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2011 in Review: Most Overlooked Title

By | December 6th, 2011
Posted in Columns | % Comments

In this day and age, is it possible for something to be “overlooked” or “underrated?” Anything and everything that is released seems to be not only found but analyzed to death, but somehow, it still seems like some comics never find the audience they deserve to have.

This category – Most Overlooked Title – was the most divisive, as our eleven voters somehow managed to nominate FIFTY-FOUR total comics. It led to a bit of a muddled Top Five, but one thing is certain: there is one book that we all believe should be read by more people.

Find out what that book and the rest are after the jump, and thanks to Morning Glories and Skybound designer Tim Daniel for designing our 2011 in Review logo!

3 (tie). Jeff Parker’s Hulk

Why It’s Overlooked (Matt Meylikhov): Not to put too punny of a point on it, but when Rulk first came about from writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness, a lot of fans were seeing red. The horrifically under-developed character hopped from scene to scene, smashing things left and right with no rhyme or reason. There was no reason to root against this villain outside of the fact that he was a villain; there was no reason to care about the character outside of some kind of tie to the Hulk. Rulk was just a blank slate of a character who liked to beat up Thor on the moon, steal the Silver Surfer’s board, punch the Watcher in the face and just generally complain that Banner broke his heart before running off into the distance. When it was finally revealed that Rulk was actually General Ross (who had both shown up in the comic standing next to Rulk, and then had been “killed” in an elaborate rouse), it only served the enraged fanboys more food for their complain-filled sandwich, with a side of unabridled vitriol.

Then along came Mr. Jeff Parker. While he had written a few Fall of the Hulks/World War Hulks tie-ins, he had never touched the main adventures of the character, only serving up a few tangential tie-ins. Handing him the keys to the Hulk machine was a risky one, given the somewhat finnicky fan response already given to the character’s initial debut, but in a few short issues Parker showed everyone he knew what he was doing. The initial arc featured the Rulk getting beat up left and right as “punishment” for his actions, and Parker gave Rulk a new sense of purpose. He worked on Ross’ backstory, developed a new (and fantastic!) rogue’s gallery for Rulk to match that of the Hulk’s and reinvented old villains (like MODOK, now in the form of a spider!). He even created terrific consequences for all of the insanity that Rulk had got into in his initial 24-issues, starting with answering the question, “What happens when you punch a Watcher in the face?” Parker’s mission statement was clear: yes, what came before was a rather atypical superhero punch-fest nonsense, but that’s not going to be the case anymore.

I remember right before his first issue of Hulk came out, Jeff Parker did an interview with CBR (I think) asking fans to just give it a shot. He noted that he knew the character came with baggage, but he and his Atlas partner Gabriel Hardman had some fun things planned that he hoped would redeem the character in the eyes of many a fan — and it worked perfectly with this one. Starting this year out strong with the Scorched Earth finale before delivering the best entry into Marvel’s Point One initiative (in my opinion), Parker and the Hulk team have put out 18 issues for the series as the year comes to a close, and they’ve all been some of the finest books Marvel has offered throughout all of 2011.

I can not speak any more highly about Jeff Parker’s run on Hulk if I tried, honestly. Taking a somewhat reviled character and turning him into one of the most well-developed entries of the Marvel line-up is no easy feat, but Parker and his assorted collaborators did just that and continue to do it month in and month out with the title. Forget that green nonsense! Make mine RED!

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3 (tie). Skullkickers

Why It’s Overlooked (Ryan Closs): While I voted for Skullkickers as most-overlooked book it seems like that’s becoming less and less true. I know they’re popular here at Multiversity and it seems like everyone who reads it can’t help but try and spread the word about it. The growing word of mouth support (I have no idea what they’re doing in sales) for Skullkickers is pretty impressive to me. That said, they’re taking a few months off between arcs so that the creators can actually get PAID so they can make more Skullkickers for essentially free. This is a travesty. I know some people see this as just a fantasy book, and while not strictly false it’s so much more than that. Skullkickers is one of the funniest books on the stands. Sure it has fantasy trappings but it’s a hysterical adventure story with hard drinking mercenaries.

Skullkickers is a story that works incredibly well in comics. The unlimited budget is used perfectly, there’s almost no talking heads at any point it’s all big action, big fun, colourful adventure. There’s also some of the best use of sound effects and lettering I’ve seen in AGES. There’s always snide comments from the background characters you might miss is you’re not paying attention, the sound effects aren’t just your usual “SMASH”, “BANG”, “WHOOMP” it’s “STAGE DIVE OF DESTRUCTION”, “ARROW ASSAULT IN THE KEY OF DEATH”, “BREAKING DRAGON WIND”. If you’ve ever played, and loved Munchkin you should be reading Skullkickers. It’s no secret that there’s going to be a Skullkickers version of Munchkin coming next year and I can’t imagine it be anything less than amazing as it’s an absolutely PERFECT fit. Read this book. You’re not just hurting creators Jim Zub and Edwin Huang by not reading it, you’re hurting yourself.

3 (tie). Comic Book Comics

Why It’s Overlooked (Walter Richardson): One of the most important comics to be published in the past few years and you didn’t read it simply because you probably didn’t hear about it. Shame on you! A successor of sorts to Action Philosophers!, Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s Comic Book Comics was a non-fiction look at the history of the medium that we all know and love, and boy was it great. In only six issues, the current kings of non-fiction comics told an incredibly informative history that, while concise, never seemed too compressed. And, much like Action Philosophers! there was a healthy dose of humor along with the history, but never at the expense of the facts. Non-fiction comics need all the support they can get, and that goes double for ones that are as great as Comic Book Comics. Of course, there’s one major reason that you may have missed it this year: The first issue came out in 2008, and the frequency of publication was quite irregular. Still, with the trade on the way, you have no reason to continue overlooking this fun and smart title, which I would go so far as to call an essential for any supposed fan of the medium.

2. Black Panther

Why It’s Overlooked (Josh Mocle): Yeah yeah, I know what most of you were thinking when this one was announced: “oh look, Marvel is just throwing Black Panther in to keep Daredevil’s seat warm so that they can “triumphantly return” him to the book and the numbering in some big marketing ploy down the line.” I know, because I thought that too. However, what I was surprised to find in the T’challa-era of “The Man Without Fear” was an intensely intelligent, cerebral crime story with a lot of heart and well placed humor thrown into the mix. It featured characters both new and old written with a very human charm and gorgeous art from some of the best modern noir illustrators in the business.

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It took a character that had been bogged down with continuity changes and status quo shifts and brought him down to his bare essentials, set him on a path of redemption and managed to make that frequently overused plot device actually seem genuine. On top of this, it remained respectful to the Marvel Universe while still incorporating sharp political and cultural commentary into the stories in a way that was poignant and (usually) not preachy. In short, this book did almost everything right. However, despite a good spike at the beginning of the run and a lengthy event tie-in arc, the numbers of this one began to steadily decline, resulting in its cancellation this coming February. However, if Marvel has any sense at all, they will not leave writer David Liss off of a book for long. Marvel has a long and storied history of street level characters just sitting in limbo, waiting for him to revitalize them.

1. The Sixth Gun

Why It’s Overlooked (Matt Meylikhov): The Old West — a time romanticized by storytellers for generations for its unadulterated potential. The Old West as an element, as a living breathing being all of its own, is the perfect setting for a myriad of fantastic storytelling tropes; almost anything can be effectively staged within the Old West, and it has — from the old stories of John Wayne and his view of right and wrong, to horror-fueled videogames like Red Dead Redemption, all the way through to techno-nightmare visions like Cowboys vs Aliens, there really isn’t much you can’t do with a good Western.

It takes a smart mind to unlock literally every single one at the same time. This is where the Sixth Gun comes in — a horror/action adventure Western (circa the Civil War), the book follows Becky Montcrief, the holder of a powerful weapon full of dark secrets as she attempts to save the world from a vicious and dastardly villain who is evil incarnate. With the help of the dashing Drake Sinclair, Becky embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, spanning time and space as she battles her way through hordes of demons in this fantastic genre smashing piece of fiction.

In a medium overrun with a singular genre, the Sixth Gun is a beacon of excitement, and is a career maker for creators Bunn and Hurtt. If you haven’t been reading the Sixth Gun before now, you’ve been missing out on some of the best that comics have to offer — and you need to correct that before you hurt yourself further.

David’s Picks
1. Fear Agent
2. The Sixth Gun
3. Avengers Academy
4. Casanova
5. Reed Gunter

Matt’s Picks
1. Jeff Parker’s Hulk
2. Wonder Woman
3. The Sixth Gun
4. Green Wake
5. Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors

Gil’s Picks
1. Herc
2. Kill Shakespeare
3. The Sixth Gun
4. Avengers Academy
5. Alpha Flight

Brandon’s Picks
1. Sweet Tooth
2. Tiny Titans
3. Haunt
4. OMAC
5. Avengers Academy

Josh’s Picks
1. The Sixth Gun
2. Black Panther
3. THUNDER Agents
4. Ghost Rider
5. All-Star Western

Walt’s Picks
1. Comic Book Comics
2. Black Panther
3. Skullkickers
4. Hulk
5. OMAC

Patrick’s Picks
1. Jim Shooter’s Gold Key Titles
2. Butcher Baker, The Righteous Maker

Brian’s Picks
1. Justice League of America (James Robinson)
2. Red Robin
3. Booster Gold
4. Batwing
5. Justice League Dark

Ryan’s Picks
1. Atomic Robo
2. Skullkickers
3. Li’l Depressed Boy
4. Green Wake
5. iZombie

Chad’s Picks
1. Knight and Squire
2. Hawkeye: Blind Spot
3. The Sixth Gun
4. Comic Book Comics
5. Chris Roberson’s Superman

Mike’s Picks
1. Pood
2. Thickness
3. Gangsta Rap Posse
4. La Mano del Destino
5. Study Group Twelve #4


David Harper

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