Comics of the Month List

2013
January: Wonder Woman #16
February: Batman Incorporated #8
March: Swamp Thing #18 (Snyder’s final issue)
April: Wonder Woman #19
May: Wonder Woman #20
June: Wonder Woman #21
July: Wonder Woman #22
August: Wonder Woman #23
September: Trillium #2
October: Pretty Deadly #1
November: Rat Queens #3
December: Pretty Deadly #3

2014
January: Pretty Deadly #4
February: Wonder Woman #28
March: Wonder Woman #29
April: Wonder Woman #30
May: Wonder Woman #31
June: The Wicked + The Divine #1
July: Tie – Supreme Blue Rose #1 and Velvet #6
August: Bandette #8
September: East of West #15
October: Wonder Woman #34 & #35 (Azz & Chiang’s final issues)
November: Velvet #8
December: East of West #16

2015
January: Supreme Blue Rose #6
February: Velvet #9
March: Revival #28
April: The Fade Out #5
May: Trees #9
June: Catwoman #41
July: Prez #2
August: Prez #3
September: Nameless #5
October: Prez #5
November: Pretty Deadly #6
December: Pretty Deadly #7

2016
January:  Secret Wars #9 (final issue)
February:  The Vision #4
March:  The Vision #5
April:  Criminal: 10th Anniversary Special
May:  Rachel Rising #42 (final issue)
June:  The Sixth Gun #50 (final issue)
July: Revival #41
August: East of West #29
September: Black Monday Murders #2
October: The Vision #12 (final issue)
November: Black Monday Murders #4
December: Shade, the Changing Girl #3

2017
January:  Shade, the Changing Girl #4
February:  Revival #47 (final issue)
March:  Shade, the Changing Girl #6
April: Black Monday Murders #5
May: East of West #33
June: Injection #13
July: Black Hammer #11
August:  Shade the Changing Girl #11
September: Black Monday Murders #7
October: The Wild Storm #8
November: Harrow County #27
December: Harrow County #28

2018
January: Milk Wars: JLA/Doom Patrol Special #1
February: Black Monday Murders #8
March: Eternity Girl #1
April: Batman #44
May: East of West #37
June: The Wild Storm #14
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

My Top Comics For December 2017

Random thoughts:
I've not been impressed with Marvel Legacy so far. Stark's return to Iron Man has been flat and uninspiring and Phoenix Resurrected was one of the worst comics I read all year. 'Sigh' - I'm going to miss Gwenpool and Jean Grey when they fade away. They were two of my favorite reads in 2017.

Over at Dynamite we saw the return of Barbarella. It was okay – the religion as oppressor bit is low hanging fruit and the art was inconsistent. But I'll give it a few issues before I decide whether it's worth my time and money.

What delighted me most in the final month of the year was...

1. Harrow County #28 (Dark Horse)
From Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook: Emmy's rematch throw-down with her sister was wild and wicked (Emmy with blood soak hands and face... and teeth - Yikes!) That final panel has me eager to see what's coming in 2018 for this stellar series.

2. Spider-Gwen #27 (Marvel)
From Jason Latour and Veronica Fish: Castle wants to team up, Murdock is still a murderous, grinning SOB. The hits just keep coming for our heroine - can she save the day and save her soul in the process?

3. Sherlock Frankenstein & the Legion of Evil #3 (Dark Horse)
From Jeff Lemire and David Rubin: Mysteries added, mysteries reveled. The backstory of the main story, seen from the perspective of the villains has been as intriguing and character driven as what was had in Black Hammer. Great stuff.

4. Jessica Jones #15 (Marvel)
From Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos: Intense and frightening. Purple brings out the best in Bendis.

5. Michael Cray #3 (DC)
From Bryan Hill and N. Steven Harris: First Green Arrow, now it's an interesting and dark spin on the Flash.

6. Mister Miracle #5 (DC)
From Tom King and Mitch Gerads: A philosophical tour de force, a love story, an existential moment of truth. Realty seems off kilter in this thought provoking series - the panels go wonky like a TV losing its broadcast signal. What's up with that?

7. Redneck #8 (Image)
From Donny Cates and Lisandro Estherren: Phew, and here I thought last issue was a stunner. This book is not only a creepy vampire tale, but a complex family drama and study on human/inhuman nature as well. Superb!

8. Dark Ark #4 (Aftershock)
From Cullen Bunn and Juan Doe: The war with the Vampires took an unexpected turn, and Bunn teases an even bigger conflict to come (I was wondering when God would take notice of Satan's ark)

9. The Wild Storm #10 (DC)
From Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt: Ellis seems to have been in a funny mood this month. Some silly comedy in this one, but still an engaging a sci-fi drama, with more pieces of the plot puzzle being put into place.

10. Copperhead #17 (Image)
From Jay Faerber and Drew Moss: ”Holy crap!” The Sheriff reveals the terrible thing she did in order to save a life. Best ish since he comeback even though I docked a half point for the baddie being too unstoppable (it was just not believable to me that a human could do that kind of damage to a formidable opponent with such ease)

Best New Comic

Judas #1 (BOOM! Studios)
Jeff Loveness and Jakub Rebelka: Judas ruminates on his destiny and then we see what come after his fall from grace. Sharp set-up - color me curious.

Writer of the Month: Tom King, Mister Miracle - For all the "deep thoughts"

Artist of the Month: Michael Gaydos and Matt Hollingsworth, Jessica Jones  - For making the creepy so creepy and for ONLY using the color purple on the Purple Man

To January 2018

Back to November

My Top Comics For November 2017

Book of the Month:  Harrow County #27 (Dark Horse)
Beatrice vs Kammi, what a killer sequence. And then Emmy enters the fray, arriving like Thor in a hail of thunder and lightening (or 'Witches Fire' in this case). This emotionally harrowing thriller has me charged up for the next issue, and future issues now that the big bad witch, Hester Beck, has been teased for a comeback.

Nominees: Mister Miracle #4, Wild Storm: Michael Cray #2, The Unbelievable Gwenpool #22, The Wild Storm #9, Jean Grey #9, Spider-Gwen #26, Lazarus X+66 #5, Wicked + the Divine #33

Team Up of the Month:  Diana and Conan, Wonder Woman / Conan #3
Loving the mysterious story, the camaraderie between the leads and the gorgeous art by Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan and Wendy Broome.

Best First Issue: Doomsday Clock #1 (DC)
Johns is no Alan Moore - this'll never be as cerebral – but Johns can do pulpy comic style adventure with heart and intelligence (see his JSA series). A great start with this one, just hope it doesn't slip into cookie cutter, noisy fights/no brains mode as the Black Lantern thing did. Gary Frank's art is eye popping, gritty but with beautiful line work.

Nominees: Coyotes #1 (Image), Mystik U (DC), Demon (DC)

Fight of the Month: Beatrice vs. Kammi! Harrow County #27

Cover of the Month:  Jean Grey #9 by David Yardin
Neat riff on Dali's “Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)”

Variant of the Month: Doom Patrol #9 by Tula Lotay
Groovy! Lets get Lotay back on interior work (whatever happened to that project with Ellis?)

Writer & Artist of the Month: Geoff Johns & Gary Frank, Doomsday Clock #1

To December

Back to October

My Top Comics For October 2017

Book of the Month: The Wild Storm #8 (DC)
A comic I like to read twice in order to catch all the visual and verbal clues. Still, my ignorance of these characters means that I'm probably missing some things (who are those beings looking out the window of the ship for one) and certain relationships might have more significance than I'm aware of. Never-the-less, I'm enjoying the journey and making discoveries. Davis-Hunt draws a trippy astral travel sequence in this ish that's to die for.

Nominees: Wicked + the Divine #32, The Unbelievable Gwenpool #21, Harrow County #26, Regression #5

Team Up of the Month: Spider-Man and Mockingbird, Amazing Spider-Man #789
Bobbi tries to boost Pete's spirits: the duo go out, fight a baddie and seal their win with a kiss. Their scenes together and the Stuart Immonen art made the issue worthwhile.

Nominee: Wonder Woman and Conan, Wonder Woman / Conan #2

Best First Issue: Sherlock Frankenstein & The Legion of Evil #1 (Dark Horse)
Lemire joins with artist David Rubin in a spin-off from his fantastic Black Hammer series. This one flashes back to Lucy's investigation of her father's disappearance, and gives us a peak at the villainous side of this universe.

Nominee: Wild Storms: Michael Cray #1 (DC)

Second Chance of the Month: All-New Wolverine (Marvel)
New artist, new story arc. Thought I'd give it another try. While it's yet another story that revisits Laura's past, I liked it well enough to put it back on my pulls

Fight of the Month: Wicked + the Divine #32
All the fights in this action packed issue were brilliantly staged, nasty and felt like a punch to the gut. 

Writer and Artists of the Month: Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie (pictured) and Matthew Wilson, Wicked + the Divine #32

Covers of the Month:

Dying & The Dead #6 by Ryan Bodenheim - I like the delicate line work

Batwoman #8 by MIchael Cho - minimal color schemes are so cool



To November

Back to October

My Top Comics For September 2017

Book of the Month: Black Monday Murders #7 (Image Comics)
Big issue! We meet Mammon and learn why he needs his Schools, and the limits of his power. A new mystery is revealed and power struggles continue. Smart, dark work from Jonathan Hickman, Tomm Coker and Michael Garland

Nominees: Dark Ark, Unholy Grail #3, Black Hammer #13, Wild Storm #7, Hawkeye #10, Mr. Miracle #2, Doom Patrol #8, Wicked + the Divine #31 and Red Hood and The Outlaws #14 (a moving riff on Flowers for Algernon)

Team Up of the Month: Carol and Kamala (Generations: Ms. Marvel & Ms. Marvel #1, Marvel Comics)
Nice to see the Marvel’s united. The dialogue was cute, had me chuckling several times.

Nominee: Wonder Woman/Conan #1

Best First Issue: Dark Ark #1 (Aftershock)
What if the devil set out another ark during the flood, and had it filled with unholy creatures? That’s the hook in Cullen Bunn’s new series, that you have some surprisingly sharp character work is what makes it float. Nice art from Aftershock MVP, Juan Doe.

Nominees: Runaways #1, Made Men #1

Second Chance of the Month: The Hellblazer #14 (DC)
Tim Seeley knows horror, so when I found out he was taking over writing chores on the Hellblazer I hopped back on board. While I don't know that you can do anything new with Constantine (he's a dick who pisses people off) Tim's first two issues have been real creepy. I like it.

Fight of the Month: John Colt's escape (The Wild Storm #7)  
Picture is NSFW. Art by John Davis-Hunt. The sequences is violent, bloody but beautifully staged

Artist of the Month: Esad Ribic, Marvel Legacy #1
He shared the issue with other artists, but his work was the stand-out

Writer of the Month: Cullen Bunn, Dark Ark #1, Unholy Grail #3, Harrow County #25
Bunn has been a busy man this year, and his best (IMHO) are the creator owned horror stories he’s scripted for Aftershock, Dark Horse and others.

Cover of the Month:

Hawkeye #10 by Julian Totino Tedesco – Striking image has cool Pulp Novel look to it


To October

Back to August

My Top Comics For August 2017

Apparently the Unstoppable Wasp was very stoppable; her series came to an end at 8. I went back and read the final ish, and it was still too damn twee for me.

Rocket Girl returned after nearly 2 years… m’eh - same old same old. Amy Readers art was grand at the least.

Event-itus: DC was doing some Dark Nights: Metal thingamabob, while Marvel is screwing around with their legacies (seriously that Phoenix/Odin deal is absurd, just thrown in there for the shock value)

Over at Dynamite we got an okay Moneypenny 1 shot and an okay Sheena zero issue.

That was the m'eh, here's the yays...

Book of the Month: Shade, the Changing Girl #11 (Young Animal)
Shade switches bodies with her hero and learns about life, death and sex on Earth. Plus: an old lover from Meta is looking for vengeance. Beautifully written and drawn material from Castellucci,  Zarcone and Fitzpatrick

Nominees: Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #26-27, Unbelievable Gwenpool #19, Shipwreck #5 and the next 3 award winners...

Team Up of the Month: Logan and Laura (Generations: Wolverine & All-New Wolverine #1, Marvel)
No, it’s not perfect but I gave it the full 5-star grade because of how much it moved me, and for the way it shows how Laura has honored and improved upon the legacy established by her father. 

Nominees: Jean Grey and Psylocke (Jean Grey #5), Kate and Clint (Generations: Hawkeye & Hawkeye #1)

Best First Issue: Mister Miracle #1 (DC)
Tom King and Mitch Gerads, the masterminds behind Sheriff of Babylon, are whipping up another 12 issue mini (and King’s 12-issue minis have been golden so far). It’s off to an intriguing start with Miracle attempting his most daring escape.

Nominees: Elsewhere, Space Ghost 

Best Last Issue: Letter 44 #35 (Oni Press) 
I think this could have gone on for another 35 issues and shown, rather than told what happened. But overall, well done work from Charles Soul and Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, who close their book in a way that is emotional and surprising,

Fight of the Month: Iron Fist vs. Diamondback (Defenders #4, Marvel)
As the Irish say... “Holy Bejesus!” That was one GREAT fight. Danny, you are awesome. After the fisticuffs things got gabby, but other than that, “Holy Bejesus!”

Nominees: Spidey vs Doc Ock, Amazing Spider-Man #31

Writer and Artists of the Month: Castellucci,  Zarcone and Fitzpatrick (Shade The Changing Girl #11)

Covers of the Month:

1.  Spider-Gwen #23 by Kris Anka (I always love a good rock n’ roll cover)

2.  All-Star Batman #13 by Rafael Albuquerque (neon lighting up the night sky)

To September

Back to July

My Top Comics for July 2017

Welp I’ve been busy with other hobbies and didn’t work on a Top 10, so here’s a new version of my month in review.

Book of the Month: Black Hammer #11 (Dark Horse)
The overriding mysteries are addressed, but the primary focus was on two troubled characters. Barbalien (the Martian Manhunter analogue); stung by the rejection from a closeted homosexual he was attracted too, recollects past harassment he received from his brothers in blue. Gail is also feeling lost, lonely, and is so without hope that she resolves to commit suicide. This moving, humanistic tale left a lump in my throat.

Nominees: The Unbelievable Gwenpool #18, The Wild Storm #6, Shade the Changing Girl #10, Hawkeye #8

Team-Up of the Month: Jean Grey and Thor (Jean Grey #4, Marvel)
Clever, clever (oh Thor, you incorrigible scamp),  Jean learns another valuable lesson on the road to facing the Phoenix force.

Nominees:  Green Arrow and Wonder Woman (Green Arrow #27), Batgirl and Catwoman (Batgirl #13), Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1

Many Happy Returns: Lazarus X+66 #1 (Image)
Lazarus returns in the form of a mini that will provide back-story on several supporting characters. This month the spotlight is on Casey Solomon and her fight to make the Daggers squad.

Saddest Goodbye: Tomboy #12 (Action Lab/Danger Zone)
Writer Mia Goodwin and artist Michelle Wong close the book on their supernatural thriller

Best First Issue: James Bond Kill Chain #1 (Dynamite) 
The Hammerhead team (Andy Diggle and Luca Casalanguida) are back, and they brought with them one of 007s deadliest foes.

Nominees: Unholy Grail #1 (Cullen Bunn), Astonishing X-Men #1 

Most Disappointing First Issue? Bettie Page #1 (Dynamite)
Too safe. Not as sexy or crazy-fun as it should be, art got worse with each page.

Best Artists: Mike and Laura Allred 
Busy month with Doom Patrol #7, Bug #3 and Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 hitting the stands.

Best Writer: Christopher Hastings, Gwenpool #18
Technically your best writer should probably be the person who wrote your ‘Book of the Month’? But let’s spread the wealth and reward the guy who is creating one of the funniest, smartest comics on the stands today. Gwenpool was always a kick, but it’s gone further - by way of character development and back-story, as well as pumping up the mind bending metafictional commentary. I also enjoyed seeing Gwen’s adventures through her brother’s eyes. Fantastic work!

Nominees: Jeff Lemire, Black Hammer #11, Warren Ellis, The Wild Storm #6

Best Cover: Luke Cage #3 by Rahzzah

Best Variant Cover: Green Arrow #27 by Esad Ribic

To August

Back to June