The subtitle of this post is: Two stiff drinks that go great together. If you’ve ever enjoyed a drunken sing-a-long, here are two fine choices for you.
First, Gogol Bordello is probably a familiar name to some of you–they make in-your-face, aggressive and filthy Russian rock. They’re a nine-member band, so there’s never time to breath. Songs often feature multiple, simultaneous melodies–a chaotic, whirling dervish of fun and gypsy punk. Their new album (and DVD package) is a collection of live songs (some but not all from the DVD) and outtakes. It starts out by grabbing you by the balls and never letting go. The band is touring with Apostle of Hustle(?!). Dates below.
On the other side of the drunkrock spectrum are Swedish indie rockers Friska Viljor.
The emphasis here is more on pop than punk. Their third album, “For New Beginnings,” is loud, carousing, feel-good poprock that makes you want to shake, twitch, and shout along. According to (their own) legend, the band began when pals Daniel and Joakim both broke up with their respective girlfriends and went on a bender. For several nights. And on one of those nights, they ended up in a recording studio. And they vowed to each other that they would never write a sober song again.
From the new one:
Older stuff:
Shotgun Sister
10/03 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theater *
10/04 – Saskatoon, SK @ The Odeon *
10/05 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall *
10/07 – Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Center *
10/09 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *
10/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre *
10/11 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory *
10/12 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory *
10/13 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre *
10/15 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre *
10/18 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove of Anaheim *
10/20 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre *
10/21 – Tuscon, AZ @ Rialto Theatre *
10/24 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall *
10/28 – Richmond, VA @ The National *
10/30 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
10/31 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Experience
12/01 – St. Petersburg, RU @ Glav Club
12/02 – Moscow, RU @ Grand Milk Theatre
12/04 – Kiev, UA @ Balkan Fest
12/05 – Kiev, UA @ TBA
12/08 – Warsaw, PL @ Stodola
12/09 – Krakow, PL @ Rotunda
12/11 – Prague, CZ @ Sporthall
12/12 – Dresden, DE @ Reithalle
12/13 – Erlangen, DE @ E Werk
12/14 – Karlsruhe, DE @ Toolhaus
12/16 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Principal Club
12/17 – Athens, GR @ TBA
12/19 – Tel Aviv, IL @ Hangar 11
12/20 – Tel Aviv, IL @ Barbey Club
* = w/ Apostle of Hustle
I’m a fan of Troy Brownfield’s column, and he recently wrote about whether the reunion of Cap, Thor and Iron Man, means that The Avengers will return and the street-level team of “New Avengers” will disband. And Michael Bendis confirmed on Twitter that the Avengers will be cavorting through space soon, giving Troy’s theory some ammunition. First off, and I hope Marvel has considered this, if The Avengers does return, I hope it does so with the original series’ numbering. Second of all, I can’t wait to see how Cap and Iron Man kiss and make up. But to address Mr. Brownfield’s column, yeah, there should be a street level team to avenge victims of street-level crime. He had some suggestions for the lineup—good ones—but I’ll throw mine in now. I agree that the “street” Avengers should include Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger . . . I even like the Black Cat idea.
But who among them is a qualified leader? None of them can be taken seriously enough. I think Cap should stay with them. After all, even if he’s fought Thanos and Galactus, he’s really a street-level guy. But what about the new Cap (a.k.a. Bucky)? Or Falcon? Sam Wilson seems like he might be ready to step up and start leading a group. At a minimum, both characters are good candidates for the team because their link to the real Captain America could provide some credibility.
If Mr. Bendis doesn’t dig giving Falcon a leadership role, I’m going to suggest Dr. Strange. He hasn’t been in a group since The Defenders, I believe.
I’m disagreeing that Daredevil should be included—I love hornhead, but he’s a loner, always has been, always should be. His experiment at “team work” with The Hand notwithstanding. Plus, we don’t even know how that will turn out. And I love Moon Knight, but he’s insane. Ditto Punisher. Both could work with the team, but how could they ever get the clearance required to work as a team without getting everyone arrested?
I’ll add a few more candidates for membership. First, how about the “undead” White Tiger? Maybe some of the Immortal Weapons would like to spend some time in the surface world? And I’m not suggesting he be on the team, but here’s an idea for a story arc: Deadpool wants to be on the team! He’s been experimenting with the meaning of being a hero, after all. Hellcat might be interesting, although I’ve never really understood her as a character. I’d prefer Tigra, whose insecurity complex always made her doubt her ability to contribute when she was a member of the capital-A Avengers. And how about a new Ant Man or Wasp? Finally, the team needs a tank other than Luke Cage. Maybe Colossus? Or, and I don’t know what the plans are for her with in Fall of Hulks, but She Hulk is a smart character who isn’t being used to her full potential right now. Plus, she’s a lawyer. I think this gang will need one . . .
What about ROM? Remember him? (Just kidding.)
Finally, I’ll say this: Wolverine should NOT be on the team. It’s enough with that dude, already.
Tags: Picture of the day, Spider-Man
Vulture Whale, if you don’t know, are an incredible grungy Americana group. They’re dirty, obnoxious, loud, and amazingly talented. Their self-titled debut is one of the best albums of the year. And their new EP, Bambou You, is free! That’s right, free! Go here to get it.
You won’t regret it!
Hey Hey What Can I Do? (Led Zep cover)-Hold Steady (alt link)
O, Dana (Big Star cover)-Okkerville River (alt link)
Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin) – Golden Smog/Wilco (alt link)
Tags: Best of 2009, Free Album!
Look above you. Yeah, that’s me with an MF DOOM mask. It’s not like I’m gay for him or anything, I just admire his genius. He’s easily my favorite rapper of all time. And now, he’s released a “best of” . . . Kind of.
“Unexpected Guests” will not be for hardcore fans, but if you don’t have everything Metal Face ever did, if you’re curious, or if you’re a dabbler, you NEED to get this record. It’s him with, as you’ve probably guessed, a bunch of guests. Tracklisting after the jump, and a taste:
1. Fly That Knot (Talib Kweli Feat. Doom)
2. Sniper Elite (J. Dilla & Doom)
3. Yikes Scienz of Life (Feat. Doom)
4. Sorcerers (K.M.D)
5. Da Supafriendz (Vast Aire Feat. Doom)
6. Quite Buttery (Count Bass D Feat. Doom)
7. ? (DOOM Feat. Kurious)
8. All Outta Ale (The Prof Feat. Doom)
9. E.N.Y. House (Masta Killa)
10. Bell of Doom (The Prof Feat. Doom)
11. My Favorite Ladies (Doom)
12. Street Corners (Doom Remix) (Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, & GZA)
13. Angels (Doom & Ghostface)
14. Fire Wood Drumstykx (J. Dilla & Doom)
15. The Unexpected (Babu Feat. Doom and Sean Price)
16. Project Jazz (Hell Razah, Talib Kweli & Viktor Vaughn)
17. Black Gold (John Robinson)
18. Bonus Track: I Hear Voices (Live) (Doom)
Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness
2006
Ed McGuiness knows how to draw muscles. That we all know from Deadpool and Red Hulk. But Jeph Loeb is . . . Funny? This story, a Batman/Superman adventure, seems to exist outside of the regular continuity, but it tells a harrowing and hilarious tale: What if Joker had all the power in the universe? What would he do? How would he amuse himself? How would he torture Batman? And could Superman ever hope to stop him? Surreal, scary, and thought-provoking, this is the quintessential thinking-person’s Bat/Supers tragicomedy.
-Mysterious Comic Book Guy
Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Kurt Busiek, others.
2006-09
Easily the best writer at D.C., Johns took a book that hadn’t had a good run in over a decade and made it the series everyone was watching. He started small, with the best Bizarro story arc in the history of great Bizarro story arcs. He ended his Action run with the return of Braniac, which led right to the “World of Krypton” storyline that, eventually, took Superman out of Action Comics for the first time since the character was born. I can’t say I dig the current, off-planet tales very much, but the way Johns took us there was fantastic. For the first time in my life, I looked forward to reading the Superbooks.
-Ekko
Garth Ennis
2006-2007 mini-series; one shot in 2007; new issue preview released in 2009 with series expected (hoped for) before year end
Not to be confused with Templesmith’s work, Ennis’ book shares nothing but the word “Wormwood” and an obvious affection for the derangedly bizarre. In this story, we have a good guy Anti-Christ (Danny Wormwood) who hangs out with a mentally damaged Jesus (suffered a severe beating from the cops when he tried to come back and preach peace) and a talking rabbit (Jimmy) who likes to start on-line flame wars, particularly with Star Wars fans. Danny’s dear old Pop wants him to take up the whole evil incarnate family business, but Danny’s not too interested, instead just fine with his life as a cable TV exec. The story focuses on the push from both Satan and the sex-depraved Pope to enact the final battle between Good and Evil. I would tell you what God’s role in the whole thing is, but it would ruin one of the most blasmosphly funny things you’ll ever read. Not for the faint of religion, the book takes a larger look at the hypocracy of the church and religion in general. As twisted as anything Ennis has ever written, I found this one, too, to have a lighter, more comical side that made it enjoyable on levels not typically found in his books. Now, just reading the thing might get you ex-communicated, but isn’t that half the fun? Perhaps not as much fun as when Wormwood uses his power of making one thing happen permanently daily to turn a bartender’s nose into a penis (a recurring character, natch), but you’ll need to read the rest to decide that for yourself.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles
2006-07
Warren Ellis/Stuart Immonen
A sick and twisted 12-issue series about a group of weird Marvel heroes many of us had never heard of: Monica Rambeau, the “Captain Marvel” of Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars; Tabitha Smith X-Force; Machine Man; and a few others. It’s more spoof than story–they work for H.A.T.E.–Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort—and U.W.M.D.–Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction. Funny, violent, angry and did I say funny?
-Mysterious Comic Book Guy
Mark Millar/Steve McNiven
2006-07
I know I’ve complained endlessly about the effect Civil War has had to darken the Marvel Universe, and what a mistake it was to kill Cap. But, on the other hand, it was a pretty terrific story. I just hated how it ended. But the fact that I hated it so much, for so long, shows how much Millar made me care. No other Marvel event has ever mattered so much, or been this good. None of the spin-offs mattered much, but if you feel compelled to get one I’d recommend the Wolverine Civil War trade by Guggenheim and Ramos. It tells the tale of how Nitro finally got caught after killing all those kids–the spark that started the whole war. I’m sure this will be the most controversial pick of this list, but I’m standing by it.
-Ekko
Warren Ellis and Brandon Peterson
2006
Perhaps the best thing about the Ultimate stories is how it tells tales slowly, gradually weaving in the large fabric of familiar characters in a novel way. (The biggest weakness of Ultimate X-Men, by the way, was the opposite–Millar seemed to rush to the end, leaving subsequent writers little to discuss.) The Ultimate Galactus Trillogy is good overall (and a steal at $30 in trade book format), but this, the last “book” in the series was great in how it turned the Galactus story from silly to “un-silly.” A giant man with a purple hat? Gone. Replaced by a collective conscience. A puny ultimate nullifier? Gone. Replaced by a tower capable of interdimensional teleportation. Eating a planet? Replaced by a systematic way of breaking down a planet into bite-sized chunks, from psychic attack through ebola virus. There were weaknesses in the tale, of course–like how is it that SHIELD can do and know pretty much everything but never tracked down the Heather Moons or Silver Surfer cultists–but they are forgivable. This was the first truly global tale in the Ultimate Universe–the first time all elements, except Spider-Man–came together as one, and Ellis pulled it off wonderfully. Good Ultimates stories treat the source material with reverence, recognizing how brilliant Golden Age comic book writers and artists were, but modernizing their ideas into a more plausible form. That was lost with Ultimatum, which basically deteriorated into a big fight that felt hollow and meaningless. I hope the recent re-launch can recapture the awe.
-Ekko
Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction and David Aja.
2006-2007
David Aja is awesome. I will pick up whatever he is working on, but if you have him choreographing bad ass fighting between the Iron Fist and anybody else I am completely sold. Then Fraction and Brubaker decided to put together a story worth reading with flashes of Iron Fists past that made me want to learn more. I loved it, especially The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. Just a really amazing job of building on a character and making him compelling to a reader who had never been interested. It all started with Aja, though. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend
Greg Pak/Aaron Lopresti/Gary Frank/John Romita Jr.
2006- 07
Hulk usually sucks. Face it. I know a lot of folks praise Peter David’s run on it, but I wasn’t a huge fan. Really, nobody’s ever made the green giant seem interesting. Or even plausible. Pak and Lopresti/Frank/Romita Jr. went the opposite direction of everyone before them. Rather than take Banner seriously, they took him over the top, off the planet and back again to fight every single Marvel hero. Exciting, hilarious, and old-fashioned rock-em-sock-em fun, which is much appreciated in this world of Serious Comic Books. Incredible Hercules is pretty good stuff, too, and Ed McGuiness’ work on Red Hulk is beautiful. But the two trades, Planet Hulk and WWH, present one of the best stories of the Century.
-Ekko
Tags: Best of the Decade, Comic books, Spider-Man, Superheroes
We’re halfway through the decade, so let’s recap:
Find Part One: 2000-2001 HERE, along with full bios of all contributors!
Find Part Two: 2002-2003 HERE!
Want part three: 2004? Go here!
Frank Miller/Jim Lee
Sporadically from 2005-2008, currently on hiatus
At this point in the history of the cape, it seems like every conceivable iteration of the character has been tried, from the kiddie-friendly cartoon 
version on Super Friends to the much angrier, “adult” Dark Knight of the 90s. So what did Frank Miller decide to do when given the opportunity to handle the series yet another time? He said screw it all and completely re-launched the thing. And what a re-launch it has been! Clearly realizing the utter inanity of someone dressing up in bat pajamas and running around town saving innocent folks from baddies, ASBAR seems to be written somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but that doesn’t take away from how brilliant the series has been so far. This Bruce Wayne is certifiably crazy, going days without showering or shaving in his pursuit of justice. When Dick Grayson’s parents die, a sympathetic Wayne doesn’t show up on the scene and take him under his wing. THIS Batman shows up and literally kidnaps the kid. The other superheroes introduced thus far can’t stand him. An even more goodie-goodie Superman finds his actions reprehensible, and Wonder Woman hates all men. When Bats has Robin damn near kill Green Lantern simply to see if the kid is any good, well, let’s just say we’ve clearly moved into new territory here. Add to the mix that Jin Lee is doing all the animation, and you will quickly see why this is the Bat Signal that bears watching.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles
Also picked by: Ekko and Mysterious Comic Book Guy.
Grant Morrison/Frank Quietly
2005-08
I love Frank Quitely. He is my favorite artist and combined with what I believe are some of Grant Morrison’s best superhero stories, this book is one I go back to every few months just to check it out. The ultimate Superman experience and I’m not a huge Superman fan. I love it and wish I could do something as cool with a character that can be just difficult to make fun.
-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend
Punisher MAX #1-60Garth Ennis
2005-2008
When my comic dealer first recommended I pick up the trades of Garth Ennis’ run on Punisher, I thought the same thing I imagine most people would. The Punisher? Really? Isn’t he arguably the worst character in the entire Marvel Universe? At best, he’s the poor man’s Batman, so why would anyone give a flying fig for his exploits? Once Ennis took over the book, however, all that changed immediately. For those of you not familiar with Ennis’ work, he tends to have a very distinct style–very dark, very violent and very intense. That’s not to say he can’t be funny as hell, too, but that’s not what he went with on the Punisher.
Quite frankly (pun intended), Ennis made the Punisher one of the grittiest crime books out there. His Punisher didn’t interact with Capes at all, but instead took on everyone from the Mafia to Soviet spies. Sure, Frank Castle’s actions and abilities still bordered on the superhuman, but Ennis apparently has never cared much for those kind of stories. Above all else, these stories are INTENSE. People die, more often than not in a graphic manner. Think the Sopranos amped up about ten degrees, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Ennis did with Frank Castle. Seriously, one of the most compelling reads I’ve had in years.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles
Jonah HexJustin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti (writers), with various artists.
2005-Present.
I love adventure comics and tough spaghetti Westerns and this book combines the best of both. The rotating cast of star artists like Darwyn Cooke, Luke Ross, and Tony DeZuniga among others tend to obscure the fact that the writing from Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti is some of the best I’ve seen in mainstream comics, just in terms of pure craft.
-Greg of Fridays With Hatcher
Also picked by . . .
Jonah Hex is stupid, right? He’s just Clint Eastwood with bad scar. And Western comic books are stupid, too, right? Right. Except that for every rule there’s an exception. If you want real stories–many of which are one-offs–then this book is for you. It’s way, way better than it ought to be.
I hope the movie is half this good.
-Mysterious Comic Book Guy
Geoff Johns
2005-Present
I’ve written about this run at much further length, so let me see if I can condense that. Quite frankly, currently the best book in the DC universe, and it has been for about the last two year. Starting with the Sinestro Corps Wars, continuing through Prelude to Darkest Night through the on-going Blackest night, Johns has shaken up the entire Corps. The Guardians essentially are losing it, re-writing the Book of OA in an attempt to prevent what has been written in its pages from coming true. As the Yellow Rings start a power war, these new rules include the ability for Greens to kill their enemies. Concurrently, a new ring arises for each color of the spectrum with new corps of their own. All this leads to an all-out battle with the black rings. The kicker? Those black rings reanimate the dead. As you can imagine, old heroes literally are crawling out of their graves to fight DC’s mightiest. Blackest Night hasn’t come to its final conclusion yet, so we’ll have to see where it goes, but it’s been an excellent ride so far.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles
Also picked by . . .
Over the course of the last 5 years, writer Geoff Johns took my least favorite Green Lantern and made him my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always thought Hal Jordan was OK. But Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner each had more appeal when stacked up against Jordan’s 2 dimensional personality. Starting with “Green Lantern: Rebirth” and continuing on through the current “Blackest Night” storyline, Johns rebuilt Hal into a more complex character, retooling the entire Green Lantern mythos in the process. His post-Sinesto Corps. retelling of Hal’s origin is one of the best origin updates I’ve read.
- Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com
Mark Millar/Klaus Janson/John Romita, Jr.
2005
Wolverine is in just about every single Marvel book on the shelves, either as a regular or a guest. It’s too damn much. And as if his legend (and tireless crusade for justice) wasn’t complicated enough, stories started popping up about Wolvie’s false (or possibly false) memories as well. It’s exhausting. The great thing about this two-trade story is that anyone can jump in. There’s no soap opera with Wolverine’s kids or his real name. it’s just Wolverine beating the snot out of a host of Marvel good guys in the first half (I won’t spoil how it happens), and then fighting tens of thousands of ninjas in the second half. Nonstop action. Great but simple story. All told cinematically. Typical Millar.
-Ekko
Brian Michael Bendis/Ed Brubaker.
2005-09
Under Bendis’ watch, Daredevil (who had become so lame that his title was nearly cancelled) took down the Kingpin and went to jail. A run that was unpredictable, brilliant, powerful, and character-changing. When he left the series, nobody thought it could get better. Then along came Brubaker who freed DD from prison via The Iron Fist, in a great bit of cross-promotion (Brubaker was trying to revive the 1980s green-tighted karate character). Frank Miller’s Daredevil was one of the best books of the 1980s, and this decade the hero returned (after that miserable movie misstep). Brubaker left the book with issue #500, a few months ago, and it remains to be seen if the new creative team can fill the shoes of their predecessors. Never before has a single comic book undergone a complete creative-team-change and remained so powerful.
-Mysterious Comic Book Guy
THE MIDDLEMANJavier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine
2005-07
This book is just pure fun, awesome in a box. The story is impossible to summarize really. But it managed to take everything I always loved about the sheer adrenaline rush of Silver Age superhero adventure comics and put it all between two covers, without giving up any of the sophistication of modern technique and the added bonus of doing it all with humor, style and wit. The television show, the single season of which is now on DVD, is also very highly recommended. Best translation of comics to screen…. well, ever.
-Greg of Fridays With Hatcher
Tags: Best of the Decade, Superheroes
Juggernaut vs. Spider-Man was the third-best comic book of the 1980s. I’ll never forgive X3 for completely fucking up one of my favorite characters ever. It’s not “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” it’s “Nothing can stop the Juggernaut!” The profanity was unnecessary. It’s like making Mighty Mouse saying, “Here I come to save the fucking day!”
Tags: Movies, Spider-Man, Superheroes, Video of the day, X-Men
THE BEST COMICS OF THE DECADE: Part Three: 2004
Today, a whole post dedicated to one year. 2004 began the current comic book renaissance (which blossomed fully in 2005), and it takes an entire post just to cover this one year. And most of the reason was Marvel. Let’s get started.
Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness
2004
In 2004, D.C. launched a new title featuring its two best known, most popular character. The first story arc, titled “Public Enemies,” was trusted to one of their best writers and one of the greatest “muscle” artists of the past twenty years. The book started—literally—with a bang. Issue number one consisted of a frightening sequence involving Metallo, reborn as a grave-robbing cyborg with a shovel for an arm, shooting Superman with a kryptonite bullet. The story also involved Lex Luthor becoming President, superheroes working for the government against Bats and Supey, and a meteor coming to destroy Earth. Sound like Civil War? Sound like Armageddon? Yep and yep. Great ideas gotta begin somewhere. From issue #7 on the book waxed and waned in quality, telling some interesting stories (like the end of kryptonite on Earth), but never reaching these heights again.
-Ekko
Note: This book is the story source for the new “Public Enemies” DVD.
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday
2004-07
After falling in love with Firefly, I became a big Joss Whedon fan. It’s not that the man can do no wrong – he can – but when he does right, he’s unstoppable. Whedon’s run on the Astonishing X-men, the first year in particular, is some of his best work to date.
What makes these 25 issues sing (#1-24 and a “Giant-Size” finale) is that Whedon does relationships just as well as does action. 
“Fastball specials” and space aliens by themselves are pretty kick-ass, but couple them with the evolution of the Kitty/Colossus love story (decades in the making) and the Emma/Kitty cat-fights (new, but oh-so vicious), and you’ve got a complete package.
- Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com
Also picked by . . .
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the greatest serialized television drama ever on a network, and Astonishing X-Men is the greatest X-series in history. Period. Joss Whedon brings all of his Buffy-level humor and his Firefly-level “thinking man’s science fiction” to bear here, with astounding results. I have never–ever–read a story about computers becoming sentient that made more sense than this one. And I’ve never read an X-Men series that had such humor and heart–say what you want about Marvel’s mutie books, but they’re pretty bleak. And Cassaday’s art cannot be oversold. If I were to pick one book for the best book of the entire decade, this would be it.
-Ekko
Ben Templesmith
Originally started as intermittent serials in Lo-Fi Magazine in 2004; those were collected by IDW Publishing and released in comic book format in 2006; subsequent new mini-series have come out since then on IDW.
You may know Templesmith from some of his arguably more well-known works like 30 Days of Night, but Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse is by far my favorite work of his. Templesmith adds a lighter, more comical touch to this storyline, and it pays off in spades. The comics revolve around an ancient parasitic worm that takes over dead bodies as he currently resides on Earth. Though he seems only to want a beer and a smoke while he hangs out at an interdimensional strip club run by Medusa, time and again alien invasions largely caused by our intrepid anti-hero’s earlier misdeeds seem to interupt him. Obviously, he’s surrounded by a colorful cast of characters, including a robot that continually bitches about not having any genitalia, assorted ghosts and a hot stripper-turned-bodyguard. Oh, and they’re often plagued by sexually deranged, hideously deformed, piss drunk leprechauns. That’s OK, I’ll give you a moment to read the last couple of sentences again. The stories are further cemented by Templesmith’s incredible artwork, a mixture of pencils and watercolors that’s stunning to the eye. Sure, it’s a bit creepy, too, but that’s part of the charm.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles
Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales and Michael Bair
It goes without saying that superheros live in a different reality. A reality where saving the Earth from mutants, aliens, or mad scientist is a common occurrence. It’s what makes them great, but what can also make them unrelatable. Once in awhile though comes a story that places our favorite heroes in a reality so close to our own that it can leave us shocked and speechless. Identity Crisis, through it’s horrific murder mystery, literally sent shock waves through DC Comics that can still be felt today. Out of all the “Crisis” titles it was the first, the events in the story helped fuel one of DC’s biggest events ever (Infinite Crisis), and the level of humanity that Brad Meltzer put all our heroes at has yet to be forgotten. Over the last decade a lot of great stories have been told and a lot of new titles and ideas have sprung forth, but no single story may have had the impact that Identity Crisis did; on the industry, the characters, and the reader. -John Barringer of A Comic Book Blog
Ed Brubaker
2004-Present (as “Captain America Reborn”)
In 2004, the Captain America series was hurting. The dark tone of the post-9/11 Volume 4 (under the “Marvel Knights” banner) showed promise initially. Unfortunately, Marvel decided to turn the series back into a more traditional hero book – meaning more action, less development. It died shortly thereafter. Enter Ed Brubaker. He had a vision and, thankfully, Marvel was smart enough to let him run with it. Sales skyrocketed with the “Death of Captain America” – which was one of the best kept secrets in comic book history. Few people saw it coming. (By the way – when it comes to hero death, I much prefer this “surprise” method to the over-publicized “Batman R.I.P.” method.)
But just killing a major character isn’t enough to get a title on my “Top of the Decade” list. You’ve got to have solid plot to back it up. And this book has it in spades. It’s also got one of the better developed casts of supporting characters in mainstream comics today. There are so many instances in the comic world where a title doesn’t live up to the hype surrounding it (I’m looking at YOU, Final Crisis). This is not one of those instances.
Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com
Also picked by . . .
Marvel has tried many times to “rebirth” Captain America. Roger Stern and John Byrne did a decent job in the 1980s, and I also liked DeMatteis and Zeck’s run, but Brubaker’s relaunch is the one to beat. First, he took Cap’s supporting cast and gave them depth and history, particularly Bucky, who he showed to be a covert assassin even back in the days of WW2, making his transition to Winter Soldier seem inevitable. And he was able to portray Steve Rogers as a man out of time, cynical and depressed about the state of the country, without going to the extremes that Mark Millar did in The Ultimates. And surely nobody has ever had a longer, clearer concept of an extended story arc than his careful plotting of Caps 1-50. It’s becoming clear, in Captain America Reborn, that Brubaker new from page one where he was headed with this character, including both Cap’s death and rebirth. A word about the art: Much of what made Brubaker’s concept work is the noir-y art of Mr. Epting–it was dark enough to capture the mood of a hero who was so much bigger than those around him, trapped in a time that no longer embraced idealism. The reason I used a page from the book to illustrate this entry, is to show how Epting can tell a tale through panels in a way that few others can. I don’t know why Brubaker didn’t use Epting for Captain America reborn, but I’m definitely sad about it.
-Ekko
Bryan Lee O’Malley
2004-Present
In a few months, you’re probably going to be sick to death of Scott Pilgrim, since Michael Cera is going to play him in the upcoming movie adaptation, but before you let that sour you on the comic, book, I’m here to tell ya, it’s something else. The indie comic out on Oni Press deals with a slacker in a band who has to fight the the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his new girlfriend. O’Malley draws the entire thing in a pseudo-80s video game/manga style, and completes the gag with continuous video game nuances throughout, such as the boyfriends essentially acting as the boss level at the end of each book. His sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either. Here’s hoping the movie doesn’t suck.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles
2004
Mike Mignola
A trade published in 2004 that really should be called “The Best of Hellboy,” one of the greatest indie comic series of all time. It’s got some great early stories (like the two-pager, “Pancakes,” from 1999, which is my absolute favorite) and later weirdness like “Heads” and “Box of Evil.” Is it cheating to include a book that came out this decade but reprinted stuff from the 1990s? Maybe. But I’m pretty sure some of these stories also came out in the 2000s, so suck it up. Plus, nobody even picked Hellboy and I thought he oughta be represented.
-Ekko
Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
2004-05
I am of the opinion that the original Ultimates was one of the best series of the decade. So why didn’t it make my list? Because Ultimates 2 blew it out of the water. Of all the titles I listed here, this was my favorite of the decade. It has action, strong writing, superb character development, mystery, great art, outstanding dialog…basically, anything that I raved about in my above picks – this book pulls them all together and wraps a nice big bow around them.
Is Thor literally insane? Is Tony Stark just drunken idiot? Is Captain America the biggest loser in history? Can Banner live with the blood he has on his hands? Mark Millar takes this dysfunctional team, rips them apart, then forces them back together to tackle the greatest threat the world has ever known. It’s an exhilarating ride and it represents everything that is great about the comic book medium.
-Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com
Also picked by Ekko.
Tags: Best of the Decade, Superheroes, Zombies
