What a wild year 2011 was for the world of comics, and it was felt in a huge way across all publishers. Did you hear that DC relaunched all of their comics? That Marvel renumbered two of their biggest franchises? That Dark Horse offed maybe their biggest character? That Image didn’t wait until 2012 to start celebrating their upcoming decade anniversary? That Top Shelf had a massive year of graphic novel releases?
That isn’t even the half of it, but those were some of the big deal happenings. But who made our top three publishers list for 2011? Who finished on top?
Find out after the jump, and thanks to Morning Glories and Skybound designer Tim Daniel for designing our 2011 in Review logo!
3. Marvel Comics
Why It’s Number Three (Matt Meylikhov): Marvel has had a curious year, to be truthful. From their string of controversial cancellations and their major 2011 event that left many wanting, one would think that Marvel, at a surface level, didn’t have a great year.
Yet a deeper look at Marvel’s line will yield a different look; Marvel took many chances this year, attempting (if not perfectly) to synergize the fans wants as a consumer with Marvel’s needs as a company. They took chances on some up and coming writers, introduced some new books with unconventional leads, and made attempts to make their output worth it in the eyes of the fans with double ships of titles and an increase in sensational and worthwhile storylines. In fact, from Multiversity’s list alone, Marvel won best ongoing and five of the best minis, is home to six of the best writers, four of the best artists, and two of both the best new and best overlooked books. Heap on that a list of critically acclaimed books this year from Daredevil to Spider-Man and at least two revitalized franchises spinning out of events that didn’t involve an entire universe being cancelled, and it’s easy to see Marvel had a good year, all things considered.
Every year, it never ceases to amaze me just how hard Marvel will stick to their guns in an almost stubborn fashion, but their relationship with fans is constantly improving. Sure, from a jaded perspective it might seem like they were, on a corporate level, simply shilling for a buck, but it certainly stands as noteworthy that Marvel, in terms of superhero franchise that have lasted fifty years or older, was able to plow through this year with a vengeance, and it should be interesting to see what they have planned next year with their Architect helmed Phoenix-based event.
2. DC Comics
Why It’s Number Two (Brian Salvatore): DC did something amazing in 2011: they took a risk. Whether or not you agree with their strategy is almost besides the point; in an industry full of safe bets and far too few new ideas, DC actually did something about the diminishing numbers that were being treated as inevitable. The New 52 breathed a lot of new life into the industry as a whole, and any one who tells you that DC is in a worse position starting 2012 than they were starting 2011 is either a fool or works for Marvel.
The role of a publisher is to put out material that people want to buy. We can mince words otherwise, but this really is the entire purpose of DC: to make stuff people will buy. And, shocking as it may be, people want to buy good books – well written, beautifully drawn, interesting books that come out (relatively) on time and, at times, challenge our expectations. And while no one not named Dan DiDio would tell you that all of DC’s books fall under that category, at the end of 2011 it is pretty clear that one of the “Big 2” is willing to try new things to bring people in, and the other is refining its vision to a few key properties. Whether or not they succeed is almost besides the point; in2011, DC tried to get you to come back to the comic book store, and Marvel got you to go to the multiplex. And since we are talking about comic books here, DC has to be the most successful publisher of 2011, if for the simple fact that no one else did as much for their comic books as DC did.
Continued below
1. Image Comics
Why It’s Number One (David Harper): Yeah, DC took a huge chance that paid off big. You have to give them a lot of praise, and in my opinion they earned that second spot. However, to me the Best Publisher should be the one who puts out the best comics, and in my opinion you couldn’t find more consistently great titles than what Image was throwing out there.
We knew things like The Walking Dead, Chew and Invincible would be great. We knew Morning Glories was going to take a leap this year. We knew Skullkickers and Elephantmen were quality books. But man, the list of books that started up this year from them was staggering. The Red Wing, Reed Gunther, Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors, The Infinite Vacation, Witch Doctor, The Intrepids, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Severed, Who is Jake Ellis?, Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker…that’s just books that rolled out this year. Fun fact about those books: all of those books earn votes for 2011 in Review in one category or another.
Image Comics promises us that 2012 will be even better, and with series’ coming from Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, and a litany of high profile Extreme Studios relaunches, we aren’t going to doubt them. They took our top spot for publisher this year, and they look to have a head start on taking the title in 2012 as well.
David’s Picks
1. Image Comics
2. DC Comics
3. Dark Horse Comics
Matt’s Picks
1. Marvel Comics
2. Image Comics
3. Top Shelf
Gil’s Picks
1. Image Comics
2. DC Comics
3. Marvel Comics
Brandon’s Picks
1. DC Comics
2. Image Comics
3. Marvel Comics
Josh’s Picks
1. Image Comics
2. DC Comics
3. Marvel Comics
Walt’s Picks
1. Marvel Comics
2. Image Comics
3. DC Comics
Patrick’s Picks
1. Fantagraphics
2. Marvel Comics
3. Image Comics
Brian’s Picks
1. DC Comics
2. Image Comics
3. Dark Horse Comics
Ryan’s Picks
1. Image Comics
2. DC Comics
3. Marvel Comics
Chad’s Picks
1. Marvel Comics
2. IDW Publishing
3. DC Comics
Mike’s Picks
1. Image Comics
2. Dark Horse Comics
3. Top Shelf
