This month was almost impossible. While I had some rather obvious choices in mind for worst books this month, there were so many GOOD comics it was very difficult to choose books definitively for the best spots. After much thought, I finally picked what they could be, and the results are behind the cut!
Best Comic of the Month: Captain America: The Fighting Avenger #1 and Justice League: Generation Lost #24 (Tie!)
Yeah. In the tradition of Matt’s TMIC last month, there are a couple ties in this month’s volume. But in this case, it’s definitely warranted. Captain America: TFA was the little book that should have but ultimately didn’t. It was a new ongoing that was shortened to a mini (most likely because of Brubaker’s new ongoing Captain America & Bucky), to a two-parter, and then finally to a one shot. It’s a damn shame too, because this book was fantastic. Set during World War II when Steve Rogers was largely a figurehead to rally the Homefront with a supporting cast that are equal parts tough and hilarious, the book really had it all. Great writing, offbeat and interesting art (to be fair, it was a tad on the cartoonish side, but that’s not a bad thing!) along with the aforementioned characters and setting, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t have flown off the racks. But it didn’t. And that’s a shame.
But on the other hand, there was Justice League: Generation Lost. Throughout the Brightest Day arc over the past year, JL: GL was consistently the superior title of the two bi-weekly books, and possibly the best book carrying the Brightest Day banner outright. With a great creative team and a story to match, the book took off and reinvigorated characters that hadn’t been relevant since Justice League International was canceled in the mid-90’s. But at its closing, and I’m not saying anything Matt didn’t already say in his battle review of the two titles, the book felt like it mattered. Max Lord was as conniving as ever. Booster Gold went from punchline to outright hero. The book was satisfying on so many levels, and I can’t wait for the title that follows. Good show.
Runners Up: Nonplayer #1, Journey into Mystery #622
Worst comic of the Month: Brightest Day #24
It burns. No, really. It hurts. Listen, I want to LOVE this book. The bulk of the creators are among my favorites. But this book just left me feeling like there should have been more, and while I didn’t hate it as much as Matt did, it was certainly unsatisfying. One year and 24 issues later, we’re given something that could have been summed up in one issue. If there had been four Rebirth Books and then a Brightest Day mini with maybe 5 issues, it might have read a lot better. But as it is….I can’t co-sign this. This especially hurts because Tomasi and Johns can do better, and I KNOW they can.
Runner Up: Brightest Day #23
Best Scene of the Month: Superman renounces his US Citizenship/ Jaime Reyes’ Battle cry (Tie!)
Another tie, but for wildly different reasons! The first being Superman’s renunciation of his US Citizenship in the pages of Action Comics #900. This made it because of the media firestorm it caused. Before this, Superman was a household name, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. He was thought of as a stodgy, out of date hero of days gone by. But that changed when David S. Goyer, the screenwriter of the upcoming Man of Steel and the Nolan Batman movies made a splash with Superman’s values again coming into conflict with the US Government, and possible causing an international incident. With a KRYPTONITE BULLET on him, he tells the feds he’s no longer a citizen of our country, so he won’t be confused for acting at the behest of our president. Superman was made relevant again, brought back to his socially conscience roots. And despite my…reservations (I’ll save that for later), this was the most important moment of the month, hands down.
Continued belowBut on a more personal level, Jaime Reyes’ battle cry “THIS IS FOR TED KORD” struck a chord with comic fans all over the world. Ted Kord has a cult following among comic fans for varying reasons. And seeing his successor attack his mentor’s murderer with those five words really stood out among the other moments this month.
Runner Up: Loki and Thor are confused with The Internet (Journey into Mystery #622), Superman shows Lex Luthor what’s up (Action Comics #900)
Worst Scene of the Month: Alec Holland LIVES
We waited 24 issues and a whole year. ONE YEAR with 12 characters who were brought back for seemingly random reasons. And guess what? They really were, because there’s no sensible reason why any one of those characters had anything to do with this moment. If Deadman became the entity, it’d have been more satisfying and have made more sense, but still, not much. Editor’s note: not to mention the fact that this scene essentially spat in the face of all the work Alan Moore did to seperate Holland from the Swamp Thing and let the Swamp Thing be it’s own important entity… oops.
Runner Up: None
Best Writer: Kieron Gillen
I love Kieron Gillen’s work, but I feel he’s been a bit in the shadow of other superstar writers over at Marvel. Well, April was his month for sure. He not only brought back some of my favorite elements from one of my favorite X-Men arcs (Breakworld, “The Cure”) but he did so with style.
But then there’s Thor. I’ve never been a Thor fan, but when he came onto the newly re-titled Journey into Mystery #622, I bought it on a whim and it absolutely fantastic. The focus on the child Loki was a stroke of brilliance. The children’s story at first confused me, but after looking at the whole product, it fit with the story he was trying to tell, and it left me anxiously waiting for the next issue, which is not something I’d ever thought I’d be saying over a Thor book.
Worst Writer: Geoff Johns
Let me preface this by saying Geoff Johns is my favorite writer. I’ve loved Flash, Green Lantern, and his takes on Superman, among others. But out of all the books he wrote this month, the only one I felt had any weight to it was Green Lantern! And if you ask Matt, he didn’t even like that! Hopefully this is a dry spell that will end with the end of Brightest Day. Hopefully.
Best Artist: Nate Simpson (Nonplayer #1)
Nate Simpson is the creator of the new book Nonplayer (more on that later). But while I could ramble on about how awesome his work is, I’ll just let the art speak for itself.
Runners up: Stuart Immonen, Stefano Caselli, Terry Dodson
Worst Artist: Travel Foreman (Superman #710 pp. 6-17)
If you read this book, you probably know why this got the nod. Everything was over-drawn with poor linework and LOTS of crosshatches. I just imagined Foreman looked at his assignment and said “I’mma draw some crosshatches! Crosshatches for everyone!” But unfortunately, the shadow effect they created did nothing to hide the poor designs of the characters.
I admit Bruce Wayne’s pre-Batman design was a bit cleaver, with the proto-utility belt and the dark colors, but it doesn’t distract from the fact that when Clark smiles, he looks like he should be throwing Joker fish at Bruce or gassing City Hall, instead of growing into the superhero he’s meant to be. It looks…awful. A real low point in this book, which has had arguably a LOT of low points.
Continued belowBest New Book: Nonplayer #1
When Matt told us about this new book he was head over heels for, I was admittedly a bit leery. Not at Matt’s taste, but because I didn’t want another book to love. But then I read the book and yeah, it’s as good as advertised. With rich storytelling and engaging characters, it was already a buy in my hands. But then you see the art, which is just mindblowingly detailed and, well, awesome. It was a no brainer as to why it deserved the spot. This was a highly coveted title on the article in my mind, as Image had no fewer than three books which could have gotten the title; this one, Blue Estate, or Undying Love. And while I love those books, this one had just the right amount of new ideas to ensure its title as “Best New Book”
