Here, in alphabetical order, are the best comics currently being published by DCE (as determined by me!)* Batman & Robin - Grant Morrison on Batman, joined by a rotating team of top artists on 3-issue stories. This comic should be the template for super-heroes in the new decade.
* Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Ostensibly a comic for kids, based on the Cartoon Network series, this is one comic that doesn't forget that super-hero comics should be awesome. With frequent guest stars you thought you might never see in comics again, at least once per issue I squeal with fanboy joy.
* Birds of Prey - Yes, we're only one issue into the new series. But writer Gail Simone hasn't missed a beat, and even artist Ed Benes seems to have stepped his game up a notch.
* Daytripper - It was clear from the outset that Moon & Bá's comic would look fabulous. It took me a few issues to grok what was going on with the story, but once I did it really grew on me (though I'm still not exactly sure what it's about...)
* Ex Machina - Just one issue left to go, but unless Vaughan & Harris completely blow the ending (highly unlikely) they will have given us a modern super-hero classic for the first decade of the 2000s.
* Jonah Hex - Violent and moralistic, Gray & Palmiotti write Hex just the way his comic should be. Most stories are done-in-one, with just the lightest touch of occasional continuity. They are joined by a some of the best artists working in comics.
* Madame Xanadu - I didn't know I needed this comic until Matt Wagner & Amy Reeder gave it to me, by giving a personality to a previously cypher of a character and managing to lightly tie into DC continuity (with guest appearances by the likes of the Phantom Stranger and the Martian Manhunter).
* The Spirit - In their first two issues, writer Mark Schultz & artist Moritat have managed to strike the right balance in making the title character both classic and modern.
* Sweet Tooth - It's Jeff Lemire doing a a Jeff Lemire thing in a post-apocalyptic world, every month and in color.
* Unknown Soldier - I've only actually read the first trade so far, but Dysart & Ponticelli's powerful story of the cost of war and violence guarantees that I'll be back for more.
Honorable Mention: Power Girl - Gray, Palmiotti & Conner finished their too short twelve-issue run last month, having given us a good solid year of super-hero stories that are fun and exciting.
1 comment:
I'm glad you included Madame Xanadu on your list. It's so well written and beautifully illustrated, and does just what you said: takes a cypher of a character, that I would go so far to say was rather dull and flat, and gives her so much personality and spirit that it's almost like something brand new.
And since you mention a few Vertigo titles, I would add Air to that list. Blythe's adventures in flight are original and surprising. Lots of fun.
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