Best of 2007

We're a little bit behind the times so we didn't make this as comprehensive a feature as we may have otherwise, but we did want to share our most basic proclamations about last year's releases. The comic landscape has been steadily improving, this year being one of the best in a while and next year threatening to be even better. Hail the situation! Hail comics! Hail 2007.


Best All-Around Title

Criminal
In one of the better comic years we've seen: Criminal, a critically lauded book with a modestly growing audience, still managed to rise and stand unfaultering on a peak all its own. Ed Brubaker was born to write this type of gritty mean streets noir and Sean Phillips at least keeps pace. The articles and bonus materials in the back take longer to read than the comic itself and are just as fascinating to commit to. This book feels 'mature' like Watchmen did in its time, and hopefully becomes a model for publishers in the immediate future. With this book re-launching and being re-tooled, there is no better time to jump on. Criminal is the best title of the year, and seemingly only gets better.

Best Ongoing Title

1. Criminal

2. Casanova
Though there was no way to deny Criminal as the 'best' book of the year, Casanova was without question the most exciting. It's the perfect blend of off-beat humor, absurdity, and remarkably intelligent complexities. That a series can appeal so strongly to the desire for irreverent swashbuckling and yet still massage and compliment your intelligence with its challenging and difficult nature - this is a world of comics worth living in.

3. Astonishing X-Men
4. Fables
5. All-Star Superman
6. Scalped
7. Nova
8. DMZ
9. Immortal Iron Fist
10. Thunderbolts



Best New Title

1. Casanova

2. Scalped
This was an incredible year for new titles, and any self respecting pull-list has found itself increasingly consumed by books it hadn't even heard of a year ago. Jason Aaron's Scalped is one of the best of this batch of newcomers and there is no reason this shouldn't become more commonly considered one of the two or three most relevant titles in Vertigo's lineup. If you want an action thriller with some actual heart and guts, this here's the one.

3. Nova
4. Immortal Iron Fist
5. Thunderbolts
6. The Order
7. Astounding Wolf-Man
8. Dynamo 5
9. Proof
10. Mice Templar


Best Mini

1. The Killer
2. Okko: Cycle of Water
3. The Nightly News

4. Umbrella Academy
Even those approaching this with optimism were surprised at just how formidable Gerard Way turned out to be as a comic scribe. Fitting in with the new generation of witty culturally aware writers like Fraction, he puts both humor and humility in each maniacal situation and heart and humanity in every wayward character. The inclusion of industry-best James Jean on covers is itself a selling point, and Ba's work rounds out one of the most impressive productions in recent memory. Congratulations Dark Horse, you got one on the map.

5. Star-Lord
6. Black Summer
7. Dark Tower
8. Awakening
9. Atomic Robo
10. After the Cape



Best Writer

1. Ed Brubaker
(Criminal, Captain America, Daredevil, Immortal Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men)
Criminal is the best book of the year. Immortal Iron Fist is slept-on but feverishly loved by the few. Captain America is nearly a dozen issues dead and yet the series is still going strong. Throw in a quality run on Daredevil and Uncanny's current inclusion in the landmark Messiah Complex event and it's hard to believe just how much this man has been responsible for this year. The work essentially speaks for itself. Ed Brubaker contributed more relevance to the comicsphere over the last year than anyone else writing in the industry.

2. Matt Fraction (Casanova, The Order, Immortal Iron Fist, Punisher War Journal)
3. Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Pride of Baghdad)

4. Abnett & Lanning / Keith Giffen
(Nova, Star-Lord, Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest)
One of my favorite rebirths in this last year has been Marvel's cosmic U. These are the writers responsible for the most impressive of the new titles, all of which have been some of the best reading available in the last twelve months. For our money these go down as the best space-based comics in well longer than that. If we get one wish for 2008, let it be the continued high caliber work in this successful indulgence.

5. Brian Wood (DMZ, Local, Northlanders)
6. Joss Whedon (Astonishing X-Men)
7. Warren Ellis (Thunderbolts, Black Summer, Doktor Sleepless)
8. Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible, Astounding Wolf-Man)
9. Bill Willingham (Fables, Jack of Fables)
10. Peter David (X-Factor, Dark Tower)



Breakout Writer

1. Matt Fraction
(Casanova, The Order, Immortal Iron Fist, Punisher War Journal)
If there's a writer working today that is going to most influence a drastic 'change' or 'shift' in the comic world, it's Matt Fraction. He's in touch with the old-school but his style's all new. There isn't a fresher voice working. If you want it funny, want it witty, want it sexy, want it smart - Fraction's got those goods plus some extras you didn't see coming. Everything he's writing is fantastic and his voice and influence are beginning to be felt everywhere. We recommend buying anything with his name on it.

2. Jason Aaron (Scalped, The Other Side, Wolverine)
3. Jonathan Hickman (Nightly News)
4. Gerard Way (Umbrella Academy)
5. Kyle & Yost (New X-Men)



Best Artist

1. Gabriel Ba (Casanova, Umbrella Academy)
2. Timothy Green II (Star-Lord)
3. Sean Phillips (Criminal, Marvel Zombies)

4. Tom Raney
(Annihilation: Conquest)
The main event of this year's cosmic adventure wouldn't work without the right artist, whom Raney undoubtedly is. Every panel of this series is exploding with gorgeous detail and a fantastically dynamic style that makes Conquest feel like it's on the silver screen. A great event made incredible because of what Raney put forward on it.

5. Frank Quitely (All-Star Superman)
6. Stuart Immonen (Ultimate Spider-Man, Nextwave)

7. Mark Buckingham
(Fables)
This poor guy doesn't get nearly the ass-kissing he deserves until award season, and recently sometimes not even then. Let's stop taking these quick shipping masterpieces for granted and start giving this guy more lip service on a regular basis. We've seen our precious Fables characters interpreted by other artists and no disrespect but it's just not the same. This story is moving and fun, but Buckingham's art is the majestic touch that makes it beautiful. Simple put, Fables is not Fables without him. May he live long.

8. John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men)
9. Mike Deodato (Thunderbolts)
10. Michael A. Oeming (Mice Templar, Powers)



Breakout Artist

1. Gabriel Ba
(Casanova, Umbrella Academy)
In many respects, transitioning from Casanova to the Umbrella Academy isn't much of a transition at all. The story styles are slightly similar and the tone is somewhat the same. And sure, these just happen to be two of the best comics of the year. Ba, both in color and out, delivers perfectly on two series that act like psychotic toddlers yet ruthlessly demand to be taken seriously. I expect to see much more from both he and relation Fabio Moon in the near future, particularly on cover-work at which they are also exceptional.

2. HUB (Okko: Cycle of Water)
3. Skottie Young (New X-Men)
4. Fabio Moon (Casanova)
5. David Aja (Immortal Iron Fist)



Best Event

Annihilation: Conquest & X-Men Messiah Complex
It would be detrimental to everyone to knock down either of these events in a forced effort to name one the better. Both are fantastically done and will go down as major points of integrity and success for all of comics as well as for Marvel. In reading these series there is a sense of nostalgia as well as a giddy wonderment that this could be the quality we can someday come to expect comics regularly to deliver. Wonderful examples of exactly what mainstream superhero comics should be doing on a regular basis.

Best Publisher

1. Image
Archaia were the sleeper-group, coming from obscurity to expand the artistic scope of many pull-lists. Image on the other-hand was hardly unknown coming into 2007, but before years end they would be putting out such an unexpectedly large wealth of fantastic books that it's been difficult to ignore their sudden surge. To name only a few, this year they brought us new issues of Invincible, Walking Dead, Nightly News, and Fell while also debuting titles like Casanova, Astounding Wolf-Man, Proof, Bad Planet, After the Cape, Dynamo 5, and Pax Romana. If they can carry and push this momentum throughout 2008 there may be some significant shifts in the comic industry playing field.

2. Archaia
3. Marvel
4. Vertigo
5. Red 5



Moments Year Will Be Remember For

Astonishing X-Men #23
There was a lot of good stuff this year, but nothing that rocked me to the core like this single X-Men comic. The entire issue was incredible; two or three moments in particular, and one final scene that immediately changed the way I feel about comics entirely. This was easily my favorite single issue of the year, and one I already consider a cherished classic.
-Tom

Launch of Marvel's Initiative
Say what you will about Civil War, I probably wouldn't wholly disagree, but what it has spawned is the most tangible, accessible, layered and focused comic universe that arguably has ever existed. The number of impressive shouldn't-miss books in Marvel's hero lineup has never been this high. The structure is straight-forward enough to be new-reader friendly but is also intelligent and compelling enough to re-energize jaded long-time readers. World War Hulk may have been an uninspired dud but Secret Invasion (playing heavily into the new structure) may be the crowning achievement of this successful stage of Marvel's history. It's easier now than ever to consider oneself a 'true believer.'
-Grady