Best Comics of 2011

Hey, I never posted the Best Comics of 2011 here at this still-not-abandoned blog. So here it is, for the ages.

I spent two weeks of "When Words Collide" over at Comic Book Resources running down my Top 30 list, so if you want the capsule explanations and/or justifications for the entire List o' Thirty for Twenty-Eleven, that's the place to go. First go to BEST COMICS OF 2011: THE RUNNERS UP then finish strong with THE TOP TEN COMICS OF 2011.

Here's the list, unadorned with comment:

10. Batman, Inc.
9. Lose
8. Xombi
7. Forming
6. Loose Ends
5. Deadpool MAX
4. Butcher Baker, The Righteous Maker
3. Casanova: Avaritia
2. Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance
1. Scalped

A solid list, I think, even though it feels like a million years ago.

When Words Collide: Three Digressions on GØDLAND

When Joe Casey asked me to provide the critical essay for inclusion in the second "GØDLAND Celestial Edition," I said, "hell, yes!" And I had plenty of ideas of how I would approach a retrospective/analysis of the series. Then I reread Tom Spurgeon's essay in the first volume, and he basically said most of the things I was going to say.

Then I reread issues #13-24 with a notebook by my side and my critical faculties at their most incisive and started making mad lists of whatever I noticed or felt worthy of comment in an essay. I ended up with a long list and random bits of genius dialogue and imagery that I just had to make note of. I mixed it all up in my brain and felt that the fancy hardcover collection deserved more than just a few thoughts, so I came up with my "Twelve Digressions on GØDLAND," one digression for each issue, even though they aren't tied to any strict chronology.

You'll have to buy the Celestial Edition Vol. 2 to get all twelve (and who wouldn't want the Celestial Edition, anyway? It's gonna be gorgeous), but I'm giving away the first three for free in this week's "When Words Collide" column. And maybe if you're nice and you get my blog up to 1,000 visitors per day, or get me to 666 Twitter followers by the end of the month, I'll post some more for your reading enjoyment. It's all about the give and take. Until then, think GØDLAND!

READ: Three Digressions on GØDLAND!

When Words Collide: Joe Casey Says Stuff That's Fascinating

On Monday, my long-awaited interview with Joe Casey finally hit the internet: I Interview Joe Casey for When Words Collide.

Casey clearly didn't have a great time with his most recent work-for-hire experience at DC, and he even spills a whole lot o' beans about an abandoned "Justice League Academy" series that might have happened in an alternate reality where DC Comics didn't take so long to get a project off the ground.

Oh, and I'm writing the big honkin' essay on "GØDLAND" that will appear in this summer's "GØDLAND Celestial Edition, Vol. 2." I'll provide an except of that piece in next week's column, to tease and inform.

I really want to see a Damian Wayne and Offspring team-up comic. Written by Joe Casey and illustrated by Sean Murphy. I'm sure we'll see that happen a few years from never.

When Words Collide: A Whole Lot O' Content

Wow. Checking back, I realize that I haven't regularly posted links to my "When Words Collide" column at CBR since June of last year. Sad, really.

I won't bombard you with a list of everything I've written for CBR since then, but here are some of the things I've written in the past few months, in reverse order (the most recent stuff first):

1. Dancing with the Destroyer: How Robert Kirkman reinvigorated a Golden Age DC character and made me weep with joy.

2. Kevin Colden, Man of Mystery, Man of Scandalous Intent: The first mature-readers Zuda series and an interview with the Eisner-nominated man behind it. Yeah, that happened.

3. A Tale of Two (Comic Book) Cities: New York's MoCCA Festival vs. the Boston Comic Con? How many winners can there be? Answer: all of them. (Plus, Jack Kirby Bronze Age goodness.)

4. Frank Miller's New Gods: I linked to this when I posted the Miller story in its entirety, but it's still something worth mentioning because it's (a) Frank Miller, and (b), Jack Kirby, and (c) Darkseid. Three of my favorite flavors.

5. Brendan McCarthy is a God of Spiders and Other Things that are Good: I ruminate on "Spider-Man: Fever" and other important topics. Mostly awesome ones involving drawings by McCarthy.

6. Retcon Reviews: My controversial ironic take-down of such critically-acclaimed masterpieces as "Secret Wars II" and "Ultimatum." Zing! Take that, people who got paid to write bad comics!

7. Jorge Molina's Marvel House (Style) Party: Here's a guy trying to carve a career in mainstream superhero comics. What is that like? I wonder. So I ask.

8. Fifteen Must-Have Collected Editions that Sort of Came Out Already, Mostly: This was basically a way to remind myself what I should buy in recent months, and let people know about the goodness inside. If you're curious, I have since bought six of the books on the list. Guess which ones, and win a prize!

9. Scott Snyder: Who is This Guy? If you don't already know, Scott Snyder is the next big thing, and I've known that for a while. Plus, he's a teacher. And that makes him doubly cool. Not as cool as "American Vampire." But close.

10. Bendis, Bendis, Bendis: I spent a month writing about Bendis, including a list of the "Bendis Top Ten," plus a Three-Part Examination of the Bendis Daredevil: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3!

If you've been reading all the WWC stuff all along, thanks! If not, it looks like you'll have plenty of fun and informative and probably mind-blowing catching up to do.

I Write for CBR, But I Dance Harder

After making a promise to link to my CBR writing and, in general, update this blog a bit more, I have just simply failed to do anything. Twitter has abducted my blogging impulses and spit them out into short bursts of the clever. Or the not-so-clever but-merely-obvious. I suspect I'm not the only one who has fallen into its clutches and lost the will to blog. (Geoff Klock, do you feel the stare of kinship?)

Yet I've written so much for CBR over the past couple of months, and I have brought barely any of it to your attention. And you tell me that you sometimes don't even READ my columns or reviews unless I link to them here. I feel you on that. I don't read everything at CBR either (shhhhh, that's supposed to be a secret, because I tell everyone that I read all of their stuff all the time). I mean, I read my own stuff, because I always know that I'll find a typo that slipped by me the first time, and because I forget what I've written about ten seconds after I submit it (does anyone else have this problem, or is my memory just old and full of crusty bits?).

Really, it's about time I linked you to my recent stuff. So: I wrote a bunch of stuff about Captain America, way back in June. Remember Cap? Remember June? And an early review of/reflection on "Asterios Polyp" that I must have linked to already, but now everyone and their mother is all like "blah blah, it's the best graphic novel, blah blah" and basically just repeating the kinds of things I said way before they even saw the book. Try to keep up, okay everyone else?


What else? Oh, I had a bit of fun talking about the behind-the-scenes of the comic review and riled up Peter David in the process. I didn't do it on purpose, but it ended up stirring the pot o' X-fans nonetheless. Good times, I suppose, and it happened to coincide with something similar Roger Ebert talked about. Synchronicity? Or am I just a crotchety old guy too? Or maybe he was reading CBR and thought that he could steal my column topic and run with it? Maybe all of the above.

Then I talked up an obscure little title called, I think, "Wednesday Comics"? I don't know what happened to that series, but a couple of dudes keep trying to talk about it each and every week, even when one of them has no internet.

I dabbled in the world of cats and romance with Ethan Young, and then I celebrated my one year "When Words Collide" Anniversary the only way I know how: alone. I already told you about the New Awesomeness of SDCC 2009, so I won't bother linking to it here.

And I reviewed a TON OF STUFF. Like this comic about a guy who's really sad. And one about another guy who's kinda sad, but really, really fast. Nobody sad here, is there? And, oh, this review didn't get me any dates with the Shatterstar cosplay crowd. I don't even remember this one, but this one was Gruenwaldy! This one was disappointing, and this one made Joe Casey send me an e-mail, but now we're best buds so it's all good. This one was the best Daniel Way comic I've ever read, and this one was like that novel and TV show but TOTALLY different from what happened to Batman at the end of "Final Crisis" as someone pointed out to me vehemently in San Diego. This one has less ass hair than the first issue. This one features too little Bryan Hitch, and this one is pretty epic for a comic about two disfigured cowpersons. This one's rural noir, while this one is pretty good but not good enough for Andy Khouri. This one is like a tv show I wouldn't bother watching regularly, but isn't bad. This one has an Asgardian frog. This one: tends to piss people off unless they love it. This one I wouldn't take home to Mama. Dad, sure! This one's in space. This one's foldy. This one has big teeth. This one is too much splort and not enough anything good. This one was sent to me by an editor, but I suspect he wishes he didn't send it to me now that he's read the review.

Okay, now comment on all that stuff!

The Advent of the New Awesome: San Diego Comic-Con 2009

This week's "When Words Collide" recounts my five days of adventure at SDCC 2009 (or CCI 2009, if you want to be accurate). Thrill to my breaking and entering exploits, my reckless convention floor non-buying behavior, and my celebration of all things awesome.

Read it, comment upon it, live it.

When Words Collide: Adventures in MoCCALand

So there was this thing in NYC last weekend? MoCCA Art Fesival? Perhaps you've heard of it?

Anyway, Todd Casey and I hit the MoCCA Festival hard and came back with some stories to tell and some comics to read. My story popped up at CBR in yesterday's "When Words Collide." Read it and enjoy!

When Words Collide: Best and Worst of Morrison

Do I dare to make a Top Five Worst Grant Morrison Comics list? Indeed I do!

Will I relent to the unyielding attacks by the pro-"DC 1,000,000" readers? Never!

Do I also provide a Ten Best list? Of course.

I don't hate any of these Morrison comics, but something has to be the worst, and it's these five.

Check out the lists in this week's "When Words Collide," see me superficially try to explain my position in 2,000 words, and then come back here to tell me your Top 10/Bottom 5 of Grant Morrison. I dare you!

UPDATE: Bill Reed fires a counter-attack at CSBG!

Guess Who's Sliding to Mondays?

Now that Rich Johnston's FINAL "Lying in the Gutters" column has come out, I can finally talk about a secret plan that's been brewing over at CBR:

Yup, my "When Words Collide" column will move to the Monday slot beginning next week!

Obviously, I'm not any kind of replacement for Rich, and "WWC" will continue to feature the same kind of insightful/random/witty/serious/arch/dorky commentary that you're used to seeing from me, but it will be cool to be the Monday CBR guy from now on.

And, no, I'm certainly not the "next big thing" Jonah mentions in Rich's column -- I do know what that is, and it will definitely be a popular addition to the CBR site, but I'm sworn to secrecy -- but that particular new addition will not be popping up on Mondays. Mondays are all mine!

Aw yeah, Mondays!

Oh, and if you have any suggestions for topics/questions that you'd like me to tackle in "WWC," let me know. This week's final Wednesday column is based on the reader-requested "Worst Morrison Comics Ever" topic.

When Words Collide: We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us

Readers whine about and/or praise Geoff Johns and his use of Superboy Prime as a metafictional fanboy, one who complains that the DC heroes aren't how they used to be, and then cries about how everything's not the way he remembers it.

But the truth is that Superman's rogues gallery overlaps with comic book fandom in more than just that one case. Some may argue -- some like me -- that Superman's villains are all various types of comic book fans, and his heroic act is in fighting against the very readers who sustain him.

It's all part of my Grand Nemesis Theory in this week's "When Words Collide." Read it and tell me how crazy I am.

Columns and Reviews Ahoy

Though I was away from blogging for a bit during the last week or two (except for my fake Abrams/drilling piece and my Jason Aaron totally-improbable assumption), I was certainly not absent from the comic book internet landscape. I produced no less than seventeen (!) columns and reviews while ignoring my blog-o-responsibilities, and in case you missed any of them, I've included them here for your edutainment. Don't let me hear you say that I ever let you down by not linking to my own work!

Recent "When Words Collide" Columns:
Me vs. Superman vs. Jim Lee
Me vs. a Five-Year-Old vs. Free Comic Book Day
Tucker Stone vs. Me vs. Moebius's Blueberry

Recent Reviews:
Immortal Iron Fist #25
Captain America Theater of War: A Brother in Arms #1
War Machine #5
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #4
The Muppet Show #2
Destroyer #2
Exiles #2
The Mighty #4
Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! #1
Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape #1
Super Zombies #3
I Kill Giants
Dark Reign: Hawkeye #2
Secret Warriors #4

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled daily Geniusboy Firemelon updates.

When Words Collide: Albany Adventures

Some comic fans get really annoyed at the media coverage of comic conventions since all the television reports ever show are the weirdos dressed in costumes, and the thousands of regular fans are forced to cry to the heavens, "it's not like that -- it's mostly just middle-aged guys with t-shirts and backpacks standing in lines, and, oh... forget it, I understand why they show the costumed weirdos on tv now."

So even though like six people out of the entire crowd at the Albany Comic Con actually showed up in costume, I had to include this image as part of the required convention coverage social contract. And who doesn't like to see Darth Vader in a Holiday Inn courtyard anyway?

So, the Albany Comic Con! I broke free from my normal "When Words Collide" routine of saying semi-smart stuff about old comics and/or interviewing someone who had even smarter stuff to say to do a full-on convention report about my experiences, past and present, at the little Albany show. Because sometimes, comic books are not about the words and pictures on the page. Sometimes they're about hanging out in a motel and talking to Herb Trimpe.

Read this week's "When Words Collide" HERE!

When Words Collide: Wolverine and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I've been doing the "When Words Collide" columns for what, like 30-something weeks in a row? And in all that time, I've spotlighted a Marvel character or comic book only once before, when I tackled Marvel's "Punisher Omnibus" and wrote about my preference for Garth Ennis's more blatantly absurd take on the character.

That column led to some harsh criticism from a certain corners of the internet as one angry e-mailer told me that I should stick to reading my "pre-9/11 comics."

But here I am, spending time with another Marvel character: the little-known character called "Wolverine." You may not have heard much about him, since he's Canadian and all -- and one of those, ick, mutant types -- but he's a cool little character who's kind of like a angry badger with a lot of smelly habits. And to examine this character I decided to talk with my old pal Barry Lyga who has a young adult novel coming out soon, featuring this obscure character with the funny hair and the metal pig-stickers.

Join us, won't you, as Lyga and I discuss what's so special about Wolverine in "Wolverine and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

When Words Collide: The Invisibles

What's that now? You're SHOCKED to find that I've written about a Grant Morrison comic? I know, it's hard to believe.

Anyway, the Morrison series that broke my will to write the sequel to "Grant Morrison: The Early Years" is now up for discussion in this week's "When Words Collide."

Thrill to my idiotic attempts to read everything that influenced Morrison.

Marvel at my ability to give up and move on to Lightning Lad and Triplicate Girl.

Speculate on everything I got wrong in my overly simplistic explanation of what "The Invisibles" means to me.

Check it out: Me on "The Invisibles."

When Words Collide: Summer Collected Editions

There's nothing like window shopping for expensive hardcover collections in an economy like this, eh?

I really don't need 20 more collected editions -- I already own most of the stuff in some form or another -- but that doesn't stop me from recommending the 20 Best Collected Editions coming up in the next few months. Honestly, I'll probably end up buying most of these books anyway, because they are full of great stuff, and I like having these kinds of things much more than the individual floppies. (I really have to look into bookbinding more closely. My tendency to fall for double or triple dipping is getting ridiculous.)

But with stuff like "Captain Britain by Alan Moore and Alan Davis Omnibus" and "Marvel Masterworks: Warlock" Volume 2 scheduled for the summer months, how can I really resist?

So go read Chris Marshall's list of upcoming Collected Editions, then go read this week's "When Words Collide" to see my recommendations. Tell me what I forgot to include in my admittedly Marvel and DC-heavy list!

When Words Collide: Jason Aaron: The Superpro Years

In this week's "When Words Collide," I grill Jason Aaron on his early years -- what he was like as a student, how he feels about some classic comics of the 1980s, how much he's written about strippers -- and talk about his approach to his craft.

If you ever wondered how Jason Aaron feels about "NFL Superpro," which great authors influenced him, or what he has planned for the upcoming year of "Scalped," this is the only interview you'll ever need.

Check it out: "Jason Aaron: The Superpro Years."

When Words Collide: Following Watchmen

Really, this week's "When Words Collide" probably isn't geared for you. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you are smart enough to know all about any possible recommendations I might make about what you should suggest to your friends after they've read "Watchmen."

BUT, it might be a chance for you to tell me how wrong I am.

People love doing that, right?

So take a look at my suggestions for "Following Watchmen," consider what prospective readers I target, and come back here and tell me everything I should have included. Tell me everything I was an idiot for mentioning.

Let's debate these suggestions, and have a massive verbal throw-down.

Because I have been hearing worse and worse reports about the quality of the "Watchmen" movie, so if you leave lots of contentious comments, at least I'll have something to look forward to this weekend.

When Words Collide: Terror in the Classroom

Spurred to read "Drifting Classroom" by the internet double-threat of Jog and Tucker Stone, I had the first volume sitting on my shelf for a while before I bothered to crack it open.

Before I started reading it, I also picked up Volumes 2-4, just because my son wanted some Pokemon manga thing, and in ordering it through Amazon, I noticed that it was part of the 4-for-3 promotion they run, and figured, "eh, I might as well get three more volumes of 'Drifting' for the price of two," so I added those to the cart.

Then, as I mentioned in a "What I'm Reading" post from a few weeks back, I dove into this series and immediately wanted more.

So now I've read all eleven volumes. And I just had to write something about it. And of course I had to tie it to some postmodernist literary discussion of Donald Barthelme, because that's what I do. Hence, this week's WWC entry: "Terror in the Classroom."

It's probably the greatest thing on Barthelme and Umezu that you'll read this week (if not this month).

WWC: Tales from New Troy

I'd never even heard of Lanfeust a month ago, but at the New York Comic Con I had a chance to meet prolific French comic book writer Christophe Arleston and Soleil Managing Editor Olivier Jalabert and learn about their attempts to bring Arleston's extensive fantasy series to American audiences.

I usually spend my "When Words Collide" columns on analysis or celebration, but sometimes I spend it doing interviews. This is one of those times.

Even though there was a bit of a language barrier, Arleston had a lot to say about his favorite kinds of comics and how he goes about creating his own "World of Troy." Read all about it in this week's WWC!

When Words Collide: Good Readers and Good Comics

Ever wonder what literary great Vladimir Nabokov might have to say about what it takes to be a good comic book reader? Ever want to see me take a Nabokov lecture completely out of context and sort of arbitrarily apply it to a different medium?

Well, your wish is granted my friend!

In this week's "When Words Collide," I explore Nabokov's introductory lecture to his Cornell students and see how it works as advice for comic book readers. And, indeed, it works well!

If we all read as Nabokov suggests, we might end up demanding better comics. We'd never find out how "Trinity" ended, though, and what a tragedy that would be!

Note: "Trinity" is bad. That was me being ironic.