5 - Invincible: While I love “Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Invincible” is a better superhero comic if only for the simple fact that it’s free of the shadow of a direct predecessor hanging over it. When USM is at it’s best, it’s unstoppable, but this last year it was overwhelmed by too many Ultimitizations off other characters interrupting it’s flow. “Invincible,” on the other hand, just kept plowing along, constantly surprising and entertaining the reader with the adventures of one of the most unique characters in superhero comics today. Mark Grayson’s powers may not be the most original, but Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker have imbued him and his supporting cast with personalities that are refreshingly different from the norm in comics.

4 - The Walking Dead: I really didn’t think that this title would hold up as well as it did once Tony Moore’s departure was announced, but after a few rocky issues, Charlie Adlard settled into a groove and TWD remains one of my favorite series. Less a horror comic and more of an end of the world soap opera last year, the title still managed to squeeze in enough gore and mayhem to justify it’s zombiefied roots, and the final line of issue 24 was absolute perfection.

3 - Fables: Willingham’s superhero work these past few years has at times been entertaining, but for the most part it’s been fairly lackluster. Not so with “Fables,” where the storylines move at a perfect, energetic pace, and the storyline possibilities seem endless. Mark Buckingham definitely adds to the title’s appeal with his understatedly beautiful artwork, but the star of the show is still Willingham’s characters, their intereations and relationships with each other and the multi-faceted and fascinating universe he and Buckingham have created.

2 - 100 Bullets: Since delegating this one to the “trades only” list, my appreciation for Azzarello and Risso’s masterpiece has grown immensely. There’s no denying that Azz is a writer that tends towards excesses in his work, but when teamed with Risso, they form the best creative team in comics. As “100 Bullets” enters the final stretch, plotlines and character arcs are starting to come together, making sense of things that were confusing when originally presented 2, 3, 4 years ago. I’ll be sad to see the series end, but I’m looking forward to spending a few days reading it all in order.

1 - The Goon: While there were a lot of excellent comic books published in the last year, “The Goon” managed to rise above them all thanks not only to the amazing art of Eric Powell, but also the consistently fun and entertaining writing from Eric Powell. In all seriousness, “The Goon” is a near perfect comic book, perched on the stands like the bastard child of Bernie Wrightson and Will Eisner with a dash of a dozen different EC creators sprinkled in for good measure. Do yourself a favor and buy an issue, already.

Comic Reviews