This is it – this is the big finale of our look at the best the decade had to offer us as comic readers. While we assuredly missed a ton of titles (I was personally most saddened by not being able to include BPRD/Hellboy and Runaways), such is the nature of the system we used here. Doing this project was a really exciting one for myself, and I hope through this we’ve conveyed just how fantastic this decade was. We’ve been given all kinds of great comics, new writers and artists, exciting new publishers, and even the way we’re able to access comics has changed.
It’s hard to imagine how much things could change over the next decade, but I can tell you one thing – I’m really excited to be here for the ride.
We at Multiversity Comics would like to thank you for reading, and as per usual, please leave a comment and share anything you think we may have missed. To all the creators and people we’ve spotlighted and even the ones we haven’t thanks for the great work.
10. The Ultimates
8 (tie). Amazing Spider-Man
8 (tie). Astonishing X-Men
7. 52
6. Planetary
5. All-Star Superman
3 (tie). The Walking Dead
David: This was the third comic I started reading after getting back into comics, and it existed in great juxtaposition to the other two I had picked up before it. In reading the first arc in which our hero Rick Grimes wakes up in a zombie apocalypse and then travels to Atlanta to meet up with his family. That first arc is filled with betrayal, jealousy, death, violence, shocking finales, and some of the best storytelling of this decade. That it also is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all of those things for the rest of the series speaks about how dark it gets and about how fantastic of a series it is.
Robert Kirkman managed to make this one of the most consistently well told series of the decade, existing as almost a metronome with every issue being at worst good. When anything besides “exceptional” is seen as a disappointment, that’s a pretty good indicator that this comic is amazing. His artistic partner in Charlie Adlard (Tony Moore worked on the first arc) is not my favorite of artists, but he gets the job done and conveys the horror and the personal moments with equal skill.
When Kirkman talks about this comic in the letter column for the comic, he often references that he has hundreds of issues of plot planned out already. You know what that means…look forward to seeing this on Multiversity’s next best of the decade list as well.
Matt: Oh, the Walking Dead. Right away, by having this as the number 3 best series of the past decade, I can tell we might cause a bit of a stir. I mean, it’s not like groups of people haven’t come out against the series, labeling it as one of the most sexist and racist comic books of all time. Some of the things I’ve heard about it drive me up the wall personally. But despite all the nay saying people have towards it’s content (all of which I believe is a heap of bologna, but that’s another discussion for another day), that doesn’t stop the Walking Dead from being one of the most intense, disturbing, and well written comic books of the past decade. The seemingly “innocent” beginnings, most of which paid homage to excellent zombie films, have moved beyond people just trying to survive to a complete and horrific look at the utter downfall of society. The things I’ve seen inside this book can never be unseen, and I’m sure most people who have kept up with the book know what I’m talking about specifically (you know… issue #47…). The Walking Dead has continuously functioned as an amazing take on the zombie/horror genre, and I dare you to bring me a book that has or could do it better.
Continued belowOf course, all of this is thanks to the entirely warped mind of Robert Kirkman. Could anyone else think this stuff up? I think not, and for the sake of sanity, I hope not. His look at the breakdown of society has been a polarizing epic, leaving many people unnerved and uncomfortable by the end of frequent issues. Absolutely no one and no values are safe here. This is the Zombie Apocalypse, and this is the way the world ends. Our hero Rick has gone from an unlikely protagonist cop just looking to survive to a depraved and bearded man who has trouble identifying with his own humanity now, and this is through a series of events that just keep getting worse and worse and worse. I’ve seen plenty of zombie films and read plenty of zombie books in my day, but I can’t think of one of them that doesn’t offer some kind of light of hope at the end. It might be a very slight one, but it always seemingly exists — that despite all the horror inflicted upon our heroes, they will somehow get out at the end. I can never even dream of saying that for the Walking Dead, and I fully expect the last issue to be Rick just laying on the ground and waiting to be eaten at this point. It’s just SO. FREAKING. DARK.
So the Walking Dead has gone and taken our hearts and ripped them in two (you’d almost think Joss Whedon was writing it…). For those that have followed the story for some time now, we’ve all seen some of the most depraved events in the history of comic-dom. We can’t go back from this point, and we never will. Nor do we want to.
Gil: The Walking Dead is my personal favorite ongoing title and probably the most heartbreaking on the list. Robert Kirkman writes one of the most haunting books on the market, and not because it has zombies, but because it has humans. We are the true monsters in this title, as we’ll do anything to survive. There aren’t many villains scarier than The Governor, who was simply a guy who ran a town in the post-apocalyptic Georgia, or the latest baddies in The Hunters. But while they are clearly meant to be villains, even our heroes are straddling the line between redeemable and irredeemable. Rick has literally lost part of himself after this plague, and it appears his humanity is dwindling having to navigate the hell that is The South. With no end in sight, I can’t imagine how depraved this book can get. It’s already harrowing, especially after what almost happened to poor Carl. If it was torture to read it, can you imagine how much it hurt to write and draw it? Wow. It’s just a lot to take in. But oh so worth to trip.
Brandon: Yet another title I got onboard with late. Also, another title that was completely different from my normal reading tendencies. What it did have was a terrific writer, excellent buzz, and zombies! The zombies hooked me the story kept me. Unlike Y though I have continued reading this title in tpb form. It just seems to read better that way to me. I find the individual issues are far too short and leave me wanting in an unsatisfied way. Reading it in trades leaves me in a
much happier place.
So many bad things happen in this title and yet it remains so good. The unsettling situations make the title so unbelievably good that I feel sometimes like I should be disgusted with myself for enjoying it so much. Anything involving the Governor makes my case for me.
I personally feel that at the rate this title is going it could very well be on this list again next decade. That says a lot of a title that has been around for some time now.
3 (tie). Y the Last Man
David: I can say something about Y the Last Man that I can’t say about any other comic. I would not be writing this if it weren’t for this comic. I was completely out of comics for a few years after reading until I was about 17, and while I thought about them from time to time, I still did not pursue them. Then one day I was having a conversation with my mom and she told me the one thing that she’d ever been ashamed of me was giving up reading comics even though I loved them.
Continued belowSo we went to Bosco’s Comics in Anchorage, Alaska. While there I was talking to an employee named Jordan who suggested this new comic, it had just come out with its first trade paperback. It was called Y the Last Man. While I hadn’t heard of either creator, I picked it up anyways. Shortly thereafter I started picking this, Fables, and The Walking Dead up by trade. That’s all I read for a few years until Infinite Crisis came out and I couldn’t resist the urge to pick up individual issues any more.
A few years back, I eventually wrote a letter to Y the Last Man’s artist and co-creator Pia Guerra, telling her that I think her and Brian K. Vaughan owe me roughly $25,000 for getting me addicted to comics again. I said it in a facetious manner of course, and let her know how much this comic means to me.
No comic has ever affected me in the way Y the Last Man has. It’s been a gift, it’s been a treasure, and to me it was without a doubt the best comic of the decade.
Brandon: “One never forgets their first”. This is a statement that’s used to describe one’s first love or first experience exploring the sexy time.
When I use it here it’s like a mix of the two. I use it to describe the first time I stepped out of the mainstream superhero medium of comics and into creator owned comics not involving capes and large breasted women in spandex. This title opened a door to another world for me.
Y was the title that I wanted despite not knowing I wanted it. It’s a title that I got onboard with a little late. For this reason I originally picked it up in trades. I quickly fell in love and burned through the trades so fast that I started picking up the issues as quickly as possible because I wouldn’t even think about waiting for
the next tpb. I HAD to have the issues NOW!
Having the tpbs has helped to bring the title to others attention. I hooked my wife with the tpbs and she became a Y junkie just like me. It still remains the only title why wife has ever consistently read. Everyone who has borrowed them has become hooked.
Why is it so compelling a read? The answer is simple. It has characters you can relate to in situations that aren’t realistic but still maintain a foothold in reality. If you can read Y The Last Man without developing feelings for the characters like they were real people then you must be a real a-hole.
If you’re behind the times and still haven’t read this title do yourself a favor and check it out. The series is complete now so you wont even have to wait years for the extremely satisfying finale. So no excuses go read it now!
2. Green Lantern
Matt: Let’s face it — Geoff Johns has been one of the most popular writers in all of comics for a LONG time. He has repeatedly won the Best Writer Award from Wizard year after year since he was writing Flash (vol. 2) and JSA. But the biggest difference between Johns’ work on Flash and JSA is that with Green Lantern, he reinvented and updated the entire mythos. We’re talking about a complete overhaul of everything that had been canon for Hal Jordan for quite some time. That whole going insane and murdering Lanterns thing? Not really his fault entirely! Oh, and how about the Lanterns being the only color wielding entity in the galaxy? Yeah, we’ve got a whole color spectrum — let’s play with it! And the mantra that has been said since the beginning? We’re going to go ahead and give a deeper meaning to that. That’s the type of changes we’re looking at for the Green Lantern title. I mean, did anyone read Day of Judgment? I know I didn’t, although I’ve been meaning to since Hal returned. And then out of nowhere came Rebirth, and it brought Hal Jordan to the premiere front of a lot of nerd hearts. And that was just the start of it.
Continued belowSince Green Lantern returned in 2005, a lot has happened. More so than I could possibly have remembered if I hadn’t flipped through the entire series recently. We had the reinvention of some villains that hadn’t been seen for a fair while like Black Hand (did anyone even remember him?!), Hector Hammond, and Star Sapphire. Abin Sur’s son arrived out of nowhere, and I don’t think anyone had even thought of Abin Sur since Hal died at the end of Final Night. And of course, there were those pesky yellow rings occasionally popping up out of nowhere, trying to induct Batman into their corps. This led to the return of the freaking Anti-Monitor, and the devilish return of Sinestro, Green Lantern’s arch-nemesis, in an all new suit. The Sinestro Corps changed the Book of Oa to incorporate new rules, which hadn’t even been thought of since Green Lantern started. Then we’ve got Alpha Lanterns, Red Lanterns, Blue Lanterns, Orange Lanterns, Star Sapphires are suddenly a Lantern Corps harnessing Violet, the prophetic rise of Green Lantern Sodam Yat is cut short as he pulls a Hal Jordan and becomes a sun. And then, before you know it, Black Lanterns are rampaging through the galaxy, eating our hearts and ruining our vacations! All of this only possible due to the existence of Green Lantern.
Now, aside from having some of the most amazing and game changing mythos out of ANY series anywhere in just under 5 years (here in December we’re at the 4 and a half year mark, I believe), Green Lantern has done what almost no other series in mainstream comics, and that is become a downright phenomena. The adventures of Hal Jordan and pals have become such a huge hit that they have brought brand new readers into the DCU by word of mouth, such as yours truly. Green Lantern was the first DC series I ever sat down to read aside from the occasional Batman or Superman comic. What I found was a brand new story referencing plenty of old mythos that I could follow along with the new material fairly easy in addition to having an outlet to go and research about previous DC characters and events, which in turn opened me to a whole new world of great and classic stories I had overlooked due to the lack of a Marvel logo. It allowed me and other people I know to connect with a new set of material we had previously not been used to, and it has paid off more than any other series I can think of at the moment. Even all of my favorite books I’ve been reading since I was a kid haven’t had as big of a hit as Green Lantern has done in just 4.5 years, and it is absolutely no wonder to me or anyone why Geoff Johns has managed to continuously win the Best Writer of the Year award from fan votes at Wizard and bigger entities like Spike TV.
So congratulations to DC and to Geoff Johns and all the amazing artists he has worked with since Green Lantern started. It’s been one helluva ride, and I can’t wait to see what other amazing stories are yet to come.
Gil: You guys are probably a little tired of seeing Green Lantern on our lists. Truth be told, my lips ARE getting green from blowing Hal Jordan so much (*wink*). But it’s also because it’s the best superhero property on the market. Geoff Johns put together one of the best runs in recent memory of any book ever, and it shows. When he added the emotional spectrum, it could have been hokey, it could have been lame. But here, it’s become one of the most fascinating stories in print. Under his guidance, characters who could have become simple sneering villains (Sinestro and Atrocitus, both vying for the most evil-sounding name in the DCU) are both characters with motivations and legit beefs with the Green Lantern Corps. Even the comic relief (Larfleeze) can be alternately funny and menacing, never just a joke. But then there’s the Green Lanterns themselves, who have all found a very special place in the heart of this blog.
Continued belowBrandon: The award for consistently best mainstream superhero goes to Green Lantern. GL over the course of the decade has seen the revolution that many mid to bottom selling titles would love to have. A title that once starred a B-list character now is the lynchpin of the DCU and stars an A-list hero.
Geoff Johns along with a myriad of artists have helped to make this title the best title from DC that is set in the DCU. In the pages of this title a universe unto itself has been born. An entire color spectrum has developed presenting us with a variety of new emotions and ring bearers. It’s also established his rogues gallery as some of the most violent and ruthless around but yet has also given them motivations and personalities that weren’t necessarily there before.
If you like superheroes and more importantly good superhero titles then you’ve probably been reading this title or have at one point or another picked an issue up of this or it’s sister title Green Lantern Corps. No title better positioned it’s characters for greatness in the last decade then this title. For all these reasons it sits where it does on this list.
1. Fables
David: The second comic I started picking up after my triumphant return to comics, Bill Willingham’s magnum opus posits a world the fables of lore were forced out of their world’s by an evil warlord named The Adversary. He creates an incredible cast of characters that are every bit as real as the average human, except he writes them in a fiercely intelligent fashion that makes them more three dimensional than almost any other group from the decade. From Bigby Wolf and Boy Blue, to Snow White and Rose Red, to King Cole and Prince Charming, this is the largest and best cast of any comic we’ve seen over these past ten years.
The epic and interweaving plotlines give them plenty to work with, and the stories always seem to find time to highlight even the smallest of characters (example: Flycatcher becoming a King and one of the most powerful characters in the book).
His partner in crime Mark Buckingham supplies some of the most consistently wonderful and imaginative visuals in the market, although I do want to note that the best thing he gives us are his storybook borders to each page. These small flourishes add so much to the look and feel of the title that it instantly becomes one of the most unique titles on the market visually. His rendering of Willingham’s imagination is nothing short of magical, and he is one of the most unappreciated artists around.
Of course, I absolutely cannot talk about this title without mentioning James Jean. James Jean illustrated the first 75 covers of the series (as collected in the intensely wonderful Fables Covers by James Jean), and he gave every single issue a unique flair that no other series can match. His work on Fables is the greatest cover work I’ve ever seen and made picking up each new issue a wonderful present in its own right.
While it isn’t my favorite title of the decade, the fact that so many exceptional creators worked together to make this such a wonderful book makes me perfectly fine with calling this the best ongoing series of the decade. Thanks to all involved for creating this masterpiece.
Matt: I think that, for the most part, it’s tough for some people to get into mainstream comics. There’s years of mythos, related characters, and events you have to follow along with to keep up with, including crossovers and spin-offs to books you’d otherwise never read. It’s a lot to follow. Then you have a book like Fables, which features characters you’re already familiar with and is the single most successful title on the Vertigo line today. You’ve got your spin-offs and your crossovers, but considering it’s all coming out of Fables alone as well as featuring characters you’ve been familiar with all your life, it’s a lot easier to follow. You’ve also got an original graphic novel and an original novel to go with it! It helps to make Fables the perfect comic to bring in new readers to our comicopia, as well as the best series currently being published.
Continued belowWhen Fables first began, it was an innocent enough title. A murder mystery, a big bad wolf, and more magic than you could shake a stick at. What it since has become, however, is one of the most gripping adventure tales featuring characters that are beyond classic to date. Remember all those Disney movies you watched as a kid? Think again. Beast and the Beauty aren’t just two wayward souls brought together by odd events who now live in a castle with a rose. Oh, no. They’re part of a much larger functioning community. And on top of that, they’re in our world. Fables brought these wonderful characters we all knew and love, updated them into a modern setting, and said, “Ok, how would (so and so) react if he or she was living in a premiere closed of district of New York?” And 90% of the time, you’d be wrong to assume you knew where this story was going to go. There have been so many incredible twists and turns, from the reveal of the Adversary to the incredible journey of the Frog Prince and Little Boy Blue, both of whom have become two of the most endearing characters in the entire Fables world. And that doesn’t even get me started on where we are today, with a whole new villain and a brand new storyline/set of consequences. See, most Vertigo series have a set beginning and end point. While they’re all on-going, they’re not on-going in the same sense as all the comics we’re used to. Fables has completely defied that stereotype. The Adversary is defeated? Alright, fine. But by the way, we’ve got these other extremely powerful villains that are ready to take their shot at your heroes, so don’t stop buying the book yet! We’re just getting started!
What Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges have managed to do in their epic Fables/Jack of Fables books is nothing short of extraordinary. When you look at the sheer scope of the output that book has had, it really takes you back a bit, and that’s not to mention it’s handling of the fourth wall. We’ve covered elements that I never would have believed would be discussed, such as why the Fables came into existence at all. There is no stone that the writers won’t turn, and it’s through that we’ve been able to see one of the most magnificent stories since our childhood. As we grow older, we still have a sense of nostalgia to the old stories we loved, but it is undeniable that an update to go along with our current lives wouldn’t hurt. Now we have Fables, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Gil: A few years ago, this was recommended to me by the owner of my LCS, promising that it was every bit as good as The Walking Dead. Boy was he right. Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham put together a great well thought out and tragic story involving all the fairy tale characters you know, and some you don’t. The evolutions of such characters are often amazing, such as Flyswatter and Bigby, along with Snow White, but they often end up being tragic, such as Boy Blue or Prince Charming. But you’re drawn into the book from the beginning, and the creative way the characters are brought in and used are top notch.
Even after the story with the Adversary ends, it keeps on chugging along, reminding us why it’s so damn good. With a new villain promising to possibly be even worse than the lamented emperor of the Fable Worlds, it can only get better from here.
Individual Lists
David
1. Y the Last Man
2. Fables
3. The Walking Dead
4. Planetary
5. Astonishing X-Men (Whedon/Cassaday run)
6. All-Star Superman
7. DMZ
8. Ex-Machina
9. Criminal
10. The Authority (Ellis/Millar runs)
Matt
1. Ultimate/Amazing Spider-Man
2. Green Lantern
3. The Ultimates
4. Fables
5. Invincible
6. All Star Superman
7. X-Factor
8. Uncanny X-Men
9. Captain America
10. The Walking Dead
Gil
1. The Walking Dead
2. Fables
3. All-Star Superman
4. Planetary
5. Incredible Hercules
6. Green Lantern
7. Astonishing X-Men
8. The Sword
9. 52
10. Y the Last Man
Brandon
1. Y the Last Man
2. 52
3. Green Lantern
4. Ultimate Spider-Man
5. New X-Men (Yost/Kyle)
6. New Avengers
7. New X-Men (Morrison/Quitely)
8. X-Force/X-Statix
9. Walking Dead
10. Captain America
What’re your thoughts? Agree with us? Know something better? Leave a comment and vote in our poll!
