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…

As always, the order is alphabetical.

1. Air #21 (Vertigo)
The masterful series from G. Willow Wilson has been cancelled with #24, so now you’re going to have the chance to acquaint yourself with everything you missed in trade paperback form. ‘Air’ really had become the comics version of ‘Lost’ for me. I was surprised that so few people were reading, and even more surprised that there wasn’t even an appropriate amount of buzz around it.

2. American Vampire #3 (Vertigo)
If ‘Air’ has got to end, at least I’ve got this new Vertigo book to replace it.

3. The Anchor #8 (Boom!)
Phil Hester and Brian Churilla’s book comes to an end with this issue, and I lament it almost as much as ‘Air,’ and am baffled for all the same reasons.

4. Atomic Robo and the Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #3/Free Comic Book Day (Red 5)
Fortunately or not, Atomic Robo is in a better position with Red 5 than ‘Air’ or ‘The Anchor’ were with their companies. Featured for the second year in the company’s Free Comic Book Day offering, Robo is still obscure, but he’s also awesome.

5. Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #s 1-2 (DC)
For everyone who failed to appreciate Grant Morrison’s ‘Seven Soldiers of Victory,’ this is more or less the more mainstream version.

6. Batman and Robin #12 (DC)
Awesome at least for the final reveal, the long-awaited return of the Joker.

7. Brightest Day #s 1-2 (DC)
Geoff Johns and Pete Tomasi work a two-man follow-up to the quartet who did ‘52’ (Johns was one of them), exploring the lives of those brought back at the end of ‘Blackest Night.’

8. Daytripper #6 (Vertigo)
Fascinating glimpse into a seemingly ordinary life, and the many ways that it was extraordinary.

9. DC Universe Legacies #1 (DC)
This first issue, from veteran comics master Len Wein, might come off as another of the seemingly endless Golden Age nostalgia projects, but it’s only the first taste of a survey through DC’s history.

10. G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds #1 (IDW)
From Max Brooks (‘World War Z,’ ‘The Zombie Survival Guide’) comes another excellent G.I. Joe book from IDW, following ‘Cobra,’ following the personal narratives of familiar characters, this issue being Major Bludd and Spirit. Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso (‘Cobra’) supply the art.

11. Green Lantern #54 (DC)
It wasn’t until this issue that I finally realized that Geoff Johns has been writing this title with the same panache and momentum as the Superman creative teams of the 1990s.

12. Green Lantern Corps #48 (DC)
There’s only ever really been one really significant Guardian, and with this issue, Ganthet takes on a new challenge, of being another standout Green Lantern.

13. The Great Ten #7 (DC)
Another cancelled book that absolutely doesn’t deserve it, Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel present the origin of the Seven Deadly Brothers this issue.

14. The Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1 (Marvel)
Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak continue their Incredible Hercules saga, this time with Amadeus Cho, who has been holding his own from the start of this run, no matter what the title is.

15. Incorruptible #s 5-6 (Boom!)
If there was any doubt that Max Damage is worth the redemption he’s trying to gain, then these issues, a culmination of the young series’ counterpoint character Jailbait and her relationship and meaning to Max, really helps drive it home. Mark Waid is one of the great comic book writers, and he proves it again by arguably making the spin-off of ‘Irredeemable’ better.

16. Joe the Barbarian #5 (Vertigo)
Grant Morrison is so understated in this book it hardly seems possible that it’s the same writer who always seems to be just this side of being too clever for his own good. Sean Murphy’s art really helps sell this, too.

17. Justice League: Generation Lost #s 1-2 (DC)
Booster Gold, Ice, Fire, & Captain Atom have been trying to go legit since their heyday in the Justice League International days. This is an appropriate follow-up to ‘Countdown to Infinite Crisis,’ when Max Lord first made that an urgent mission.

18. Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (DC)
Paul Levitz is a comics veteran, but he knows when to adopt modern sensibilities, even when returning to a book that helped make his name. Finally, a Legion book that readers who loved Geoff Johns’ stories can appreciate. Oh, and the Green Lantern Corps in the thirty-first century!

19. The Marvelous Land of Oz #6 (Marvel)
Having recently finally gotten to enjoy ‘Return to Oz’ for the first time, this is a fine issue to bring up the under-appreciated film that closely matched the original appeal of L. Frank Baum’s writing.

20. Power Girl #12 (DC)
Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Amanda Conner say goodbye this issue, wrapping up the first year of a great book. Pity they couldn’t stick around for longer.

21. Red Robin #12 (DC)
Another year-end creator finale, as Chris Yost concludes Tim Drake’s dealings with Ra’s al Ghul, who reveals in this issue that Drake has proven himself another potential heir.

22. Scalped #38 (Vertigo)
Jason Aaron has been doing a fine job flipping back and forth in the timeline of this book, and with this issue, he reveals what kind of man Dashiell Bad-Horse’s old man was.

23. Siege: Young Avengers (Marvel)
Probably the most satisfying visit with the team since ‘Young Avengers Presents,’ which is nice, because Allan Heinberg is finally returning later this year.

24. Star Trek – Captain’s Log: Harriman (IDW)
Since his first appearance in ‘Star Trek Generations,’ a lot of attempts have been made to explain the wimpy captain who let Kirk die, but this one-shot is probably the most satisfying, because it allows him to grow, to learn from his mistakes, rather than try to apologize or distance himself from them.

25. Superman: War of the Supermen #s 0-4 (DC)
After a year of New Krypton, this was the one-month event finale, which basically obliterated every single aspect of the arc, if not making it easy to forget, then basically hitting the reset button anyway. Still, as much as I sometimes wonder why everyone seemed to be wasting their time, I did enjoy good portions of it, and there’s satisfaction even from that in how it ends. There’s been attempts to do a comic book Zod in the past, but this is undoubtedly the most successful, and trapping him back in the Phantom Zone isn’t a copout so much as a way to preserve him for future stories, ones that will be as relevant to this arc as the spirit of what Geoff Johns (and Richard Donner) originally envisioned.

I know I usually proceed to vomit a bunch of other comics after the twenty-five, but I’m skipping that this month. Truthfully, and if you’d made it this far or have been reading at all you deserve this, I’m not sure if I’ll be writing much more here at Lower Decks. Things seem to be winding down rather definitively. It may be time to move on, but I’ll certainly let you know where.

Since March, I’ve been dabbling at the message boards of Comic Book Resources, which would count as the first time I participate in some honest-to-Jebus comics conversation. Or rather, whatever I can squeeze in, because those guys don’t seem to jibe any better with my comics experience than I could have expected, given what I know about the sales charts. As you know by now, I’ve had my own ideas about the best comics being published for the last few years, represented in the annual QB50 awards, as well as the monthly recaps I’ve been doing throughout 2010, first within my regular weekly column HYGOTS, and then as of last month with this reconstituted column originally begun by one of Lower Decks’ friends, forst.

Anyway, let’s get on with April’s twenty-five (plus stragglers), in alphabetical order:

1. Air #20 (Vertigo)
Though its sales are not so great and few people consider it when thinking just of the best Vertigo books being put out, ‘Air’ has been one of my favorites since it debuted at the back-end of 2008. The thing about it is that unlike a lot of non-superhero books out there, ‘Air’ doesn’t have an obvious gimmick that you can just say with one phrase. There isn’t even an obvious genre to it, so much as an explanation that it’s intended to be the kind of comic that ‘Lost’ has been on television. When it first came out, the author Salman Rushdie was referenced as precedence, and since at the time I was reading ‘The Satanic Verses,’ I understood pretty easily what that was supposed to mean. Like ‘Lost,’ ‘Satanic Verses’ begins with a central event, from which all kinds of unexpected things develop. With ‘Air,’ things got kicked off with flight attendant Blythe stumbling into what appeared to be some kind of international conspiracy, but in fairly short order (imagine ‘Lost’ jumping a little more quickly into the Dharma Initiative history) revealed that the truth of the matter was that she had just discovered her connection to a new form of flight, using a technology that turned out to be old rather than new. Anyway, like ‘Lost,’ it’s a good bet that this kind of storytelling is going to become increasingly expansive, and writer G. Willow Wilson opened 2009 with the introduction of Amelia Earhart into the mythology. This year’s contribution has been Jules Verne, and this issue includes another revelatory literary connection, Antoine de St. Exupery, author of ‘The Little Prince’ (which happens to be one of the many connections ‘Lost’ has made over the years, too), in a sequence that works on a number of levels, the most of which being how it helps Blythe in her training as a hyperpract. Long story short, if you’ve found ‘Lost’ compelling, there’s every reason to believe that you’d enjoy ‘Air,’ too.

2. The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hunter (Marvel)
April seemed to be a good month for comics that weren’t strictly speaking new material so much as repackaged. Much of this one is vintage reprints of Kraven from the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run (and wouldn’t you know it, these pages are still quite amusing, if still dated in style on both writing and art accounts), but the reason this was released was because Spider-Man has been going through a “Gauntlet” for the past few months thanks to Kraven’s daughter (you can refresh yourself on the convoluted Kraven family history in the free ‘Grim Hunt: The Kraven Saga,’ released the same week), a story that’s been spearheaded by Marc Guggenheim, who provides a modern-style framing sequence that suggests what the same Lee/Ditko story would look like today. Anyway, it’s good stuff whether you’re concerned with what comics are doing now, or what they’ve done in the past.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot #3 (Marvel)
I haven’t read ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ itself since “Gauntlet” began (because it seems to have been mostly an excuse to revisit every single one of Spidey’s old foes, a nostalgia trip that kind of ignores all the benefits of Brand New Day), but I’ve been able to maintain my kick with spin-off books like this one. Marc Guggenheim (there’s that name again) was responsible not only for the new Kraven saga, but for the introduction of Jackpot, who at the time was supposed to make readers believe Mary Jane was back, but instead of that (MJ returned right before “Gauntlet,” and we’ll be getting back to her soon), Jackpot turned out to be someone else entirely, before she was killed off. This mini-series has been about the unexpected legacy of the Jackpot character, which comes appropriately full circle with this concluding issue. As far as my experience goes, this is one of the few instances where Marvel has bothered to revisit in some significant way the Superhero Registration Act, the end result of ‘Civil War.’

4. American Vampire #2 (Vertigo)
Until I started reading ‘Air,’ I had never really been a reader of Vertigo comics, even with its distinguished history that has included ‘Sandman’ and ‘Y: The Last Man.’ From ‘Air,’ it became easy to start reading ‘Scalped’ on a regular basis, and recently the limited series ‘Daytripper’ and ‘Joe the Barbarian.’ Now there’s ‘American Vampire.’ This isn’t so much because I was so consumed reading superhero comics to bother with anything else, but I seem to have stumbled into an era with an abundance of material I want to read. As the title of this one suggests, it involves vampires, which as a general inclination I don’t follow around all that much (the name Bram Stoker is pretty much as far as I go, and the story therewith), but the whole idea behind it is that Scott Snyder and literary giant Stephan King are exploring something beyond the ordinary. They are taking great pains to make it distinctly, well, American. This issue helps work out some of the origins behind the central characters (to this point), 1800s outlaw Skinner Sweet and 1920s actress Pearl, who both manage to stumble into Old World-style, conspiratorial vampires. One of the best things about the series is the art of Rafael Albuquerque, which I became familiar with in books like ‘Blue Beetle.’ This would be one of the few instances where a cartoon-ish artist has been able to successfully branch out past superhero work and find material that perfectly suits him.

5. The Anchor #7 (Boom!)
I guess I feel increasingly embarrassed to admit my initial awareness of Phil Hester came about from his art with DC from last decade, because he’s been working on the independent scene as a writer for a fair bit longer. Still, I feel better knowing that I’m not wasting this new opportunity, which may be one of his best works yet. The title character is a holy warrior in a pretty literal sense, an agent of Heaven who battles the demons of Hell, both in the infernal regions and on Earth, who he’s had quite a troubled history, which has been unfolding for the last few issues, but only becomes more complicated this one when he learns the girl who just died, the one who’s been so kind to him in the early issues of this book, who was his descendent, was also the final demon of five who has been sent after him. This is what Hellboy would be like if he weren’t more concerned with BPRD matters, but rather all the mucky things from his own backstory.

6. Atomic Robo (Volume 4) and the Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #2 (Red 5)
I had to include the volume, because the cover excluded the name of this latest mini-series, and the issue doesn’t involve the vampire dimension angle, either, but rather a trip to Japan, which in itself is a perfectly natural thing for this comic science character, who would be another natural descendent of Hellboy. I guess it doesn’t really matter what the issue does in relation to what it was “supposed” to be doing, because the real hook is the clever writing of Brian Clevinger and the complementary art of Scott Wegener (at this point, it’s hard to expect the one without the other). Red 5 made Robo the centerpiece of its Free Comic Book Day release for the second year in a row, which is both perfectly natural and completely awesome. Hopefully at some point this book is going to become a known property.

7. Batman and Robin #11 (DC)
Grant Morrison is unquestionably a master of the comic book storytelling art, and his pet project for the past few years has been Batman. The problem is, he’s not your typical writer, so the same work that gets him attention also splits comics fans between two camps: those who think he’s brilliant and those who think he’s overrated. He doesn’t write like anyone else (Warren Ellis would be someone who writes in a similar fashion, but to my mind isn’t really comparable), so when he writes Batman, he doesn’t do it just to write Batman, but as one of the few people capable of doing so in a fashion that drives the whole story forward, in a way that has only typically been done outside of regular continuity (‘Dark Knight Returns,’ ‘The Long Halloween’), at least since the end of “Knightfall,” which was like a culmination of the 1980s arcs “A Death in the Family” and “A Lonely Place of Dying.” Anyway, so this time, rather than focusing all the development on Robin, Grant’s done it with, well, everyone, starting with Bruce Wayne and working his way outward from there. Everyone knows that Grant planned Bruce’s return from the moment “R.I.P.” and ‘Final Crisis’ ended, which culminates with ‘The Return of Bruce Wayne,’ but in the meantime he’s been doing this book, with the first Robin, Dick Grayson, as the new Batman, and Wayne’s son Damian (via the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, Talia), as the newest Robin. Dick’s been occupied exploring clues about Bruce’s return within Wayne Manor, allowing Damian enough unsupervised time to fall prey to his mother’s continued machinations. There’s a bunch more going on, too, but with Grant, it’s always a good thing to just read it for yourself.

8. Blackest Night: Director’s Cut (DC)
Oftentimes, when a book like this is released, it deals only with one issue, but this one covers the entire eight issues of the recently completed Green Lantern epic, making it a treasure trove for fans. Think of this one as the comics equivalent of the best DVD/Blu-ray bonus material, as essential as any of the original issues for true fans.

9. Brightest Day #0 (DC)
This is the follow-up to ‘Blackest Night’ (only Geoff Johns would ever have mined the Green Lantern mythos this thoroughly; both phrases are part of the oath that has been a part of it from the beginning), which was purposefully as vague as possible for the longest time, right up until ‘Blackest Night #8,’ when twelve characters were resurrected as the final act of the event. As it turns out, Johns and ‘Green Lantern Corps’ writer Peter Tomasi are doing their best to work the magic ‘52’ mojo, which Geoff was a part of, working these twelve into a format that will explore, biweekly, their separate arcs. The biggest twist is Deadman, Boston Brand, the one character who was perfectly happy to be dead all these years (because, hey, that was his gimmick!), who now finds himself in the uncomfortable position of being anything but, as well as the one person still under the direct influence of the white power that brought them all back. This is probably going to be one of my favorite books for the next year, just so you know…

10. The Flash: Secret Files and Origins 2010 (DC)
Ten years ago maybe this wouldn’t have been so special, because DC was putting a book like this together for just about everyone, but these days they’re more scarce. Skeptics about the relevance of Barry Allen in the modern age (assuming only old readers are reading comics these days, which is not necessarily the case, but certainly possible when those readers do everything they can to alienate new ones, which is the very thing they accuse comics themselves of doing) will want to pay attention, because this book does a fair job of setting up the working reality of it.

11. The Flash #1 (DC)
Johns continues his magic mojo here, which is all the more astonishing, because no one’s bothered to write a Flash comic like this since Mark Waid, and even Waid didn’t want to do it the last time he was doing one (which was so baffling he alienated his fans, despite the fact that the stuff he was doing instead was pretty good in an of itself, as was the Marc Guggenheim material that immediately preceded it). Johns makes it look effortless to write the character into the comic, which ought to be exactly what every, or at least most, story, comic book or otherwise, should do. Even if you have a problem with Barry Allen supplanting his successor, Wally West, after all these years, reading this, you really won’t care (unless you really, really still want to, in which case that’s your problem). The last time Geoff wrote a Flash comic, his obsession wasn’t so much writing The Flash as the Rogues, and he plays around with that here, to a clever degree. This is going to be good, too…

12. G.I. Joe: Cobra II #4 (IDW)
This has been one of my favorite books since the original mini-series last year. It turns all the expectations about a G.I. Joe story on their head, turning the adventure squarely into psychological territory courtesy of Christos Gage and Mike Costa, tracking the efforts of Chuckles to expose the secrets of the mysterious Cobra terrorist organization from a pre-Year One perspective. This is the conclusion of the second mini-series, technically, but the good news is that IDW will be continuing the book as an ongoing series.

13. The Great Ten #6 (DC)
Poor sales have apparently convinced DC that this book can be cancelled after nine issues, when it’s scheduled for ten, one for every member of the Chinese superhero team. What makes it all the more incredible is that this is without a doubt one of the best superhero books being published today. If DC had any sense (or its readers could appreciate quality when it didn’t come with the name “Geoff Johns”), it would be following the lead of IDW with ‘G.I. Joe: Cobra’ and instead of incomprehensibly cutting the book short by one issue, expanding it into an ongoing title. Anyway, this issue spotlights Ghost Fox Killer, and how her story expands the greater arc of the book. ‘Great Ten’ is everything that Geoff Johns has been doing so right elsewhere within DC, and it is without a doubt the breakout work of Tony Bedard’s career, and does for artist Scott McDaniel what ‘American Vampire’ has done for Rafael Albuquerque. I simply cannot fathom why this book doesn’t have more readers.

14. Green Lantern Corps #47 (DC)
For regular readers of this book, from well before ‘Blackest Night,’ which helped make it a top ten selling title, this is a huge payoff issue, gathering all the regular characters and letting them take a breath after the harrowing experiences of the biggest Green Lantern story, well, ever.

15. Justice Society of America #38 (DC)
While cruising the Comic Book Resources boards the other day, I heard the “Fourth Reich” arc in this book referenced as irrelevant because of the fact that it’s set in the future and therefore doesn’t and probably won’t reflect present continuity. For reasoning like that, you might as well say the brilliant “Old Man Logan” arc in ‘Wolverine’ can be ignored (which would be ridiculous), or ‘Dark Knight Returns’ for that matter. This is prime material from Bill Willingham, regardless of how it affects the present, and this is another fine installment of it, with some startling revelations and shocking executions.

16. Kill Shakespeare #1 (IDW)
This is probably the most notable launch since, well, ‘American Vampire,’ a bit controversial (Frank Miller’s girl apparently hate it), trying to do an original comic with the characters in Shakespeare’s plays, with a starting point of ‘Hamlet,’ specifically right after the prince has killed Polonius and has been banished by his wicked, opportunistic (at best) uncle, Claudius. I hate to reference ‘Lost’ again, but at least as far as the final season goes, ‘Kill Shakespeare’ would be another comparable experience. It’s a big concept that doesn’t end with the assumption that it’s just a clever attempt to tell some metafiction involving one of the most famous storytellers in history. This will probably be one of the most interesting, at the very least, books in the market.

17. The Marvelous Land of Oz #5 (Marvel)
Knocked off a strictly monthly schedule, it felt like ages since the last issue, but that doesn’t diminish the appeal of Eric Shanower’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s clever storytelling, with the perfect art of Skottie Young to accompany it. For any number of reasons, one of the most entertaining books out there.

18. The Mice Templar: Destiny #8 (Image)
This is the second book of this incredible book that explores the hero’s journey in a new yet resonating way, and that journey is coming to its conclusion. ‘Mice Templar’ is everything ‘Mouse Guard,’ a book with wider public recognition, should have been, and has been on a constant, harrowing journey to prove it. We’ll probably talk more next issue.

19. Red Robin #11 (DC)
This is another book reaching a culmination point, with writer Chris Yost completing his run by bringing Tim Drake, finally, into the crosshairs of the new Batman and Robin, and that much closer to his inevitable confrontation with Ra’s al Ghul, with whom he’s been collaborating since he found he was the only one convinced that Bruce Wayne was still alive. As the only writer besides Grant Morrison to get to play with this, Yost has had Drake neck-deep in problems for the past year, making a good character all the more compelling.

20. Scalped #37 (Vertigo)
Even though this is one of my undisputed favorite books now, when it debuted ‘Scalped’ apparently couldn’t convince me that I should read it regularly. I’d sample it and feel fairly good about it, because I recognized that it was noteworthy, but I didn’t want to get caught up in it, partly because I just couldn’t see where it was going. But the whole point of it, as I would learn, is to explore how complicated life can be, not just on an Indian reservation run by a ruthless visionary like Red Crow, pursued by FBI agent Bad Horse, but in general. Red Crow’s muscle, Shunka, has been in the spotlight. Turns out he’s a homosexual, and it’s a secret these issues make plain is a necessary, painful one to carry, one that can be used against him if he isn’t careful. This issue in particular makes it clear just how complicated life can be.

21. Star Trek – Leonard McCoy: Frontier Doctor #1 (IDW)
John Byrne is a comics legend, but recently he’s been doing things other than the superhero work for which he’s known, and among the most prominent of his recent work has been for IDW, for their Star Trek comics. He’s been all over the map, from Romulans to Gary Seven. Here, he’s obviously working with Bones, from the period just before ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’ I don’t generally reads the comics (or books) that don’t have a lot of character or screen relevance (which admittedly, as far as the books and most of the comics before IDW got the property, were small pickings indeed), but Byrne seems to be worth it. Who knew he was such a fan of Star Trek, anyway?

22. Stephen King’s N. #2 (Marvel)
Based on a story from the ‘Just After Sunset’ collection, this is another Marc Guggenheim book, which helps to further demonstrate the range of this comics/television writer, who has become one of my favorites. This is a story of psychological/supernatural proportions, and is, after The Stand comics also being produced by Marvel, the best comics being made based on Stephen King material. But then, King is doing comics himself, too, now. Can you imagine a better time to be a fan of both King and comics?

23. Superman: Secret Origin #5 (DC)
This issue of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s new version of comics’ classic stories is particularly relevant to the material that directly resulted from Geoff’s tenure writing the Man of Steel in continuity, which hasn’t been quite as good as what Johns himself was doing. Anyway, it mostly revolves around the creation of Metallo, who here is an early weapon of Lex Luthor’s budding war against Superman.

24. Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton #3 (DC)
The last chapter in the penultimate arc of the New Krypton story probably helps make all of it better than it really was, finally bringing all the relevant pieces back together as General Zod confronts Brainiac and then declares war on Earth, now that he realizes how much humans have been meddling in his affairs. General Lane has been such a bogeyman for the past year it’s no surprise he’s not really all that important here so much as, once again, Lex Luthor, and finally allowing Kal-El to be Superman again has not only been inevitable but quite welcome. What I’m really excited about is May’s ‘War of the Supermen,’ kicked off by Free Comic Book Day (if you didn’t catch it in stores you can still catch up at websites like Midtown Comics).

25. Wasteland #28 (Oni)
Writer Antony Johnston is currently getting some mainstream exposure with Marvel’s ‘Daredevil,’ but you really want to do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with this book, a post-apocalyptic adventure that, like ‘Mice Templar,’ is in thorough command of its mythology. The publishing schedule for the book has been somewhat erratic for the past year, but the advantage in recent issues has been the innovative approach that looks at the story from the perspective of individual characters, watching progress over a given period of time as their decisions have wide-ranging consequences. This makes more of an impact, because each of these characters has previously been well-established, so it’s entirely welcome to spend more concentrated time with them, a bit like what ‘Fringe’ has been doing lately on TV, allowing experience to have its full benefit. Still, for new readers, following a given character is also an immediate entrance point, so it works all the way around.

Also: ‘Green Lantern #53’ (DC), featuring Hal Jordan, complicated past love interest and current prominent Star Sapphire, and Sinestro, Geoff Johns exploring post-‘Blackest Night’ material; ‘Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2’ (Marvel), Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente concluding another leg of their journey; ‘Joe the Barbarian #4’ (Vertigo), which sees Grant Morrison dig all the deeper into Joe’s adventure; ‘The Last Unicorn #1’ (IDW), an adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s novel featuring the art of Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon, whom I met at Digital Webbing’s message boards; ‘Power Girl #11’ (DC), featuring the penultimate issue featuring Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, & Amanda Conner, plus PG helping free Terra from Ultra-Humanite’s control, and the Humanite from his screwed-up body; and ‘Star Trek: The Official Motion Picture Adaptation #3’ (IDW), which features the Starfleet Academy sequence, introducing Bones, Sulu, and Chekov. As always, there was more, but that’s all I’m going to talk about this month.

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…

Marvel Stock Climbs to New Heights

It seems today is a great day to be a Marvel shareholder. Marvel stock closed at $48.37, up 9.72 points or a huge 25.15%, according to Yahoo! Finance. The same can’t really be said for Disney; its stock closed at $26.04, down 0.8 points or 2.98%. I’ve seen some opinions suggesting that Disney overvalued Marvel’s worth by offering to pay a combined cash/stock total of $50 per share. But The Motley Fool (via The Beat) thinks otherwise.

Comic Book Resources has industry reactions to the news, most of which are positive. Judging from the 750+ comments at the CBR Forums, though, fans are decidedly split on the prospect of Disney acquiring Marvel. Personally, I’m of the opinion that if Disney takes a hands-off approach to Marvel comics and focuses more on licensing and films, this can only be good news for Marvel.

Let’s Dream Big

It’s far too earlier to be hoping that Disney will somehow manage to bring prices down from $3.99 to $2.99 or perhaps allow Marvel to continue publishing underperforming titles. But one can hope. How about Disney pushing comics outside of speciality stores in a big way? This could revive the comics industry, which for years has been servicing a dwindling fan base. New readers, even if they’re youngsters and they’re reading titles based on Disney characters, can only be a good thing.

Plus, perhaps the Night Nurse will finally receive a second regular series.

Why Can’t Comics Come Out on Time?

One of the reasons I haven’t written a column in three weeks is that many of the books I had hoped to read and perhaps discuss haven’t come out. Or, to be more precise, several of the miniseries/limited series that were supposed to wrap up so I could finally start them haven’t yet. Marvels: Eye of the Camera #6, which was supposedly due out on July 1st, won’t be released until November 11th. I have no idea where Hotwire #4 is and can’t find any information at Radical’s website (it might be coming out September 2nd). The same goes for Ignition City #5. It was due out on August 26th, I think, but didn’t show up.

I also haven’t received Fathom #9 yet, although it has apparently been released or is due out September 2nd. Who knows. It’s frustrating to me that I can’t find information about delayed comics and given that I read so few titles, when several don’t show up I’m not left with much to hold me over.

New Fantastic Four Creative Team

Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham, two names I hadn’t heard of until a few weeks ago, are taking over the reigns of Fantastic Four starting with the next issue (#570), out in stores on August 26th. I actually haven’t read the latest issue (#569), which came out a few days ago, but it should arrive from Marvel Subscriptions this week. It wraps up the “Masters of Doom” storyline and I’ll be frank: if I’m impressed with the ending I’ll be quite surprised.

The previous creative team, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, began their run on Fantastic Four with issue #554 back in February of 2008. That means they put out 16 issues, none of which I found particular noteworthy. The art was fine, although occasionally some of the faces — Sue in particular — seemed vaguely off in some way. But the stories never felt right to me.

First there was Nu-Earth and CAP the giant killer robot, then a merry band of villains (or heroes) from the future attempting to turn Galactus into a giant battery to save their world, then the so-called death of the Invisible Woman, Ben’s engagement, a really dull two-part holiday story and finally the Masters of Doom/Marquis of Death arc. None of these arcs and story lines pulled me in. And the trade dress, trying to make the comic look like a magazine? So ugly.

The preview of issue #570 found here at Marvel.com looks amazing. The art seems fresh and vibrant and although I don’t know anything about the story line I’m just to darn excited to see this chapter begin to unfold.

Spider-Woman in September

Marvel’s new ongoing Spider-Woman premieres September 2nd with a $3.99 price point. But it looks like only the first issue is going to be that expensive and the regular price will be $2.99 (still perhaps too expensive for some). I mentioned in an earlier column that I know just about nothing about the character. I still don’t. But if the previews I’ve seen are any indication Alex Maleev’s artwork will be simply breathtaking.

I’m a sucker for art that looks as if it was painted (even if it wasn’t) and appears to be photo-realistic (even if it isn’t). Maleev’s artwork on Spider-Woman seems to fit into both of these categories. So who cares if the story doesn’t make sense or I can’t keep track of new characters and don’t know a thing about the characters history. If the artwork is impressive enough, I can forgive just about anything.

With that said, it will be interesting to see how long I stick with Spider-Woman before either dropping it entirely or switching to trades. If the issues are standalone enough that I don’t feel the need to let them pile up before reading them, it will be easier to continue buying individual issues. But if I find myself having trouble remembering what happened in earlier issues — and that may happen — I may decide to switch to trades.

I hope the first issue includes at least a few pages explaining who Spider-Woman is and what her powers are. Was she bitten by a radioactive spider like Peter Parker? Can she climb walls? Does she have a Spidey sense? Does she have webbing? These aren’t important questions for those who know the character, but for new readers like me they’re pretty much essential. On the other hand, I did dive into 2001 Marvel Knights Elektra series without knowing anything about the characters aside from the very basics. So there’s hope for me yet.

Comic-Con International: San Diego 2009

I watched some videos of G4′s Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira at Comic-Con. My cable company doesn’t offer G4 at the level I’m paying for but I’ve seen a few episodes of Attack of the Show . It’s my opinion that Olivia and Kevin are better served in short doses. This video, for example, is wonderful in that it presents a bunch of short clips in which Olivia appears in many interesting and revealing outfits. And Kevin dresses up as a giant squirrel. As always, you may not be able to view this video if you’re outside the United States.

Here’s another G4 video in which Kevin interviews Chuck‘s Yvonne Strahovski. Good stuff.

Also, the futon critic covered a wide variety of television panels including Dollhouse, FlashForward and Chuck. And on Monday they’ll be posting even more coverage, including Lost, Supernatural, Fringe and Ghost Whisperer. I’m sure if I tried I could have found plenty of Twitter feeds and blogs chock full of write-ups, quotes, reviews, pictures and videos. There are exclusive video previews of all sorts of shows floating around, some official, some bootleg. It’s a little overwhelming just trying to take in all the online coverage. I can’t even imagine how it must feel to actually attend Comic-Con.

As an aside, I can’t quite figure out why shows like Psych, Bones and 24 have panels at Comic-Con. They’re not comic related. They’re not even science-fiction, fantasy or horror shows (I suppose one could argue that they’re all somewhat fantastic, but that’s neither here nor there). Of course, Comic-Con has become such a media free-for-all and supposedly provides so much promotion that shows with any sort of “cult” following want to get involved.

Captain America #601

When this issue arrived from Marvel Subscriptions I tore open the packaging, took one look at the cover and almost burst out laughing. Above the title was the line “A Very Special Issue Of” and I couldn’t help but think of the stereotypical “very special” sitcom episode in which someone learns they’re pregnant or deals with drugs or bullying or an alcoholic father. What’s so special about this issue? According to a review at Comic Book Resources the story was supposed to appear in a 2007 annual. Whether that means it was finished back in 2007 or just planned for release in that year I don’t know.

Aside from the fact that it’s a flashback to an adventure Captain America and Bucky had during World War II, the issue also features art by Gene Colan who, as an introductory page explained, is a member of Marvel’s old guard. It turns out he’s actually 82 years old so it’s pretty darn impressive that he can still produce a full comic book worth of pencils. Unfortunately, mixed with Dean White’s coloring I found the artwork disappointing. Muddied might be the correct term. Many of the characters often looked deformed and although the atmosphere was intentionally dark, the art was often too dark.

As for the story itself, it was equally disappointing, a tale about vampires framed by a brief conversation between Nick Fury and James “Winter Soldier” Barnes about allies fighting allies. It’s not a comic I would have purchased if it wasn’t part of my subscription. Perhaps the black-and-white variant, in which Colan’s pencils stand alone without coloring, may have fared a little better. I don’t know. It probably should have been used as a story in an annual.

My Only Convention Experience

A few years back a friend of mine suggested we attend ConnectiCon together. I was under the mistaken impression that the convention would focus more on comic books than web comics and anime. I also wasn’t prepared for the costumes. Boy, was I unprepared for the costumes. We drove into Hartford, found a place to park and walked to the convention center. We walked back out less than an hour later.

I’ve never been one for crowds and although ConnectiCon is nothing compared to Comic-Con, there was still a huge mass of people. And many of them were wearing impressive and/or disturbing costumes. There were lots of huge swords, some of which actually looked quite dangerous. It took us a little while to get our badges — I can’t remember but I hope we only paid for one day — and then my friend and I wandered around for a while.

We walked through one of the larger rooms, looking at the various web comic artists and their tables, and pointed out some of the more notable items on sale. Then we left and went to see Superman Returns (which was almost as bad as the convention, but that’s another story). I haven’t been to another general convention since then; I did go to a Twilight Zone convention which was much, much more fun.

My friend has since been to at least one New York Comic Con and seemed to enjoy it. I haven’t even considered going to another convention. There’s just too many people. I don’t even like going into a cramped comic book shop if it looks a little crowded. I like my space.

Captain America: Reborn #1

Although I’ve had the issue for weeks I’ve yet to read the first issue of Captain America: Reborn and I don’t know why. It’s not because I want to wait until I have all five (?) issues before starting the miniseries. Part of it might be that I want to read the prequel story available at Marvel.com before reading the first issue. But that’s easily accomplished. Am I worried that the issue will be a disappointment somehow?

New Spider-Woman Series

I’ve mentioned before that I only read two ongoing titles, Captain America and Fantastic Four (I suppose DC’s The Warlord counts as a third but I don’t expect it to last much longer). I have no intention of picking up a new title several hundred issues into its run. But I have been hoping a new series will start up that I can follow from the very start. I think Marvel’s new Spider-Woman series will work just fine.

I know next to nothing about Spider-Woman, which means I can’t be disappointed if the new series changes her history or anything like that. If it refers heavily to events in the past, though, I may find myself frustrated. The artwork by Alex Maleev looks incredible and although the first issue has a $3.99 cover price it looks like future issues will only cost $2.99. I might even order the book through Marvel Subscriptions just to make things as easy as possible.

Goodbye Air, Goodbye House of Mystery

Of the many titles I started buying in 2008, two Vertigo books are the only ones I’ve dropped. To be fair, most of the others were miniseries or limited series. Of those, there was only one that I actually considered giving up on before it finished: DC’s The War that Time Forgot. Ultimately, I let the limited series run its course. One of the Vertigo books, House of Mystery, wasn’t a difficult choice to drop. Each issue of the horror series includes at least one standalone story as well as framing sequences that continue each month.

The problem with this format is that I haven’t been all that interested in any of the standalone stories. The framing sequences held my attention but there just wasn’t enough in each issue to justify buying the books. Any given issue would start with a few pages of framing, in which a character would being to tell a story, and then the bulk of the book would consist of this story. A few more pages of framing, perhaps moving the overall story along, closed things out. I gave up on House of Mystery after #13.

I grappled for several months before deciding to drop Air, the other Vertigo title, after #10. I actually think I was introduced to the book through a preview at the end of an issue of House of Mystery. It suggested that Air would be about an airline stewardess and maybe some terrorists. I thought that sounded interesting. But the book isn’t at all what I expected.

There’s a country that doesn’t exist on any map that nobody should be able to visit. There’s a mysterious piece of technology that allows people to move from one point to another. There’s a strange snake-bird creature. In one issue, the main character finds herself in the body of another character. The last issue I read, #10, was set in the past and didn’t involve any of the main characters. I’m pretty sure Air is just too high concept for me. All I wanted was a few terrorists.

Air #10 (Courtesy the Grand Comics Database)

Air is far too intellectual for its own good. I don’t see how anyone can go a month between issues and still keep track of the plot. It might work better as a graphic novel. Or maybe I’m just not deep enough to get it.

Trade Paperbacks, Trade Paperbacks

After getting rid of House of Mystery and Air, and with many of the miniseries/limited series I’ve been reading ending, I’m running out of books. Aside from Fantastic Four and Captain America the only continuing titles I’m reading are DC’s Warlord and Aspen’s Fathom (Vol. 3). But I think Fathom (Vol. 3) is ending soon. And by the end of August I’ll be down to just two miniseries.

I’ve been looking at advance solicitations trying to find new books to pick up. I don’t plan on trying to jump into an ongoing series so that leaves miniseries, limited series and new ongoing series. I’m just having trouble convincing myself that paying $3.99 for a four-issue miniseries or a five, six or seven-issue limited series. Trade paperbacks, especially those purchased online with nice discounts, are a good deal cheaper than buying books individually. Or so my hasty calculations have suggested.

But you lose something with trades. The feel of the comic book isn’t something I want to give up. So I have to make a decision. And I think it has to be an all-or-nothing deal. Either I commit to buying all upcoming miniseries/limited series in trade paperback form (aside from those connected to Fantastic Four, which I collect) or I keep buying the individual issues.

Justice League: A Cry for Justice

I read issue #4 of DC’s The Warlord last night. It included a six or eight-page preview of Justice League: A Cry for Justice. I can’t say I recognized all the characters — the big names, of course, were obvious — but the artwork just blew me away. I’ve yet to really delve into the DC Universe proper in any meaningful way and maybe this is a good way to put a toe in, so to speak. In trade paperback form, of course.

On a related note, looking over DC’s September solicits I saw what must have been a dozen Blackest Night titles. Is it the DC equivalent of Dark Reign? I read the FCBD Blackest Night #0 and it was interesting, so I considered buying it. But then I discovered that there is no “it,” just a lot of tie-ins. So it really is a lot like Dark Reign. Justice League: A Cry for Justice, on the other hand, seems to be a follow-up to DC’s Final Crisis miniseries. I think. Maybe.

We’ll see.

What’s This About Supergirl’s Underwear?

I found this wonderful article at The Beat that links to this NPR article that discusses this article at Newsarama focusing on the recent change in the way Supergirl’s costume is depicted in comics. Apparently, DC editor Matt Idleson was fed up with seeing Kara Zor-El’s (Supergirl) panties in the pages of Supergirl and decreed that from here on out she’ll be shown wearing red shorts under her blue skirt.

A cover from 2007 with two Supergirls. One's modestly clad, one's showing plenty of skin. (Courtesy of The Grand Comics Database)

As someone who doesn’t read the current incarnation of Supergirl, hasn’t read any of the previous volumes or even a single issue with Supergirl, I found this entire thing hilarious. Apparently, Supergirl’s costume — and its emphasis on certain assets — has been something of a controversy for years. Here‘s a lengthy thread at the Comic Book Resources Forums regarding the skirt/panties/shorts debacle.

Still Trying to Migrate to Trades

Sometime last year I made the decision to start buying most of my comics in trade paperback form. Or at least miniseries and limited series. Sure, it would mean waiting several months for the trade to come out but it would be cheaper and easier to store. Since then I’ve purchased very, very few trades and at least a hundred comics. I just can’t bring myself to stop buying individual books.

On the other hand, I have four miniseries (Unknown and Ignition City, among others) in varying states of completion sitting in piles waiting to be read. Maybe I have the first two or three issues but haven’t read a single one, not wanting to start a miniseries and then have to wait a month or two for the final issues to be released. So why not wait for the trades?

I suppose in part I’m concerned that these miniseries won’t be released in trade paperback form. In that case, I’d have to track down the individual issues anyway and that would take even longer (although it probably would be even cheaper). But it seems like just about everything is getting a trade paperback release these days. So what’s my excuse?

Dark Reign: Elektra / Fantastic Four

Although not an “event” along the lines of Civil War or Secret Invasion, Marvel’s current Dark Reign storyline seems to have impacted plenty of titles while producing a lot of limited series. I’m only read two: Dark Reign: Elektra and Dark Reign: Fantastic Four. I’m enjoying both but of the two, Dark Reign: Fantastic Four is much more fun.

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #3 (Courtesy of The Grand Comics Database)

Given the subject matter I suppose the term fun isn’t quite right. I’m still not sure when the events in the limited series take place in relation to the regular Fantastic Four title. Before? After? At the same time? Who knows. Maybe, as I’ve theorized, Dark Reign: Fantastic Four takes place in an alternate universe very close to the core Marvel universe. It would make a lot of sense, actually. I can’t wait to see if I’m right.