Best of 2008: Not Quite Top Ten

In this post, I want to briefly discuss/praise some books that didn't make my top ten, but still made this year very enjoyable. Here, the actual quality isn't necessarily as important as just making an impact on me in one way or another. Hell, three of the books represented here fall in that 30-20 range in my rankings.

Thor by J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel and Marko Djurdjevic; Thor: Ages of Thunder specials by Matt Fraction, Patrick Zircher and many other artists; and Secret Invasion: Thor by Matt Fraction and Doug Braithwaite. Thor is one of the few characters who I will admit I'm a bit of a "fanboy" about. While I don't blindly follow the character, I always give whatever book he has coming out a shot. In this case, that means J. Michael Straczysnki's run, which began slow and had me convinced I would be dropping the title after issue six--my cut-off point for the book. However, Straczynski's slow-build has really paid off, especially with revelations like Balder's true father and the most recent issue where Loki showed himself to be a true mastermind. In January, issue 600 hits the stands and I can't wait.

But, if that wasn't enough, Matt Fraction delivered four specials and a three-issue series starring Thor that I rather enjoyed. Okay, it took until the final issue of Secret Invasion: Thor for me to really enjoy it, but that final issue was pretty damn good. The specials, though, showed a new side to Fraction's writing as he used little dialogue and relied mostly on a narrative voice that leant a certain mythic weight to the stories told, each engrossing and based in real myths. While I'm enjoying Straczynski's run on the main title, Fraction proved this year that when JMS steps down, there's a natural successor already in place (hopefully).

The Programme by Peter Milligan and CP Smith. I love abitious failures and this certainly was one. The story of old Cold War Russian superpeople being awoken and the chain of events that sets off always seemed one step away from brilliance and one step away from utter disaster. In the end, it was neither, managing to fall somewhere in between. Milligan's writing is sharp, but very busy as he seems to cram too much in at times. CP Smith's art began muddled and unclear, similar to that of Ashley Wood, but cleared up enough to work quite well by the end. While this book barely made my top thirty, it was one of my favourite books to read this year, because it was so ambitious and really tried to do something different--but ultimately didn't do much. The end of the series is an odd one, both cynical and optimistic... Really, this book wasn't that good, but it was very interesting.

Gravel by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer, Raulo Caceres and Oscar Jiminez. Really, I should throw in the various Strange Killings minis that came before since I got all four of them this year, too (I already had Strange Kiss and Stranger Kisses). I rather enjoy stories about William Gravel, combat magician. They're not terribly complex, but they have Warren Ellis's trademark English wit and bile. As well, Mike Wolfer does a fantastic job of turning Ellis's script treatments into full issues--to the point where Wolfer's involvement is invisible. The ongoing series has Gravel tearing through the Minor Seven, a group of magicians he belongs to--or did until someone said he was dead and they brought in a new member. Gravel's gimmick is that he pretty much fucks up everyone he comes across and it's got a very "mindless entertainment" vibe to it--and that works well. Oscar Jiminez came on board the book after a few issues and put it back in a decent schedule, although his depiction of Gravel is quite different from Wolfer's and took some getting used to.

Doktor Sleeples by Warren Ellis and Ivan Rodriguez. I've actually been amazed at how little discussion this books gets online considering its position as the thematc sequel to Transmetropolitan. Now, it would be easy to dismiss this book as Ellis doing the same thing again, but this series is quite different from its forerunner. While still ostensibly about "the future" and a man returning to the city and stirring shit up, Doktor Sleepless is not about the truth, not about making the world better--it's about a broken, bitter monster of a man who is determined to tear everything down... and those who seem opposed aren't actually much better. It's funny and told in eight-issue stories. The first was about setting up the main idea of the book, while the second seems more about exploring the world that is Heavenside--and the impact that the good Doktor has had upon it. While I'm the first one to say that this book isn't as good as Transmet, it's still very worthy of notice.

Pax Romana by Jonathan Hickman. I almost included this book in yesterday's post since it's Hickman's written/drawn/lettered/everything book for 2008 in the same way that The Nightly News was his 2007 book. This four-issue series tells the story of a group of time travellers who make it their business to make sure humanity evolves quicker, both in political and social terms. It's a book of ideas as Hickman explores politics and sociology, as well as religion. His art is very design-oriented and doesn't tell the story in a typical manner. Hell, each issue had two pages of text transcribing a conversation! It's very unique and Hickman has said that this is just the first book set in this world.

Captain Britain and MI:13 by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk. This is the book that got bumped out of the top ten between my first list, which I gave CBR and my final list, which I did on January 1. I actually feel bad that this book got bumped, because it's a damn good superhero book. I know the phrase "gets better with each issue" is thrown around a lot, but this book does. Paul Cornell's comic writing ability grows by leaps and bounds in these issues and I have no doubt that the book will continue to get better in 2009. It's a very low key sort of book that does contain a lot of out there concepts and isn't afraid to do anything. Every issue ends with a cliffhanger that is legitimately shocking and leaves me wanting more--an art in and of itself. Also, Leonard Kirk's art is a great fit with Cornell's writing, because he is a very solid, very capable artist who, at first, helped make Cornell look better and, now, expertly depicts the crazy shit Cornell throws out there. If you're a fan of superhero comics and aren't reading this book, you are making a big mistake.

Later today, I'll discuss Joe Casey's 2008 comics.

Best of 2008: Top Ten No More

To kick things off with my best of 2008, I want to start by looking back and discussing the books that fell from the top ten since last year. Of course, some books that made the list last year like Shortcomings or The Nightly News were stand-alone books and couldn't repeat this year, but what about the ongoing monthlies that were among the best of 2007? How did they measure up in 2008 and why didn't they crack the top ten this year?

Gødland by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (#10 in 2007). This fell to within the 25-21 range on this year's list and it wasn't because of a lack of quality, but more a horrible shipping schedule that made it easy to forget. When I make up my best of the year list, I go through my old posts here where I discussed what I bought and listed any book that I got as they appeared, and then, after I'd done every book, I began ordering them. For Gødland, I honestly couldn't remember what had come out this year except for the most recent alternate reality story. Where had 2007 left off and 2008 began? That's not a good sign and, so, the title kept getting bumped by other books that had made an impression. Honestly, this book also suffered because it was on my pull list in my hometown of London, while I live in Windsor, so I only read it when I visited home, so it seemed even more spaced out. Honestly, if I'd gone back and reread 2008's worth of issues, I don't think it would have cracked the top ten and since I don't list anything besides the top ten, where it fell outside that doesn't really matter. This is a very good book, though, and one that I can't wait to delve into with issue-by-issue analyses like other Joe Casey comics. Apparently, this next year will be the book's last, which sucks, but is also heartening only because it means that Casey and Scioli are ending it on their own terms--and, hopefully, it will mean two more of the lovely "celestial edition" hardcovers. I'll actually get into this book a little more in my Joe Casey-centric post on 2008 in a day or two. I should also mention that Scioli's art continues to get stronger and is lovely to look at. Very Kirby-influenced, but also his own.

The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (#9 in 2007). This book placed in the 15-11 range on this year's list and continued to be just as strong as last year. Hell, its ranking doesn't show it, but this past year was better than the previous, in my opinion. With a couple of four-issue stories that focused on the characters and their history instead of something more pressing, Ennis and Robertson took a bit of break to really give the book a larger scope. This is a book where many can't really get past the more extreme moments of violence and gross humour, but the relationship between Hughie and Annie has really drawn me in, as has the larger idea of exploring corporations' roles in government and the world. Robertson continues to be the perfect match for Ennis with his ability to draw the grotesque unlike anyone else, but also able to handle talking head scenes better than most. I can easily see this book making the top ten in 2009 as it narrowly missing it this year.

Thunderbolts by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato, Jr. (#8 in 2007). This book also placed in the 15-11 range, barely missing the top ten again. Like Gødland, it suffered from shipping delays and, honestly, from Ellis and Deodato leaving the book. I dropped the book then, because I preferred to maintain the brilliance of their run unfettered--although I have heard good things about Diggle's first two issues, but an upcoming crossover with Deadpool has me thinking I was right to not jump back on board. This year saw the conclusion of the "Caged Angels" story, where Ellis's depiction of Norman Osborn stole the show with the fantastic scenes between Doc Samson and Penance also wowwing me. Really, what's sad is that a lot of readers probably didn't see Ellis's Osborn, which is essential reading for anyone who will be following "Dark Reign." It was Ellis's Osborn that was in my head when he took over for Tony Stark in Secret Invasion #8 and, if you'd read "Caged Angels," you'd know why that idea is so scary and powerful. Sadly, everything I've read since doesn't seem to have the same power with the character. They should have done whatever it would take to get Ellis back on the character somehow. It's obvious that this depiction of the character has set the standard and really was a lot of fun to read.

Immortal Iron Fist by Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker and David Aja, and Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman (plus many others) (#3 in 2007). This book fell outside of the top thirty, which are the only books I kept track of ranking-wise. So, yeah, this book fell the hardest in 2008 for me, going from #3 in 2007 to dropped. Honestly, it began with a less-than-stellar end to "The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven," which couldn't quite support the weight of the numerous plots it had going. It wasn't bad, but it was certainly the beginning of the end. This was followed by the second stand-alone "Tales of the Iron Fist" issue and it was as weak as the first. The glimpses of past Iron Fists seems to work best in short doses, for me. Fraction and Aja's final issue on the book, #16 was rather good. Then, Duane Swierczynski took over with Travel Foreman and while I wanted to support it, the book wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't good enough. Honestly, it was dropped mostly because it just couldn't match up to what had come before and wasn't worth reading as a result. What really killed it was the noirish special that was little more than nods to noir stories featuring Orson Randall. Others have stuck with it and enjoyed it, but I couldn't justify spending three bucks a month on it. I also reread "The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven" arc a couple of months back and it didn't read nearly as well as a whole, beginning very strong and ending weak.

Tomorrow, I'll discuss a few other books that didn't make the top ten, but warrant some end of the year praise, including the book that was in my CBR top ten, but got bumped when I did my final list on the first of January (as I don't do a final list until the year is over).

CBR Review: Scalped #24

I recently reviewed Scalped #24 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "This issue is the end result of two years of build-up as we finally see what kind of man Red Crow really is: 'An honorable man, sure, but that doesn’t make me a nice guy.' That sentence sums up the character so completely that it’s surprising that Aaron could put it so well. Actually, it would be surprising if other writers could put it so well, but Aaron has been nothing less than brilliant in his writing on Scalped."

You can read the rest HERE!

Playback STL 10 best GNs and comics

This is not Chad. It's the other guy who occasionally posts here, mostly just to link to his other reviews elsewhere, Steve.

I write comic reviews for Playback St. Louis, and they just recently published my ten best list of both comics and graphic novels of 2008.

Here you can find my list of the ten best comics.

And here's my list of the ten best GNs.

When I wrote the lists, they were countdowns from 10 to 1, because that's what a ten best list should do in my opinion, create suspense as it leads up to what the author of the list thinks is the best of the year. But my editor didn't like it that way, so he changed the books around. That occasionally makes a couple of the paragraphs not make so much sense, so my apologies to you all for that. Plus, you click on the link and you automatically know my best book of the year, but oh well.

the rundown:

*I totally cheated on my comic list and put eleven books on, but it makes sense why two books share my number ten spot
*I also included a worst comic and two worst GNs on my lists
*DC and its various imprints have three books on my GN list (including the best GN of 2008) and six on my comic list
*Marvel had only one book on either list, and it was from an imprint, not the proper Marvel universe
*Drawn and Quarterly had three on my GN list as well, and Top Shelf two
*Indie books also get three of my comic spots, including the number one position
*Brian Wood has three books on my GN and comic list combined, clearly making him one of my favorite creators of 2008
*Two books on my comic list are written and drawn by the same person, whereas six of my GNs are

Read 'em and give me feedback.

CBR's Top 100 Books of 2008 Part Five (20-1)

Well, CBR has conclused its countdown of the top 100 books of 2008 with the top twenty--in which the remaining six of the top ten list I submitted appear: Omega the Unknown (#15), Casanova (#13), Batman (#11), Captain Britain and MI:13 (#10), Scalped (#3), and Criminal (#2).

So, that does it for CBR's list, but, soon, I will be my end of 2008 series of posts including an updated top ten list (where sadly, one book was bumped for another), a look at Joe Casey's 2008 books, and maybe a post or two spotlighting some books that didn't make my top ten but were still pretty damn good.

CBR Review: Punisher War Journal #26

I recently reviewed Punisher War Journal #26 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Castle spends Christmas perched on a roof across from the bar he blew up way back in issue four, listening to a bunch of small-timers fight over a newly purchased Stilt-Man suit. And whose roof is he perched atop? Why, the Rhino’s roof, of course! What ensues is the Rhino pointing out why this series never quite worked. He tells Castle, 'You punish the guilty, Frank. Not the stupid.' Those two sentences sum up why War Journal never really worked, because Castle spent much of the time dealing with the stupid and treating them like they were threats."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Incognito #1

I recently reviewed Incognito #1 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Something doesn’t click in this debut issue of Incognito. The elements are all there: Ed Brubaker’s street level perspective, Sean Phillips’s exquisite art and storytelling, a complex and morally questionable protagonist. It just doesn’t work nearly as well as you’d expect. It reads like a book that someone who was trying to copy Sleeper and Criminal might make, and cannot come close to the originals."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Captain America #45

I recently reviewed Captain America #45 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Captain America is just about as consistent a comic book as you’re likely to find today. Each issue is very much like the last in quality, even going so far as to have an unimaginably consistent look despite numerous artists handling those duties. The book is so consistent that it’s difficult to find new and interesting things to say about it. It's almost easy to forget about this title as it is taken for granted that, each month, Captain America will come out and be quite good."

You can read the rest HERE!

(Also, there was confusion in my original review and Augie tried to fix it, but, when I talk about the art, what I meant was that Ross's art looked rushed and that, as a result, Butch Guice did a few pages, not that Guice's art was poor. Figured I'd clarify that.)

CBR's Top 100 Books of 2008 Part Four (40-21)

CBR has put up part four of its countdown of the top 100 books of 2008 covering #40-21. This bunch contains one book from my top ten, Young Liars at #22. Tomorrow, we'll see what the CBR staffers voted the top twenty books of 2008, so don't miss it.

CBR's Top 100 Books of 2008 Part Three (60-41)

CBR has posted the third part of its countdown of the top 100 books of 2008, and nothing from my top ten is in this bunch. But, since my taste is pretty good, it's not surprising that many of my picks may end up closer to the top, right? (I kid... sort of.)

CBR's Top 100 Books of 2008 Part Two (80-61)

The second part of the top 100 countdown over at CBR has been posted and three of my top ten (at the time) have made it: glamourpuss (#76), Captain America (#67), and Aetheric Mechanics (#64). So, check it out and, tomorrow, they will post the next twenty books.

Random Thoughts (Dec. 29 2008)

* Go read Tom Spurgeon's interview with Tucker Stone. It's long, but it's damn good stuff. In fact, he may have referred to me as a lunatic with regards to my positive-leaning review of Secret Invasion #8 (which, if he is referring to me at that point, he's completely correct in doing so--it's the one review I've done for CBR that I would go back and change, because I fucked up). The interview focuses on Stone's thoughts on "mainstream" comics and it's all very smart and very interesting.

* Where are all of the hardcore Rann-Thanagar Holy War fans bitching that I gave the final issue half a star in my CBR review? What's "funny" is that I will totally be buying Strange Adventures despite it almost certainly being just as bad as Holy War... Does that seem odd? It shouldn't since Jim Starlin is like Joe Casey in that I will buy anything he writes--although, I should add that I'll buy any of his cosmic work--if only to think about it and relate to the rest of his work. I mean, comparing Holy War to any of his Marvel cosmic work would be amazing. Why exactly is he unable to make the DC stuff work, while, at Marvel, he writes brilliant stuff? I think it has to do with having some core characters at Marvel like Warlock and Thanos that make up the foundation of every story, and not having the same type of characters at DC, but there's got to be more to it. Also, Starlin is doing some of the art in Strange Adventures. That's enough in and of itself. (By the way, I noticed in Marvel's March solitics, the second "Marvel Masterworks" hardcover featuring Adam Warlock is coming out and it contains Starlin's amazing run on the "book" (as it was over several titles) and is something you should definitely think about buying. I have reprints of those comics and I'm considering it.)

* I'm looking forward to this week's comics.

CBR's Top 100 Books of 2008 Part One (100-81)

Well, today, the first of five parts of CBR's Top 100 Books of 2008 has gone up and none of my top ten books have made the list yet. We'll see what happens over the next five days. In the mean time, enjoy books 100 through 81 and look for 80-61 tomorrow.

CBR Review: Rann-Thanagar Holy War #8

I recently reviewed Rann-Thanagar Holy War #8 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences that helped contribute to what my editor called setting "the new LOW bar for reviews of very very bad comics": "I would say that the best thing about this issue is that this series is over, but with Strange Adventures on the horizon, neither DC nor Starlin have gotten the message that it’s not that no one cares, it’s that anyone who did care has simply stopped."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: What If? Spider-Man Back in Black #1

I recently reviewed What If? Spider-Man Back in Black (godawful title for a comic, by the way) for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following: "What comes through in this issue is intelligence and thought as Grant considered exactly how Peter Parker really would react to an event like this. Not how he would have to act to fit the constraints of the genre and editorial mandate, but how he would act. Some may disagree with Grant’s conclusions, but the final pages demonstrate that he thought everything through, including Parker’s obsession with responsibility. While revenge may drive the character here, he isn’t stupid and he doesn’t expect to walk away if he gets it."

You can read the rest HERE!

I Bought Comics: The First Three Weeks of December 2008

[In which I deliver thoughts and musings on comic books which I have read, but have not reviewed for CBR. Not really reviews, so don't take them as such. Unless you want to. Okay?]

I haven't done this for a few weeks, which makes sense since at least half of what I get each week is for reviews, so letting it accumulate makes sense. I will be doing this in chronological and then alphabetical order. As well, included are two graphic novels I received for Christmas on Tuesday. Yeah, we did ours on Tuesday since both of my sister had to work today. It actually didn't change much since the actual date of Christmas is pretty arbitrary and doing it two days sooner isn't really all that different. It also meant that when I woke up this morning at quarter-to-nine, I'd slept in compared to my previous 24 Christmases. Weird.

Final Crisis #5

Well, Tim and I discussed this in a cross-blog Splash Page, so I'm not sure if there's much to add. I dug this issue quite a bit and it's fun to see how Morrison's overall plan is unfolding. Tim and I didn't discuss it, but I didn't find the art changes distracting or annoying in any way.

Secret Invasion: Dark Reign

Didn't really impress me. It's nice to see that the villains weren't planning this, this is just Norman Osborn trying to make his life easier. I actually looked at New Avengers: Illuminati to compare/contrast and, wow, Alex Maleev's art sure has changed. Namor, in particular, suffers. His Osborn also has normal hair. What the hell? I'm actually not that enthused over "Dark Reign," but that's a pretty easy stance to take when you thought Iron Man was an asshole post-Civil War. I do like the reversal, but nothing I've read including the end of Secret Invasion, this and the most recent issues of the two Avengers books has convinced me that I should give a fuck. But, more on that towards the end.

Ghost Rider #30

This book loses me more with each passing issue. What began as a quirky grindhouse horror comic has become another book about various versions of the same character with a stupidly cliche villain that's playing the turncoat for a chump. The fall of this book in my esteem has been drastic and I'm very close to dropping it. What comes down to is, I'm bored when I read it. I don't care about the International Spirits of Vengeance, I don't care about a renegade angel, and I really just don't care about this book. I may give the run so-far a reread and let that decide its fate.

Hellblazer #250

Though I buy this book in trades, random one-off or two-part fill-in issues pop up from time to time and it's an excuse to pick up a floppy adventure of John Constantine to hold me over until the next trade comes out. This holiday/anniversary special isn't bad. It isn't great either, but rarely are these fill-in issues, especially when creators are limited to short stories. That said, who cares, it's good stuff. Brian Azzarello's story was witty and, thankfully, didn't tie into his run on the book. Peter Milligan takes over next issue and his story shows promise. I'm this close to picking up the book on a regular basis with Milligan on board. Really, this book is a great pairing of skilled writers and artists, and just a joy to read. Not the best thing ever, but good enough.

Invincible Iron Man #8

Salvador Larocca's art pisses me off. It's butt-fuck ugly in a lot of places as he doesn't know how to draw a damn face/head. Add to that a plot that I don't care about. The more I think about it, the more I find the idea of Norman Osborn in charge just because he got in the shot that killed the Skrull Queen, the more I find the whole idea a waste of my goddamn time. This book is back to being officially dropped.

Punisher: War Zone #2-3

I don't know if you've noticed this, but, over at CBR, there are six comic book reviewers. Now, I like a good "gimmick," so I thought "Six of us, six issues of a new Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon Punisher book... we should each review an issue!" I sent an e-mail to Augie (reviews editor and columnist) and he thought it was a good idea, but wondered if it could work (I did too), but I mentioned it to the gang and they liked the idea. What I find very interesting is that reviews for the first three issues are up and each of us has given our respective issue four stars out of a possible five. Now, if that isn't an indication of the level of quality that Ennis and Dillon are delivering, I don't know what is. And we're all different, us reviewers (the two closest in taste would probably be Tim and myself, I think)... yeah, this is a four-star series. It's as good as it can be. The goofier aspects both add and detract (not equally, but close enough), and it's weekly, so it reads very well. I like that Marvel is releasing this book that way and wish they'd line up various minis by high quality teams to release this way. DC has it's mediocre-to-utter-shit weekly book and Marvel can have its various weekly minis that are quite good.

New Avengers #48

Did anything actually happen in this issue? No? Didn't think so. With the price going up by a buck (a buck-twenty for Canadians thanks to the exchange rate) next issue, I think I'm done with this book. Again, the new line-up isn't really all that different and the new status quo doesn't wow me. There are two reasons why I'd keep buying this series:

1. Because I have all of Bendis's Avengers work to this point. And that reason has a pull, but not a good enough one. Really, it's not even close to good enough.

2. Because I want to see what happens with Danielle Cage. This reason is almost good enough. It's very close, because I've become attached to Luke and Jessica, but I can always pick up trades or find out what happens online. It's not worth nearly five bucks each month (exchange rate, you whiny Americans!).

I do believe I will buy the first issue of Dark Avengers to see what it's like, but, that may be the end of me and Brian Michael Bendis's Avengers work. But, in January, I'm thinking I might start a series of posts looking at his run(s) on the book(s). Fun.

The Little Man: Short Strips, 1980-1995

One of the two graphic novels I received for Christmas. I've been a fan of Chester Brown for a few years now, but this is only the third book of his I've gotten. I first picked up I Never Liked You back in my second year of undergrad and, then, Louis Riel in hardcover shortly after, but, since then... nothing. This collection is nice and ranges in quality, most of the strips only two or three pages. I always enjoy collections like this, because I enjoy seeing how a writer/artist/whatever changes and grows over the years... not just in style and technique, but in their subject matter of choice. Considering that my first exposure to Brown's work was I Never Liked You, it's not surprising that my favourite strips were "Helder" and "Showing 'Helder,'" both very autobiographical. I haven't read all of the notes yet, but plan to tonight. One sour note: after only one read-through, the binding has come unglued... pages haven't fallen out yet, but it's not that fun to have a book fall apart so quickly. Ah well, it will make seem more read if anyone should ever browse my collection and make it seem like I'm a bigger fan of Brown than I am.

The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard

Eddie Campbell's annual graphic novel was my second Christmas graphic novel (if only I'd thought to put the new ACME Novelty Library on my list!) and it's a very renjoyable read. One of the pleasures of each new Campbell OGN is how he presents it--in this one, he's chosen a square(-ish) layout, often divided in four with other bits above and below the "main" panels. It's a really nice way to present the story as well as other information... I actually wish he and Dan Best (his co-writer) had utilised that space even more. Of course, that they used it sparingly makes each use pack that much more of a punch and seem that much more important. The story itself is nice and engrossing, but I always try and appreciate Campbell's work on another level, if I can. It's always difficult for me since I'm more focused on words than pictures, even with comics, and have difficulty really appreciating what an artist is doing. This was one of the books that I thought may alter my top ten of 2008 list, and I'm not sure that it has yet for sure... definitely the top twenty. But, 2008 isn't over yet, so I'm not thinking about it too much. If you haven't, though, check this book out.

That does it. Merry Christmas.

CBR Review: Batman #683

I recently reviewed Batman #683 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "And, so, Grant Morrison’s run on Batman possibly comes to end. While the final page may say “Follow the Dark Knight to his last adventure in Final Crisis #6,” this issue does offer a satisfying conclusion to Morrison’s two years or so on the book and does fill in the gap between 'Batman R.I.P.' and Final Crisis, showing that Bruce Wayne was never thought dead... but he may just wind up that way soon."

You can read the rest HERE!

CBR Review: Thor #12

I recently advance reviewed Thor #12 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following spoiler-free sentences: "J. Michael Straczynski enjoys making you see events you think you know in a new way, to make his viewer or reader realize that things didn’t happen as they seemed, that things are far more complex than that. He added the Spider-totem elements in his Amazing Spider-Man run, played around with time travel in Babylon 5 and, now, reveals the true origin of Loki."

You can read the rest HERE!

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: Full Moon Fever

[Another "lesser known" comic by Joe Casey which I will discuss and, then, ask and answer the question "Should it remain forgotten?"]

This graphic novel was published by AiT/Planet Lair in the early fall of 2005, if I recall correctly. I remember it being then, because I had a cold when I bought it (which affected my appreciation of it) and that cold nearly prevented me from heading to Toronto to see the White Stripes (yes, going to a concert and having to blow my nose every two minutes is not my idea of a good time). I didn't really dig this book when I first got it and hadn't read it again until yesterday. It does have one notable fact, though: Casey co-wrote it with Caleb Gerard. I can't think of another work that Casey co-wrote beyond "grey areas" like scripting over another writer's plot, using the "Marvel style" of writing, or collaborating on crossover events. But, none of those are really "co-writing" in the way that most people use the term. Scripting over another writer's plot is probably the closest, but since there's no agreement on the final results, it's more Casey finishing a job someone else began, whereas co-writing implies a certain level of collaboration and agreement on the final product that none of those other methods have.

The presence of a co-writer presents certain "difficulties" in judging/analysing this work, because it's not purely Casey's work... Then again, it doesn't really read like it. Full Moon Fever is rather mundane and straight forward for Casey. There's a space station on the moon and a team of plumbers have to go and fix some plumbing problems. Only, the ship can't land, because no one is answering their hails. When they do land, they find the place in shambles, eventually, discover bodies, and get killed off one by one by werewolves. There's nothing special about it at all. It's entertaining and well-done, but it's all high concept with few surprises and pretty much what you'd expect once you hear the high concept.

It begins with our main plumber, Zeke Kirby (who we later learn was once a solider, thereby giving him the right skills to survive) getting a birthday gift: a pen that writes in zero gravity that has (surprise, surprise) silver in it! It ends with the revelation that the plant being experimented upon's common name (since they're told the scientific classification) is wolfsbane. There are scenes concerning corporate sponsorship and bureaucratic bullshit that could be considered satirical, but are pretty tame and unoriginal. The dialogue is harsh and almost witty with none of the characters seeming to like one another.

The art by Damian Couceiro is serviceable and works decently well in black and white. He draws clearly, for the most part, and doesn't get in the way. His action scenes are dynamic and convey speed/movement better than a lot of superhero artists that are quite popular.

Should this book remain forgotten?

Probably not. As a piece of entertainment, it's a good popcorn flick. Something kind of brainless to just kick back and enjoy. It doesn't aspire to be anything more, so that's not an insult. It may bore anyone interested in Casey's more progressive concepts and ideas, but it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination. It's werewolves on the moon... not much else to say.

CBR Review: X-Files #2

I recently reviewed X-Files #2 for CBR and, in the process, wrote the following sentences: "Okay, so I only gave the first issue of this series 1.5 stars in my review of it last month, but I wanted to give the book another chance since I would be buying it for my X-Files fan girlfriend -- who loved the first issue and still hasn’t gotten over my scathing review of it. I’m happy to report that the second issue is an improvement and a strong finish to the story."

You can read the rest HERE!