odessasteps
Scrapple
   
   
     
  
Since: 2.1.02
From: MD, USA
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|  #1 Posted on 27.12.03 2012.01 | Instant Rating: 6.41 | We announced our choices on Xmas for the Best of 2003 in comics. I'd be curious what folks have to say about them... (Top ten of the 15 listed for brevity's sake)
Continuing Series
1. Love Fights (Oni)
2. Gotham Central (DC)
3. Fables (DC/Vertigo)
4. New Mutants (Marvel)
5. Rex Mundi (Image)
6. Fantastic Four (Marvel)
7. Alias/Daredevil/Ult Spider-Man (Marvel)/ Powers (Image)
8. Human Target (DC/Vertigo)
9. Queen and Country (Oni)
10. JSA/Flash/Hawkman/Teen Titans (DC)
LIMITED SERIES
1. JLA: Age of Wonder (DC)
2. Three Days in Europe (Oni)
3. Superman: Red Son (DC)
4. 1602 (Marvel)
5. Arrowsmith (DC/Cliffhanger)
6. Courtney Crumrin (Oni)
7. JLA/Avengers (DC/Marvel)
8. Smax (ABC/Wildstorm)
9. Scooter Girl (Oni)
10. Formerly Known as JLA (DC)
GRAPHIC NOVELS
1. Barefoot Serpent (Top Shelf)
2. Maria’s Wedding (Oni)
3. Days Like This (Oni)
4. Whiskey Dickel (Image)
5. Cheat (Oni)
6. Sandman: Engless Nights/Death: At Death’s Door (DC/Vertigo)
7. One Bad Day (Oni)
8. Sgt. Rock (DC) / Yossel (I Books)
9. Epicurus the Sage (DC/Cliffhanger)
10. Blankets (Top Shelf)l
Odessa Steps Magazine
http://www.odessasteps.com
http://odessasteps.blogspot.com| Promote this thread! |             | Freeway
Scrapple
Since: 3.1.02
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|  #2 Posted on 27.12.03 2030.06 | Instant Rating: 5.96 | My picks, based on what I read in 2003:
BEST ONGOINGS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
Y - The Last Man (DC Comics/Vertigo): Well-paced, well-written & realistic enough to be believable.
Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics): With Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo at the helm, this book will be forever changed.
Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel Comics/Ultimate): Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Bagley continue to punch out the most consistantly excellent teen superhero comic on the market.
Daredevil (Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights): Even when it goes off in different directions (the recent David Mack "Echo" 5-parter), this continues to be fantastic.
Batman (DC Comics): Old school noir, told by the masters (Azzarello & Risso) and new school flair, told by the masters (Loeb & Lee).
The Avengers (Marvel Comics): As soon as Geoff Johns started, this became worth reading again.
BEST MINIS:
Superman: Red Son (DC Comics/Elseworlds): Completely believable.
1602 (Marvel Comics): Fantastic.
JLA/Avengers (Marvel Comics/DC Comics): Best crossover ever.
FLAMES: 17-9-2-3
SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS: Your winner, Sandra Diaz-Twine!
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2003 [So Far]: Mystic River, Lost In Translation, Finding Nemo, Seabiscuit, Kill Bill V1, X2: X-Men United, Open Range, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Matchstick Men & The Last Samurai
| Dagent913
Bockwurst
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| #3 Posted on 27.12.03 2222.36 | Instant Rating: 5.06 | My votes:
Best new titles: Gotham Central, Runaways, Sentinel, Mystique, Supreme Power, Sleeper, NYX, New Mutants
Best ongoings: Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil, New X-Men, Y-The Last Man, Thor, Promethea
Best limited series': JLA/Avengers, Wildguard: Casting Call, Wolverine: SNIKT!, Batman: Death and the Maidens, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 2
Best single issue: Amazing Spider-Man 500.
Best graphic novels: Blankets, Doll & Creature (or was that last year?) Sandman: Endless Nights (ok, so those were the only three I read)
Best trade paperbacks of older material I bought this year: Silver Surfer Masterworks vol. 1, American Flagg! vols. 1-3.
Best titles to whose cancellation has been announced: Sentinel, The Path
Best manga: Naruto, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface.
What if your grandfather was a kazoo? | Super Shane Spear
Bierwurst
Since: 2.1.02
From: Sector 7 Slums
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| #4 Posted on 28.12.03 0135.45 | Instant Rating: 3.08 | The "What the fuck are you thinking? Three bucks for an Aunt May comic? I can't believe Marvel let you get away with--hmm? Oh wait. This is the best single issue in comics this year" award: Ultimate Spider-Man #45
Vaya con dios: Bone
(edited by Super Shane Spear on 27.12.03 2336) | Big Bad
Scrapple
Since: 4.1.02
From: Dorchester, Ontario
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| #5 Posted on 28.12.03 0156.36 | Instant Rating: 5.54 | I just got back into comics this year thanks to the Hush storyline in Batman, but I was so disappointed by the ending that I can't in good conscience call it the 'best of' anything.
Thankfully, I did pick up the absolutely whomp-ass Superman: Red Son miniseries, so my spirits were lifted. Best of the regular series' that I read were Gotham Central, Detective Comics and Robin (gee, can you tell I like Batman?)
Rob asks Dave and Ric if they want to go backstage to play Hungry Hungry Hippos and Flair and Batista immediately bail. Flair wants to be Green. Man, EVERYBODY wants to be green. Except the girl in the commercials. She wanted to be pink. That either means that the ad agency was sexist or that she was communist. Of course Hungry Hungry Hippos is a rather capitalist game isn’t it? No self respecting communist would play Hungry Hungry Hippos. Except Stalin. He LOVED Hungry Hungry Hippos. God, I’ve got no clue what the hell I’m rambling about anymore.-- Matt "Excalibur05" Hocking, Raw Satire writer extraordinaire
You know, I just can't call it the "WWE." I just can't. My body's rejecting it like a bad liver transplant.-- Bill Simmons, espn.com/page2
| DrewDewce
Pepperoni
Since: 2.1.02
From: The Derby City
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| #6 Posted on 28.12.03 0902.28 | Instant Rating: 6.75 | Thanks for posting your lists! I’ll try to take a gander at some of the stuff I didn’t read/didn’t know about from this past year you folks have listed. I’m still more of a “super-hero comic” reading person, which will become increasingly obvious as my list goes on:
Best Ongoing Series: Flash. Geoff Johns delivered on all points again this year. Being a fan of superheroes, I’m glad one of the more popular writers going seems to enjoy writing super-hero comics. Bringing back Wally West’s secret identity was one of my favorite moments this past year.
Best Mini-Series: JLA/Avengers. I’ve been a comic fan long enough to remember when this was supposed to have happened 20 years ago, and have not been disappointed at all with this book.
Best Non-Superhero Ongoing: Fables. Such a cool book, and Bill Willingham is one of my favorite writer/artists ever. I wish we could get some of his artwork on an issue or two.
Best Writer: Geoff Johns. Flash, JSA, Avengers, Teen Titans. Nobody doing it better currently than Johns.
Best Artist: Jim Lee. Loved his return on Batman, and am looking forward to his run on Superman as well.
Best Cover: JLA/Avengers #3. I’ve got quite a few old Marvel and DC posters with a lot of characters on them (Byrne’s Fantastic Four and cast, Giffen’s Legion of Super-Heroes and cast, etc.), but the cover to this book blows them all away. Hopefully there will be a poster of this published this year. Phil Jiminez’s JLA-Z triptych was neat too, but it just not the scope of Perez’s masterpiece. Truly a classic.
Most Welcome Return: Astro City – Local Heroes. Can’t wait to finally find out about what happened to the Silver Agent in the next mini.
Missing in Action Award: Youngblood – Bloodsport. I was very intrigued to see Mark Millar and Rob Liefeld together, but unfortunately, I’m still waiting.
Biggest Surprise (Tie): H-E-R-O and Birds of Prey. I’ve always thought the H-E-R-O dial was a neat concept, and I’m glad it has a creative team to match. The “Jackass” takeoff was especially neat. I would have never thought I’d buy, much less like BoP, but Benes’ artwork brought me in and Simone’s stories are keeping me interested.
Most Disappointing: Exiles. I usually bank 3-4 issues or an arc of a book before I read them, and Exiles issues had begun to pile up for me this year. I started plowing through them, enjoying what Winnick was doing with things, and then it suddenly went South. I re-checked the credits and saw that Chuck Asten was writing the book. I don’t read Uncanny X-Men, so I didn’t have any reason to join in on the Austen-bashing that has been prevalent over the past year. Unfortunately, now I do. I didn’t even finish his first arc before I dropped the book (something I rarely do as I have to know how an arc ends), and will look for the missing issues in half-off boxes or other discount bins this year (maybe).
Good Riddance: Bill Jemas. He’s still around (kind-of), but I’m glad I don’t have to deal with him pissing on fans who just want to read some good superhero stories anymore.
Most looking forward to in 2004: JLA/Avengers #4, Astro City – The Dark Ages, the new Iron Fist ongoing, and the return of the Thunderbolts. I’m also intrigued to see what happens with the Superman books.
Hopefully, Hellboy, Spider-Man 2, the Punisher and the Fantastic Four movies bring more people into the comic shops, and hopefully they can find more diversity in what’s being presented because I’m all for whatever keeps the industry healthy and keeps me in my weekly fixes.
"You have the right to suffer. You have the right to feel pain. If you wish to have an attorney present, I'll hurt him too!" - The Big Bossman | Smackfiend
Mettwurst
Since: 11.11.02
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| #7 Posted on 28.12.03 1706.14 | Instant Rating: 4.14 | Much love for Greg Rucka and everything he writes. I never thought I would see the day when Wolverine would be one of my favorite titles being published, ditto on Wonder Woman.
It's still a little early to tell, but I'm digging El Cazador. I'm a sucker for a pirate tale though. Dixon's writing is well, Dixon's writing so take that as you will, but Steve Epting's art is worth the cover price IMO.
Sentinel may be ending, but it's fantastic. Sean McKeever is EXTREMELY underrated as a writer. Everyone should order "The Waiting Place" from your local stores. The series is collected into 3 volumes, published by Slave Labor Graphics.
| Freeway
Scrapple
Since: 3.1.02
From: Calgary
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| #8 Posted on 28.12.03 1738.13 | Instant Rating: 5.96 | Originally posted by DrewDewce
Best Cover: JLA/Avengers #3. I’ve got quite a few old Marvel and DC posters with a lot of characters on them (Byrne’s Fantastic Four and cast, Giffen’s Legion of Super-Heroes and cast, etc.), but the cover to this book blows them all away. Hopefully there will be a poster of this published this year. Phil Jiminez’s JLA-Z triptych was neat too, but it just not the scope of Perez’s masterpiece. Truly a classic.
Was I the only one to try to find my personal favorite characters on the poster? As soon as I found Moon Knight & Spider-Man, I giggled with fanboy glee. If that's not what old school superhero comics are about, I don't know what's what.
FLAMES: 18-10-2-3
SURVIVOR: PEARL ISLANDS: Your winner, Sandra Diaz-Twine!
TOP 10 FILMS OF 2003 [So Far]: Mystic River, Lost In Translation, Finding Nemo, Seabiscuit, Kill Bill V1, X2: X-Men United, Open Range, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Matchstick Men & The Last Samurai
| DrewDewce
Pepperoni
Since: 2.1.02
From: The Derby City
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| #9 Posted on 28.12.03 1922.02 | Instant Rating: 6.75 | Originally posted by Freeway420
Originally posted by DrewDewce
Best Cover: JLA/Avengers #3. I’ve got quite a few old Marvel and DC posters with a lot of characters on them (Byrne’s Fantastic Four and cast, Giffen’s Legion of Super-Heroes and cast, etc.), but the cover to this book blows them all away. Hopefully there will be a poster of this published this year. Phil Jiminez’s JLA-Z triptych was neat too, but it just not the scope of Perez’s masterpiece. Truly a classic.
Was I the only one to try to find my personal favorite characters on the poster? As soon as I found Moon Knight & Spider-Man, I giggled with fanboy glee. If that's not what old school superhero comics are about, I don't know what's what.
If anyone is interested in which TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHT characters are on the cover, they can check out the annotations at ComiX-Fan http://www.comixfan.com/ xfan/forums/showthread.php? s=&threadid=22335
"You have the right to suffer. You have the right to feel pain. If you wish to have an attorney present, I'll hurt him too!" - The Big Bossman |
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