Yay, survived a trip to the dentist. Typing up my year end list with half my face numb.
My top ten comic reads in 2016!
10) Fantastic Four - Lee/Kirby - Just read the first omnibus, might climb higher next year as I go through the rest of the run. Great trip through the creation of the marvel universe. Each character has such a distinctive voice and it is fun to see them interact! Kirby's art is up and down through the series but the ups are definitely amazing. Loved the running Yancy Street Gang gag. Pirate Thing was awesome. A little less Namor would have been nice.
9) Scud: The Disposable Assassin - Schrab - Very funny and well drawn comic with some of the best action/motion art I've seen in western comics. Great side characters (Drywall!), creative character designs and a constantly progressing plot makes for a quick and fun read.
8) The Eternaut - Hector German Oestergeld - Long awaited translation of the Argentine work. Ran as a comic strip originally but collected into one of this years best designed HCs by Fantagraphics. Reads like a rather standard post-apocalyptic tale but the pacing, atmosphere and the political/social commentary undertones elevates it to a must read. And the art is amazing too.
7) Shang-Chi: The Master of Kung Fu - Englehart/Moench/Gulacy/Starlin - Another series that I might bump up next year once I read more. This is pure 70s Kung Fu movies/tv show aesthetic. You get the ornate and "mystic" dialogue. The first person narration. Hackneyed plots of one-note evil villains. Great action. And it is just pure fun. If you are a fan of Liu/Lee/Kar Leung type movies from that time, don't skip this. Some brilliant art from a lot of different artists in the first volume.
6) Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe - North/Henderson: And OGN from the team working on one of the best on-goings in the industry right now. What could be more fun than on SG? Two SGs! If Marvel ever release Deadpool's Guide to Super Villains cards in blind bags, I am going to go bankrupt.
5) Animal Man - Morrison - Is it a super hero run trying to re-imagine Animal Man , the extent of his powers and his origin by using meta-narrative? Or is it an unraveling of what makes super hero comics using Animal Man and his family and their travails? However you take it, it is a great run and just issue #5 puts it high up on the list of great runs.
4) The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye - Sonny Liew - It could be that having read this later in the year pushed it up the list but something about it really clicked for me. It is a telling of Singapore's history via the life of struggling artist Charlie Chan, a character created by Liew. (a la This is Spinal Tap). The premise gives free reign over art styles to Liew and he utilises that to the fullest extent possible. Great read.
3) Plastic Man - Jack Cole - Been making my way through the archives through 2016 and this is one of the most fun super hero comics I've read. It holds up against anything being published today, be it the art or the panel layouts or story telling. This + Baker's run + Plastic Man in Morrison's JLA have made him one of my favourite DC characters.
2) Fourth World - Jack Kirby - Another series I was very LTTP on but it was definitely worth tracking down the four omnibuses. There might be some nitpicks in that pacing from one series to another was a bit off and that the ending was a bit rushed but that doesn't stop this from being one of the best super-hero runs I've read. Brilliant world building, great characters and art that fits the epic nature of the action and story telling.
And Big Barda/Mr Miracle. <3.
1) Love and Rockets: Locas - Jaime Hernandez - This was on my list last year too but I read a lot more of it this year. Continues our look into Maggie and Hopey's lives. Jaime does not like status quos so we get a fast moving story and a good look at all the highs points and lows. Great art as always. Definitely my most memorable read this year.
(borrowing Tyrant's image here...)
Other notable reads this year that didn't get into my top 10 -
The Longest Day of the Future,
Black Panther (Priest),
How to Talk to Girls at Parties,
JLA (Morrison),
Killing & Dying,
American Flagg!.
Favourite physical edition of the year - The Eternaut. (Though I might have actually bought it in 2015...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOx8H4vPa8E
Favourite DC ongoing - Astro City (Had started my reread earlier in the year and am now one trade away from catching up!)
Favroutie Marvel ongoing - Squirrel Girl