Comic Book Journal

Was 2007 the best year ever for comics? It definitely was for exposure. Comic books, in particular, superheros were everywhere. So who in the industry had the best year ever. Let’s take a look back. I just flipped through the newest Wizard Magazine and they listed their “best of’s” for the year. Some I agree with some I don’t, so I thought I’d share.

Best Company of 2007 went to Marvel Comics. Do I agree? Yes in this instance I do, the publisher revitalized its universe this year, shaking up all of its core titles and had successful crossovers. With House of M so over, Marvel went the extra mile with World War Hulk, bringing Thor back with power, Civil War was a force to be reckoned with, then the aftermath of Civil War. They took Peter Park back to his roots with the One More Day saga, and finished the year out on a strong note killing Captain America and shaking up the X-Universe with the Messiah Complex. DC did similar things with Infinite Crisis and Countdown, also 52, but seemed to revamp in a slower, more methodical way. Who knows maybe DC is saving it’s magic bullet for 2008. We’ll have to wait to see.

Best Writer went to Ed Brubaker. Do I agree? Yes. Despite the efforts of many talented writers, whom you’re probably not reading, in 2007, you couldn’t pick up a Marvel title and not see this guy’s name in the credits. For sheer volume of work produced he deserves this title. Not to mention he’s the guy that also brought back Iron Fist to glory and killed Captain America. That helps out too.

Best Artist went to Ivan Reis. Do I agree? Not really, while his work on Green Lantern is more detailed then most, and he did bring innovation and energy to his pages, I’ve never heard of the guy until now. I think he needs more time to develop as an artist on work on a variety of books proving he is multi-faceted before declared the “best of” anything. Besides I liked Quesada’s work on Spider-Man much better.

Best Character went to Iron Man. I’d definitely have to disagree with this one. Even though Tony Stark has had a rough year and made many universe-altering decisions in 2007, my pick would have been the Hulk. This character who you “really wouldn’t like when he’s angry,” proved one thing above all else-with the right creative team and plotting, David Bruce Banner can still sell books. This revitalization made him the best character of 2007 for me.

Now I have a few best of/worst of’s of my own to share.

Best Comic Book Movie: 300. If you’ve seen it, I don’t need to say anything else.

Worst Comic Book Movie: Ghost Rider. The special effects were ok. The acting and plot weren’t. I found it a miserable let down and when I saw it, I realized that those two plus hours were hours of my life that Nick Cage stole and I would never get back.

Best Reason to keep Reading Comic Book Journal: 2008 is going to be packed full of reviews, news, and the best is yet to be. With crossovers coming to an end in both DC and Marvel, with Dark Horse producing some of it’s best work yet, and Image exploring different genres with top-notch creator-owned titles, 2008 is going to be full of fun.

For more on the best books you’re not reading see my blog on Dark Horse Rising, Fables, and the graphic novel Bonds.

For previews of what to come next year see my site. Happy New Year to all and to all a good night!

I hope everyone had a very nice holiday. I know I did, but alas now it’s back to the grindstone. As far as news goes, it’s been a pretty slow news day. Let’s see there’s a new Dark Knight trailer out, I’m sure that most of you’ve seen it. It’s on Yahoo if you want to check it out. Heath Ledger as the Joker? Who has comments on that. I have to see I was a little skeptical at first if he could pull if off, but after seeing the trailer, I must say I think he can pull it off. In other news, Comiccraft has announced it’s annual font sale. Want more info on buying some comic fonts of your very own to use here’s the site: http://www.comicbookfonts.com/fonts/sale.html?sid=0001Fx7hiUV2pR8qzY4h2l6
That brings me to today’s topic. The important role lettering plays in comic books. While other mediums, such as television, radio, and print all can convey words either vocally, or with prose. The comic book presents a unique challenge as the meaning of words must be conveyed pictorally. Most take for granted the lettering when viewing a page, but ensuring emphasis is played on key words to evoke emotion it does take a talented letterer. Another challenge a letterer faces is the task of filling dialogue balloons so they are easily read, yet not too crammed, and without deleting important items. Also a character’s speech and tone is conveyed through lettering also. An example of this is the Spectre. His speech patterns and vocal range is entirely different from say, Captain America’s, so the lettering must reflect this. I have included a picture of what I believe exemplifies classic, picturesque lettering and especially in the digital age, this is a skill that must not be overshadowed. Thoughts on lettering? If so let me know I’m always interested.

December has went by entirely too fast! It doesn’t seem very long ago that we did the New Year’s Eve thing, I have to admit, I’m not ready. We very well can’t move foward until we look back. Time magazine has released its list of the Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2007 and I wasn’t too impressed with the list. The number one selection was a little-known webzine called Achewood. It focuses on a cast of anamorphic characters who live in a small town and struggle with daily life. The art is simplistic, yet can be crude at times. I’m not too impressed with this selection because it has done before. I remember a title I used to follow frequently back in the mid-nineties, whose name escapes me now with the same anamorphic characters following life’s dramas. A notable number two on the list was Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier. While I haven’t read this title yet, I think I may pick it up and try it. The art is detailed and with Alan Moore helming the story, it has to be good. The rest of the list was at best mediocre, but I think one title was sadly misplaced. Charles Schultz’s the Complete Peanuts was ranked number ten on the list. While I do not dispute the genius of Charles Schultz , I feel his work was greatly underrated while he was alive. This said, it was ranked incorrectly in my opinion as I don’t think a collection of newspaper strips can be considered a “graphic novel.” Anyway, that’s my rant for today if you want to read the entire list yourself, it can be found here: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1692006,00.html
Also if anyone if is still looking a great book that didn’t make the list please see my review of Bonds at
http://www.comicbookjournal.net/the-ties-that-bond/

Thanks to everyone who promoted and supported the holiday contest that was just completed while there were a couple of great entries, thanks to JimBo and Kingsmoothie, it’s judgement time! The winner of some great stuff goes to Kingsmoothie, whose letter while somewhat formal was the most humorous. Also for the shameless mention of the Easter bunny he gets props. So without further ado here’s Banner and Grimm’s letter to Santa:

Santa Claus,
Please be advised that this will most likely be my last letter to you. I, Bruce Banner, and my associate, Ben Grimm, have grown tired of this yearly ritual. Every year we ask for one simple wish- a cure for our afflictions. And every year you dissappoint us. Disgruntled, we become angry and a no-holds barred fight eventually ensues. Whereas others spend a few months paying Christmas bills, it takes us much longer to pay for Christmas damages. As I said, this will be our last letter to you. We are exhausted with your non-compliance and will seek counsel from this “Easter Bunny” should we not hear from you.
Good day, sir.
David Bruce Banner and Benjamin Grimm

Hey Kingsmoothie e-mail me your address info and I’ll send you a few books from my secret stash. Thanks to all who entered and keep reading comicbookjournal.net. There’s plenty of December left for news, reviews, and entertaining articles.

One of the best things I like about comics is the annual issues. I have to say that I love the quirky, one-shot feel and just the genuine storytelling that these issues contain. Often not a part of ongoing title continuity these issues give creators room to tell a different type or style of story. The Superman 2008 Annual is no different and was a joy to read. I decided to focus on DC for a little bit today as I’ve been spending a lot of time as of late in the Marvel Universe (partly because I’m really digging the Messiah Complex). What’s the best thing about this issue? I’d have to say the scripting. Busiek does a fantastic job of not only driving the story with compelling action and conflict, but also through captions really gets inside Superman’s head and his feelings about Lois and his son. Also the art, (at least in the primary story) was simple and defined. Judging by his art it is clear that Pacheco enjoys drawing Superman, and he does it well. On a scale of one to ten I’d give this stand-alone a seven. It’s easy to follow nicely written and well drawn. The only flaw it had was the back-up story, which tells a nice quiet tale of a rare day off in Superman’s world, but the story lacked action and the art was too loosely rendered for my tastes. If you’re looking for a nice quick read to pass the cold winter night though, it wouldn’t be a bad pick.

Speaking of cold winter nights and the holidays, I STILL haven’t received any entries for my holiday contest and time is growing short. It’s simple but it’s like that lotto if you wanna win you gotta play. If you wanna review the contest again it’s at www.comicbookjournal.net/contest-announcement.
All you have to do is write a Superhero-themed letter to Santa (Superman asking for a new collar for Krypto or something like that) and submit it as a comment on the blog, (which goes directly to my personal e-mail) The winner will receive some fantastic prizes delivered. The contest ends on December 15th and judging will end on December 17th. Any comments, questions, or suggestions? Feel free to let me know and I’ll do my best to get back to you.

Avengers Assemble!! That is the New Avengers! Sales figures for October are in and the number one selling title was Marvel’s New Avengers. The New Avengers barely edged out the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. I’m interested in the progression of Marvels slots in the top of the sales charts, especially with the year ending crossovers from the big two companies Marvel and DC, but also sales figures are steadily climbing for the Dark Horse, which I reported on previously with Buffy taking Dark Horse to new sales heights. I’m looking forward to seeing a more competitive new year. I thought I’d give a quick review/preview of the New Avengers #36 to see how good the top selling title is. I have to say, with a post Civil War storyline, a new team of characters interacting, and suspicion that everyone is a Skrull, I was highly disappointed with this title. I think people might be buying it because it has Wolverine in it and it’s written by Brian Michael Bendis. I’ve seen him do far better plotting. Yu’s pencils are expressive and action oriented, but I’m more a traditionalist when it comes to the art, I don’t think the manga influence fits the story of a post Civil War Marvel Universe, especially a post war New York. I’d like to see him do a techno-filled Iron Man perhaps. Also, I sure this will disappoint the fan boys, but I feel that this story could have been told with far less almost-nudity. I don’t recall ever seeing an issue of X-Men with Wolverine in his skivvies, so why do we have to see Spider-Woman in hers? Give me a break. Maybe that’s why this title is #1 in sales figures also.
Here’s hoping the rest of December’s reviews will actually have books deserving a top-selling sales slot. I’d give this book a five out of ten. It’s easily forgettable, a fluff read, and doesn’t really drive the storyline. Not the writer’s or artist’s best work. Well that’s all the time I have for today. I’m serious about the contest, I haven’t had one entry yet, and the month will go by quickly. For more details check out the announcement at: http://www.comicbookjournal.net/contest-announcement

Welcome to December!!! I have a special treat in store for my faithful readers this month. I’d like to start December by announcing my first contest. The best “Superhero Letter to Santa,” will win a terrific prize (more than likely a bagged and boarded book from my massive collection.) To win it’s simple, just submit the letter as a comment on this blog (so that it goes directly to my inbox.) Judging will begin midnight December 15th, and the winner will be announced on December 17th. Entries should be no longer than three hundred words and the characters can be based in any comic book universe. So get out the crayons and start writing already. Santa’s busy this year so hurry up! Also, looking for last minute gift ideas for comic book fans, see my list of great fan gifts at: http://www.comicbookjournal.net/top-ten-fanboyor-girl-gifts/.