Top Ten Comics Of 2010

And here we are, we've gone through another successful year of DC Comics and there have been some incredibly awesome stories that have come around.  I'm sure many of you have certain issues you've read that you'll never forget.  Well for me, I have about ten.  So below is my top ten DC Comics for 2010.  Please, comment your thoughts, opinions, and disagreements.

Top Ten Comics For 2010

10. Superman: Secret origin #6

Geoff Johns took the corny and cheesy origins of Superman and turned it into something a little more tangible and up-to-date.  Instead of having Clark Kent put on this tremendously nerdy and bumbling facade, Johns makes Superman an ACTUAL bumbler, not because he means to be, but because he's an alien from another world who's unfamiliar with the surroundings of big city life.  There's also a nice redeveloping of Superman's relationship with his Earth buddies and the people of Metropolis.  While the the "Secret" of the Superman's origin is never quite revealed here, #6 gave us a Superman with whom we can relate too.

9. The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

I hate Grant Morrison, most of you know this.  And if I were to rank the top five WORST mini series in the history of comics, The Return of Bruce Wayne would make the five.  However, the 6th installment of said series truly did take my breath away.  With all of the confusion, lack of focus, and over zealous story telling, #6 really did a good job at wrapping up the story.  And while I absolutely hate that Morrison brought Bruce Wayne back from the dead, I cannot deny the level of quality portrayed in this final issue.

8. Secret Six #27

I think Simone and Calafiore got together one day and agreed to make this issue the complete and utter visualization of the American dream.  Vigilante men and women turning savage, wearing almost nothing and duking it out to an almost arousing degree.  But this has more to do with the art rather than the dialog, even though there are obvious sexual tensions going on between characters.  J. Calafiore brings in all the stops and more with sexy and savage depiction of jungle war.  Jimmy Palmiotti, watch out, Gail Simone’s sex appeal in this story might rival even yours!

7. Power Girl #12

#12 is one big wrap-up, bringing back some characters to give Power Girl that final frustration of reliving everything she’s gone through within this last year; there’s the meeting a Terra’s parents and being introduced to a new food group, Fisher comes back to say thanks to Power Girl to help fulfill his young, hormonal state of mind, and Vartox is sent home packing.  Thank you Jimmy Palimiotti and Amanda Conner for making such an underused character life and meaning within the DCU!

6. Wonder Woman #600

What can I say? This issue was filled with greatness. I’m usually not a fan of artist toggling, but this worked perfectly since no one story was connected to the other. It is one big homage to a great heroine who’s been an inspiration to human kind for generations. And even though the new era hasn't been the most popular, this issue certainly gave it the much needed fresh start to transcend into a post-Simone life span. Let’s hope the new era can continue that greatness. I am going to put this down in my “most treasured comics of my life time” bin, which means I’ll need to buy a second copy. 

5. Secret Six #20

Sometimes I wonder if Gail Simone simply likes to torture her Secret Six characters.  Have any of you noticed how often Catman is in pain due to his past, or the frequent struggles bane and Scandal have, and the low self-esteem Deadshot continually displays through his constant babble?  #20 leaves you in a state of discontent and angst with the level of tension that flows throughout it.  The ending took me by complete surprise, and with the way Simone writes this book, you'll never know exactly how things will turn out.

4. Green Lantern Corps #47

Blackest Night is over.  Everything is destroyed.  The Corps must now rebuild itself from the bottom up. Gardner, Rayner and a handful of other Lanterns take a stand against the Guardians and their newly established Book of Oa laws.  Vath wakes up with a pair of foreign legs, and Kilowog makes a life altering decision that could have a huge effect on the future of the Corps.  Tomasi brings in all the stops as he bids farewell to a comic book series that has been defined by his unremarkable ability to tell engrossing and angst driven tales.  

3. Supergirl #54

Bizzarogirl and Supergirl going at each other tooth and nail...ultimately figuring out that they are more alike than originally thought.  Sterling Gates has given Supergirl the right treatment, making her much more respectable and hard-hitting than ever before, and #54 takes it to endless bounds.

2. Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #3

As this miniseries will never be considered part of the “true” Superman mythos, I believe this has officially become the best Superman story to ever be told!  It’s only rival would be the wonderfully clever Superman: For Tomorrow.  If you haven’t picked up this series, go to your local comic book store and get it!  It’s just three issues that are PACKED with story.  This is not a series where you’ll feel jipped by the $5 per issue price mark.  Bates’ put everything he had into this story and I look forward to the day when he comes back to comics more consistently.  (Please Cary!)

1. Secret Six #22

Secret Six is an amazing title and I would recommend it to anyone.  If you are conflicted with paying more money to you’re already long list of monthly titles you pick up, please consider dropping a title or two, this is well worth your money.  There isn’t one issue since this title began that hasn’t been worth the $2.99 price mark and I fully expect anyone whose reads this will come away happy.  Simone doesn’t approach the Six like every other comic book in the industry; it’s new, innovative, and fun.

The story gives us the finalization of Catman’s past as a young boy growing up with a physically and verbally abusive father whose mind-twisting jargon caused the young Catman to embrace a new way of life, one filled with murder and a stoic, uncaring demeanor.  However, this life changing event doesn’t keep our feline hero from loving those closest to him.  The question raised here is what are you willing to do for loved ones?  What is the best for them?  MacQuarrie brings to light that Catman’s son is very much alive, and adopted by a new family.  Like MacQuarrie said, no one can hurt Catman through his son ever again.  Catman had to make a choice, let his son live a happy life and cause his mother the utmost pain, or go get his son back and wait for the next dubious villain to snatch him away for ransom yet again. Just like Watchmen, Gail Simone makes you ponder on what you must do when faced with two options, both of which will cause someone a great deal of suffering.  Catman letting go of his son and lying to Cheshire about it could very well be one of the most tragic endings in a comic book I’ve ever read.

The stories stems even further with the Catman’s teammates, mostly dealing with the issue of family.  Black Alice comes to center stage with her amazing bit of oratory, expressing her guilt of theoretically giving her father cancer.  This sense of loss brings Scandal savage closer to the young villain, and even more so with Ragdoll whose defense of Black Alice was an amazing addition to an already depressing story.  (Deadshot really can be an ass huh?  That’s why we like him!) 

This arc was a true Mind Fuck!  but this issue in particular went above and beyond the call of duty and transformed the idea of "bad guy" comics into something better than ever.  

Comic Book Review: The Last Family of Krypton #2

Literary & Artistic Credits

Writer: Cary Bates

Artist: Renato Arlem

Colorist: Allen Passalaqua

Letterer: Pat Brosseau

Cover Art: Felipe Massafera

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Superman Origin stories have become a constant publication within DC Comics, it seems there’s no end to a writer’s take on the Man of Steel’s beginnings.  However, when it comes to writer Cary Bates, Superman embarks on a beginning unlike any other.

We see a matured Clark Kent going through the normal high school routine, dating Lana Lang, fighting to fit in, etc etc.  But what makes everything different is that Superman’s parents are around.  We are finally able to see what exactly Jor-El would have thought of his Son’s flying heroic deeds.  It was tough enough that Kal was forced to live away from his parents, now he has chosen a life style in which his father disapproves of.  This is clearly a story of how a father and a son fight with each other’s difference of opinions and ideals.  But what’s even more interesting, I get the feeling that Bates is making an argument that this Superman story should never have happened.

While Superman is still fully Kryptonian, he is also fully Earthling too.  His life may have begun on his alien homeworld, but his childhood and lifestyle all formed on Earth.  Superman was able to develop an understanding for Earth’s needs and decided to answer that call.  Like he said, he has walked in their shoes and lived among them as if he were one of them.  (Which, really, he is.  Let’s be honest.)  With his family always taking care of the major disasters, Kal was never quite sure what his purpose was.  And then, after his gift of red, blue and yellow, he found himself helping the people of earth on a much smaller scale, finally discovering his calling here on Earth.  But his father made it clear that the publicity his son was getting, and the El family crest’s meaning changing for the people of Earth, the beginning of the end for this father and son could very well be around the corner.  How will this change how Superman behaves?  Will he retaliate against his father or vice versa?

I do appreciate that Bates is keeping this Elseworlds story very low key with the addition of popular characters.  Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, and a team of terrorists who share the same name as an alien monster whom killed Superman over a decade ago all make an appearance, but it isn’t overbearing.  Many Superman Origin stories, Red Son for example, bring in established characters for the mere sake of bringing them in.  Cary Bates utilizes these added characters intelligently and with purpose, but never making them the center of attention.

Renato Arlem is pretty great with his Superman artistry.  I’m a little “iffy” about his style of shading, but I guess I’m more partial to the dark and gloomy side of comic book art.  Otherwise, Arlem certainly has a style unique to himself.

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

I’ll respect your opinion if your waiting for this to come out in trade paperback, but honestly…you’re going to hate yourself for waiting so long.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Writing: 10

Art: 10

Themes: 10

Comic Book Review: Superman: Last Family of Krypton

Book Information

Written by Cary Bates
Penciled by Renato Arlem
Colors by Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Pat Brosseau
Cover by Felipe Massafera

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
Somewhere in the Multiverse is a universe where Kal-El flies off in a rocket ship made by his parents to escape the inevitable destruction of Krypton. But within this universe, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van travel with their son to Earth, making it their home. Earth has now been exposed to the “Superhero” far sooner than the Superman origin story would have us believe. Now the last family of Krypton deals with a culture unprepared for the arrival an alien family whose sole purpose is live a normal, HUMAN life. But this attempt to live as humans may prove much more difficult than they originally thought.

This issue was surprisingly entertaining; how many times can they redo the Superman Origin story until it becomes dull and overplayed? I thought they had finished with Birthright, but now with Johns on the cusp of finishing Superman: Secret Origin, the Man of Steel is going through more reincarnations of himself than any other superhero to date.

Stories based within fantastic and imaginary worlds often run into an unrelatable snag; where the character’s lives are so different and outlandish that their problems and struggles have no meaning to us mere mortals. Cary Bates presents an interesting tale of a Kryptonian family and the struggles they go through. This story deals with powerful heroes who can stop trains with their bare hands, melt iron by staring at it, and bring helicopters down to safety simply by blowing on it. However, this married couple still deals with problems of the average Earth couple, giving the readers something tangible to hold onto, but allows Bates to keep Jor and Laura up in the air fighting crime. I think every husband and wife who has had to make a life changing transition can relate to the issues both Jor-El and Laura Lor-Van are dealing with. I was pleasantly surprised by Jor and Laura’s selfless act of giving Kal away to two parents who can actually give him the attention needed that was severely lacking.

But now the question remains, what will become of little Kal-El? He’s going through a similar experience, growing up with Ma and Pa Kent, but will he adopt the red and blue spandex and become the #1 all-American superhero? His parents have already taken up that superhero mantle, what will Kal-El decide to do? Follow in his parent’s footsteps, become a villain out of some misplaced sense of winning his father’s approval, or decide to lead a life that much resembles the recent decision of Kara Zor-El and lead a normal HUMAN life?

The art is great, nothing more can really be said to describe just how great it is. There is a similarity to the classic, rugged sketched look of the Silver age. This style usually doesn’t appeal to me, but Renato Arlem really makes it work. And that cover by Massafera is absolutely stunning. But my favorite part of this whole issue is how much Arlem loves his boss, Mr. Dan Didio and Ms. Angelina Jolie…

My Awesomely Climactic Conclusion
It’s great to have Cary Bates back in the comic’s literary chair again. With his absence, having his name on the cover of a comic gave it an exciting and nostalgic fervor, while maintaining a fresh new feel at the same time. I’m very excited for next month.

Ratings
Writing: 10
Themes: 10
Art: 10
Overall: 10 out of 10