Best Mini-Series. This category was an extremely difficult to define one, and it is one where we basically placed any questionable call titles. Is a title not quite an OGN and not quite an ongoing? It’s now a mini. That’s basically what went with. While you may debate some of our selections as to whether or not they fit on this (namely number one), it’s fairly difficult to argue against the quality of these titles.
As per usual, make sure to share your opinion in the comments. We love the comments and all posts of this short should just be a kick off to discussion about the subject. What are your favorites? What do you think shouldn’t have made the list? Feel free to tell us.
10 (tie). Silver Surfer: Requiem
10 (tie). Local
8. Marvel Zombies
7. Seven Soldiers of Victory
6. Magneto: Testament
5. DC: The New Frontier
4. We3
3. Green Lantern: Rebirth
Matt: In a surprise to absolutely no one, Green Lantern: Rebirth has worked it’s into the top mini list. And why shouldn’t it? Let’s look at the facts — by all account to comic book fans across the globe, Green Lantern has been the breakout smash hit comic of the decade. Geoff Johns and Hal Jordan have brought new life to DC (which I suppose is mildly ironic with Blackest Night?) and have literally introduced a brand new generation to heroic legacy of Hal Jordan, who had been out of commission for a very long time. Between his breakdown, the Parallax transformation, Zero Hour, Final Night, and Day of Vengeance, we had definitely lost his greatness as a hero throughout the years. But with just six issues, Geoff Johns made one of the darkest losses in the heroic world of DC into one of the biggest conspiracy plots of all time. He brought back Hal, which effectively allowed for the return of the Corps, and went on to do some of the biggest reinventions of his career.
Of course, none of that would be possible if Johns’ hadn’t made Jordan somewhat sympathetic again. While Jordan had sacrificed himself in order to save the DCU, he had since become the Spectre, who is notoriously a jerk. Plus, he still was responsible for the death of a ton of Lanterns and DC heroes in general. Yet with Green Arrow being alive again as well as other characters who were still friends with Hal, Johns was able to make us believe in Hal again. With frequent references to the original downfall, we got to see how it COULD have gone had Hal Jordan recreated Coast City under less stressed circumstances. This overall continuation of those events actually made them feel, to me (as someone who could not have possibly read/understood them as they came out), make a lot more sense. I went back and read Emerald Twilight and the whole thing felt somewhat forced and out of place. Johns’ reconciliations made a lot of it seem a bit more plausible, and acted as a great way to return some of the classic DCU characters to relevance. Plus, he punched out Batman! Awesome!
But my favorite part of this mini is going back and reading it now. Whether it’s the appearance of Black Hand at the beginning, or Sinestro being sent to the Anti-Matter universe at the end (though we didn’t know it at the time), it’s absolutely amazing to see how much of Johns’ future work would be relevant in this book. The first issue in fact is entitled “Blackest Night,” which in even more interesting now. I think it’s a great element of story telling to have overall plan when going into writing, and not simply try and make the best stories you can along the way. Seeing how things have played out now makes reading a current title like Flash: Rebirth all the more exciting, because if you focus carefully on every panel in just the first issue along you can catch a glimpse of what is expected to come in the future of the title. But what I believe makes for a truly great title is when you look back on all that’s come from it, and not only does it’s relevance become all the more clear, but it still makes for just as good of a read as when you read it the first time. And having recently re-read Rebirth, I can easily say it’s still just as great as it’s always been.
Continued belowGil: Remember how I said that 6 years ago, Hal Jordan was one of the most irredeemable characters in comicdom? Well, his journey to the light (so to speak) began here. The indomitable Geoff Johns crafted a story that not only brought the icon out of the darkness, but also streamlined his past transgressions into one of the most believable reveals in history. Not only that, but began the rise of Sinestro from one of the lower-tier villains to one of the most powerful and multi-faceted villains in the DCU, let alone The Green Lantern-verse.
Brandon: Bring back Hal Jordan to replace Kyle Rayner all while recharging the Green Lantern franchise with a top of the line artist and writer. This
was DC’s apparent mission statement going into this mini. I had grown to love Kyle Rayner and was personally a little more than disappointed by this turn events when I first heard about it. By the end I was singing a completely different tune.
This mini revitalized the Green Lantern franchise and started a DC on the path toward the Green Age. A time where Green Lantern was so popular that as the end of the decade came around the big time event revolved around Hal and the Green Lantern Corps. Who would have believed that was possible prior to this mini? Sure as hell not me and you I can honestly say that.
Now Green Lantern rules the DCU. He is the guy that everyone wants to read and collect. He’s the guy who has a movie in the works and isn’t Batman. This mini started all that. In the long run I believe it will be looked back on with even more fondness and it’s collectability and worth will only increase.
2. Superman: Red Son
David: Mark Millar is a mad genius. This title alone proves that, as he reimagines what the world would have been like if Superman landed in Communist Russia and was raised as an icon of socialism and the flagship member of the Soviet Republic. That it features nationally iconic versions of all of our favorite heroes and ends with a predestination paradox are but two of the more bizarre features of this Elseworlds title, in which Millar runs wild with every idea he could possibly come up with.
Not the least of which is the most glorious of all insane Millar concepts: anarchist Batman. If you told me nothing else of this title, I would read it for those two words. That the rest of the story is well told by Millar and Dave Johnson is just frosting on the cake for me.
Matt: During the time when I didn’t read comics regularly, I happened to come across an image featuring Superman with a hammer and sickle for an emblem instead of an S. I found it to be a curious but hilarious image, and when I came across it on the cover of a trade, I decided to take it home with me. What I ended up reading was arguably one of the most creative and inventive re-imaginings of DC in the Elseworld storylines that I had come across at that time, and the dark hilarity of the book stuck with me ever since, to the point where I would openly and frequently recommend this book to non-comic readers as a gateway for an enjoyable story. It’s still a favorite to this day, and I’ve got three Red Son figures hanging on my wall right now! Of course, this is also the book that introduced me to the insane mind that is Mark Millar.
Superman: Red Son, which featured a re-imagining of Superman as a communist icon, is simply one of Mark Millar’s finest works. The man thrives when he is allowed to absolutely go nuts and get away with whatever odd imaginings he can come up with. If he’s going to write a story with established characters, it’s best for both him and us if continuity is not a factor. When that’s the case, you get kick ass stories that somewhat defy logic. Like Red Son! See, if you say to me “imagine Superman as a commie,” I can easily do it — but not to the extent Millar can and did. In just 3 oversize books, Millar created a unique tale with his (surely patented) brand of crazy that is so well thought out that by the time you get to the end, you realize that you’ve been reading a book that goes on, quite literally, an infinite loop. In fact, my favorite part of this is the ending in which everything begins to tie together. As the armies of Lex Luthor and Superman get ready for the face-off of the century and the various pieces begin to fit as Superman’s all-American ideology is very clearly replaced, this is quite possibly the best ending for any of the mini’s on our list (at least in my book).
Continued belowI should note that I, just in general, do not really enjoy Superman as a character. However, even I can’t deny how awesome he is in this book. And that’s what’s to be expected of Millar. Millar’s imagination allows for such dramatic reinventions that a character who you thought you knew can be presented in a completely new fashion and it never seems too out of place to function. With Red Son, we have one of the finest moments on his career, and my favorite Elseworld’s story out of the whole bunch.
Plus… I mean, Anarchist Batman. Come on.
Gil: If you ever needed a reason to read this book, this is all the excuse you need; I don’t think there’s a better characterization of Superman in recent memory. What Mark Millar does here is he takes the very basic ideas of the character and builds around him in something so foreign to us, yet he still feels as familiar as ever. In fact, I would even go so far as to say this is what makes Superman such a great character. Despite growing up behind the iron curtain, he grows up to become the hero we’re all familiar with. Couple spot on characterization with one of the best twist endings ever, and you have the perfect Superman book.
Brandon: When I heard there would be a mini about a communist Superman I was sold. I mean seriously? That is so awesome that it just sells itself
The only thing this would have needed in the way of advertisements would have been a black page that said, “Seriously, commie Superman!”. Guaranteed sales!
Now when it came time to actually picking up the title I was not expecting it to be as good as it was. It was a truly enjoyable piece that when reread stills stands as a great read. It was a great creative twist with the great talent of Mark Millar to drive it. It honestly leaves me wondering why we haven’t seen a return to this
since it’s spawned action figures, shirts and plenty of sales. I’d buy more even though the ending was nutso. That nutso ending made it even better for me honestly.
1. Scott Pilgrim
David: Scott Pilgrim is one of my favorite five or ten comics ever made. Everything Bryan Lee O’Malley does in this series in my mind is exceptional, from the manga influenced art, to the world that it takes place in that is part Canada, part video game, and part indie music scene, all the way to the brilliant characters he develops. You name a character, odds are I love them. From Crash and the Boys to Kim Pine (how I love thee) to Wallace Wells to Young Neil, every character is incredible from the most random creation (MICHAEL COMEAU!) to the main characters.
Speaking of, in Scott Pilgrim himself, O’Malley created a true hero for today. He’s a selfish bastard, he’s an indie rock bassist, he’s a huge slacker, he’s an amazing fighter, and he gets levels up. Seriously. He also loves women in a whole hearted way that betrays his selfishness, he’s wonderfully oblivious, and he’s eminently likeable. Without such a well crafted lead character, this series could not have possibly turned out as well as it did.
Of course, because O’Malley is the man, it did. Thank god for that, as I adore this series and its complete readability (it’s hard not to re-read this series often). I cannot wait until book seven, which will assuredly light the world on fire with the awesome contained in its pages.
Also, this is one of the series I mentioned that we could not figure out where to place. We love it so much, it had to go somewhere. It’s not quite an ongoing, as it has been released in five digest editions so far. It’s not quite an OGN, because there are multiple of them. So for us it’s a mini-series. Can you dig it?
Matt: Scott Pilgrim is primed and ready to take the world by storm on all accounts. It is by far one of the most surprisingly charming books I’ve ever been told to read. When you look at it simply from the outside, it’s fairly easy to get lost in preconceived notions of the book. It’s basically a manga. But what’s so charming about Scott Pilgrim is that it’s the manga that’s not a manga. Every retailer I know except for one places these books in the Japanese/manga section, but it just doesn’t fit the mold in mind to what I believe a manga to be, probably because it’s written about a Canadian in Canada by a Canadian in Canada. I will not pretend to know a lot about anime or Japanese comics in general, but what I do know is this is nothing like any of the manga’s I’ve flipped through. Most notably, this is the only book of it’s kind to actually be purchased by me.
Continued belowNo matter how you look at it, the book just works. Scott Pilgrim himself works so well because his character is so idiotically charming. He’s only a little bit smarter than Archie. He has a lot of heart however, and his story, as cliché as it may seem, is not conventional in the slightest: boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy … wait, boy has to fight 7 evil ex-boyfriends? Alright. You’ve got me. Then go ahead and throw in all the video game references, quirky pop culture references, hilarious dialogue, and mind blowingly creative outcomes, you’ve got a sure fire hit that anyone who isn’t currently grabbing this book as it comes out should be enveloped in a strong sense of remorse for somehow turning a blind eye to one of the best books available for the modern day comic reader. I think Scott Pilgrim even works as an excellent way to bridge people from comics to manga, or even vice versa.
With a side scrolling game (hopefully a Megaman tribute) as well as a movie starring Michael Cera all set for 2010, Scott Pilgrim is all set to dominate the hearts and minds of the average entertainment junkie. In all honesty, whenever I tell people about Scott Pilgrim they act incredibly skeptical about the book, but as soon as they read the book they fall in love with it. There is something for everyone in Scott Pilgrim, and it’s quirkiness knows no bounds. It is precisely the career defining work by a young artist like O’ Malley that I and we hope to see more of in the future from up and comers in comics, and with one final book on the horizon, I can say quite confidently that if you haven’t gotten into Scott Pilgrim yet, now would be the time to.
Gil: If you can’t tell, we love super hero books, but as you can tell by our number one entry on this list, we love anything and everything, no matter what the subject matter. And Scott Pilgrim is one of the most creative books ever to hit the market, mixing and matching so many different genre’s into one so different from all the others, that you feel like you’re reading something else entirely. There is so much charm in the book, that it lures anyone is. I whole-heartedly recommend it to comic fans looking for something new and even succeeded in getting my newbie friend into the series. He loves it about as much as I do, and started going deeper into the indie vault. It’s an excellent jumping on point if you’re looking for something different that the usual superhero fare.
Individual Lists
David
1. Scott Pilgrim
2. We3
3. Local
4. Silver Surfer: Requiem
5. DC: The New Frontier
6. Midnight Nation
7. I Kill Giants
8. Spider-Man: Reign
9. Magneto: Testament
10. Superman: Red Son
Matt
1. Seven Soldiers of Victory
2. Scott Pilgrim
3. We3
4. Marvel 1602
5. Justice
6. Atomic Robo & The Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne
7. Superman: Red Son
8. Magneto: Testament
9. Phoenix: Warsong
10. Killer of Demons
Gil
1. Scott Pilgrim
2. Superman: Red Son
3. Green Lantern: Rebirth
4. Legion of Three Worlds
5. Magneto: Testament
6. Villains United
7. Destroyer
8. Spider-Man: Reign
9. Superman: Secret Origin (Gil really likes Supes and Gary Frank)
10. Silver Surfer: Requiem
Brandon
1. Green Lantern: Rebirth
2. Marvel Zombies
3. DC: The New Frontier
4. Superman: Red Son
5. The Hood (BKV)
6. Morlocks
7. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel
8. Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
9. Villains United
10. The OMAC Project
Got thoughts on our list? Let us know with this poll, friends! And leave comments as to what you think deserves to be on here!
