2010 in comics covers
January 9, 2011 9:28 AM Subscribe
The 50 best (American) comicbook covers of 2010 - as selected by Robot 6 (previously), who also have links to the best of the years best lists (The 5 worst comics of 2010 being a particular favourite.)
Yeah, there's a lot that's good about comics right now, but the 5 worst neatly encapsulates EVERYTHING that's wrong with them.
posted by Artw at 10:41 AM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 10:41 AM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sadly, I have that Sentry: Fallen Son comic. It is every bit as bad as it is made out to be. The Sentry was such a terrible idea to begin with, it is only fitting that he be memorialized in one of the worst comic books ever. I have made a vow to myself: the day Marvel resurrects The Sentry is the day I stop buying comic books.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:00 AM on January 9, 2011
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:00 AM on January 9, 2011
I was so happy to see Nemesis #3 make it onto that list of worst comics. That is the story that will forever cement Mark Millar as a pathetic creep in my mind.
posted by trunk muffins at 11:55 AM on January 9, 2011
posted by trunk muffins at 11:55 AM on January 9, 2011
There’s something beautiful and understated about the play of light and shadow across the girl’s face. (Demo 2 #5)
Where the hell is the light source in that cover? That drives me insane. And that cover with Luke Cage fighting the tigers is horrible. I don't buy many monthly comics anymore but I can still think of several other covers that I like better:
Hellboy in Mexico, The Storm
Thor: The Mighty Avenger 03
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 01
posted by The Hamms Bear at 12:12 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Where the hell is the light source in that cover? That drives me insane. And that cover with Luke Cage fighting the tigers is horrible. I don't buy many monthly comics anymore but I can still think of several other covers that I like better:
Hellboy in Mexico, The Storm
Thor: The Mighty Avenger 03
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 01
posted by The Hamms Bear at 12:12 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also: if you are a fan of comics and you are not reading Chew, then, well, you damn well should be. It is funny and subversive and original and grotesque and everything a good comic book should be.
And the letters page features pictures of cats!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:36 PM on January 9, 2011
And the letters page features pictures of cats!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:36 PM on January 9, 2011
The 50 best covers reminded me why I used to read comics and have a pull and all that, but the 5 worst ones reminded me why I quit.
posted by immlass at 1:23 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by immlass at 1:23 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
The worst aspects of comics are fairly easy to avoid by the simple expedient of stopping buying anything you know to be shit, even if it's some kind of Big Deal Event. The real problem is that not enough people do this.
posted by Artw at 1:58 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 1:58 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also: if you are a fan of comics and you are not reading Chew, then, well, you damn well should be. It is funny and subversive and original and grotesque and everything a good comic book should be.
Everyone keeps saying that. I just didn't like it. Maybe I'm the wrong one, but it just fell flat to me. Oh well.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 2:46 PM on January 9, 2011
Everyone keeps saying that. I just didn't like it. Maybe I'm the wrong one, but it just fell flat to me. Oh well.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 2:46 PM on January 9, 2011
The top 20 indie non-supes list looks great; I've got a couple (Jim Woodring and Megan Kelso, whose Squirrel Mother story collection is still one of my faves of the last few years) on the way through inter-library loan. But I've got to disagree about the latest Dan Clowes book, Wilson. If "Misanthropy on Parade" doesn't describe it, nothing does. Sure, I expect powerfully unpleasant views of human social interaction from Clowes but this one felt like overly familiar ground, and didn't seem nearly as visually interesting or resonate as deeply as his previous books.
posted by mediareport at 4:08 PM on January 9, 2011
posted by mediareport at 4:08 PM on January 9, 2011
The list of the 5 worst, if nothing else, brought to my attention the Superman going for a walk comic, which seems to really bolster the "Superman is a dick" stream of thinking.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:09 PM on January 9, 2011
posted by Ghidorah at 4:09 PM on January 9, 2011
The worst aspects of comics are fairly easy to avoid by the simple expedient of stopping buying anything you know to be shit,
Eh, I don't know. The superhero companies have a long, long history of waiting until a series is doing great, then pulling the writers & artists off to go bolster another title. Then as sales plummet as the 3rd string writers wreck all the story arcs that were built up, and they start deciding what they need to do is redesign everyone and be more "hardcore" and start killing/raping characters left and right.
You might start with something good, but oh! To be a superhero fan is to know a thousand betrayals, over and over.
posted by yeloson at 4:27 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Eh, I don't know. The superhero companies have a long, long history of waiting until a series is doing great, then pulling the writers & artists off to go bolster another title. Then as sales plummet as the 3rd string writers wreck all the story arcs that were built up, and they start deciding what they need to do is redesign everyone and be more "hardcore" and start killing/raping characters left and right.
You might start with something good, but oh! To be a superhero fan is to know a thousand betrayals, over and over.
posted by yeloson at 4:27 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just didn't like it. Maybe I'm the wrong one, but it just fell flat to me.
There were a few weak issues in there, it's true. Much of the second arc, for instance. But it seems like they've righted the ship with the last three or so. It's right up there with Atomic Robo in terms of books that make we want to go to the comics shop. YMMV.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:36 PM on January 9, 2011
There were a few weak issues in there, it's true. Much of the second arc, for instance. But it seems like they've righted the ship with the last three or so. It's right up there with Atomic Robo in terms of books that make we want to go to the comics shop. YMMV.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:36 PM on January 9, 2011
The list of the 5 worst, if nothing else, brought to my attention the Superman going for a walk comic, which seems to really bolster the "Superman is a dick" stream of thinking.
I'd also lost track of what JMS has been up to. This comic seems to really bolster the "JMS is a dick" stream of thinking, too.
posted by crossoverman at 6:03 PM on January 9, 2011
I'd also lost track of what JMS has been up to. This comic seems to really bolster the "JMS is a dick" stream of thinking, too.
posted by crossoverman at 6:03 PM on January 9, 2011
I'd also lost track of what JMS has been up to. This comic seems to really bolster the "JMS is a dick" stream of thinking, too.
At least he's managed not to have Superman stop every five minutes betweenShadow Brainiac attacks to quote Abraham Lincoln at length.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:05 PM on January 9, 2011
At least he's managed not to have Superman stop every five minutes between
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:05 PM on January 9, 2011
The 50 best covers reminded me why I used to read comics and have a pull and all that, but the 5 worst ones reminded me why I quit.
Agreed. Some of those covers are gorgeous and making my comic-buying fingers itch. I love to frame them.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 6:46 PM on January 9, 2011
Agreed. Some of those covers are gorgeous and making my comic-buying fingers itch. I love to frame them.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 6:46 PM on January 9, 2011
I will take this opportunity to recommend Locke & Key as hard as I can. Brutal, disturbing, funny, whimsical, gorgeously illustrated, scary, off-putting... it's brilliant.
posted by ORthey at 10:15 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ORthey at 10:15 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
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(Also, the 5 worst comics makes me glad I'm only reading BPRD, Mouse Guard, and a few manga series at this point. Ick.)
posted by yeloson at 10:40 AM on January 9, 2011