In the wake of smarter people than I writing their reflections of the Comic Book Industry in 2008 I thought I would try to make it a bit more personal. Looking back on 2008, I can see books I enjoyed and thought were very good. I’m not sure I’d call anything "great" or label any particular comic as "The Best of The Year" but there were some stars in an otherwise black sky.

Oh don’t look at me like that children. Did you expect me to gush at the awesomeness of 2008? Get real. 2008 was a lackluster year for the most part. We’re lucky comics did not completely follow suit, though it was not for lack of trying. So without further procrastination on my part let’s talk about what I really liked or didn’t in 2008. (I mean if you wanted to just talk about what YOU liked you can go sit in front of a damn mirror. I’m working here.)

I do believe 2008 was the year of the mega-event. The Big Two, Marvel and DC, really threw their weight around the market with SECRET INVASION and FINAL CRISIS respectfully. (Heck due to poor scheduling we even get to take FINAL CRISIS with us into 2009.)

I won’t say that either Event sucked but what I will say is that I am suffering from Event-Fatigue. Seven or Eight issues of an Event means even if the books come out on time (which they NEVER DO) the balk of the year is dedicated to these things, oftentimes infecting the regular monthly books we read as a result. And though Marvel did end theirs I have a special ugly place where my heart used to be for them because they have immediately springboarded into their next big company lineup with DARK REIGN. Please someone shoot me.

Nothing makes me hate crossovers as much as the next implied one. Give me some time to breathe. Please. Ugh.

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has a great video on its website of comic shop owner George Henderson discussing the appeal of comic books with what appears to be a local news program. The video is both short and highly entertaining.

"George Henderson lived, ate and breathed comics – years before it would be popular to do so. A lifelong fan of superhero comics, old adventure strips and science fiction, in the 1960s he parlayed a dead-end writing career into a successful life as a bookseller and retailer. Established in downtown Toronto in 1967, Memory Lane Books became a mecca for generations of comic fans and is considered Canada’s first comic book store. In this clip from 1970, Captain George discusses his then young store and the emergent hobby of comic collecting.."

Next week is shaping up to be a big week for Marvel’s follow-up to Secret Invasion, "Dark Reign," with Punisher #1, Invincible Iron Man #9 and Marvel Spotlight: Dark Reign. We can also expect X-Men: Noir #2, the first issue of which received legitimate buzz upon arrival.

Over at DC, it looks like we’ve got the first issue of the mini-series Black Lightning Year One, plus the first issue in DC’s series on villains, Faces of Evil. First on the list: Solomon Grundy!

Keep reading to see the full list of what might be coming out next Wednesday.

(If you’re looking for the comics that are coming out this Friday, January 2, click here.)

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Two of my favorite sources of information – USA Today’s Pop Candy blog and National Public Radio (NPR) – have posted their picks for the best comics and graphic novels of 2008.

• Pop Candy – Honestly, I’ve never heard or 75% of the comics on Pop Candy’s list, and the only one I remember hearing about and actually wanting to read is The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel. Perhaps our resident David "Best Book You Didn’t Read" Lee knows more about these titles than I do!
   
• NPR - NPR’s list is much more mainstream and I actually read these comics. The Joker, by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, and the Death of Captain America, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, are probably two of the most talked-about events in 2008.

Does anyone out there have a single issue, story arc or graphic novel that they believe was the single best thing they read in 2008?

As for me, the best comic book I read was either Pax Romana by Jonathan Hickman or the Action Comics "Brainiac" storyline by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank.

- Andy B.

I was very vocal about my dislike for the continuity reboot of the SPIDER-MAN line last year. Firstly for the way it was handled, where it felt more like teenage boys making a comic a la ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, instead of genuinely trying to tell an interesting and engaging story. Strangely, it was all started by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, who should have come in and hit a grand slam. Sure, Joe Q’s art was something to enjoy until you saw the images come together as a whole and wondered if perhaps the Clone Saga wasn’t that bad after all.

So Peter sells his marriage (and possible future daughter) to Mephisto, Marvel’s version of the Devil, for the life of his Aunt May. Never mind that it goes against everything Peter Parker would have ever done but it sufficiently kills the many stories we’ve gotten since MJ and Peter got hitched. (And no, please don’t tell me that they all happened but MJ and Peter were just not married. Shut up and give me a break. You can’t have it both ways, either you rebooted or you didn’t.) And more importantly if Aunt May had ever found out what Peter did she would smack him upside his head and tell him that was not the boy she raised. It might have worked better if Mary Jane had been shot but I sincerely doubt it. At least then I could see Peter selling the marriage off to save his wife.

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Playing catch-up for the holidays. Hope to fill this place with a ton of reviews over the next week. Peace!

COURTNEY CRUMRIN AND THE PRINCE OF NOWHERE
Oni Press
By Ted Naifeh

When I picked up this book I didn’t know it was a series of graphic novelettes. However, luckily for me, I did not need to have read the others to understand this one.

In Germany, Courtney and her Uncle Aloysius continue their country-spanning “vacation,” as Aloysius gets busy with his mysterious meetings and Courtney gets busy with boredom. Big time. She meets Wolfgang, a boy who craves Courtney’s friendship almost as much as she needs it to be craved. Through natural progression we learn of Wolfgang’s own heritage, one that has ties to Aloysius’ dealings in the area, and the possible danger he may pose to Courtney. Courtney appears no slouch to danger, though, and hides secrets and powers of her own.

The story plays with themes of loneliness and the ways we hurt those around us, sometimes whether we want to or not. Courtney might not have been so enraptured by Wolfgang if her Uncle knew how to show his affection for her and had simply been more of a friend to her. We learn just why Aloysius is there in Germany and it is a minor yet profound reason that makes the last page that much more special, given the sacrifice Aloysius makes for Courtney.

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Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas yesterday! Remember: due to the holiday, comics will ship on FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, next week.

And to celebrate the new year it looks like Marvel is having one heck of a week. For starters, we can look forward to a double shot of Mark Millar with Kick-Ass #5, Millar and John Romita Jr’s slightly bloody superhero book, and Wolverine #70, part five of the highly popular "Old Man Logan" storyline. There’s plenty more, too, including Captain America #45, War Machine #1 and two Avengers titles!

Meanwhile, DC is serving up a little "Justice" for Christmas dinner! We’ve got Justice League of America #28 and Justice Society of America #22! DC also has some quality Batman titles for us, including Batman Cacophony #2, from Kevin Smith, and Batman #684.

The full list follows…

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GI JOE MIGHTY MUGGS ACTION FIGURES

The forces of G.I. Joe and Cobra take their struggle for the fate of the world to a new arena – the world of Mighty Muggs! Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Mighty Muggs figures take familiar characters and turn them into stylized 6" tall figures with an edgy, urban look. Their oversized, rounded heads and their dumpy arms are posable, taking these figures into a whole new world! Figures available in this assortment are scheduled to include Duke, Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

Well, it’s Christmas Eve here on Planet Earth, and I bet you thought I was going to take a week off from this column. You probably had me benched on your Fantasy Comic Shop Writers team. It serves you right! Because now I’m going to knock one out of the park and score at least 200 points for everyone who started me this week. We’ll begin this week’s slugfest with the Punisher.

Punisher: War Zone #3

Nothing says loving like Ma Gnucci’s face… 40 times on the same cover. Is she alive? Is she dead?! All these questions are meaningless. The real question is, does it matter? Either way, dead or alive, I think it’s a safe bet that the Punisher is going to blow Ma Gnucci (and her face) to Kingdom Come by the time the story’s over.

So what exactly is this cover trying to convey? My theory: this looks like something out of a dream sequence. Frank Castle is now haunted by Ma Gnucci’s mug and he dreams about it nightly. He wakes up in a cold sweat and can’t shake that scowling image from his conscience. But like I said, none of this matters. She’ll end up back in the ground in no time.

I do have to say, though, I really dig her Prince Valiant hair cut.

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In the mid-1990s, Batman fans were introduced to the creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, who unleashed their now-infamous Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials on an unsuspecting public. Those Specials led directly into the award-winning Long Halloween and Dark Victory series, which have since become regarded as two of the finest Batman stories ever to be told. It should be no surprise that Loeb and Sale’s Batman stories find their way into our Trade Paperback Spotlight.

BATMAN: HAUNTED KNIGHT TP This graphic novel includes the three dark tales of horror and intrigue from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, featuring Batman facing off against his most demented and wicked foes. Taking place on the most evil of holidays, Halloween, the Dark Knight Detective confronts his deepest fears as he tries to stop the madness and horror created by Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, the Penguin, Poison Ivy and the Joker. Two ways to purchase:

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Seeing as how last week I only touched upon Final Crisis and Secret Invasion and next week the column is getting axed due to the holidays I thought I would run down everything I took home to read this week.  Short hits. Starting with DC comics only because that’s the order of the shipping list….

No real Batman this week. BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #14 I liked. Batgirl is forming a team and Nightwing isn’t totally happy about it. Introduced a mysterious villain. Gonna get a special and then issue fifteen will just be Outsiders. No Batman. Felt about the same on BIRDS OF PREY #125 and ROBIN #181. It’s just hard to care at this point when you know the book is getting cancelled and its just treading water until it does. Two issues left for each. BATGIRL #6 wrapped up the mini-series as Cassandra has a final confrontation against her father Cain. Thought it was interesting that the last page said "The Road goes on in Batman RIP". Huh? Sorry but that’s over.

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Smallville will return! New trailer for the return of SMALLVILLE on 01-15-09. Now with 50% more LEGION. Enjoy!

-SJD

I heard a great interview on PRI’s The Sound of Young America the other day. It featured Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan, who created the Image Comics title THE LAST CHRISTMAS, about a post-Armageddon Santa Claus picking up a semi-automatic and going to town on the bad guys.

It’s a pretty funny interview and there’s some great comics talk in there, especially considering the relatively mainstream nature of the show.

Plus, this one might make our Featured Comics wall along with Luke Cage, Power Man!

- Andy B.

Remember, next week is the week of New Year’s Day  and comics will come out on FRIDAY, JANUARY 2.

It’s looking like it’ll be a big week for DC’s main heroes as both Batman #684 and Batman: Cacophony #2 are both set to hit the racks. Also, we can look forward to Superman #683 and Superman Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves.

Over at Marvel we’ve got the long-awaited Kick-Ass #5, plus no less than four Wolverine releases, including Wolverine #70! Plus Captain America #45 and Fantastic Four #562.

Keep reading to see the full list of what might be coming out next Friday.

(If you’re looking for the comics that are coming out this Wednesday, December 24, click here.)

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Here in the store we have a wall of Featured Comics. There’s room up there for about two dozen titles, and the wall changes on a pretty regular basis, depending on what people are reading and talking about. Whenever we do anything around the store we always try to keep the wall in mind for possible display ideas.

Anyway, to celebrate the holidays we recently filled the wall with Christmas-inspired comics! And in restocking our back issue bins after the big Year-End Sale we came across one DOOZY of a Christmas comic. Just click on the picture at right to enlarge.

There’s so much to love about this comic, the bad guy’s delivery obviously being the best part. But also, quite awesomely, the button he’s pressing simply reads: "DESTRUCT." I love it! Sometimes I wish I had a button like that. Nothing in particular for it to destroy, just sometimes I’m in the mood to press a button that says DESTRUCT.

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I tried watching GHOST RIDER not too long ago. I gave up. Maybe one day I will catch it again late one night and feel the need to watch it, because I’d have gotten myself terribly drunk and have not yet thought to start the inevitable drunk texting. So there I will be, sloppy and damaged, watching a movie that fails to do anything but perhaps help me throw it all up and pass out.

Why is it that some studios want to follow almost the same formula for every comic book property? Don’t they realize all these characters are different? I guess that’s a stupid question. OF COURSE THEY DON’T. When you have studio heads at Warner Bros. say they want to explore the "dark side" of characters like Superman in the wake of The Dark Knight, you just know some people don’t get it. The only pass I give Marvel Studios is that this was all 20th Century Fox here before Marvel started self-financing.

You need to get at the heart of what makes a comic or a character work and flesh it out in a manner that does the book and character justice. Look at Wanted. Was it as good as the comic? Hell no. But they took the concept, trimmed the concept down to its core and at least it was a fun movie that touched all the important parts of the comic and did so in a way that makes it a worthy adaptation.

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I’ve been reading lots of humor and superheroes lately so I decided to try something different. This week I read Snaked by Clifford Meth and Rufus Dayglo, and I was treated to a truly scary horror book.

Snaked is the story of Bill Timmons. Timmons is a low level public official who works on campaigns for various political operatives. It turns out that Timmons is a "Nechashim," or Serpentine American. He is a genetic offshoot that looks like a normal person but is part snake and has some of the characteristics of snakes. For instance, every 11 years he sheds his skin.

The story opens with Timmons in jail. A former politico is in custody, or a sanitarium, relates the events that lead to Timmons arrest. All the while, the politico is in fear that Timmons will get out of jail and hunt him down. Apparently, there was a vast conspiracy that involves the events of September 11 and Timmons was a pawn that got compromised. The first issue contains a graphic, page turning, gut wrenching prison scene that is fantastic. Needless to say, Timmons escapes. I assumed that would be the peak in the series but issue #2 managed to top it with a hospital delivery room scene that needs to be read to appreciate. Overall, the story is full of conspiracy tales and some really horrific moments.

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Ultimatum #1 took the top spot for the month of November, filling in for the conspicuous lack of any Secret Invasion titles (or Final Crisis or Avengers or JLA for that matter). Coming in strong at #2 was Batman #681, the final chapter in the "RIP" story arc. The JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman broke the top 10, and as you can see in the top 100 (after the jump) the other two JSA Specials weren’t far behind. And check out Buffy coming in at #8!

Here at Cosmic, Wolverine #69 ("Old Man Logan") was the #1 title for November. Other differences between us and the national list include Ultimatum getting bumped down to the #5 spot, and X-Men Legacy #218 and Thor God of War jumping into the top 10.

Also in the top 100, the best-selling book from Image Comics was Walking Dead #54, which came in at #82. Buffy was the top Dark Horse title, of course, but fan-favorite Umbrella Academy Dallas #1 also did well at #50. The #1 Vertigo release was Sandman: Dream Hunters #1 at #59. For other publishers, Angel After the Fall #14 was the big hitter at #47.

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It’s a big week for Marvel, starting with J. Michael Straczynski’s much-anticipated Thor #12. Sinister things are afoot in Asgard! (Hopefully they aren’t things related in any way to the Skrull race.) We can also look forward to the next installment of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s fantastic bloodbath Punisher War Zone #3 (only a week after #2). Plus Secret Invasion Requiem #1 and Ultimatum #2!

Meanwhile, DC is preparing for the return of its Copper Age vigilante… Vigilante! Marv Wolfman brings his classic character back to the DCU this week. And we can also expect some heavy-hitting hero books with Batman #683 and Wonder Woman #27.

The full list follows…

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BEST OF MARVEL SELECT ACTION FIGURES

Back by popular demand comes this latest assortment of the most popular Marvel Select figures ever to be released! Each case contains Punisher, Ultimate Iron Man, Ultimate Hulk as well as one each of the all-new Omega Flight Arachne and Skrull Three-Pack only available in this assortment! Standing from 7 to 10 inches tall, each figure features multiple points of articulation and a highly detailed display base.

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