Yeah, I ran a chronological “Best Comics of the Decade” post already, and tons of bloggers have done a decade retrospective, but I haven’t seen one that focuses exclusively on Marvel. Marvel is the most important comic book publisher out there, and not just because it controls the market share. When it comes to superhero books, they have consistently proven that they can tell (and sell) stories to the mainstream that don’t (always) offend their base. And the last decade showed a company willing to take risks as well. Here begins the decade retrospective, to help you figure out what trades you want to run out and buy (hint: PunisherMax by Warren Ellis and the Ultimates hardcover omnibus by Millar and Finch are great places to start). I decided also to do this in order of what I think the impact of these events were. Sure, some items may be interchangeable, but generally I think I’ve ranked ‘em correctly.

As always, praise and bellyaching is welcome in the comments section.

25. THE RISE OF THE MINOR CHARACTER. Between Brubaker/Fraction/Aja’s work on Iron Fist, Bucky becoming Captain America, the inclusion of Luke Cage and Spider-Woman in New Avengers, the reinvention of folks like Captain Britain, She-Hulk, Punisher, Moon Knight, and Ghost Rider, and the explosion of Deadpool, Marvel has done a great job at keeping its minor characters in the forefront this decade. And with such a rich cast of supporting players, this is a welcome addition. They’ve even done a great job at establishing some new characters, such as the afore-mentioned Young Avengers, The Sentry, and The Immortal Weapons.

24. JLA/AVENGERS. All right, this may not have been that important, but come on. You know you wanted it. But don’t buy it for the story—it’s one of those cosmic space epics that doesn’t make a lot of sense. George Perez is the master of large group shots—he’s not an intimate artist, he’s a “stand back and watch the widescreen” type—and that’s exactly what this book needed.

23. KICK-ASS. Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s creation on Marvel’s Icon imprint was the first comic to sell movie rights—and get the movie made, to boot–before finishing its first story arc. Marvel deserves kudos for supporting these creators in their vision.

22. THE ADVENT OF THE YOUNG AVENGERS. Why is this on my list of decade-defining events? Because it is almost impossible to get people to spend money on new characters. Think about it. How many new hero books get launched and last more than a year? Almost none. And those that do, are usually independent. Here, Marvel took a pretty dumb idea (baby Cap! baby Vision!) and turned it into something pretty cool. The creative team, Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, deserved their Harvey award for best new series by creating characters who modeled themselves after Marvel’s JLA but who were individuals—nothing like the persons they based themselves on. Not to mention, they won an award from GLAAD for portraying a gay character in a positive, well-balanced way (I won’t give away who it is) and formed the basis (kind of) for a surprisingly good Marvel all-ages DVD (“Avengers Next”). The book lasted only 12 issues, but four miniserieses later,
there are hints that the group will return. Let’s hope it does. I mean comics are about icons, but Marvel’s icons are, well, old. It’s great to have a book about kids again.

21. PRESIDENT OBAMA APPEARS IN AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. First of all, to have a world leader admit that he enjoys reading comic books was a truly amazing event. But Spider-Man’s team up with the POTUS ended up being the best-selling comic of the entire decade. Not to mention the great hype Marvel generated behind the cross-over. Their publicists deserve a standing ovation for this, along with their promotion of the Death of Captain America, The Spider-Man/Colbert team-up, and all the creepy posters they used as the “Secret Invasion” campaign.

20. PAGE ONE RECAPS. Another editorial decision that has made comics more readable and accessible is the one-page recap, which Marvel now does for nearly all its titles and, at least in the Deadpool and Spider-Man books, inserts creativity as well, making the recap a must-read even for regular subscribers.

19. ROBERT KIRKMAN’S “THE WALKING DEAD.” No, that’s not a misprint. Without Kirkman’s indie title, there would have been no Marvel Zombies, which served as the jump-off for several horror-fusion titles and characters, from Zombie Headpool to Frankencastle and the revival of the Legion of Monsters. And probably Marvel Apes, too. A lot of campy fun!

18. MARVEL DIGITAL COMICS UNLIMITED. Perhaps this is more likely to be an important event for the 2010s than it was for the 2000s, but Marvel’s attempt to provide on-line back-issues and some new content deserves a mention not because it successfully changed the game, but because it showed how the game might change in the near future.

17. THE RISE OF TRADE PAPERBACKS. Along the same line as “growing the hell up,” Marvel in 2002 launched an aggressive trade paperback program that today has all but superseded the monthly serialized format. In some ways, this is sad. It’s led to comic books being worthless as collector’s items, killed the back-issue industry, and led to markedly decreased monthly sales. On the other hand, the trade books put comics into bookstores and made them viable in online markets like Amazon. In short, the trade format may have saved the industry by killing it.

16. GROWING THE HELL UP . . . By 2000, everyone pretty much knew that kids weren’t the main readers of comics any more. But in 2001, Joe Quesada took official notice by launching the MAX line and dumping the outdated and condescending Comics Code Authority, which was designed originally to establish that comics were okay for little ones to read. The first action allowed Marvel to take in the team responsible for the indie book “Preacher”– Ennis and Dillon—who made The Punisher into a character worth reading about for the first time since . . . Well, ever. He was no longer a lame Batman ripoff, and although the stories Ennis told were generally straightforward violent crime sagas, they had the kind of grit that made them cinematic. Dropping the Comics Code was a signal to the world that comic books were now grown up, and could be seen as legitimate literature—not as pulp to occupy the kids. I’d argue that this trend really began way back
with Frank Miller’s Daredevil, but it wasn’t until Quesada had the vision to transform not just individual series but the entire Marvel Universe that it really took hold. This change in perspective made just about everything else on this list possible.

15. . . . BUT STAYING YOUNG AT HEART! Yeah, Millar and Bendis are serious cookies with an eye for bleakness and major change. But at the same time, Joe Quesada gave Chris Eliopoulos a license to make us laugh with his charming “Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius” series. The books get a little stale after a while, but there’s at least seven issues of wonderful reading here. Add to the mix the rebirth of Power Pack in a series of kid-friendly mini-series, the Marvel Adventures line, Mini Marvels (brilliant!), the Super Hero Squad, and X-Men and Wolverine First Class, and you’ve got some solid books for all ages that don’t dumb down the Marvel Universe.

14. GRANT MORRISON AND FRANK QUIETLY TAKE OVER THE X-MEN. Many credit Morrison’s “New X-Men” run as a game-changer. I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of the series, but I recognize that he was able to make manageable the convoluted, unwieldy, ridiculous and boring X-Universe, and completely reorganize it—just like Chris Claremont did in Giant-Size X-Men #1. What did Morrison do? He turned the Sentinels into something savage and uncontrolled; hooked up Cyclops and Emma Frost; killed thousands of mutants in one fell swoop and one single issue while at the same time reversing the polarity of the North and South poles; and made the first Shi’ar space saga worth reading since Claremont introduced them all back in the ‘80s. One more thing: nobody interprets Morrison better than Frank Quietly, whose crisp art often adds clarity to Morrison’s more obtuse tendencies. He was the perfect artist for this series.

13. MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE. Marvel makes the first super-hero video game that doesn’t suck, and Deadpool’s popularity quadruples.

12. DISNEY. The possible implications of the Disney/Marvel merger are alternately fabulous (more movies and cartoons, and maybe even more kid-friendly superheroes!) or terrifying (the House of Mouse were key members of the anti-Communist censorship movement in the 1950s). But right now, it’s hard to tell whether it will affect the Marvel Universe at all—or even whether it will pan out for stockholders—but the fact that a company like this could ever buy a company like that . . . Was surprising to all.

11. SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY AND THE SPIDER SUMMIT. In 2007, Marvel took an action that many considered brutal and awful: They ended Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage not by divorce but by deus ex machina as Mephisto erased much of Straczynski’s generally celebrated run on the series. The story itself, though, was unimportant. The critical part of Brand New Day was that Joe Quesada was right: Spider-Man had become too dark, and too married. He needed to be a young, single, geek-about-town, and this was the way to do it. Regardless of what you think of brand new day, it’s impossible not to notice that The Amazing Spider-Man, as a thrice-monthly title, is worlds better now than it was in 2006. Or 2005. Or pretty much any time since the Roger Stern era. It also marked the first time Marvel went three-times-a-month with a book, rotating the creative team under one editorial board and holding regular “summits” about the character. This has
worked much better than having several different Spidey titles coming out each month, each with their own continuing storyline. In fact, I think they should do this other over-exposed characters like Wolverine and Deadpool.

10. DAREDEVIL. Beginning with Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run and all the way to the end of the decade with Brubaker, no other character left the 2000s so much better than he’d come in—and this was a decade marked by radical reinvention and reinterpretation. After Frank Miller essentially defined Daredevil as Marvel’s darkest street avenger, nobody seemed to be able to step in and tell a good DD story. Bendis’ work on Daredevil showed that old, stale characters could become rich despite the baggage they carried around. This is another example of a reboot, in amy ways, but the themes Bendis played with (and Brubaker built on later) became the ones that helped shape the decade: The purpose, value, and function of a secret identity; the thin line between hero and villain; the inability to escape inner demons; and difficulty of being heroic in a violent, desperate world.

9. DARK REIGN. Norman Osborn saved the world and became the new face of S..H.I.E.L.D., reworking the secret agent agency in his own image. This made the MU a sad and depressing place, but it also made possible so many big changes in tone, and allowed younger creators to reshape old heroes like Iron Man and the cast of all of the Avengers books into newer, more modern versions. Yeah, it was hard to let go of the past, but Bendis and Millar had been bracing us for this ever since the Civil War. This was just the next logical step. It was hard to pick between this and “House of M,” but since Grant Morrison already killed a ton of muties in New X-Men, I knocked M off the slot here. But M did prove that big events could be self-contained, and it was the first event that Marvel handled really, really well with regards to creativity and maintaining the integrity of the affected characters.

8. SPIDER-MAN: THE MOVIES. Sam Raimi is the one to credit with finally delivering a live-action Spider-Man worth watching, and with making superhero films for all ages that are not at the same time infantile. Eschewing the “adult” orientation introduced by Tim Burton’s Batman and avoiding the cartoonish pitfalls of Clooney’s Dark Knight, Raimi did for superhero movies what Stan Lee did for superhero comics: He made a film that could speak to young(ish) kids and (not overly serious) adults at the same time. It also established that superheroes could still bring in dollars without sacrificing their nerd integrity. I’d put X-Men (the 2000 movie) here, too, because it made tremendous amounts of money and showed that team-live-action is feasible, but it was really Spidey who broke down barriers.

7. JOSS WHEDON ON ASTONISHING X-MEN. Why is this 2004 series important? Because it was one of the early examples of Hollywood coming to Marvel, rather than the other way around. Celebrated T.V. and film writer Joss Whedon teamed up with artist John Cassaday to expand upon Grant Morrison’s work on the New X-Men and create 24 of the best comic books of all time. It gave comics a little more legitimacy—they could be works of art on their own, not just serve as inspiration for popcorn flicks.  Plus, it was funny.  Funny X-Men.  Think of it!

6. AVENGERS DISSEMBLED/NEW AVENGERS/MIGHTY AVENGERS/DARK AVENGERS. During the 1990s there were some decent Avengers stories, but the book wasn’t the flagship title it was always intended to be. When Brian Michael Bendis took a hold of it, he killed off several characters that he didn’t want to play with (including fan—and person—favorite Hawkeye) and reintroduced the team with a cast that, while it included the biggest names in Marvel, also included some seemingly mismatched and/or minor characters. But the book has become the most important book at Marvel in terms of both continuity and sales statistics. More importantly, New Avengers became one of the most fun superbooks on the market. And the Marvel Universe showed that it was so big, it took several books to really tell the story (although Might A is pretty dispensible).

5. THE IRON MAN MOVIE. Everyone knew Spider-Man with Tobey McGuire would be a hit. It was a no-brainer. But this is the movie that made Marvel attractive to Disney. If they could do this for one B-Lister, then why can’t they do it for their whole stable? To be clear: I liked X-Men, X2, and Spider-Man a lot more than I liked Iron Man, but there were several things that made Iron Man special. First, it was made by Marvel. Sony proved long ago that it could make a blockbuster, but with this film Marvel Studios established that it could attract top talent and sell a movie to the public that would be enjoyed by fanboys, critics, and even (gasp) ladies! Second, it wasn’t about Spider-Man. Most of America didn’t know Tony Stark from Tony the Tiger, and if they’d heard of Iron Man they probably thought he was the dude from the Black Sabbath song. Finally, although Tobey McGuire was somewhat of a name before he became Peter Parker, the Iron Man
crew were really out there. Jon Favreau was an indie director with no action cred and Robert Downey, Jr., was best known for getting wasted and dressing up as Wonder Woman.

4. BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS INTRODUCES ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN AND THE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE IS BORN. In 2000, one of Joe Quesada’s first (and most important) acts was to hire Brian Michael Bendis and unleash the first “Ultimate” book. Ultimate Spider-Man may have been more “realistic” or “modern” than the initial Lee/Ditko take on Spidey, but it was still light fun, as Spider-Man needs to be (and hadn’t been, arguably, since Clone Wars). In this way, it’s quite distinguishable from Millar’s Ultimate universe, a categorically dismal and menacing world. Bendis also introduced a different way of telling stories: One that focused on intimate close-ups rather than pan-shots and widescreen action. As a reboot, this book (and, obviously, Bendis) was one of the most game-changing plays of the last fifty years. Where previous reboots (D.C. has retold Superman’s origin how many times?) ignored aspects of a hero’s history to suit a creative
vision, Bendis took Spidey into a new universe all together—without relying on Uatu. This became a pattern for Marvel in double-O decade, and many of the decade’s most interesting books are examples of that (e.g., Neil Gaiman’s brilliant 1602). In fact, I bet D.C.’s acclaimed All Star Batman/Superman books wouldn’t have come to pass without it.

3. CIVIL WAR. With The Ultimates, Mark Millar had established himself as a man with a decidedly dark vision and a willingness to take beloved characters and make them, well, assholes. In Civil War, it was Iron Man’s Millar moment. Unlike similar “events” that preceded it, Civil War not only incorporated every single hero in the MU, it changed them, fundamentally. It’s a testament to the editorial coordination in Marvel that this thing worked at all. Many have complained that the ending was weak—that Cap should have died here, not in his own book—but I dispute that notion. Yeah, ending a war with a surrender is a little anticlimactic, and it certainly made me stand up and shout angrily when I read it. But looking back, Civil War paved the way for the rise and fall of Iron Man (the most compelling take on the character since the 1980s), turned the New Avengers into antiheroes (a status far more normal and acceptable for members like
Spider-Man, Cage, and Spider Woman), and for Dark Reign—certainly an important storyline in its own right. You can’t say Civil War ended with issue 8—the series, in retrospect, was actually a prequel to Siege.

2. JOE QUESADA ASCENDS TO EDITOR IN CHIEF. Far and away the most important Marvel staffing event of the decade happened at the beginning. In 2000, Joe Quesada took over as EiC of Marvel Comics, after starting the “Marvel Knights” line, a moderately successful “reboot” franchise, in the 1990s. Unlike many EiCs (in fact, unlike all since Jim Shooter, I believe), Quesada was a creator first, executive second, so he understood the connection artists have to their work. His reign has been characterized by hiring bold talent and allowing them to completely dismantle all of Marvel’s conventions. And remember, the company had declared bankruptcy and was all but dead in the 1990s.

1. THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA. Can there really be any question here? Cap was always important to fans of Marvel, but he was hardly as iconic as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Superman, Batman (or pretty much any JLAer).. Yet his death was front page news (at least in New York) and got mentions in every form of media—including extended segments on The Colbert Report. It made Cap a bestselling series (and it had deserved to be one already, if only for the 25 issues Brubaker and Epting did prior to killing Steve Rogers). It also brought back many people who’d stopped reading comics because they’d gotten stale and boring. It was proof that anything can happen. Even more tremendous were that the news didn’t leak—the event was a true shock to the world, just like a real assassination—and the fact that later issues proved that the series was even better without its title character. It was one of the few comic books that almost made me
cry. Almost.

Wherein I continue in the largely unthanked task of telling you all to go away and read someone else’s blogs . . .

1. Pat Boone covers Guns N Roses. Nuff said.

2. Indie Shuffle has waaay more indiestreetcred than I do. They picked their top 10 most important rappers of the decade and included Aesop Rock, Mos Def, and Talib. It’s a solid, if unsurprising, list for an indie blog. My list is here, just so you can tell me how stupid I am. (It is so painful putting my feelings and opinions on the line every day, just to have you all -sniff sniff- reject me with bad grammar and BIG CAPITAL LETTERS.)

3. And speaking of best of lists, I usually respect Passion of the Weiss–he’s a great writer and has good taste–but Cuban Linx 2 as the best album of the year? I mean, it was solid and all, but it was also a lot of reheated Cuban Links 1 stuff. Anyhoo, if you go to his page he’s got mp3 samples and a full album download of Danny!’s mixtape, which a lot of people liked a lot. I dug it, but not as much as everyone else. If you visit the site, or any site on this page, please do me a favor and tell them I sent you.

4. And speaking of Talib and Mos, check out Hi-Tek and Talib’s New Year’s mixtape by Statik Selektah. It’s got stuff by the two of them, plus Jay Electronica, J. Cole (tremendous new talen), Termanology, Royce Da 5′9, Styles P., Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and many more.

Taste it:

Get By RMX ft Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West & Busta (produced by Kanye).

Fortified Live-Mos Def and Mr. Man

Get it here.

5. Another blogger fave of mine, who has become all-too intermittent of late, is Fong. Check out his favorite covers and worst movies of the decade. Cover Me also has posted their favorite covers of the year.

6. And Retromusicsnob is always a place to go for great referrals. Check it out this year!

7.  Oh, and I had to throw in this quiz: How Many Baboons Could You Take In a Fight Using a Giant Dildo?

1.  Thor and Avengers Movies. According to Ain’t It Cool News, Dr. Donald Blake will not be in the movie.  I guess they’re going for more of an “ultimates” thing than a classic Avengers thing.  I’m not too sad about that.  I never understood why a guy like Thor would ever bother reverting to another identity anyway.  Similarly, among the buzz about Jeremy Renner on the shortlist to play Hawkeye—possibly in both movies—is news that the character will be a modern version—again, like in The Ultimates.  I always said that Millar and Finch made the greatest superhero movie ever done in comic book.

By the way, I am finally getting around to reading the first Trade Paperback of Stracinsky’s recent reboot of the Thor title, and I have to say, as someone who hasn’t been a fan of the book since Walt Simonson’s run many decades ago, it is freakin’ awesome.
2.  The New York Times released it’s list of 2009 graphic books worth buying, mentioning several titles that were included in Berkeley Place’s “Best of the Decade” list.  So if you didn’t believe me, believe them that you need to go buy “Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Ed Brubaker’s “Criminal,” and the “Scott Pilgrim” series.  Not to mention the Zombiecentric “The Walking Dead,” written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn.

3.  The poster for Iron Man 2 is out.  And it’s got War Machine and a May 7 release date.  I’ve said before that I liked the first one a lot, but the climactic battle lacked tension, and was impossible to follow (too dark!).  Here’s hoping they improve the action side of it—I can’t imagine they’ll improve the Tony Stark side of it.  Speaking of Iron Man, I had the good fortune of getting the first two trade volumes of Matt Fraction’s Iron Man series.  Good stuff.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the tin can, but Fraction does a good job weaving Iron Man into the Skrull Invasion/Osborn tapestry.  You can see the poster, along with some incredibly hot pix of Scarlet J as Black Widow, here.

4.  Anyone who wants to show me how much they appreciate me this Xmas can get me the new Shield boxed set.  Out of all the “best TV shows of the decade” lists that I’ve read—which include great shows like The Wire, Sopranos, Arrested Development, Buffy the Vampire Slayer . . .  The Shield is hands-down my favorite show all time.

5.  My buddy and occasional contributor CD published a bunch of superhero songs recently, and admitted that more than a few came from this very website.  I’ve been trying to get together a worthy A to Z for about 6 months now.  Still working on it . . . Anyway, CD hasn’t been all that well lately, so he’s delinquent on contributing to this site.  If you miss his comic posts, or if you just want to be a nice guy, stop by his site and tell him you hope he feels better.

6.  Speaking of comic book posts . . . Here’s an interesting article: Guess how many times Jean Grey has died and come back?  Hint: the over/under is 12.

7.  Green Lantern/Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds recently said in an MTV interview that the GL movie won’t be all origin—they’ll tell it, but there’s a story after that.  More importantly, he said that Deadpool is still “on the horizon.”  He also agreed that Deadpool was mishandled in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  But then again, he said that “every line I had in that was stuff I thought he would say. It wasn’t something that a writer said to me.”  So, knowing that Ryan is a big part of the potential Deadpool feature, is that supposed to fill us with confidence?  I really don’t care too much if they screw with Green Lantern—I agree with Frank Miller’s All Star Batman that GL is kinda dumb and lame—but they better not mess up Deadpool.
8.  And, finally, news and stats: Diamond Comics Distributors announced the sales stats for October 2009, and boy is it bleak.  Sales are down 1.3 million from October 2008.  Of course, that may be due to the ever increasing number of trade paperbacks.  I know I can’t afford to buy all the $4 books I want each month, so I’ve been waiting for trades on series like New Avengers and Iron Man.  Wish I’d done that with Blackest Night, because that series is turning into a huge disappointment.  Good sales news was that Wolverine Old Man Logan, a quality series recently hardbound, moved a staggering 7,341 units.  Marvel controls 40% of the market, D.C. 37%–closer to even than they’ve been in a while, I believe, and DC beats Marvel on trade sales—by just 300 books, though.  Interested in knowing who is buying what?  No surprise, Blackest Night was October’s bestselling book by far, followed by Batman and Robin, Green Lantern, and Blackest Night/GL spin offs.  Marvel doesn’t crack the top ten until numbers 7 to 9, with New Avengers, Dark Avengers, and Uncanny X-Men.  Spidey took rank 10.  If Dark Avengers is such a good seller, how can Marvel really end the series after Siege?  It’s not like them to leave money on the table.  Just ask the always-bitter Chris Claremont.

I’m almost afraid to publish this, since I know I’ll get all kinds of grief about it. Before you comment on what a dope I am for omitting Graduation/Fishscale/Speakerboxxx/etc., please read the title of this post again. Only independent releases were considered. But this did include street albums and mixtapes.

Another point: I debated whether to segregate out rap records, and decided to do so only because I haven’t seen too many bloggers writing decade-rap lists, so I thought this might help fill a void.

Okay, now you can tell me how little I know about rap and what a hater I am and blah blah blah. You bore me. Of all the rap albums that came out between 2000 and now, these 15 moved me the most.

Period.

THE TOP 15 INDIE HIP HOP ALBUMS OF 2000-2009

15 (tie). D.J. Cinema and D.J. Mello-The Commission (a.k.a.-B.I.G. and Jay-Z, The Album that Never Was) (2005-Mixtape) and Bobb Deep-Queensbridge (200?-DJ Swindle). These are both “blends,” but they’re the two best blend tapes I’ve ever heard. You can still get Bobb Deep for free here, and I’m sure if you dig around datpiff you’ll find The Commission, too.

14. Dangermouse and Jemini-Ghetto Pop Life (2004-Lex). Find better beats. I dare you.

13. DJ Muggs and GZA-Grandmasters (2005-Angeles). Tough and rugged, this is RZA and Muggs at their finest. And they didn’t need a major label to do it!

12. The Coup-Pick a Bigger Weapon (2006-Epitaph). A duo that is consistently challenging, raw, conscious and hilarious. The Public Enemy for 2000s underground rap.

11. Brother Ali-The Undisputed Truth (2007-Rhymesayers). It breaks my heart that this one didn’t make it into the top ten, especially since I voted it best rap album of the year in 2007, but I had to be honest and Ortiz edged Ali out. But just barely. A rare example of an intelligent, challenging rap album that also has great beats and flow.

10. Joell Ortiz-The Brick: Bodega Chronicles (2007-Koch). Big Pun lives!

9. Masta Ace-A Long Hot Summer (2004-Yosumi). Was Ace done by the end of the 1990s? No f-in’ way. He also gets my vote as one of the most important rappers of the entire decade. Just sayin’.

8. Atmosphere-Lucy Ford:The Atmosphere EPs (2001-Rhymesayers). My favorite Atmosphere release, hands down. Slug is a champ.

7. Joe Budden-Mood Muzik 2: Can It Get Any Worse? (2002-DJ On Point). Joey! It’s . . . It’s . . . It’s that on top MU-zik!

6. Lil’ Wayne-Dedication 2 (2006-DJ Drama). Not a huge fan of Weezy, but this mixtape is undeniable.

5. MF DOOM-Operation Doomsday (2008-Metal Face). Dumile is on the list twice, and both in the top 5. You got a problem with that?

4. Clipse-We It 4 Cheap Vol. 2 (2005-Mixunit). In Volume 1, Clipse released a world of anger about issues with their label, but in Volume 2 they hit a groove I’ve never heard them hit before or since. They took over great beats and made them their own. Check out “Hate It Or Love It,” “The Corner,” and “Daytona 500,” and tell me the Clipse versions aren’t as good as the originals.

3. Lupe Fiasco-Fahrenheit 1:15 Vol. 2, Revenge of the Nerds (2006-Mixtape). I’m picking this one, but really any of his pre-official-release mixtapes are great. I loved his first album, published on a major label, but his second one, “The Cool,” left me cold. Fastest burnout in hip hop history.

2. 50 Cent-Power of the Dollar (2000-Mixtape). It’s trendy to hate on Fiddy these days—and with good reason. He hasn’t done anything worth listening to in years. But the power of his first street album is undeniable. It was so good, it got Columbia records to sign him and then force him to change everything about himself that made this album so good in the first place.

1. Madvillain-Madvillainy (2004-Stones Throw). MF DOOM also got my vote for most important rapper of the decade, based on the consistent quality and groundbreaking nature of all of his official releases and collaborations. He seems never content to do the same thing twice. As for Madvillainy, even some of my rap-hating friends dig it.

The problem with a list like this is the “shoulds”. You know, the albums you feel like everyone else will pick, so you “should,” too? Well, this time I decided not to deal with those. My list is based on the number of times I listened to these albums since they came out, whether I love them so much I already know every word to every song, how much it moved me, etc. This is a personal list. It isn’t intended to be complete or controversial. That said, I know I’ll get crap for it. But probably not as much as I will for my best rap albums list. Hip Hop fans always bring the hate . . .

As always, the only records that qualify are those that aren’t on a major label.

Wait!  Before I get to the list itself, here’s a few that didn’t make it . . . But only just barely:

- Detective Kalita-The Michael Parks (2005-Kelp).  A vastly under-heard and under-exposed, gentle album.
- Of Montreal-Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (2007-Polyvinyl).  Experimental disco!
- Spinto Band-Nice and Nicely Done (2005-Bar None).  Just straightforward indie rock, but catchy as hell.
-Albert Hammond, Jr.-Yours to Keep (2007-Watchtower).  Rock, pop and roll by an ex-Stroke.  Can’t get enough of this album.

Okay now, no more stalling . . .

The Top 25 Albums of the Decade

25. Jason Lytle-The Commuter (2009-Anti). Genre: Indie rock. It was down to Jason or Albert Hammond, Jr., and it was a hard choice. I went with Jason because, although I sing-along much better to “Yours To Keep,” “The Commuter” took me places I hadn’t been before. And Lytle’s guitar solos are surprisingly intricate.

24. Voxtrot-Voxtrot (2007-Play Louder). Genre: Twee. Yeah, Voxtrot has a sound that’s light and sweet, but those hooks . . . Mmmmm. Sweet catchy hooks.

23. Band of Horses-Everything All the Time (2006-Sub Pop). Genre: Indie rock. Haunting and strange.

22. Petra Haden and Bill Frisell-s/t (2005-Sovereign). Genre: Indie folk/rock. Haden’s vocals are pure gold. I could listen to her read a phone book.

21. Cloud Cult-The Meaning of 8 (2007-Rebel Group). Genre: Heart-wrenching folk. It’s hard sometimes to listen to a band whose sole topic is the death of a young child, but it’s rewarding, too. Cloud Cult is one of the few bands how get into the philosophy of death and the meaning of life, but they do it through music and pictures rather than rambling discourse. If this album doesn’t make you cry, you need to go get a new heart from Oz.

20. Deadstring Brothers-Starving Winter Report (2006-Bloodshot). Genre: Americana. A vastly underrated band with a lead singer who looks like he’s twelve but sings like he’s forty with the power of a drunken twenty-seven-year-old.

19. Frank Turner-Love, Ire & Song (2009-Epitaph). Genre: Folkpunk. I want to thank Frank personally for “Thatcher Fucked the Kids.” Joe Strummer may be dead, but he lives on through people like Frank Turner.

18. Thao-We Brave Bee Sings and All (2008-Kill Rock Stars). Genre: Twee. Written off by many as inconsequential fluff, I challenge you to listen—really listen—past Thao’s too-cute-for-description vocal quality and into her sad and sometimes disturbing lyrics. She’s the folk-singer version of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer scripts.

17. Gaslight Anthem-’59 Sound (2008-Side One Dummy). Genre: 1970s garage rock. No, Gaslight Anthem doesn’t do anything new here. They channel Springsteen, blasting through three-and-a-half minute garagerock anthems. But who says music can’t still simply be a matter of fist-pumping fun? Not me, that’s for sure.

16. Calexico-Feast of Wire (2003-Quarter Stick). Genre: Americana. One of the most complex Americana albums I’ve had the privilege of hearing.

15. Jonathan Coulton-Thing A Week One (2006-Self released). Genre: Indie rock/folk. One of the greatest artists of the decade, it’s almost impossible for me to pick just one of his Things A Week. Every one is funny, introspective, provocative and a blast. My entire family can sing along to at least a third of his catalog. Go to his site and buy his music. Support the artist!

14. Mclusky-Mclusky Do Dallas (2002-Beggars). Genre: Screaming, balls-out punk. Because we all need a little nihilism sometimes.

13. The Black Keys-Rubber Factory (Fat Possum-2004). Genre: Crunchy blues. That’s right. I like these dudes more than The White Stripes. Way more.

12. Frightened Rabbit-The Midnight Organ Fight (2008-Fat Cat). Genre: Angry folk. Why do I love this album? Because of lines like, “It’s takes more than fucking someone you don’t know to keep yourself warm.” It embraces what it condemns, wearing self-contradiction and hypocrisy like a shawl in the winter. Brilliant, cynical, and beautiful.

11. Interpol-Turn on the Bright Lights (2002-Matador). Genre: Retro dark Europop. If there’s one truism about indie rock in the double-zeros, it’s that it’s overwhelmingly retro. Interpol exemplifies this trend, while at the same time improving on its source material.

10. Clap Hands Say Yeah-s/t (2005-Clap Hands Say Yeah). Genre: Indie rock. This is the record that proved that the blogosphere can sell records. Too bad it didn’t do much for the band’s second album. Even so, this one continues to get heavy rotation from me. It’s not revolutionary, it won’t change your life, but it’s a perfect example of everything indie rock and roll should be.

9. Death Cab for Cutie-Transatlanticism (2003-Barsuk). Genre: Intellectual pathos. An album that holds up, end to end, as the perfect crossover from indie-rock to twee. Gibbard is the most effective love-song-lyricist of his day.

8. The Hold Steady-Separation Sunday (2005-Frenchkiss). Genre: Muscular intellectual pathos. Because Springsteen hasn’t been this good since Born To Run.

7. Bloc Party-Silent Alarm (2005-Vice). Genre: Postpunkpop. They weren’t the first ones to use their signature sound, but they did it better than anyone else and, in my view, were largely responsible for all the sound-alikes that got popular just after BP started releasing all their brilliant EPs. A wonderful debut album.

6. Spoon-Gimme Fiction (2005-Merge). Genre: Indie rock. Frankly, all of Spoon’s albums warrant discussion. Pound for pound, they probably released the greatest number of great indie records this decade.

5. Sam Baker-Cotton (2009-Music Road). Genre: Indie folk. Haven’t heard it? Or even heard OF it? Shame on you.

4. Ryan Adams-Heartbreaker (2000-Bloodshot). Genre: Americana. Say what you want about the dude, and there’s a lot to be said, but he’s one talented MF. This was his only independent record of the decade. It may also have been his best.

3. Joe Strummer-Global A Go Go (2001-Hellcat). Genre: Classic rock and roll. Frankly, I could have put any of Joe’s albums up here. They’re all amazing—as good as anything he did with The Clash. But I didn’t want to over-represent, so he just gets the one mention. My favorite Strummer record of the decade. Rest in peace, Joe.

2. Postal Service-Give Up (2003-Sub Pop). Genre: Meaty twee. Yeah, I like this more than Gibbard’s Death Cab work. It’s quirky and a little fey, but it’s also brilliant. How many covers of “Such Great Heights” have their been, after all?

Such Great Heights-Rilo Kiley (cover of a song off Give Up)

1 The Arcade Fire-Funeral (2004-Merge). Genre: Anthemic indie. Simply put: This album is the reason I started blogging. It makes my heart swell to bursting, and still moves me to tears and distraction. The single best musical expression of pain and love since The Wall, but minus the hate and rage.

The Crown of Love-This Is Ivy League (cover of a tune off of Funeral)

I wasn’t gonna do this, ‘cause I know I’ll catch all kinds of shit and lose mad respect just by putting my opinion out here, but here I go anyway. Just to get this out of the way, I have nothing but love for Joe Budden. But he wasn’t one of the 10 most important rappers of the decade.

With my list, I’m trying to pick the 10 people who I think did the best to move rap forward during this decade. As the 2000s started, many of us thought that rap had seen its glory days and made as much sales impact as it possibly could. Yet, in the decade that saw the demise of the album, singles (a medium rap is perfect for) brought about the second coming of the music industry. Then, that died, too. As we face 2010, we see newer ways of consuming music (and musicians), and the majors must adapt their cult of personality into a new sales method. These rappers have either proposed different business models, or, even better, they did it for the art: proving that content really is more important than money. Because hip hop is so much more than gold records. But, at the same time, gold is crucial.

The Ten Most Important Rappers of The Decade

10. OutKast.

OutKast’s continuing relevance may be a legitimate subject for discussion, but their releases before 2004 are some of the best hip hop in history. Double-Grammy-winning, 4x platinum Stankonia is pure genius, bringing multiple styles together in a way that had never been done before. Their follow up, 2003’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below may just be the 2d best double-album in history. And like the first greatest double-album (The White Album), it features all kinds of experimentation and reach (Take Off Your Cool, Vibrate), as well as the band’s tried-and-true formula for creative, hitmaking pop-hip-hop (Hey Ya, Roses, Church, The Way You Move). It was only the second rap album ever to win the Best Record grammy (Lauryn Hill got the first one). Although the band’s label, Aquemini Records, died in ’04, Big Boi’s “solo label” signed Sleepy Brown, Bubba Sparxxx, and Killer Mike, proving that OutKast still has relevance.

9. Masta Ace.

Ace is one of those rappers I can turn to any time and depend on him to lift my spirits. Arguably, he deserves a place on a 1990s retrospective rather than this one, but consider this my “personal bias” choice for the list. Every list has one. Ace’s 2000s catalog includes Disposable Arts (2001) and A Long Hot Summer (2005), both perfect records from end-to-end. He’s also able to hit the beat and carry a hook in a way that many “educated” or “conscious” rappers can’t. (I’m looking at you, Talib and Mos Def.) He’s also clearly the inspiration for Eminem’s style. Listen to them side-by-side and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

8. Nas.

Nasir Jones gets the longevity award. He also declared that hip hop was dead and then turned around proved, through frontal attacks on Bill O’Reilly and the rest of Faux “News,” that rap was still just as powerful a tool for revolution and rage as it was when Chuck D first threw bass into our faces and Yo Yo outrhymed Ice Cube on their reimagining of James Brown’s “It’s a Mans, Mans, Mans, Mans World.” I guess some complain that Nas doesn’t have anything new to say and that his flow doesn’t change up very much, but his influence as an elder statesman of aggressive, provocative rap–the kind your daddy used to make–is clear and present.

6/7. Clipse and Lil’ Wayne (tie).

Clipse aren’t on this list because they made gangsta rap poetry after it was cool, because quite a folks have done that successfully (I’m looking at you, Game and Fiddy). They’re here because they blazed the mixtape market with their “We Got It 4 Cheap” series. Lil’ Wayne is sharing their space in the spotlight partly because, even more than Clipse, his entire career was (and kind of still is) built around mixtapes. Wait—by giving away music, you can actually make money? Turns out you can. The Grateful Dead proved that 40 years ago, and these dudes learned the lesson. Now, before you start giving me shit about how wonderful Lil’ Wayne is and how he should be number one and blah-blah-blah, consider this: All he really did was combine Del’s Deltron 3000 persona with a little MF DOOM and Ghostface Killa. He’s got decent flow, but his lyrics don’t make much sense most of the time and he produces a lot more output than he should. Okay, now you can yell at me.

5. Ghostface Killa and Raekwon (as a duo).

Who would have thought that GZA and RZA would not end up being the most relevant refugees from the Wu Tang Clan? But together, GFK and Raekwon have spend the last ten years proving that grimey, gutter-level rap can have heart and soul, and can speak to all people: Gangstas and victims, drug sellers and cops. I’ve met members of all types who dig one or both of this dynamic duo. And they’re never better than when they’re together. Here’s a list of just the best albums they’ve dropped this decade—to say nothing of countless others, guest appearances, etc.: Supreme Clientele (2000), Bulletproof Wallets (2001), The Lex Diamond Story (2003), Pretty Toney Album (2004), Fishscale (2006), The Vatican Vol.1 (2006), Hidden Darts (2007), Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II (2009). Wow.

4. Eminem.

Although his greatest album came out in the 1990s, this decade, Em “discovered” 50 Cent. That alone makes him highly influential. He also released a 2009 album wasn’t my cup of tea that managed to actually generate significant sales—no small feat. And Encore (2004), The Eminem Show (2002), and The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) are all fantastic. Eminem represents a type of rap rarely seen before (and even after) he came on the scene: Self-referential, self-aggrandizing, self-denigrating, and self-exaggerating. He’s 100% narcissistic, but he doesn’t hide it, try to justify it, or even appear embarrassed by it. I can’t say the same for “Relapse,” which seems to be more of a guy trying to sound like Em than Em himself, but that album is why Marshall isn’t higher on this list. So nuff said about that. Let’s just focus on the volume of singles, which combine pop references, humor, violence, and even true insight, all masquerading as music to piss your parents off. But he seems to be finding, now, that it’s hard to grow up when you made millions being puerile.

3. Kanye West.

Kanye is pure bling. But he’s funny, and even charming. Like that cute dog who keeps eating your best leather loafers and shitting on the rug. His influence is undeniable, and his skills as a hitmaker have been proven time and again. Plus, he had the sack to ambush George Bush on national TV.

2. Jay-Z.

Full disclosure: Hova is my favorite rapper of all time. And I recognized that he did some of his best work in the 1990s. But let’s look at what he did this decade: He broke out with 2000’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, which brought us The Neptunes, Just Blaze, and Kanye West. In 2001 he fought famously with Nas at Summer Jam (in the greatest beef in hip hop history) and delivered The Blueprint—one of the greatest albums of any genre of all time. 2002 brought Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, which might not have been perfect, but it was the rare example of a hip hop double album that had massive record sales. In ’03, he held his “retirement concert” and delivered The Black Album. He also gave some verses to his buddy Beans on “Dear Summer,” one of the finest Hova appearances of his career. 2004 brought his collaboration with Linkin Park, proving that rap could cross over in a big way to the pseudo-metal crowd, and proving that a dude with a 15-year-career could still pull money out of young kids’ wallets. And let’s not forget The Grey Album, which made mash-ups a phenomenon–something more than just funny stuff a drunk DJ could spin on Friday nights. And let’s not forget that he became a major executive and now is at the forefront of concert cross-promotion. His releases in the later part of the decade, including Kingdom Come, American Gangster, and the massive disappointment of Blueprint 3, somewhat tarnish his legacy. But not all that much.

1. Nelly.

Nelly proved that record sales and six-pack abs are the most important thing a rapper can achieve. Ahem. Just kidding.

1. MF DOOM.

I don’t think it is even debatable whether Mr. Dumile had a tremendous impact on the decade. Wu Tang Clan may have worn masks on their album covers, but DOOM went a step further, never being seen without his mask on and even paying stunt doubles to lip sync for him at shows. As Metal Faced Doom, he proved that nerd could be gangsta. As Viktor Vaughn, he proved that nerd could be crude and violent. If you count Operation Doomsday (which came out in 1999), then DOOM (and his various aliases) has a 2000s catalog that is head and shoulders above everyone else’s: This year brought Born Like This, an album that gets better with every listen. Then there’s at least four other certified classics: MM..Food, Vaudeville Villain, Take Me to Your Leader, and Madvillainy. Throw in Danger Doom’s The Mouse and The Mask and the 10 instrumental volumes of Special Herbs, and, truly, who is a more interesting rapper? DOOM proves that rap is far from dead—it’s a vital, provocative format with endless possibilities.

To sum up:

For the best comics of 2000-2001, and full bios of all contributors, go here!

For 2002-2003, click here!

For 2004, check this out!

Looking for the best of 2005? Click here!

And for 2006, this is your spot.

2007 was a great year, and your shopping list is here, along with some 2008s.

Which bring us to today . . .

THE BEST COMICS OF THE DECADE: Part Seven: The books that help us ring in the next decade.

Deadpool

Daniel Way and Paco Medina.
2008-Present

This is the most ridiculous book in the Marvel U. It’s silly, X-rated, and unapologetically violent. Accept no substitutes: Most other DP appearances don’t nearly measure up.
-Ekko

Crossed

Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows
2008-Present

I am sick and twisted but Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows are horrible human beings. More intense than the zombie apocalypse of The Walking Dead, because the things chasing you are mean and twisted and prone to horrible acts of… well, horribleness. I know the series isn’t done yet but I can’t help but love it if for no other reason than the end of issue #5. I’m not going to spoil anything but it just made me realize Ennis was doing something more than just shock horror… well, there’s still a lot of gross stuff, but it made this horror story more human and it raised an interesting question. Might things might be better without all us people ruining things?
-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend

Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Authors include: Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim, others. Artists include Steve McNiven, Salvador Larroca, John Romita, Jr., Phil Jimenez, others.
2008-Present

Technically, “Brand New Day” is over–it gave way to “One More Day” and then to whatever they’re calling it now. The banner no longer appears on the Amazing Spider-Man book. But we’re still learning about what happened when Spidey made a deal with Mephisto to erase his past and start over. The best part of this series is that it eliminated three or four monthly titles and tightened the creative control over Spider-Man, gave a starting point for new readers or those (like me) who had stopped reading because it just got too damn confusing, and created a self-contained book about the most important character in the Marvel Universe. The book is still great, but I’m getting worried: They’ve announced a second monthly Spiderbook. Marvel hasn’t learned that too much of anyone is exhausting. (Although it seems like they have no shortage of folks who will buy anything with Wolverine in it.)
-Ekko

Kick-Ass

Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.
2008-Present

This book is just a bloody roller coaster ride. Its an over-adrenalized teen fantasy that is constantly slapped in the face with reality. Punches are not pulled (the torture scene in Issue 7? Ouch!). Our hero makes a mess more often than he saves the day. And each time he opens his mouth around the bad guys, I cringe – its very evident that his bark is much worse than his bite.

And yet, despite all his failings, our protagonist is still one of the more enjoyable anti-heroes around. I guess it’s hard to expect otherwise from a creative team as powerful as Mark Millar and John Romata, Jr.

If the upcoming Kick-Ass motion picture lives up to the comic books, the mainstream is going to have its mind blown wide open.

- Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

Fin Fang Four #1

Scott Gray & Roger Langridge
2009

Maybe it isn’t fair to call this a 2009 release, but that’s when these previously on-line stories premiered on pulp. Four stories of Fin Fang Foom, a genius monster surrounded by idiots and facing guys like Doc Samson and Wong. It’s a collection of B-characters in a collection that really seems more indie than Marvel. Probably the inspiration for the recent “Strange Tales” collection of Marvel stories by independent writers and artists. (Strange Tales is really good, too, but it’s just not THE BEST of the Decade.)
-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

Neil Gaiman & Andy Kubert

Teaming up with Andy Kubert again, as he did on Marvel 1602 (see: The Best of 2003), Gaiman tells a mysterious story of the Death of the Bat.  A lot of folks hated these two issues, but I thought they were brilliant.  A buncha  baddies go to Batman’s wake and reminisce about their favorite Bat-memories . . . And how they would have killed him.

-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young
2008-09

Eric Shanower has been adapting Frank L. Baum’s novels—and writing his own Oz adventures—for years, in indie books. In 2008, Marvel finally wised up to Shanower’s tremendous talent in directing adapatations of the original material, and paired him up with the brilliant Skottie Young to create the most unusual, charming miniseries of the past year. Young’s illustrations are nothing short of incredible—each panel is a work of art, like a painting. And the writing is completely faithful to the novel—not the movie. The team is coming back in 2010 to take on the second Oz book. Watch for it.
-Ekko

And that’s it! Most (all?) of these are out in trade paperback, so you’ve got a sweet little Christmas list–for yourself or others. Spread the word: Comics aren’t just for kids anymore!

THE BEST COMICS OF THE DECADE: Part Six: 2007-2008

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil

Jeff Smith
2007

The creator of the wonderful Bone series tries his hand at the manchild hero. The great thing about Shazam! is the innocent silliness attached to his legend: Villains are worms, his sister is also his rival, and his best pal is a talking tiger. Smith embraces this without letting it be corny or contrived. This is, hands down, one of the greatest books to read to children because, as an adult, you’ll appreciate some of the complexities and humor that will be over the heads of littler ones who will smile at the characterizations and marvel at the artwork.
-Ekko

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

2007
Gerard Way/Gabriel Bá

The Umbrella Academy is written by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. Full disclosure: I dig the band a lot. But this comic stands alone. It even won the 2008 Eisner Award. This was the first series (a second one came out in 2008), and it totally rocks. It’s about a fucked up old dude who adopts some orphans (what else would you expect from the guy behind The Black Parade?) and trains them to be a superhero team.
-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius

Chris Eliopoulos
2007-Present.

Joe Queseda deserves praise for trying to lighten the darkness of the MU by producing some kid-friendly books that are smart and show the breadth of characters available—and that kids and adults can read together without either being bored or embarassed. And Franklin Richards is the flagship of this brand. Chris Eliopoulos’ Calvin-and-Hobbes artistic style is the perfect tone for this Dennis the Menace meets science fiction fantasy. Recent issues have lagged—perhaps Mr. Eliopoulos is burning out—but it is the book that my kids most look forward to when I return from the comic shop. Indeed, the entire Marvel Adventures line deserves praise. Wolverine First Class is another generally praise-worthy addition to the adult/kid canon—especially the issue with Shang Chi. I’ll even throw X-Men First Class in here, too, but that book was pretty uneven overall (and Uncanny X-Men First Class is even worse). Oh, and the other really cool thing about Franklin Richards is that it ties into the Marvel Universe . . . Sort of. They’ve had Skrull Invasion stories, more as a reference than in Marvel continuity. A truly fun book.
-Ekko

Old Man Logan

Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
2008-09
Much like with The Dark Knight vision of Batman in his old age, Millar and McNiven did the unthinkable–amidst the clutter of about 372 different Wolverine titles and teams, they made a completely original Wolverine story set in the future towards the end of Logan’s life. At the outset, all the reader knows is that there was a massive wore of the capes and the villians won. Something so heinous happened to Logan that he hasn’t popped his claws in decades. Logan has retreated to life as a farmer, raising a small family of his own. When the Hulk’s kids show up to collect their rent money, Logan is forced to accept the proposal of a blind Hawkeye to run him cross country in the Spider-mobile for an as-yet-to-be-explained mission. And it just gets more and more kick ass from there. This title spun out of Wolverine and essentially became its own mini; Dark Wolverine took its place from there. The only complaint on this book is the fact that it’s taken FOREVER to complete. As of this writing, the final issue still doesn’t come out for a week. Seriously, though, I might go so far as to call this one the book of the decade. It’s certainly in my top three.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

Next: A few more 2008s (those that are still running into the next decade), and the conclusion!

THE BEST COMICS OF THE DECADE: Part Five: 2006

Emperor Joker

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

Action Comics/Superman

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

The Chronicles of Wormwood

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

Nextwave

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

Civil War

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

Ultimate Extinction

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

The Immortal Iron Fist

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

Planet Hulk/World War Hulk

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

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!

THE BEST COMICS OF THE DECADE: Part Four: 2005

All-Star Batman & Robin

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.

All-Star Superman

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 #1-60

Garth 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 Hex

Justin 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

Green Lantern

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

Wolverine: Enemy of the State

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

Daredevil

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 MIDDLEMAN

Javier 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

Next: 2006!