Best of 2011: CBR Top 100

The CBR top 100 of 2011 went up a few weeks back. I gave my picks and wrote some blurbs with an early draft of my top 10 comics of the year. That list has since changed and will see the light of day sometime before the month is over. The blurbs I wrote were done with an emphasis on brevity. Basically, a bunch of blurbs that could function as pull quotes. Hey, if you aren't delivering pull quotes on 'best of the year' lists, when are you?

#100-76, including my blurb for Prison Pit Book 3.

#75-51, including my blurb for Vengeance.

#50-26, including my blurbs for Punishermax and Deadpool MAX.

#25-11, which has no blurbs by me.

#10-1, including my blurbs for Scalped and Daredevil.

Other blurbs I wrote:

Butcher Baker, the Righteous Maker (Written by Joe Casey; Art by Mike Huddleston; Published by Image Comics)
Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston let loose to do as they please, combining superhero comics with trucking movies with crazy pop art extravaganzas. Every issue shows some new crazy wonderment -- hell, every page does! This comic is everything a superhero comic book should be.

Ultimates (Written by Jonathan Hickman; Art by Esad Ribic; Colors by Dean White; Published by Marvel Comics)
The relaunched Ultimates has pushed the boundaries of what we expect from superhero comics, free of continuity concerns and able to genuinely change the world it depicts. The biggest revelation has been the art team of Esad Ribic and Dean White, a duo that manage to bring epic scope, deep beauty, and fierce energy to every page.

Criminal: The Last of the Innocent (Written by Ed Brubaker; Art by Sean Phillips; Published by Icon)
Ed Brubaker explores nostalgia, both in the real world and the comics world, with depth and care, while Sean Phillips shows a bit of range to go with his expert storytelling. The Last of the Innocent is uncompromising right to the end and will make you want to go back and reread it right away.

Holy Terror (Everything by Frank Miller; Published by Legendary Comics)
No one draws cities better than Frank Miller. No one draws widescreen big pages than Frank Miller. No one draws rain better than Frank Miller. Holy Terror has all of that and more. It’s a gorgeous work that I’ve spent far too much time just looking at.

Expect some other Best of 2011 posts over the next while, including my usual post on Joe Casey's work from the year, some notable comics that I think are worth mentioning, the ten comics released prior to 2011 that I got this year that I think deserve notice, and the revised top ten list.