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.

1.  SOMETIMES IT ENDS IN APRIL. As expected, Marvel has confirmed that all four Avengers books are ending in April, with the end of Siege.  The most amazing part of all that is that these books are regular big sellers, and Marvel is not known for leaving money on the table.  I groused a lot about the Death of Cap, Avengers Dissembled, the creation of Dark Avengers, but I’ve learned to trust Joe.  To make the bittersweet sweeter, there will be a one-shot finale for New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Bryan Hitch (who I thought had gone over to D.C. exclusively?).  What’s next?  The “Age of Heroes.”  Hopefully, this means we can get a little more levity and optimism from our heroes.  Also, I hope Cap punches Tony Stark in the face.  At least once.
2.  THE RETURN OF THE TITANS. When I was a kid, The New Teen Titans was my favorite comic book.  I’m talking about the Marv Wolfman/George Perez title; the one that introduced Raven and Starfire, turned Robin into Nightwing and Kid Flash into Flash, established the creepy (incestuous?) relationship between Terra and Terminator, and served as inspiration for one of the greatest cartoons of all time: Teen Titans, Go!  The book turned sidekicks into stars, and made spin-off characters more interesting than the big-boys they were based on.  D.C. has announced that they’re going to publish a new graphic novel by Wolfman/Perez, that was actually begun in 1987.  It will feature the Teen Titans from that era—when they were at their best.  I wrote a few weeks ago about D.C.’s plans for Superman and Batman Graphic Novels as well.  I think they’re recognizing that serialized issues aren’t as appealing to collectors any more for many
reasons—paperbacks are easier to store, tell whole stories in one sitting, and are much, much cheaper.  Perhaps D.C. will do for this format what Marvel did for trades in the 2000s?  At the same time that Marv and George are returning, DC has announced a “Titans: Villains for Hire” team headed up by Terminator, which might(?) be good (although recent Titans titles have pretty much been underwhelming).
3.  SPIDER-MAN 4. What a week!  The fact that Spider-Man 4 news is this low on the list of items you need to know about shows how many cool things are going on right now.  Plus, I’m sure most have already heard that the new Spidey director is in fact Marc Webb, a rumor I reported on last week.  He directed one of the Greatest Chick Flicks Of All Time and one of the best movies of 2009: (500) Days of Summer.  Can a quirky romantic director capture Spidey in high school?  Probably.  Sam Raimi did wonders for the character, and changed supermovies forever, but maybe it is time for new blood.  I’m actually feeling optimistic—I’m not sure Raimi had much left to say about Spider-Man, and new creative blood might do the franchise some good.  Now we’ll see if Twilight star Taylor Lautner is indeed the new Peter Parker . . .
4.  ADVENTURE COMICS. I’m going to give a special shout-out to the first six issues of Adventure Comics, which conclude the story arc introducing the “new” (old) Superboy.  Issue one started with Superboy’s diary, in which he began checking off important events in Superman and Luthor’s lives, to determine which of his two genetic fathers were most important to his character.  I’m not going to give anything away, but I am going to say that Geoff Johns has (again) reinvented the way hero/villain stories should be told.  It shows how evil a villain can be, and how hard it is for a hero to act heroic in the face of such evil.  This is a terrific story arc that reboots a character while simultaneously reconciling with his convoluted past.  And the art by Francis Manapul is some of the best I’ve seen.  This is the last issue for the Johns/Manapul team, who are moving to the Flash title, and I can’t imagine how the book will maintain its quality in the future.  Although I know that, as for the weaker Legion of Super Heroes stories that have been second features in some of the first 6 issues, Paul Levitz is relaunching a new Legion book soon.  And I have hopes for that, because he’s far and away the best Legion writer of all time.

5.  WHO’S IVAN REITMAN GONNA CALL? Ivan has agreed to do Ghostbusters 3, and there are indications Sigourney Weaver could be on board.  I like Siggy and all, but without Bill Murray . ..
6.  CHICKS WITH PECS! In the spirit of Pet Avengers, Marvel is turning women into novelty items with a new book, Her-Oes, an out-of-continuity book featuring hot Marvel ladies like Wasp, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Namora . . . In High School.  The sample art from
http://www.comicbookresources.com/
Comic Book Resources looks very Power-Pack-ish, so I’m guessing this will be an all-ages book, but the author is comparing it to Ultimate Spider-Man.  The only hope for this book is that it’s written by Grace Randolph, the woman behind BOOM’s “Muppet Peter Pan,” a decent quality kids comic.  I reserve judgment . . .

7.  WALKING DEAD REDEMPTION. I reported last week about AMC picking up a Walking Dead series.  Well, they’ve approved the pilot, and it’s written by Frank (Shawshank Redemption, The Mist) Darabont.  Couldn’t think of anyone better.  We’ll end on that!

1.  SPIDER-MAN 4. Seems like there’s a new rumor every week.  Or, in this case, several.  First, John Malkovich said he’d been been cast as The Vulture for Spider-Man 4.  But at the same time, Sony was putting its foot down and saying it wouldn’t pay for a movie with a lead villain who was . . . Old and in green tights.  And now, in an incredible turn of events, Sony is saying the entire project is scrapped.  That’s right.  They’d rather leave Raimi, Maguire and Dunst behind than make a movie with Oscar-winner Malkovich.  Great thinking, Sony!  Way to kill a billion-dollar baby!  Now, they’re going to revive the franchise as Ultimate Spider-Man.  Great.  So now we have to sit through ANOTHER origin movie?  Sam Raimi said it best: The origin story is the one everyone has to sit through before they get to the story they really want to see.  Even if the reboot is great, there’s no way anyone can re-tell Amazing Fantasy #15 better than Raimi did in SM1.  There’s no way to make an origin fresh and exciting after what Sam and Tobey did—that was pure genius.  Top that off: Sony’s top choice for director is Marc “(500) Days of Summer” Webb.  A music video director who made a brilliant but cute-as-hell love story?  The whole reason SM1 and 2 worked was Raimi’s eclectic horror/action perspective—his ability to find humor in the darkness is exactly what makes for a good Spidey comic.  David Fincher’s name is also being kicked around, which isn’t bad, but I can’t think of anyone who would do better than Raimi.  Except maybe Joss Whedon.  And they want to shoot it in 3D, with those godawful glasses.  What a lousy way to lead this week’s news roundup post.

2.  In better news: No date is announced yet, but AMC—home of one of my favorite shows (no, not Mad Men—Breaking Bad!)—will be serializing Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comic book.  Comic is a ton of fun . . .

3.  I saw my first movie of 2010—Daybreaker.  Was it great? No.  But it was amusing, and definitely had its moments.  My main problem with it was that it was too well produced.  Stylized monster movies just don’t tend to be scary to me.  I prefer the grit of Romero and Carpenter.  Did see a preview for The Crazies, though, and it looks vile.  Can’t wait to see it.

4.  Did you hear that David Finch, the genius artist of Millar’s Ultimates run, recently signed exclusively to DC?  How did that happen?  I can’t believe Marvel would let him go like that.  Anyway, he’ll be the cover artist for the post-Blackest Night event, titled “Brightest Day.”  It’s not entirely clear what the even will mean, but it will have lots of cross-overs so that you can spend your money on titles you wouldn’t normally buy just to get a page or two of necessary continuity.  The series will start in April, will last a year and be published biweekly.  Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi are the writing staff.  I know lots of folks praised 52, but I guess I’m just not enough of a DC guy to get all wet about this.  I do dig BN, though.  In fact, Newsrama ran a great interview with Geoff Johns, where he explained about Blackest Night and the fight between mortals and Nekron: “We [mortals] age because we’re not supposed to be here. So we grow old. It’s the universe fighting against us. We age and die because we aren’t wanted here. Space was here then life came and messed up everything. In truth, life is chaos and death is order.”  I never read the series that way before.  It’s kinda deep.

5.  Why aren’t you all reading the hilarious, ultraviolent, carefree and insane Punisher comic book yet?  It’s like Deadpool, only way more wild.  Seriously.  Punisher isn’t a stupid idea anymore, not since Warren Ellis did the “serious” PunisherMax series.

6.  There’s an A-Team trailer out, with Liam Neeson as Hannibal!  The real key to this film will be whether Quinton “Rampage” Jackson can fill Mr. T’s bejeweled shoes . . . And believe me, I have doubts.

7.  Joe Johnston, director of The Wolfman, discussed the Captain America movie with BOXOFFICE.com recently, and showed that he doesn’t know much about Cap. First, he says, “The great thing about Captain America is he’s a super hero without any super powers.”   Really?  So that super soldier serum was a placebo?  Then, Johnston says that after Steve Rogers was turned into Cap, “You’d think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn’t get everything he wanted.”  Yes, he did!  He wanted to be a hero!  One of the best things about Captain America is that he never, ever doubts being a hero.  He doesn’t let a burglar run by him and kill his uncle; he doesn’t miss his mommy and daddy as a drive for vengeance; and for a long time, he hasn’t even had a secret identity!  The movie will be an origin story, and I’m not real psyched about that.  I’d much rather see him and Bucky tearing ass through the Nazis than skinny-boy-gets-big.  Cap is probably my second favorite superhero, so I hope to God they do right by him.  Or at least pattern him after Brubaker’s Cap, not Bendis’ or Millar’s.

8.  And finally, in the advance hype section, I don’t know if I’ve told y’all that Animalogic Studios (Happy Feet) is working on a movie of Jeff Smith’s wonderful, all ages appropriate “Bone” comic.  Hope it’s good!

1.  Oh, God, please . . . No (Part One). There’s actual development on a Hancock 2.  As if you didn’t get enough sleep during Hancock 1.

2.  Blackest Night #5. Just a mention: Finally, something happens!  This is the first time that I’ve read a BN story—and I’ve read ‘em all so far—where, when I was done, I couldn’t wait to see what happens next.

3.  D.C.’s Ultimate Universe. I’m not enough of a comic-book nerd to know who came up with the idea of alternate superhero universes first, DC or Marvel, but I suspect it was DC.  Alternate universes, in my opinion, have always been kind of stupid and lame—at least when they merge.  Sure, sometimes they can produce cool stories, most recently when the JLA met their evil counterparts (one of the last few good JLA storylines, in my view), but usually alternate universes are the only thing that aggravate me more than time travel.  As good as the art in DC’s various universe crises has been, the stories have been confusing gonzo gang bangs that come off as excuses to move units.  They aren’t art.  Marvel did a good alternate-reality job with the “What If?” series because they didn’t try to merge it with our own universe.  When that happens, it’s a suckfest.  Jeph Loeb even ruined the Ultimates with some kind of alternate universe crap that I couldn’t make any sense out of at all.  I was happy when Marvel launched Ultimates not as an alternate universe, but as a reimagining of Marvel stories.  There was no need for Uatu or other means to crowbar it into the bigger Marvel U.

Well, DC recently unveiled its plan to publish a new series of “Earth One” graphic novels that will basically reboot its two major characters (which is a good thing, because Bats is dead and Supes is in exile, so fans of these heroes really have nowhere to go these days).  The publishing schedule seems to be 2 of each title per year.  If DC devotes quality talent (and it looks like they are) and doesn’t try to mix this in with their “regular” universe, then this idea could have potential.  Maybe even lead to a new line of regular books—not just graphic novels.  Superman: Earth One will be by J. Michael Straczynski (who did a great job rebooting Spider-Man and Thor) with art by Shane Davis and Batman: Earth One will be by Geoff “I can do every DC comic in the universe because I don’t need sleep and Grant Morrison sucks anyway” Johns, with Gary “I’m Geoff’s muse” Frank. The bad news is, they’re starting with origin tales.  How many more Superman origins really need to be told?  And isn’t Geoff Johns already doing on of these?  Oh, well.  I’m still hopeful.

4.  Oh, God, please . . . No (Part Two). There’s buzz that Smallville will get another season.  Although a pack of wolverines with axes in their teeth pooping out poisonous snakes couldn’t keep me away from the January 20th Geoff Johns penned 2 hour Justice Society special, this season has been remarkably dull.  Especially in light of how the show really bounced back last season.  It’s like they’ve run out of things to say.  Which they have, really, and D.C.’s fault.  Let him wear the suit already!  It’s not going to damage the vitality of your movie franchise (which, let’s be real, is anemic as it is)!

5.  There’s probably nobody working at Marvel whose work I enjoy reading more than Mark Millar, and both of his collaborations with Steve McNiven (Civil War and Old Man Logan) have been genius.  Now, they’re back together . . . On an indie project!  You’ll remember that after Millar worked with (my favorite artist) John Romita, Jr., on the best Wolverine story ever (“Enemy of the State”), they teamed up on the creator-owned project, “Kick Ass,” which will be a household name next year when the movie comes out.  Based on that track record, Nemesis should be awesome.  It will be published by Marvel, like Kick Ass, but it’s fully independent.  The basic idea is billed as a filthy rich anarchist who tries to take down the government.  Kind of V for Vendetta meets Batman.  Based on what I’ve read, it appears that there will be no superpowers involved, just raw guns-and-fists, and tech.

6.  Ronin. Sylvain White, the director of the movie adaptation of DC/Vertigo’s, The Losers, is developing a movie version of Frank Miller’s brilliant and prescient 1983 miniseries.  Can’t wait.  This is one of those books I always thought needed to be made into a moving picture.  Which gives me an idea for a post about comics that should be movies/TV shows.  I think I’ll write that post!  Watch this space for details!

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch-Getaway Car

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch-Prophecy of Bob

YAMOMG-Delta Nove

Jazz Grinch-Daily Supplement

The Grinch Stole Christmas-New Monsoon

Radio Grinch-Broken Puzzle

The Grinch-Jessica Lurie

BONUS: KOOKS COVERS BY REQUEST!

Beast of Burden/Sweet Jane (repost by request) (ysi)

Young Folks (Peter, Bjorn and John cover) w/ Simon Wilcox (ysi)

California (Mason Jennings cover) (ysi)

Crazy (Live Lounge 30/3/06) (ysi)

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 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.

Superman/Batman #1-6

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.

Astonishing X-men

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

Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse

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

Identity Crisis

Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales and Michael Bair

2004
Cover:

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

Captain America (Vol. 5)

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

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

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

Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom

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

Ultimates 2

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.

NEXT: The Amazing 2005!