Part 2
Brian Michael Bendis (Alias, Daredevil, Dark Avengers, House of M, New Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man)
-You can’t mention the decade without mentioning Bendis no matter how you feel about his “Bendis voice” in the talkiest of talky Avengers books ever. I mean, he even puts the overly-linguistic Kurt Busiek to shame. But what we gained from many of these Dark and New Avengers books is a sense of comradery among the teams, even when there’s more bickering and snickering than ever before. Sometimes the problem with the “Bendis voice” is that in a group book too many of the characters come off roughly the same; it’s been a problem even the revered Geoff Johns had in his brief stint on the title. Regardless, Bendis made these books important. He also made them fun. Buying Avengers books, and especially his highly-regarded Ultimate Spider-Man run, made these issues feel episodic; there was a sense of continuity that kept us intrigued (even sometimes to a fault).
It’s not that Bendis failed with character. He made Alias (Jessica Jones, not Jennifer Garner) worth following, boosting this adult-appealing Max book with mainstream Avengers elements. Getting inside the dark psyche of Alias, as well as his take on the what was soon-jailed Daredevil, made these books some of the best character studies yet. Say what you will about the quality of his status-quo changing House of M and Secret Invasion events, but the man makes an impact. Bendis basically owned Marvel in the 2000's. And let’s not forget about this year’s Siege, which is sure to be the icing on the cake. (Again, forgive my ignorance again, but I’m just getting caught on to Powers. Thank you.)
Darwyn Cooke (DC: The New Frontier, Superman: Kryptonite)
-While sort of quiet on the writing front these days, a very special shout out is due for DC: The New Frontier, alone. This retelling of the DC Universe is an instant classic, capitalizing on some pretty dreamy throwback art to the Dick Tracy age and the updated importance of supporting characters that gave Bruce, Clark and Diana a break. Cooke also contributed to some pretty heady Catwoman arcs, as well as an excellent take on Superman’s battle with his worst enemy, Kryptonite.
Matt Fraction (Immortal Iron Fist, Invincible Iron Man, Thor: Ages of Thunder)
-Ahhh…everyone’s favorite writer of Uncanny X-Men… You knew I was going to say that, right? Now, that his biggest hindrance is out of the way, let’s get onto the outstanding character work. Since he shared duties with Ed Brubaker in bringing the Iron Fist out in the fold, Fraction’s might always be known for the excellence that is Invincible Iron Man. He basically put the other Tony Stark book out of business, more-so building a character that reflects the Extremis of Garth Ennis and the lippy character from the movie. Yes, it’s been debated and basically quoted that Iron Man 2 is partially-inspired on Matt Fraction’s work, but the timing of The Five Nightmares and the debut film are ironic at best. Moving further, Invincible made a now rather unlikable character—due to Civil War—our hero again, all the while painfully watching him run and become mentally disassembled. This run has been a work of art; perhaps even say a little unmoving. I don’t think so. I give Fraction more credit for giving us a slow burn with this one, focusing more on trauma strategy than mere heroism. And now that it’s announced he will be taking over for Gillen in the Thor ongoing, don’t fret: his Ages of Thunder one-shots should give enough indication that his Donald Blake will be as appealing as his Stark.
Jeph Loeb (Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Superman, Superman/Batman)
–I can just about guarantee NO ONE put this poor fellow on their list as Best of the Decade. That’s because most of his best work came at the beginning of the decade, but this Review is not only about recent years. We know his recent failings on Hulk, Wolverine, Ultimates/Ultimatum, etc. Right. However, is it that easy for you to forget the spectacular collaborations with Tim Sale on origin tales: Blue, Yellow, and For All Seasons? How about some of the grittiest Batman stories ever told in Dark Victory and Hush? And his absolutely superb work on DC’s mega team-up, Superman/Batman, with Public Enemies and Supergirl? Thought so.
Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, Batman, Batman & Robin, Flash, Final Crisis, JLA, New X-Men)
-No matter how trivial Morrison’s writing can be—okay, downright bizarre—there’s no denying the man’s resume. From the most revered books, many would even say classic (All-Star Superman, New X-Men) to the most criticized (Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis), this polarization in audience is probably what makes him most appealing. Like Stephen King, Morrison’s basically bigger than his work. That came to proof when incorporating himself within in final issue of Animal Man. Yes, he even made Animal Man a great comic to read. And how about trying to “dumb” things down a bit with the 60s TV-influenced Batman & Robin? With Frank Quietly, darn right great.
Special shoutout to Peter David for making X-Factor one of the greatest long runs in Marvel history—not easy with a secondary X-Men group (and his second go-about, nonetheless!), and to DC for both 52 and Identity Crisis. 52 is my favorite “event” of the decade. The aptly named 52 was a year worth of weekly issues from greats Johns, Morrison, Rucka and Waid NOT covering Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman. They made lesser known heroes Booster Gold, The Question, Batwoman, Lobo, among others as fun if not more intriguing than the big 3 and didn’t hold back in making impact without them. Identity Crisis comes from the novelist Brad Meltzer, and this “event” is more like one big detective story, dealing with some finger-biting “whodunit” deaths and all the accusations and mysteries that follow. It proves you don’t need 100 characters on one page to spell war; you only need good story. Identity Crisis it was.
TBC...
Message [Page 1 of 1]
Favorite comics of the decade Sun Dec 06, 2009 10:21 pm
Message [Page 1 of 1]
Home