Hey y’all. Welcome the first installment of the 2020 Year In Review series. This is a weekly(ish) series going through the end of this month, each installment covering a different topic. Today, we’re doing the best comics of the year. These are organized in a loose order from 10-1 but that’s mostly for organizational purposes as most are too close to call.
An interesting thing I realized when assembling this list is
that most the indie comics I read this year were from the early 2010s when I
wasn’t really reading indies. So only two made the Honorable Mentions. I also
want shout out Far Sector. I read the first four or so issues in 2019
and they were excellent. I really struggled to read it month to month though as
I just wanted more so I decided to let it build up and I’ll plow through it all
at some point. If I had read it, it would likely have made this list though.
Honorable Mentions: Ghosted in L.A., Go Go Power Rangers, Seven Secrets, The Flash
Giant Size X-Men
Issues: Jean Grey and Emma Frost-Storm
Technically this is five individual comics, but they tell
connected stories by the same writer. And y’know, Jonathon Hickman is said
writer and he iss the Head of X, so they were always going to be related to his
ongoing story.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these issues is the
way they are artist driven despite the big-name writer. For example, Giant
Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost has 29 pages without dialogue. Meanwhile,
Fantomex has significantly more dialogue because it is harder to get its
story across with just image, but, as I noted in
my review, Rod Reis turns in some of the best work of his career here is
provided the room to shine with striking panel layouts and stunning imagery in
The World.
Every single issue of the series was exceptionally beautiful
and features intimate, character-focused stories. I highly recommend it to
anyone interested in the X-Men they check it out.
Wonder Woman
Issues: 759-769
It is no secret that I am a huge Mariko Tamaki fan. I also
love the work of Mikel Janin and Jordie Bellaire. So, it was no surprise when I
loved Wonder Woman #759. Unfortunately, the art team changed almost
immediately and while Steve Pugh, Carlo Barberi and crew are no slouches, the
comic never looked as good as those first two issues.
The story itself was an interesting look at Maxwell Lord and
the damage he has done to people and the world. It does lose itself somewhat in
the middle chapters when Diana and Lord are chasing mcguffins across the globe.
There just is not enough specific tension in that partnership. It is made clear
Lord knows about the time Diana killed him, but it seems he more perturbed than
angered by that.
Thankfully, once Lord makes his predictable heel turn,
everything kicks back into gear and returns to its opening story about grief
and abuse and the effects those have on us. This culminates in a truly
wonderful moment that shows just how well Tamaki understands Wonder Woman.
Everyone should read it.
Marauders
Issues: 5-16
This is the first of two Gerry Duggan-written comics on this
list. Duggan’s presence on this list at all was somewhat of a surprise to me as
I do not think of him as one of my favorite writers or even one that is
particularly standout. And yet, here we are.
Marauders is a comic about the political machinations
within the Hellfire Trading Company, the arm of the Krakoan government
responsible for imports and exports. It is also about Kate Pryde, mutant pirate.
Interestingly, it is not actually about the Marauders, the name Kate gave to
her team for smuggling mutants out of their intolerant countries. Bishop and
Storm have had intermittent character development, but they are secondary
characters.
The stars here are Kate, Emma Frost, and Sebastian Shaw and
their struggle to work together and against each other. This culminated in a seemingly
huge status quo altering confrontation to end the year.
Largely brought to life by Stefano Caselli and Mateo Lolli,
this series is also gorgeous. At times, I have reread issues without even
glancing at the dialogue because I just wanted to focus on the specifics of the
art. Read it.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Issues: 14-21
This is a strange one for this list. The release schedule of
this series has been very irregular for seemingly no reason. As you can see,
there were not even 10 issues this year, so it was less than monthly. That made
each issue feel special though. I was always excited to read each issue both
because I knew it would be high quality and because it did not happen that
often.
This year saw the (temporary) conclusion of Miles’ fight
against Ultimatum, the beginning of his battle against C.R.A.D.L.E., his
developing relationship with Starling, and a new status for his relationship
with his Uncle. In seven issues! There was also the most
stressful Spider-Man comic I have ever read.
I would be remiss to not mention Javier Garron departing the
series midway through the year. I actually fell in love with this series
because of his and David Curiel’s art. While the writing was enough to keep me
on board no matter who took over art, I was extremely sad when I saw the
announcement. Luckily, Curiel has been able to create a smooth transition
between the interim artists and new ongoing artist Marcelo Ferreira; I am very
excited to see more of Ferreira’s take this year.
Last week’s issue #22 was the first post-Ultimatum so I am
sure it is an excellent jumping on point so jump on!
Cable
Issues: 1-6
Here is the other Gerry Duggan series. From the beginning,
this series has balanced being a prelude to (and then part of) X of Swords
and its own story. It has done so incredibly well. Maybe the best of any X-book.
It has been really impressive.
Of course, it helps when both stories are a ton of fun and this
is certainly that. Cable gets to have emotional moments with his parents, date
all the Cuckoos (and draw the ire of their mother), fight the Space Knights,
and he gets a big ass sword because Old Cable had big guns and he wants to
differentiate himself. It is all wonderous fun accentuated by the watercolor-esque
art of Phil Noto. I know this style is not for everyone, but I love it. It
helps that Noto excels at body language and facial expressions, creating
believable, emotional characters and scenes.
This is not your father’s Cable—or your Cable really; he is
only existed for like two years—but he is worthy of checking out on his own
merit. And if that is not enough, there have been some glimpses of Old Cable
and I would expect him to interact with his younger counterpart at some point.
He is, after all, a time traveler.
Amazing Spider-Man
Issues: 37-55, Sins Rising Prelude #1, 50.LR-54.LR
Cable and Miles Morales may not have released
many issues in 2020, but Amazing had an astounding 25 issues in a year
when Marvel did not publish comics for two months. And the first 15 were really
good! So good that the lack of literally anything good in the plot of Last
Remains does not bring this series down in the rankings.
Nick Spencer has been weaving a wonderful tale that
celebrates the history of Peter Parker while pushing his story forward and that
remained true this past year. While much of it focused on the climax of
Spencer’s time on the series, Peter also teamed up with his roommate Boomerang
to corral and eventually adopt an alien, went on J. Jonah’s podcast, bought an
engagement ring, and more. It was just as varied as the prior years.
Of course, one of the perks of Amazing Spider-Man is
that it always has some of the best artists in the industry working on it.
Whether it was Ryan Ottley, Patrick Gleason, Mark Bagley, or anyone else, the
series was consistently easy on the eyes. It helps when you have artists that
excel in the same areas—facial expressions and clear, dynamic action—to keep a consistent
feel to the series when it releases that often.
Overall an excellent comic series and one that is set up for
a lot of fun in 2021. Between fallout from Last Remains and set up for whatever
is happening in 2022 (Pete’s 60th birthday), it will surely be a
wild ride. Especially if we get another 25 issues.
Batman: Three Jokers
Issues: 1-3
I have already
spotlighted this series twice,
so I’ll keep it brief. Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok set out to close a five-year-old
plot thread they introduced during The Darkseid War: Who is the Joker? In that
story, it was revealed there are three of them and this series follows from
there. as much as this miniseries is about who the Joker is or why there are
three of them, it is about trauma and the way it affects people and how they
react to it. It is not perfect—Johns is once again heavily inspired by
Alan Moore, almost to the point of parody—but it quite an adventure and one of
my favorite stories about the worst villain in comics.
Excalibur
Issues: 5-16
So, the X-books are good. Really good. And the somewhat
controversial Excalibur is one of my favorites. The characters and worldbuilding
are the focus of this series as it, like Cable, walked the line between
set up for X of Swords and its ongoing story of the conflict between
Saturnyne and the mutants, the Braddock family in particular.
The sheer amount of information and character developments
that occurred in this series in 2020 would be absurd if the final entry on this
list did not do the same, but more. It was also the centerpiece of XoS
and arguably the entire line. Plus, it is just a ton of fun. There is a human baby
that turns into a dragon! It is so much fun! Read it!
X-Men
Issues: 4-16
Last April, I made a list of the Top
5 comic book writers. That list was wrong. Jonathon Hickman is the best
writer in the industry. Between X-Men, New Mutants, and his
various creator-owned series, Hickman wrote some of the most interesting comics
of 2020 and has been doing that for over a decade. X-Men is kind of about
the titular team, or rather their reformation by the end of the year.
Mostly, this a series about building a community, a nation,
and culture for a people. Connecting the mutant diaspora. A young nation
finding its footing in the wider world, one that hates and fears it. Finding
the strength to do what is right even when it is hard.
At the center of that story is the Summers-Grey family.
Hickman loves Cyclops. More than that, he understands Scott and those to
which he is connected. I too love Cyclops so that aspect is especially thrilling
after he spent five years dead or extremely poorly written. Beyond Slim and his
family, Hickman understands every character and puts them at the heart of his
big ideas. X-Men #7 is one of the most fascinating comics you will
weird. Yes, it introduces a cool, interesting new cultural ritual of the
mutants. It also puts the focus clearly on Aero and why she would take part as
well as how other mutants feel about this new tradition of theirs.
All of this is brought to life (mostly) by Leinil Francis Yu
and Sunny Gho. While Yu has some clear weaknesses, he is an incredible artist
fully capable of bringing this story to life; Gho’s colors really fill out and
cover up most the problems in the linework.
If you would like to know more, I have reviewed most (Maybe
all) the issues of the series since it launched. Check it out… after you get
read the issues because they are full spoilers.
If you like what you read here, consider donating to my Patreon or Ko-fi to
help cover costs and improve the site.
No comments:
Post a Comment