leap year day (aka my favorites of 2007?)

When I returned from my "break" in late January which I spent out of the city/country since mid-December, I knew that I wanted to return with a "Best of 2007" post, because, that's why you do one of these things, right? Well, it took me for-fucking-ever to catch up on the insane amount of comics that accumulated while I was away. Now, it's juuuust about fucking March (thank you Leap Year Day) and it's way late, and I really don't care because I'm doing one anyway.

Good news is: I finally got caught up on my comics. Meaning, last week, I actually had no more new comics waiting to be read when Wednesday came around. Hopefully I return again with some regular updates.

And now that people have stopped talking about 2007 and moved on to something more important (2008), here we go with the late-as-shit list:

**********

MY FAVORITE TEN COMICS OF THE YEAR

(Comics that are eligible for me: an ongoing comic that has put out at least four comics in the calendar year.)

#1 SCALPED
(w. Jason Aaron, a. R.M. Guera)

Some people might lump this in as a "Best New Series" candidate since it's new to 2007, but for me, that would just be redundant (see below for my version). This was not my favorite new series, it was just my favorite series, period. It's often been called "The Sopranos on a Reservation," but that's not really fair to this series because it's definitely its own beast. It began as a story about an undercover FBI agent returning to the reservation where he was raised, and with each character that is introduced, and with each dramatic wrinkle that Aaron adds, it just gets better. Whether it's a fair and balanced view of Native Americans, I can't judge, but the dark world that Aaron presents has been an engaging one for comics. The Chief Red Crow issue (#7) and the look into Catcher (#9) were the highlights for me. At first, the art was the weak link: A bit hard to follow and confusing, but as the series has continued, Guera's look for this world has become as important as Risso's to 100 BULLETS or Dillon's to PREACHER.

With the excellent Vietnam series OTHER SIDE and now SCALPED, Aaron is definitely one to watch. It was only a matter of time before the "mainstream" superhero editors came a-calling, as Marvel definitely noticed, grabbing him for 2008 gigs on WOLVERINE and GHOST RIDER. With Y: THE LAST MAN over and the excellent 100 BULLETS heading into its last story, I'm ecstatic that this comic has emerged. Vertigo is in good hands.

#2 ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
(w. Grant Morrison, a. Frank Quitely)

Unofficially, this was my #1 for 2006 even though I wasn't putting things on the internet yet. But what's to be said about this title that many others haven't said? Basically nothing. So I'll rinse and repeat: Grant and Frank continue their epic run, which (when it comes out) is the best super hero comic on the stands. The time-traveling father issue (#6) and the first Bizarro issue were excellent.

#3 Y: THE LAST MAN
(w. Brian K. Vaughan, a. Pia Guerra)

**SPOILER WARNING** Although as of writing, the final issue has come out, at the end of the year we were still one shy. And the final year, and the final arc especially, have been amongst the series best. From the near perfect reunion issue with Beth, to the touching Agent 355 issue which ended in her surprise death, it has all been great. Since then, I have read the final issue, and I'm sad to see this title go.

#4 DMZ
(w. Brian Wood, a. Riccardo Burchielli)

This was a book high on my list last year (#3), and it still is this year. With the ending of "Public Works" and the awesome "Friendly Fire," this continues to be one of my favorite comics on the stands. "Wilson," one of the done-in-one's at the end of the year, especially stood out for me. I want to see more of him.

#5 CRIMINAL
(w. Ed Brubaker, a. Sean Phillips)

Another new book this year, and another comic that exposes my interest in comics that are crime-oriented. Brubaker is just getting started with this series, but both "Coward" (my favorite) and "Lawless" have been excellent stories to start with.

#6 FABLES
(w. Bill Willingham, a. Mark Buckingham - mostly)

The fourth Vertigo series on the list. I guess I'm a fan or something. As fun and as good as this series has been over the years, it has gone up another level. On the heels of the excellent Frog Prince origin story in 1,001 NIGHTS OF SNOWFALL, Willingham gives us the longest and best Fables storyline to date. The best thing about "The Good Prince" and why it works as well as it does, is because it DID have all of the issues that came before it. And that makes me happy.

#7 IMMORTAL IRON FIST
(w. Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction, a. David Aja & Various)

Um, yeah, so I was late and oh-so-wrong about this title. After getting Issue #1, I didn't think it was good enough to add. After hearing others rave, I ebayed up the books at #8 and read them all in one sitting. So like I said, oh-so-wrong. Brubaker and Fraction are writing a bad-ass super hero comic and I'm glad that I jumped back on. The current storyline with an old-fashioned Kung Fu fighting bracket makes me giddy like a kid, but issue #7, where we focus on Wu Ao-Shi, the first female Iron Fist (formerly known as the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay), was my favorite.

#8 100 BULLETS
(w. Brian Azzarello, a. Eduardo Risso)

Another Vertigo book, and a book that would probably have been on my Top Ten for the last eight years. It was another year of mystery and some confusing plot advancement, and mixed in some of the best-drawn crime stories anywhere. The issue where one of Lono's victims (#85) enacts her own kind of revenge has been one of my favorites of the series.

#9 POWERS
(w. Brian Bendis, a. Michael Avon Oeming)

This series jumps back on my Top Ten list for the first time in a couple of years. Mostly because the publishing schedule seems to be getting back on track, but also because Volume 2 has been a really nice burn to the current point of the series. The ongoing soap of Deena and Christian has sucked me back in, and although I know I say it all the time, I still think this is the best thing Bendis writes.

#10 USAGI YOJIMBO
(w/a. Stan Sakai)

Back on my list with a really strong year for this series. In the aftermath of the amazing run where Usagi was traveling with his son Jotaro, the title took a step back from its own high standards, but with the series hitting the century mark (at Dark Horse), things have ramped back up. Sakai teased us for issues culminating in an epic battle vs. Shizukiri in #102, and then went right into the excellent Origin of Jei two-parter. The year ended with the multi part "Sparrows" which continues the Jei storyline, as the demon cements himself as the series' arch-enemy.

**********

MY FAVORITE "NEW COMIC" OF THE YEAR

(Basically, my version of the award is: a new title that has its first 3 or fewer issues in the calendar year, so I can't gauge it for best ongoing, but deserves to be recognized as one to watch.)

NORTHLANDERS
(w. Brian Wood, a. Davide Gianfelice)

This was a rather weak year, as last year (again, unofficially) I had a tie between CRIMINAL and LONE RANGER who both had just a couple of issues on the stands by the end of the calendar year 2006. NORTHLANDERS was the only new series to show promise and generate "fucking cool!" reactions from me. It does help that I've become a big Brian Wood fan, and that this has been one of my most anticipated books all year. Exhibit A. So far, I have read two more issues and I'm still really enjoying the opening arc.

**********

COMICS THAT MISSED THE LIST AND WHY

WASTELAND - Only missed because I think the ten ongoings above have had a better year. I'm really happy with what this book is doing.

LONE RANGER - The origin storyline that started out the series was great, and although the second arc had its moments, it wasn't as good, bumping it under the books above.

X-FACTOR - Probably the best Superhero team book that I'm reading. The Isolationist story was a nice culmination of character work that Peter David had been building to since the beginning.

ASTONISHING X-MEN - This is really an excellent title, but the publishing schedule and its furthering distance from main X-Men continuity have hurt it for me.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER - A really fun comic book continuation of the famous TV series. Not good enough however.

BATMAN - The three-issue J.H. Williams arc, "The Island of Mr. Mayhew" was as good as any super hero story I read all year, but at the start of the year, the publishing schedule was still erratic, and it ended with the awful Ra's al Ghul crossover, killing its chances for the list.

FELL - The best comic book not to make it on my list (#2 last year), but it was hurt by the fact that it only had two issues to come out all year. I look forward to more content in '08.

**********

MY FAVORITE SINGLE ISSUES OF THE YEAR

(My favorite single issues. Spoiler Warning in case you haven't read the issues and you wait for the trade on some of these titles.)

#1 SCALPED #7
"Down on the Killing Floor"

This was originally part 2 of the 6-part "Casino Boogie" storyline, but these six issues were essentially one shots that concentrated on individual characters in the book. This issue was the "big bad" issue, as the title's villain, Chief Red Crow, takes center stage. On the night of the grand opening of his new Casino, we get a glimpse into his past and his head and how he rationalizes decisions that he makes. The final sequence, and the last page were perfect.

#2 Y: THE LAST MAN #57
"Why and Wherefores, Chapter 3"

This actually came out the same week as the book above (what a week!), but it was still good enough for #2 on my list. The five years-in-the-making reunion of Beth and Yorick was somehow exactly what I wanted, expected and needed and Vaughan and Guerra expertly gave it to me. Awesome.

#3 100 BULLETS #85
"Red Lions"

The controversial and unpredictable Lono is my favorite character in the series. With that said, a victim of his from an earlier issue makes a surprise return, enacting revenge in her own way, exposing him for the monster that he is. Azzarello and Risso have created a comic with such unpredictability, that it actually got my heart rate up as I was tricked into thinking that this was his end. Good good issue.

#4 Y: THE LAST MAN #58
"Why and Wherefores, Chapter 4"

On the heels of the Beth issue, comes this issue where Yorick and Agent 355 talk about their feelings for each other, what it all means, and then when you are actually rooting for this and happy, Vaughan stuns you with her death. One of the things I was never sold on, was Yorick and 355 having feelings for each other. Slowly they won me over, and by the time I was half way through this issue I was sold, making the ending all the more tragic.

#5 ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #6
"Funeral in Smallville"

This issue was the done-in-one Time Travel issue where Superman comes back to his farm (with a couple of other traveling Supermen) to save the past from a monstrous threat. The art by Quitely is amazing as always, and Grant does Silver Age in the present so damn well it looks easy. There are some really nice moments between Clark and his dad.

#6 SCALPED #9
"A Thunder Being Nation I Am"

This was Part 4 in the "Casino Boogie" storyline. This issue focused on the mysterious Catcher, who up until this point had only been seen a few times. Usually cryptically, usually on a horse. We see that he is a bit of a joke, we see that he is Oxford-educated, and we see that like everyone else in this comic, he is complicated and surprising. Granny Poor Bear gets some extended panel-time as well.

#7 UMBRELLA ACADEMY: APOCALYPSE SUITE #1
"The Day the Eiffel Tower Went Berserk"

Since I didn't do a FAVORITE MINI-SERIES this gets no love there, but what a wonderful little surprise this was. Gerard Way, creator of lame-ass music, writes a wall-to-wall kick-ass fun comic. Including, but not limited to: Time Travel, a so-cool-could-be-a-villain Dad called Monocle, Zombie Robot Gustav-Eiffel as the first issue's villain, and not one, but count em, TWO monkeys. Well, it's one half-ape and a chimp, but still. Gabriel Ba, artist of the first arc on CASANOVA, shines here in full color. Not as original as some people claim it to be, but still really good, and one of the funnest single comics I read all year.

#8 CRIMINAL #5
"Coward Part 5 of 5"

The final part of this arc was definitely my favorite. This was the last part of the first series, where our main character Leo puts a huge spin on the arc's title. He was scared, but only scared of the monster within himself. Not only is this my favorite issue, "Coward" has been my favorite arc and this issue cemented the quality of the crime stories to come.

#9 USAGI YOJIMBO #104
"The Darkness and the Soul, Part 2"

This was part 2 of the two part Origin of Jei, and it was damn good. Jei has become arch-nemesis of our Yojimbo, but he is a demon and not an actual human. This issue we get more of the great samurai-turned-priest that is first possessed by the demon and you feel really sorry for what came of this man. Then we are invited to the pure fury of this demon unleashed, as an entire town falls at his spear when he is angered. Testament to this title and the brilliant Stan Sakai, this issue doesn't even feature the title character.

#10 RIPCLAW PILOT SEASON #1
"The Harrowing"

An odd choice for sure. From my original reaction, Jason Aaron is of course the writer:

What is such a unique Vertigo voice going to do with RIpclaw? The often derided character for being a Wolverine rip-off couldn't be interesting or worth your time, could he? Well, yes, yes he can. Aaron gives us a Ripclaw that for unknown reasons is being haunted by spirits, spirits that have unfinished business that Ripclaw needs to take care of. For this issue, it leads us to Japan and a small odyssey as Ripclaw has to fight through various levels of the heavily guarded headquarters of Boss Yamamoto. Ripclaw is quiet, violent and basically an uber bad ass. There were some levels of this place that were only hinted at, leaving me really curious what exactly Ripclaw even fought! Jorge Lucas's art is detailed and gritty, and what really struck for me about this book was that as violent as it was, aside from the final showdowns, a lot of the fights happened off panel.

The caveat to this series was of course that it was to be voted on for a possible ongoing series (which it inexplicably lost -- WTF Top Cow fans!?), and although who knows how it would have worked for ongoing, for one issue, this was one kick ass comic book.

**********

And that's all. I wanted to do more, such as BEST WRITER, BEST ARTIST, BEST STORY ARCS, BEST MINI-SERIES and BEST GRAPHIC NOVELS, but being sooooo late, maybe next year.

Since I referenced them so much (read: posterity's sake), my Top Ten Ongoings of 2006 were:

1. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
2. FELL
3. DMZ
4. ASTONISHING X-MEN
5. LOVELESS
6. NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E.
7. Y: THE LAST MAN
8. 100 BULLETS
9. DAREDEVIL
10. LOCAL

new book: CRIMINAL and LONE RANGER