A Brief, Messy Reflection on My Comics Reading in 2014
This thing I am now
trying to write has seen more restarts than the DC universe, and it
hasn't even been posted online. Until now, that is.
This seemed a logical debut piece for my new comics blog. I mean, it is January and all, and for media lovers the world around, January is a month-long reflection period for art lovers wherein they talk about, and write about, all the art they loved most the previous year, and discuss about what they want to see in the coming year.
Summing up an entire year's worth of comics in one blog post is daunting; arguably even fruitless. I tried first to discuss each of the memorable comics I had read in 2014, but you either wind up with a book, or not doing justice to the art you claim to love. A blog post of nothing but synopses and review blurbs? This post was almost that, so let's be thankful I came to my senses. I also contemplated making a Best Of list, but I was never any good at arbitrarily ranking items.
2014
was an important year for me as a comics-reading-person. It saw my
fandom (and pull list) grow an astronomical degree, where it
routinely butts heads with cinema as my favourite art form. 2014 was
a really good year for comics, and I feel like I'm now experiencing
the beginnings of a new era in the medium. Fans like to break down
comics into eras; the Golden Age of the 1940s and '50s, the Silver
Age of the '60s, the Bronze Age of the '70s and early 80s; and the
Modern Age from 1985 to now. There is no accepted successor to the
Modern Age, but there should be, because I don't think we're living
in it anymore. The comics landscape has changed significantly these
last several years, and I would argue for the better, though we are
still far off from anything resembling utopia.
Diversity in art is the topic on everyone's minds these days, and it's a conversation worth having. It'll continue being a worthwhile conversation for as long as cis-het-white-males dominate the art scene on both fronts (as creators, and the creations). In '14 Marvel made two steps forward, one step backward on this front. We got a Muslim Ms. Marvel, a female Thor, a black Captain America, and a bunch of female fronted comics (some really awesome ones include the before-mentioned Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, the cancelled-too-soon She-Hulk, Black Widow, Storm, and the also-cancelled-too-soon Elektra). There still aren't enough women working within the company, but the hiring of G. Willow Wilson is a step in the right direction. She's incredible, and made Ms. Marvel the breakout superhero comic of 2014. The company still made some questionable decisions on this front. Hiring Greg Land to “draw” Spider-Woman, for one. Everyone talks about the controversial variant cover, and while it was a mistake for Marvel to publish, I was far more offended at the hiring of Land, whose art style and working methods are tacky and problematic and tonally misrepresent what a Spider-Woman series should be.
I was iffy on Dan Slott's first arc on his return to Amazing Spider-Man, but I love his work attached to "Spider-Verse". This might be the peak of Slott's entire Spider-Man tenure (competing with "Spider Island"). It's overblown, ridiculous, absurd in all the best ways and is the perfect Event for me in how it mocks the super seriousness and convoluted storytelling surrounding 99% of Event Comics. The Edge of Spider-Verse one-shots are an exercise in successful world building in 22 pages, the Spider-Verse Team Up book is hilarious, and best of all: this Event gave us Spider-Gwen.
There's still a severe lack of LBGT characters in my comics, and the recently announced cancellation of Batwoman is a major blow to lesbian representation in comics. The tragedy is how part of me is glad the comic is cancelled, just because of how much a train-wreck it's been since J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman left. Having a female vampire essentially drug and rape Kate Kane in an aesthetically sexualized manner should have been the comic's final straw. We also sorta-lost a trans character that year, with the writing-out of Alysia Yeoh in Batgirl. And to make matters worse, the book churned out a transphobic issue shortly after, with a cheap cross-dressing villain and disappointing display of cissexism from Barbara Gordon.
Yeah, DC hasn't been faring well with me as of
late. I'm a fan of Gail Simone's run on Batgirl but that came to an
end. I'm not enjoying the Brenden Fletcher/Cameron Stewart/Babs Tarr
run at all. My beloved Babs has never been as out-of-character as she
in these issues. Tarr's manga-influenced art style is the only thing
I enjoy from this series anymore.
Scott Snyder's Batman remains pretty solid, even if it's never returned to the heights of its debut story arc from 2011-2012, “Court of Owls”. My favourite comic of the entire New 52, Swamp Thing, remains as epic and satisfying under Charles Soule's pen as it did with Snyder's. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that DC cancelled it (last issue coming out this March).
If you want a Wonder Woman fix in 2014 comics, stay far away from whatever it is Meredith Finch/David Finch are doing on the core title. The Supeman/Wonder Woman comic is solid, as is the out-of-continuity digital-first series Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, which is made up of one-shots (one story per issue) and mini comics (two to three stories per issue) and features many different writers and artists who have a far better grasp on the characters voice and feminist origins than the Finch crew.
Comics giants Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman made comics worthy of their legacy last year, for DC/Vertigo. The Multiversity is a dense confusing thrilling affectionate celebration of the superhero comic throughout all its alternations. The Sandman: Overture is just about the most impossibly gorgeous comic published in 2014 and proves that J. H. Williams III is not a human. Comics have never looked this good, ever. Issues #2, 3 and 4 were spread out across 2014; hopefully we get #5 and 6 in 2015.
Image continues being their awesome
self. It's hard not to love the company that regularly publishes
works like Saga, Sex Criminals, The Wicked + The Divine, Wayward,
Pretty Deadly, Bitch Planet, Rat Queens, Alex + Ada. And that's only
their output that I'm actively reading. Image is the one company I
feel most behind on, simply because of how much of their lineup
actually looks good. I feel bad for saying this, but I still need to
read Lazarus, The Manhattan Projects, Satellite Sam, Revival, Velvet,
The Fuse. I've barely started Deadly Class and C.O.W.L but I like
what I've seen from their opening issues. Image's “flagship”, The Walking Dead, is their
one comic I really don't enjoy. I did, during its early years, but
it's the most repetitious long-running comic I've read. It's vomited
140 issues out of a series that should only be half as long. “The
zombie movie that never ends” is actually a really flawed premise
when you realize its consequences.
People who boast without hesitation that Image is the most consistently good comics publisher of 2014 probably aren't reading Valiant. Relaunched in 2012, Valiant is a shared superhero universe sorta like Marvel and DC, but it's much smaller, weirder, and has strict quality control. They only published nine issues of comic per month and that's to maintain their high standards. I've read nearly every issue they've put out since their May 2012 debut, and I can honestly say they have yet to publish one bad series. If you want a sci-fi/action fix, read X-O Manowar and Rai. If you want a superhero team book, check out Harbinger (Valiant's spin on X-Men) and Unity (Valiant's spin on Avengers). If comedy is your thing, have I good news for you! Valiant has not one, but TWO! Odd Couple-like duos. Archer & Armstrong and Quantum & Woody are two of the oddest and funniest books I've read. If you want double the dose, check out The Delinquents, a miniseries that crossed over both pairings of unlikely friends. Valiant has just one major problem with me, and it's a lack of female characters in starring roles. There are women in the group titles Harbinger and Unity, but a five issue Dr. Mirage miniseries has been their only female-titled series in their nearly three years of existence (along with a Punk Mambo one-shot). That's a great comic, too, perfect for fans of horror, supernatural and the occult.
Now's sort of the perfect time to jump onto Valiant, as they're launching an initiative titled Valiant Next, focusing on the release of a bunch of new titles between now and April: Ivar Timewalker, Divinity, Imperium, Ninjak, Bloodshot Reborn, and there's a new Quantum & Woody miniseries kicking off later this month.
Boom is another
publisher that's shown a lot of growth last year, with one of the
more diverse selections of any company today, but it's their
kids-friendly books that stand out most to me. Under their kaBOOM!
imprint they publish all things Adventure Time, from Ryan North's
flawless run on the core title, to Kath Leth's delightfully queer
graphic novel Adventure Time: Bitter Sweets. Web series sensation /
Kickstarter success story Bee and Puppycat even got its own ongoing
comic in 2014, and it was actually one of my favourite comics of the
entire year. Initially written and drawn by series creator Natasha
Allegri with the same elegance as her Fionna and Cake miniseries from
2013, Bee and Puppycat unexpectedly switched gears into anthology
format, with each issue telling three to four mini stories, with a
talent pool made up primarily of web comic creators. All ages and
absolutely adorable, it's one of my most anticipated reads every
month.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my favourite television series of all time, continues on in comics, with its Season 10 title nearing its halfway point. Under Christos Gage and Rebecca Isaacs, Buffy Season 10 is an improvement over both Seasons 8 and 9, and each new issue effectively fills the void I have felt ever since watching the final episode nearly five years ago.
I like to think I read a lot of comics in 2014, and yet I didn't read enough. I would have liked to have been able to follow more indie publishers, and if I have one major comics reading goal for 2015, it is that (along with finally reading the many un-read trade paperbacks and hardcovers on my bookshelf). My adoration for this medium has never been higher, and I'll be using this site as a means of chronicling my many thoughts on the many comics I'll be reading this year. Until next time.
This seemed a logical debut piece for my new comics blog. I mean, it is January and all, and for media lovers the world around, January is a month-long reflection period for art lovers wherein they talk about, and write about, all the art they loved most the previous year, and discuss about what they want to see in the coming year.
Summing up an entire year's worth of comics in one blog post is daunting; arguably even fruitless. I tried first to discuss each of the memorable comics I had read in 2014, but you either wind up with a book, or not doing justice to the art you claim to love. A blog post of nothing but synopses and review blurbs? This post was almost that, so let's be thankful I came to my senses. I also contemplated making a Best Of list, but I was never any good at arbitrarily ranking items.
Diversity in art is the topic on everyone's minds these days, and it's a conversation worth having. It'll continue being a worthwhile conversation for as long as cis-het-white-males dominate the art scene on both fronts (as creators, and the creations). In '14 Marvel made two steps forward, one step backward on this front. We got a Muslim Ms. Marvel, a female Thor, a black Captain America, and a bunch of female fronted comics (some really awesome ones include the before-mentioned Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, the cancelled-too-soon She-Hulk, Black Widow, Storm, and the also-cancelled-too-soon Elektra). There still aren't enough women working within the company, but the hiring of G. Willow Wilson is a step in the right direction. She's incredible, and made Ms. Marvel the breakout superhero comic of 2014. The company still made some questionable decisions on this front. Hiring Greg Land to “draw” Spider-Woman, for one. Everyone talks about the controversial variant cover, and while it was a mistake for Marvel to publish, I was far more offended at the hiring of Land, whose art style and working methods are tacky and problematic and tonally misrepresent what a Spider-Woman series should be.
I was iffy on Dan Slott's first arc on his return to Amazing Spider-Man, but I love his work attached to "Spider-Verse". This might be the peak of Slott's entire Spider-Man tenure (competing with "Spider Island"). It's overblown, ridiculous, absurd in all the best ways and is the perfect Event for me in how it mocks the super seriousness and convoluted storytelling surrounding 99% of Event Comics. The Edge of Spider-Verse one-shots are an exercise in successful world building in 22 pages, the Spider-Verse Team Up book is hilarious, and best of all: this Event gave us Spider-Gwen.
There's still a severe lack of LBGT characters in my comics, and the recently announced cancellation of Batwoman is a major blow to lesbian representation in comics. The tragedy is how part of me is glad the comic is cancelled, just because of how much a train-wreck it's been since J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman left. Having a female vampire essentially drug and rape Kate Kane in an aesthetically sexualized manner should have been the comic's final straw. We also sorta-lost a trans character that year, with the writing-out of Alysia Yeoh in Batgirl. And to make matters worse, the book churned out a transphobic issue shortly after, with a cheap cross-dressing villain and disappointing display of cissexism from Barbara Gordon.
 | |
| Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman #4, DC Comics |
Scott Snyder's Batman remains pretty solid, even if it's never returned to the heights of its debut story arc from 2011-2012, “Court of Owls”. My favourite comic of the entire New 52, Swamp Thing, remains as epic and satisfying under Charles Soule's pen as it did with Snyder's. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that DC cancelled it (last issue coming out this March).
If you want a Wonder Woman fix in 2014 comics, stay far away from whatever it is Meredith Finch/David Finch are doing on the core title. The Supeman/Wonder Woman comic is solid, as is the out-of-continuity digital-first series Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman, which is made up of one-shots (one story per issue) and mini comics (two to three stories per issue) and features many different writers and artists who have a far better grasp on the characters voice and feminist origins than the Finch crew.
Comics giants Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman made comics worthy of their legacy last year, for DC/Vertigo. The Multiversity is a dense confusing thrilling affectionate celebration of the superhero comic throughout all its alternations. The Sandman: Overture is just about the most impossibly gorgeous comic published in 2014 and proves that J. H. Williams III is not a human. Comics have never looked this good, ever. Issues #2, 3 and 4 were spread out across 2014; hopefully we get #5 and 6 in 2015.
 |
| Rai #1, Valiant |
People who boast without hesitation that Image is the most consistently good comics publisher of 2014 probably aren't reading Valiant. Relaunched in 2012, Valiant is a shared superhero universe sorta like Marvel and DC, but it's much smaller, weirder, and has strict quality control. They only published nine issues of comic per month and that's to maintain their high standards. I've read nearly every issue they've put out since their May 2012 debut, and I can honestly say they have yet to publish one bad series. If you want a sci-fi/action fix, read X-O Manowar and Rai. If you want a superhero team book, check out Harbinger (Valiant's spin on X-Men) and Unity (Valiant's spin on Avengers). If comedy is your thing, have I good news for you! Valiant has not one, but TWO! Odd Couple-like duos. Archer & Armstrong and Quantum & Woody are two of the oddest and funniest books I've read. If you want double the dose, check out The Delinquents, a miniseries that crossed over both pairings of unlikely friends. Valiant has just one major problem with me, and it's a lack of female characters in starring roles. There are women in the group titles Harbinger and Unity, but a five issue Dr. Mirage miniseries has been their only female-titled series in their nearly three years of existence (along with a Punk Mambo one-shot). That's a great comic, too, perfect for fans of horror, supernatural and the occult.
Now's sort of the perfect time to jump onto Valiant, as they're launching an initiative titled Valiant Next, focusing on the release of a bunch of new titles between now and April: Ivar Timewalker, Divinity, Imperium, Ninjak, Bloodshot Reborn, and there's a new Quantum & Woody miniseries kicking off later this month.
 |
| Bee and Puppycat #3, kaBOOM! |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my favourite television series of all time, continues on in comics, with its Season 10 title nearing its halfway point. Under Christos Gage and Rebecca Isaacs, Buffy Season 10 is an improvement over both Seasons 8 and 9, and each new issue effectively fills the void I have felt ever since watching the final episode nearly five years ago.
I like to think I read a lot of comics in 2014, and yet I didn't read enough. I would have liked to have been able to follow more indie publishers, and if I have one major comics reading goal for 2015, it is that (along with finally reading the many un-read trade paperbacks and hardcovers on my bookshelf). My adoration for this medium has never been higher, and I'll be using this site as a means of chronicling my many thoughts on the many comics I'll be reading this year. Until next time.
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