Best comics of 2006
A short best-of list:
Best single issue: Superman/Batman #26 by The 26. This is the issue where 26 industry heavyweights got together to finish a book written by young Sam Loeb who passed away before seeing it realized. Read more here. Runner-up: Mouse Guard #1 by David Petersen.
Best mini-series: Mouse Guard by David Petersen. I know the last issue didn't come out till 2007, but still. This little indy comic has become a sensation for it's great art and compelling storyline. Good for all ages if you ask me. The last issue just came out, and the first issues are being reprinted heavily. A hardcover collection of the mini will be out in April 2007, and then the next Mouse Guard mini begins in June (I think). Read more here. Runner-up: The Escapists by Brian K. Vaughan.
Best graphic novel: Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan. Based on a true story, this original graphic novel tells the tale of a pride of lions that escape the Baghdad zoo during the bombings. Their journey through Baghdad is a perfect allegory for the current war in Iraq. Poignant, unrelenting, and heart-breaking.
Best thing I read in TPB: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker. Bucky is back from the dead. Whether or not you're happy about this, the Winter Solider story-arc comes to a heavy conclusion as Cap deals with reliving the loss of his protege and the return of his friend. This TPB would make an exceptional script for the next Captain America movie. Runner-up: DMZ: On the Ground by Brian Wood.
Most shocking series: The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman. The quintessential zombie story is still trucking along. The places that Kirkman takes you and the things that happen will leave you feeling gross, all the while eager to find out what happens next. Great storytelling. Runner-up: Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman (go figure).
Best ongoing series: Daredevil by Ed Brubaker. Pick up the TPB of his first arc, "The Devil is Cell Block D," dealing with Matt Murdock being in prison alongside several villains that he put there. And there's a Daredevil imposter in Hell's Kitchen. The conclusion of the arc will leave you wanting more, I guarantee. I've never really read Daredevil before, but now I can't put it down. Runner-up: Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon.
Best writers: tie between Ed Brubaker (Daredevil, Captain America) and Joss Whedon (Astonishing X-Men).
Best artists: tie between John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men) and Michael Lark (Daredevil).
UPDATE: I completely forgot about the single most disturbing comic of 2006. See, the most shocking comic was normal to begin with and then went in directions I couldn't image. My pick for "most disturbing" started off in the sewer (figuratively) and stayed there. I am, of course, talking about Fell by Warren Ellis. This $1.99 per 16-page issue is crime fiction at its best, depicting the very worst of humanity. And I mean the real dregs. Detective Richard Fell stumbles onto cases that are so incredibly foul that I feel sick after each and every issue. And I can't wait for the next one (there have only been 6 so far).
Best single issue: Superman/Batman #26 by The 26. This is the issue where 26 industry heavyweights got together to finish a book written by young Sam Loeb who passed away before seeing it realized. Read more here. Runner-up: Mouse Guard #1 by David Petersen.
Best mini-series: Mouse Guard by David Petersen. I know the last issue didn't come out till 2007, but still. This little indy comic has become a sensation for it's great art and compelling storyline. Good for all ages if you ask me. The last issue just came out, and the first issues are being reprinted heavily. A hardcover collection of the mini will be out in April 2007, and then the next Mouse Guard mini begins in June (I think). Read more here. Runner-up: The Escapists by Brian K. Vaughan.
Best graphic novel: Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan. Based on a true story, this original graphic novel tells the tale of a pride of lions that escape the Baghdad zoo during the bombings. Their journey through Baghdad is a perfect allegory for the current war in Iraq. Poignant, unrelenting, and heart-breaking.
Best thing I read in TPB: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Vol. 2 by Ed Brubaker. Bucky is back from the dead. Whether or not you're happy about this, the Winter Solider story-arc comes to a heavy conclusion as Cap deals with reliving the loss of his protege and the return of his friend. This TPB would make an exceptional script for the next Captain America movie. Runner-up: DMZ: On the Ground by Brian Wood.
Most shocking series: The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman. The quintessential zombie story is still trucking along. The places that Kirkman takes you and the things that happen will leave you feeling gross, all the while eager to find out what happens next. Great storytelling. Runner-up: Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman (go figure).
Best ongoing series: Daredevil by Ed Brubaker. Pick up the TPB of his first arc, "The Devil is Cell Block D," dealing with Matt Murdock being in prison alongside several villains that he put there. And there's a Daredevil imposter in Hell's Kitchen. The conclusion of the arc will leave you wanting more, I guarantee. I've never really read Daredevil before, but now I can't put it down. Runner-up: Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon.
Best writers: tie between Ed Brubaker (Daredevil, Captain America) and Joss Whedon (Astonishing X-Men).
Best artists: tie between John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men) and Michael Lark (Daredevil).
UPDATE: I completely forgot about the single most disturbing comic of 2006. See, the most shocking comic was normal to begin with and then went in directions I couldn't image. My pick for "most disturbing" started off in the sewer (figuratively) and stayed there. I am, of course, talking about Fell by Warren Ellis. This $1.99 per 16-page issue is crime fiction at its best, depicting the very worst of humanity. And I mean the real dregs. Detective Richard Fell stumbles onto cases that are so incredibly foul that I feel sick after each and every issue. And I can't wait for the next one (there have only been 6 so far).
posted by Hameed at 12:37 PM
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