Top 10 2007: Comics

I bought 142 new comics in 2007 and, I have to say, this has been a year of steady and solid improvement in most all of my favorite titles. I'll get started with the top 10 titles of the year, followed by my top 10 issues.

For inclusion in the top 10 titles category, I must have collected at least 6 issues of the comic throughout the year. Mini-series like New Avengers: Illuminati only released 5 issues in 2007 and thus was not eligible. Not surprisingly, my beloved Astonishing X-Men only released 4 issues this year and is therefore denied the top spot it would claim. And being denied the number 2 spot for only releasing 5 issues in 2007 is Runaways, another Joss Whedon comic. After realizing that the formerly monthly Runaways only released five issues last year, I'm kinda mad at Joss. Yes, he writes great comics but, for the first time, I think he should be banned. It is ludicrous that he can't get a title out even bi-monthly and turning Runaways from a monthly example of comic perfection into an every-now-and-then okay comic is a travesty. I love you, Joss, but you have to learn how to say no to projects if you can't get them out on time.

Anyway, Top 10 Comic Titles of 2007.

10. New Warriors (volume 4) #1-7
Regular Creative Team: Kevin Grevioux & Paco Medina
I picked up New Warriors based on positive reviews of the first issue and found myself to be pleasantly surprised. It's rare that a new series captures my imagination and, in today's over-saturated market, actually has a reason for being. Even though the new New Warriors are made up of de-powered mutants, the presence of a Night Thrasher and the constant mentioning of the team's legacy makes this feel like a New Warriors book. And come on, any book that brings back Jubilee as an appropriately mature central character is fine by me.

9. Ultimate Spider-Man #104-117
Regular Creative Team: Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley/Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen
Ultimate Spider-Man started out 2007 being the exact same above average book it's been for years. Smart, illustrated well, but nothing to get excited about. Then Stuart Immonen took over. I've been a fan of his art since I first saw it a couple years ago on Ultimate Fantastic Four. His sense of design and the layouts of his page are both classic and innovative and having him on this title has been a blessing. His first arc on the book, "Death of a Goblin," has been about as exciting a story as Ultimate Spidey usually gives us, but the action sequences pop with energy and have really rejuvenated this book. I hope that Immonen has as steady an output as Bagley, because I don't want to read an issue with fill-in art.

8. She-Hulk (volume 2) #15-24
Regular Creative Team: Dan Slott & Rick Burchett/Peter David & Shawn Moll
She survived. She survived losing Dan Slott, the man who made She-Hulk a viable character and an adored comic book. Slott's last few issues easily matched his first on the series and were a fitting end to that chapter of Jennifer Walters' life. During his years with the green bombshell, Slott created a world populated by some of the most three dimensional characters ever to grace a Marvel-made page. Peter David, my favorite comic scribe of all time, took over three issues ago and has both jettisoned Slott's set up but is using said change as part of his new set up. The new bounty hunter role for Shulkie is okay, but I can see it getting old much quicker than her previous courtroom one. Three issues in and David's doing okay, but not great. I do trust him though.

7. The Order #1-6
Regular Creative Team: Matt Fraction & Barry Kitson
Marvel's best from-scratch new series since Runaways five years ago. The structure of every issue, one team member's interview process, gives such an insight into who these strangers are because they flat out tell you. There have been some very Lost-esque reveals that are only enhanced because the series is written so smartly and drawn so realistically. Unlike New Warriors which features characters well over 5 years old that I still can't tell apart 7 issues in, The Order has me caring for characters that I've only seen for six months.

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #1-9
Regular Creative Team: Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty/Brian K. Vaughan & Georges Jeanty
Believe it or not, Joss' opening arc was not the highlight of this series. It was Vaughan's densely plotted and no-holds-barred Faith storyline that really grabbed my attention. Still, reading Joss' words coming out of Xander and Willow's mouths provided me with one of the best comic moments of the entire year. The only big problem is the art. Jeanty is good, he has the characters down and can tell a solid story. But it just seems like someone bigger and better should be on this title. And don't get me started on the artist doing Angel: After The Fall. Hideous.

5. New Avengers #27-37
Regular Creative Team: Brian Michael Bendis & Leinil Francis Yu
The best this book has ever been. For the first time ever, this series has a regular penciler that seems to be around for the long haul and not the trade paperback. The time bending structure of "Revolution" was used expertly by Bendis, who made the guessing game of Ronin's identity a page turner. Bendis also brought Hawkeye back form limbo in a believable fashion and introduced the Skrull invasion storyline with real old school suspense. "The Trust," the year's second storyline, did the unthinkable by making D-list villains seem like a real threat. As long as delays and editorial mandates are non-existent, I am, for the first time, truly excited about Marvel's next big crossover.

4. The Loners #1-6
Regular Creative Team: C.B. Cebulski & Karl Moline
This series easily filled the slot of "underselling title featuring long forgotten heroes" that I always tend to enjoy. Ricochet. Turbo. Spider-Woman. Julie Power. Penance (renamed Hollow). This was such a blast to read every month, just to see how Cebulski was going to psychoanalyze and reimagine each one of the main characters. Much like Peter David's X-Factor in 1991, Cebulski made these characters his own and provided for them all fresh and continuity-based personalities that make them viable and entertaining. I want this to be an ongoing so it can be in my top 5 of 2008.

3. X-Men (volume 2) #195-206
Regular Creative Team: Mike Carey & Chris Bachalo/Humberto Ramos
The most surprising return to form I have ever witnessed in my 15 years of reading comics. X-Men went from being utter crap written by Chuck Austen to weird and boring under Peter Milligan (where I actually gave the book up) to being a must read page turner every month. Mike Carey is the first writer in years to understand the history of the X-Men (including the 90s) and to actually try and piece it all together. He's made Gambit and Rogue interesting for the first time in 10 years. The art is fine under Ramos and downright breathtaking under Bachalo. The way Bachalo lays out pages, the energy, the mood, and especially the colors all make this the most distinct X-Book being produced today.

2. The Mighty Avengers #1-6
Regular Creative Team: Brian Michael Bendis & Frank Cho
You know, sometimes you just want a good superhero comic. And when Mighty Avengers #1 came out, 2007 got it. Big explosions, crazy evil bad guys, super heroes with god-like powers, and sexxxy ladies, Mighty had it all with thought balloons to spare. The roster is inspired, Bendis' handling of Ms. Marvel applaudable, and Frank Cho's art downright mind blowing. This is the superhero comic of the year, and not even the whole pro-Superhero Registration Act angle could overshadow just how old school entertaining this book has been.

1. X-Factor (volume 3) #15-26
Regular Creative Team: Peter David & Pablo Raimondi/Khoi Pham
X-Factor continued to wow me again this year, turning out two spectacular issues the first two months of this year and going out again later in the year with the exceptional storyline, "The Isolationist." This book features three of my favorite characters of all time (Madrox, Siryn and Wolfsbane) and Layla Miller, Marvel's best new character of the last two years. X-Factor is the standard by which all comics are judged by. It's funny, dramatic, features smart character dynamics that are always explored and plots that always zag when you think zig it the only option. If you only read one X-Book, it has to be X-Factor. Who would have thought Peter David could top his first run on this title?

Top 10 Issues of 2007

10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #2
"The Long Way Home Part 2" by Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty

9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #3
"The Long Way Home Part 3" by Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty

8. X-Men (volume 2) #204
"Blinded By The Light Epilogue" by Mike Carey & Mike Choi

7. Runaways (volume 2) #24
"Live Fast Part 3" by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona

6. X-Men (volume 2) #197
"Condition Critical Part 1" by Mike Carey & Chris Bachalo

5. Astonishing X-Men (volume 3) #20
"Unstoppable Part 2" by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday

4. X-Factor (volume 3) #15
"Multiple Issues" by Peter David & Pablo Raimondi

3. Astonishing X-Men (volume 3) #23
"Unstoppable Part 5" by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday

2. Mighty Avengers #1
by Brian Michael Bendis & Frank Cho


1. X-Factor (volume 3) #16
"No Dominion" by Peter David and Pablo Raimondi