Welcome to my Top 10 new comic books of 2011. Due to the DC 52 relaunch there are loads of new series to choose from, so let’s see if DC makes a clean sweep. Remember this article only contains comics I’ve personally read in 2011.
1: The Shade | DC | W: James Robinson | A: Cully Hamner
A must buy for any fans of James Robinson’s legendary Starman series, of which The Shade was the break out character. This is my favourite of DC’s 52 relaunch, being immortal The Shade has a huge back-story that can be tapped, which means we have plenty of his historical exploits as both villain and hero to look forward to. Obviously Robinson has a brilliant grasp of the character after reinventing him in the pages of Starman, and Hamner’s art is crisp and clean, his depictions of The Shade’s shadow powers are very effective.
2: Uncanny X-Men | Marvel | W: Kieron Gillen | A: Carlos Pacheco
My biggest comic run came to an end this year as Regenesis saw the splitting of the X-Men and the relaunch of Uncanny X-Men with Gillen still in place as writer, but with the addition of Carlos Pacheco on art duties. We’re only 3 issues in, but I like what Gillen is doing creating an X-Men team comprised of some of the most powerful mutants still kicking, many of whom having been super-villains. He’s taking the X-Men in an unexpected but logical direction, breathing life into old villains like Mister Sinister and all with a dry sense of humour. I’ve always been a fan of Pacheco, but in the past have found some of his figure work to look a bit cartoony, that is not the case with his recent work, his current style looks like a cross between Alan Davis and Dale Eaglesham; Gillen is really making Pacheco earn his money in the huge fight scenes of the X-Men verses hundreds of Mister Sinister clones, all wearing period costumes.
3: Wolverine and the X-Men | Marvel | W: Jason Aaron | A: Chris Bachalo
Okay my long run of Uncanny X-Men may have come to an end because of Regenesis, but on the plus side we now see the return of Wolverine and the X-Men, at least in comic form if not animation. Aaron and Bachalo are two names I never thought I’d see together on a comic in a million years, I still find it hard to believe that Aaron, the writer of the über dark Vertigo series Scalped, is writing an X-Men comic, despite his amazing runs of Wolverine and Weapon X. It’s good to see Bachalo back on an X-title after his stellar work on Generation X and successful runs on other X-titles; his artwork is looking stronger and cleaner than ever, plus he’s even doing a lot of the colouring. Aaron and Bachalo are producing a fun X-Men book, full of action and humour. This is one title to watch in 2012.
4: Wolves | W+A: Becky Cloonan
Limited to 1000 copies and printed in black and white with grey toned art this is part comic book and part work of art. Originally published in the Japanese anthology “Journeys” in 2009, but reprinted in English with added scenes and a new script. Wolves tells the story of a medieval husband who believes he is cursed.
5: Batwoman | DC | W+A: JH Williams III | W: Haden Blackman
Since her debut the new Kate Kane Batwoman has been making waves in the DC Universe and in the media. I was disappointed when the Rucka penned series ended, but I’m very glad to see Batwoman back under the care of JH Willams III, who is not only handling art chores but also co-writing with Haden Blackman. Each issue is a work of art, and I imagine the upcoming hardback collection to be a thing of beauty.
6: Daredevil | Marvel | W: Mark Waid | A: Paolo Rivera, Marcos Martin
Waid takes Daredevil and Matt Murdock back to his roots as a street level superhero whilst building upon the work done by previous creative teams, who put ol’ Hornhead thru the wringer. Waid’s storytelling feels quite old school, and he’s making Daredevil feel more a part of the Marvel Universe. Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin are the perfect artists for this new chapter in Daredevil’s life; they really show the strengths of the comic book medium and Rivera’s covers are absolutely stunning.
7: The Defenders | Marvel | W: Matt Fraction | A: Terry Dodson
2011 saw the return of The Defenders under the care of Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson. As with previous incarnations the team is made up of great characters who struggle to support their own solo title – Dr Strange, Namor, Silver Surfer, Red She-Hulk and Iron Fist; all are interesting characters who’ve been through major changes in the past couple of years. The creator’s enthusiasm for the characters rises off the pages of this comic and it’ll be interesting to see where Fraction and Dodson take them.
8: Criminal: Last of the Innocents | Marvel Icon | W: Ed Brubaker | A: Sean Phillips
A classic crime story about a man named Riley, who when he discovers that his wife has been cheating on him decides to murder her and use her fortune to pay off his gambling debts. He comes up with a clever plan, but events soon spiral out of control. More of the great Brubaker/Phillips team up that have created so many Criminal mini-series, noir superhero story Incognito, and the upcoming noir Lovecraftian horror Fatale. Especially nice touches are the Archie comic book style panels used to portray Riley’s childhood, and how Brubaker writes Riley as not such a bad bloke in the first issue, but who becomes more and more of a bad guy as the story progresses.
9: FF | Marvel | W: Jonathan Hickman | A: Steve Epting
When the Human Torch died in the pages of the Fantastic Four Marvel relaunched the book as FF which instead stood for Future Foundation, which consisted of a combat group in which Spider-man replaced the Torch and a larger scientific group which included reality altering Franklin, genius child Valeria, time and dimension travelling Nathaniel Richards, mutants Artie and Leech, Alex Power, Dragon Man, a clone of the Wizard, a couple of ancient Atlantean children and a number of evolved Moloids. Later Doctor Doom was recruited, yes THE Doctor Doom, as well as long-time Fantastic Four villains like Diablo, Mad Thinker and Wizard, in an effort to fix problems caused by Reed Richards and his daughter Valeria. It turns out the more intelligent you are the more disastrous your mistakes. Since the return of the Human Torch, the original Fantastic Four series has restarted, but FF will continue alongside it telling different parts of the same huge story, you could read one without the other, but you get more from reading both and if you’ve read any of Hickman’s work before you’ll know he doesn’t skimp on story so having the two titles running side by side it like having a fortnightly comic book.
10: Moon Knight | Marvel | W: Brian Michael Bendis | A: Alex Maleev
The new Moon Knight started slow but as the players are revealed the action is heating up. Gone are Moon Knight’s normal multiple-personalities and in their place, guiding his actions are his fellow Avengers – Spider-man, Captain America and Wolverine, but they are still just in his head, don’t worry Moon Knight is still as crazy as ever. This is an interesting take on the character and Bendis has added a supporting cast in the form of fellow Avenger Echo and new creation, Ex-SHIELD agent Buck Lime. The main reason to pick this series is still Alex Maleev’s artwork and fantastic cover designs.
