual #4 (DC)
Batman Beyond returns in this special issue, and given the title it occurs in, we also get a pretty significant window into what kind of Superman exists in this future, and it turns out to be a pretty affecting one. Whether you read it for Batman Beyond or for the glimpse of the future, this one’s a must-read.

40. Siege: Young Avengers (Marvel)
I’ve made some pretty big strides past my previous bias against the House of Ideas in recent years, but that didn’t really stop me from considering the Dark Reign era to be a contrived extension of an even more contrived modern era (since at least ‘Civil War’), so I didn’t much care how it ended. But this one-shot is as good a representation of the Young Avengers as anyone has managed since Allan Heinberg retreated back to Hollywood after creating the definitive characters for my Marvel experience. But the good news is that Heinberg’s own follow-up – ‘Avengers: The Children’s Crusade’ – has already, at long last, begun!

41. Political Power – George W. Bush (Bluewater)
Bluewater has put much of its recent emphasis on biographical comics, so I was pretty happy when this one came around. No matter what you think about the man and his legacy, you’ll find something pretty interesting here. Using the text of his farewell address, the issue is a collage of images from throughout his eventful eight years in office, leaving it up to the reader to come to their own conclusions.

42. Star Trek: Captain’s Log – Harriman (IDW)
Another in a series of one-shots featuring some of the lesser known captains from Star Trek lore, this one examines the career of the one who saw Kirk “die” on his watch in ‘Generations,’ which is a topic that’s been explored before, but perhaps never better.

43. Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
James Robinson delivers his best work since ‘The Golden Age’ and ‘Starman’ with this book, whose final issues were released early in the year and helped set up the “Rise and Fall” arc for Green Arrow and his former protégé, Roy Harper. This would’ve been ranked a lot higher had the run in 2010 matched those from 2009, but the events here are uncomfortably inevitable, and obviously setting up things that don’t really give much of a finality to ‘Cry for Justice.’ Or maybe I just need to read it again. Either way, still a distinctive project.

44. The Power of Shazam! #48 (DC)
One of a slew of cancelled books “resurrected” by the Blackest Night event, and the best of them, picking up threads left by the excellent ‘52’ and ‘Black Adam: The Dark Age’ books from a few years ago, having a look at what the deceased Osiris might still have to say. He ended up being one of the twelve characters brought back at the end of ‘Blackest Night’ itself.

45. Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel)
Starting with #634, “The Grim Hunt” finally begins, with writer Joe Kelly. After half a year of “Gauntlet” revisits of old Spidey foes, a supposed precursor to the long-awaited return of Kraven the Hunter, it was about time, too. It was uncharacteristic of Brand New Day to take such a long look backward, especially since much of last year built so wonderfully forward, so I was glad when I could finally care again. Marc Guggenheim laid much of the groundwork for “Grim Hunt,” so it was a little surprising that he wasn’t there to write it himself, but Kelly has done a good job of it.

46. Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hunter (Marvel)
This is more or less a reprint one-shot featuring vintage Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Kraven tales, but Guggenheim provides a spare but effective framing sequence that brings a modern perspective to the proceedings, making it pretty clear that the character that has become so important to modern readers while being entirely absent will definitely still work.

47. Hercules: Fall of an Avenger/Heroic Age: Prince of Power (Marvel)
With the death of Herc at the end of ‘Incredible Hercules,’ one might have thought that Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente had hit a definitive dead end (ah, no pun intended), but that would be nonsense for those who’d actually been reading these adventures. There was still Amadeus Cho! Cho, Herc’s stalwart sidekick throughout his final tales, has been chosen by Athena to become the new Prince of Power (which is the reason she killed and/or banished Herc in the first place), and so the story continues, with Cho attempting to prove his heroic worth.

48. Starman #81 (DC)
Since he ended ‘Starman’ some ten years ago, James Robinson has managed to maintain his vow to stay away from Jack Knight to a remarkably frustrating degree (there was a time during the early days of ‘JSA’ when he co-wrote the character with Geoff Johns), so given the chance to make an exception…Well, the star of the issue is The Shade. Anyway, still another of the successful “resurrections” of Blackest Night cancelled book issues.

49. Irredeemable (Boom!)
Aside from the occasional ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ Mark Waid has made his home quite comfortably at Boom!, where he’s created this dystopian version of Superman, and the epic effort to oppose him from his old teammates in Paradigm. But the real strength of the book isn’t the struggle in the present, but in exploring everything that went wrong in the past.

50. The Web (DC)
Marc Guggenheim had a rare misstep as a transition writer on this book, which really didn’t need apologies, being to my mind still the best part of DC’s Red Circle efforts, which have since been folded into the team book ‘Mighty Crusaders.’ Matt Sturges, however, the writing partner of Bill Willingham, took over with #6, and spent the final five issues of the book bringing it back in order, with regular series artist Roger Robinson, one of the least appreciated creators in the game, improving on his own work by taking on inking duties as well.

51. The Anchor (Boom!)
Phil Hester completed five final issues of this book, a terrific look at a holy warrior waging the good fight against Hell, along the way heart-wrenchingly being pitted against his own beloved descendent, Hofi.

52. Fringe: Tales from the Fringe (WildStorm)
WildStorm has finally launched a second mini-series based on my favorite TV show, with the same quality as the first one. Peter Bishop stars in half of #1, with a look back at the kind of life he was leading prior becoming embroiled in the strange lives of Olivia Dunham and Walter Bishop, his estranged father.

53. DC Universe: Legacies (DC)
Legendary writer Len Wein is the guide behind this tour of DC’s heroic heritage, starting from the Golden Age and the Justice Society and working its way forward, which promises all kinds of awesomeness to come. Various high profile artists collaborate each issue.

54. Milestone Forever (DC)
Think of this final visit with the original Milestone universe like a belated series finale, fascinating both for those who read the original comics, and those just looking for a good story.

55. Legion of Super-Heroes (DC)
I’ve never been able to read a Legion comic on a regular basis. It isn’t that the enormous cast is impenetrable, but that most writers have been content to leave their stories squarely in the realm of an assumed interest in the characters, regardless of familiarity. With all the work Geoff Johns has done in recent years, the window finally opened to readers like me, though, and DC legend Paul Levitz has stepped back in to continue what Johns started, shockingly bringing xenophobic Earth-Man into the Legion and finally integrating the Green Lantern mythos into the equation.

56. Superman: War of the Supermen (DC)
The book that concluded the year-long New Krypton arc, General Lane, Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and General Zod are all defeated. I wouldn’t consider this a reboot, so much as exactly the conclusion that was necessary, given all the elements involved.

57. Incorruptible (Boom!)
Perhaps more fascinating than ‘Irredeemable,’ this is Mark Waid’s companion book, following the adventures of Max Damage, former supervillain, who now realizes with the Plutonian usurping the role he once played, he’s obligated to switch sides, and hopefully find some redemption. So far, the series has taken some cautious steps in exploring this idea, but I think its best days are ahead of it.

58. Die Hard: Year One (Boom!)
Comics legend Howard Chaykin wrote this book, a look at the beat cop career of John McClane, with a few stories that suggested early crises that helped shape the man he would become in the films. As much social (and historic) commentary and action book, this one deserves more attention, and more issues.

59. Superman: World of New Krypton (DC)
The best of the books chronicling the New Krypton era, James Robinson and Greg Rucka (who wrote ‘Superman’ and ‘Action Comics’ during that time, separately) explored the political quagmires Superman faced among his own people, the least of which, most of the time, were General Zod, which was by far the most clever aspect of the series.

60. Age of Bronze #30 (Image)
Eric Shanower has been working on this book for far longer than the issue count suggests, but it’s worth the wait to follow his comprehensive interpretation of the Trojan War. This issues recounts the famous romance of Troilus and Cressida, a tale previously made famous by Chaucer and Shakespeare.

61. Galactica 1980 (Dynamite)
Marc Guggenheim completes his revision of the controversial final season of the original ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ which saw the Colonials finally return home, only for viewers to discover their Earth is not exactly ours. Guggenheim really played up the contrasts between the ancient Earth the Colonials came from, and the modern world (at least as of 1980) they suddenly found themselves in. As far as I know, there are still plans for a follow-up.

62. Action Comics #886 (DC)
The best issue of the New Krypton era featuring Nightwing and Flamebird, which helps explore the Kryptonian mythology behind the characters, which would eventually lead to a satisfactory conclusion to their arc.

63. Adventure Comics (DC)
There was a lot going on in this title over the first half of the year. Issue #6 sees Geoff Johns conclude his Superboy tale by demonstrating what a douche Lex Luthor is. Issue #7 cleverly explores Superboy’s Blackest Night experiences. Issues 8-9 explore the Legion, and Brainiac-5’s strange family heritage. Issue #11 is the farewell for Mon-El, who had attempted to replace Superman in Metropolis during the New Krypton year, but then features his modern introduction to the Legion. Issue #12 sees Paul Levitz write Superman’s earliest experiences with the Legion. All in all, a fairly consistently entertaining title.

64. Serenity: Float Out (Dark Horse)
I’m not a huge fan of Joss Whedon. I’m not one of those people who will follow and adore everything he does. So when ‘Firefly’ originally aired on television, I didn’t really see the point of the huge amount of devotion its fans poured on the quickly-cancelled series. But I paid attention when the spin-off film ‘Serenity’ appeared in theaters a few years later. My favorite character was easily Wash, and this one-shot (written by Patton Oswalt of all people) is a fine testament to him.

65. Batman (DC)
Tony Daniel got his chance to flex his muscles as a writer, in addition to his art duties, during much of this title’s post-“Batman R.I.P.” period, and used it to write a sequel-of-sorts to ‘The Long Halloween,’ with standout issue #696. Then Grant Morrison took over again with #700, a special celebratory issue that took a deep look at the Batman legacy, from Bruce Wayne to Dick Grayson to Damian to Terry McGinnis.

66. Blackest Night: Wonder Woman (DC)
It seems to me that Greg Rucka often squanders the opportunities he gets to showcase his talents. He had a memorable run with Batwoman, the one he created and introduced in ‘52,’ but the recent run in ‘Detective Comics’ was better known for the stellar art from J.H. Williams III. Then there was the time Rucka was writing a definitive ‘Wonder Woman,’ but seemed to walk away. This was a belated follow-up, but it was worth it. Also involves Mera, Aquaman’s main squeeze, in an appearance that helped shape her as a significant player.

67. Booster Gold (DC)
The final Dan Jurgens issues were memorable in the Carter family reunion, but it left a lot of unanswered questions, so I’m putting this title on the list mostly for the final Blue Beetle second features, issues 28-29, which concluded the Reach arc that began in Jaime Reyes’ own cancelled series.

68. Titans #23 (DC)
Like the Legion, I’ve never been able to be a regular reader of the Teen Titans, having been too late for the Wolfman era that made them bestsellers, and again during Geoff Johns’ reboot (having just recently returned to comics at that point), except for a Dan Jurgens revamp. Anyway, I’m glad a caught this issue, because it marks a transition for the original team, which has now finally succeeded in transitioning to the Justice League. Written by long-time DC editor Eddie Berganza.

69. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Boom!)
This adaptation of the famous Phillip K. Dick book that became the basis for the cult film favorite ‘Blade Runner’ continues, transcribing every word of the original text (the series has reached the midpoint, #12, as of June). Almost as interesting as the stories are the “backmatter” essays at the end of most issues from famous fans of Dick, including an extended reprint from Jonathan Lethem that has been running throughout the year.

70. The Flash: Rebirth (DC)
There’s no good reason that this one’s ranked so low, but like ‘Justice League: Cry for Justice,’ the best issues were released last year, and that was left was to finish out what they set up, and lead to something else (which is the same reason why ‘Blackest Night: The Flash’ isn’t listed, even though that was strong material as well).

71. G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds (IDW)
This isn’t to take anything away from the other comics that IDW is putting out, but aside from ‘G.I. Joe: Cobra,’ it can’t possibly get better than this (I guess ‘G.I. Joe: Origins’ tries, and I’ve read Chuck Dixon’s Zartan origin there, but it’s not really the same), at least as far as I’m concerned. Max Brooks (‘World War Z’) writes this pretty much the same way Costa & Gage approach ‘Cobra,’ as a character study, with a Joe and Cobra representative each issue. Larry Hama gave a preview of his ‘G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero’ continuation (from the original Marvel run) on Free Comic Book Day, and I loved DDP’s ‘America’s Elite’ book, so it’s not as if I find the usual approach unappealing. But for me, this is the way Joe should go from here, its best possible form at this point.

72. Hunter’s Fortune (Boom!)
Co-written by Caleb Monroe, whom I’m met during a few years toiling at the Digital Webbing message boards, this was an excellent adventure book about the rediscovery of Excalibur. The book debuted last year, but the final two issues were delayed by several months. It was worth the wait.

73. Justice League: Generation Lost (DC)
Along with ‘Brightest Day,’ serves alternating weeks as DC’s latest version of the weekly schedule established by ‘52.’ Judd Winick co-writes this return engagement with the infamous Bwahaha-era League, with a dramatic twist. Like Ted Kord did fatally in ‘Countdown to Infinite Crisis,’ his former teammates are the only people in the world aware of the danger Maxwell Lord poses, now that he’s returned from the dead and has purposefully wiped himself from the memory of everyone but these heroes, and the scarab of the new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, who gets to go along for the ride.

74. The Talisman: The Road of Trials (Del Rey)
This debut mini-series is an adaptation of the Stephen King-Peter Straub story featuring Jack Sawyer, who has the ability to cross between two alternate realities. Unlike ‘Fringe,’ these worlds are quite different, however. One’s our real world, and the other’s a fantasy world. So you can imagine the complications, especially with the same man hunting him through both.

75. JSA All-Stars #7 (DC)
The best issue of the spin-off book so far, though there’s been some good work in conjunction with ‘Magog’ (a book I wish had reached its potential before being cancelled, especially with one of my favorite artists, Howard Porter, getting some much-appreciated work out of it), featuring Judomaster taking a rare moment in the spotlight to mourn Damage, who died during the events of Blackest Night some months before it could be acknowledged in this series. Aside from this issue is the second feature that definitely deserves mentioning, featuring Jen Van Meter writing the superhero version of ‘Hunter’s Fortune’ with Liberty Belle and Hourman improbably teaming up with the villains Icicle and Tigress, which has been consistently entertaining.

That about does it for the midyear report, but of course, there’s always new comics being released. Even with this handy barometer, I still can’t even begin to say what the 2010 QB50 will look like…