Comic fans know December as the month when the shipping schedules get weird, and then someone gifts them a trade paperback they already own. I don’t make the rules. I just have multiple copies of “The Dark Knight Returns” kicking about. But just because there were fewer comics, doesn’t mean they weren’t any good. Here are some of the highlights of the last month of the decade!
Best Annual Holiday Tradition: “Klaus”
I loved the original “Klaus” comic by Grant Morrison and superstar artist Dan Mora. I found it to be one of the most straightforward and coherent comics Morrison has done… maybe ever? What I did not see coming was a series of annual one-shots that grow less coherent by the year… but are still a rolicking good time! This year’s installment, “Life and Times of Joe Christmas,” is an insane tale of Santa’s sidekick, using the ‘widescreen’ style of the early part of the decade to tell a story that’s as zany as it is heartwarming. Now that’s what I call Christmas!
Definitely One of the Top Three Star Wars Things This Month: “The Rise of Kylo Ren” #1
Maybe you love Rise of Skywalker. Or maybe you’ve only got eyes for Mando and Baby Yoda (this is the way). For my money though, the best Star Wars story released this month was “The Rise of Kylo Ren” from Charles Soule and Will Sliney. I believe that Soule is shaping up to be the definitive voice of Star Wars for this decade, building dark adventures that are as compelling (and often more so) than anything you could catch on screen. It’s Star Wars tradition to fill the screen with characters who don’t get developed until they get a comic. “The Rise of Kylo Ren” does this for the Knights of Ren, who you might think are a bunch of chumps. Having read this comic… well, they are a bunch of chumps. But they are a fun, emo squad of lovable losers. If you long to see depth added to Ben Solo, arguably the most fascinating character ever in a Star Wars, you can’t miss this book. And if you have room in your heart for Kuruk, Cardo, Ap’lek, Vicrul, Ushar, and Trudgen, your moment has come. Trudgen 4eva!
Best Comic That Features a Multiversity Writer: “Hack/Slash 15th Anniversary Special” #1
Sometimes your such a big fan of something, you get to contribute to it. No, I’m not takling about JJ Abrams, I’m talking about our own Greg Ellner. My dude loves “Hack/Slash” by Tim Seeley a whole lot. So much so that Seeley and the gang took notice. They included pages in this anniversary special that Greg put together. And I think that’s so rad! The closest I’ve ever come to being included in a comic I loved is the one time I accidentally photobomed Kieron Gillen and my awkward photo was included in the letters page of in an issue of “Young Avengers.”
Besides Greg’s rad contribution, this issue was a ton of fun. I’m not a regular reader of “Hack/Slash” by any means, but of the many comics that send up a particular type of horror movie, it’s my favorite. The Anniversary Special was exactly what it should be: irreverent, self-referential, and fun. The issue poked fun at the series, and the fandom, and everything that has kept “Hack/Slash” alive long enough to almost drive. Not a lot of comics hit this milestone, but those that do rarely celebrate in such a fashion.
Delightful Character Study For Long Time Fans: “Marauders”
I love “Marauders” y’all! At first glance it seems kind of slight- a decent kicking and punching superhero book. But beneath all that is excellent character work for some of my favorite characters, particularly for Shadowcat. It’s so difficult to describe how this book makes me feel, but I’ll try. I’ve been a lifelong “X-Men” fan (1991’s “X-Men” issue #1 was my first comic) and Kate Pryde has been one of my favorite characters for many years- but I haven’t liked the way she’s been written in almost 20 years! That is the majority of my life. She’s a character I’ve had to learn to appreciate through back issue published before I was born, and fan fiction, and comic shop conversations.
This series brings her characterization into a new century. No longer a romantic prop for various man-children, Kate now has a starring role as a renegade superhero. She’s messy, and brave, and everything I want to see in a superhero. But more than everything else, she seems true to herself. It’s a story about Kate’s experiences, not about the writer’s feelings for Kate. And after loving this character for so long but living in perpetual disappointment, I have finally been freed. Granted, that’s probably not a universal experience, but it’s one that’s very particular to me. I’m getting exactly the comic I want to read, and dear reader, I hope that all of you get a chance to feel the exact same way.
Holy $&@!#: “Wonder Woman: Dead Earth” #1
When I was at NYCC in 2019, I had the good fortune to speak to Daniel Warren Johnson, and a lovelier guy you will never meet. It was late in the convention and he was working on something that looked incredible. He told me that his true passion was creator owned work, but when DC gave him the opportunity to pitch something, he wasn’t going to pass that up. He gave them his most out there idea, thinking there was no way he was gonna get to realize his full vision. But here we are, and “Wonder Woman: Dead Earth” is the coolest and most striking book on the stands. DWJ is the real deal folks, don’t sleep on him! Go pick up “Extremity” and “Murder Falcon,” then circle back around to this instant DC classic.
Holds Up Surprisingly Well: “Avengers Arena”
In the month of December, Multiversity went back to the beginning of the decade and revisited comics from Marvel NOW and the New 52 launches. I re-read a bunch of stuff, and I was blown away with how much I enjoyed the (very sad) first issue of “Avengers Arena” by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum and Kev Walker. On the one hand, it’s so instantly dated; clearly a product of its time. It’s tied into that moment after The Hunger Games took over the world. It stands alongside The Maze Runner and uh, Divergent. But it’s so well executed that it instantly transported me back to that time and that style.
It’s kind of insane to me now that we were soooooo interested in kids murdering each other. Maybe I’ve gotten older and moved on; maybe the world has. But this comic was a time machine, taking me back to who I was when it was coming out. Plus it’s damn good, stirring up the pathos and melodrama that made this whole genre popular in the first place. “Avengers Arena” is the rare pastiche that actually improves upon the genre it’s parodying, and I’m glad I got the chance to revisit it.
