Best comics of 2017

Best graphic novel

I felt that “The Customer is Always Wrong” was the strongest piece of work published in 2017 that I read all year. The memorable and well cartooned coming of age story remained fast paced throughout and brought the narrative Mimi Pond started in “Over easy” to a sombre yet very definite end.

Best webcomic

Until recently I was not aware of Derf hosting a new webcomic. Yet, after reading "Punk Rock & Trailer Parks" and finding it hilarious and page turning, the author's social media feed mentioned a website update. Thus, I was informed of the existence of "The Baron of Prospect avenue", a follow-up to Derf's earlier project. Sporting the same manic but kind-hearted protagonist, as of right now the webcomic's episodic structure manages to more than  make up for the lack the narrative cohesion of the original. 

Best manga

“My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness” was a suprise hit in many ways. The intimate story by a newcomer endeared many fans to her personal confession. Functioning almost like an illustrated essay, Kabi Nagata's story is both witty and heartfelt, making for a great read that exploits the mediums' potential to full extent.

Best mini-series

The long-awaited second volume of Mark Millar and Frank Quitely's "Jupiter’s Legacy" was expected to be the final word on the ambitious project started by a pair of the superhero industry's top talents. The long gap in the publishing lead to a pair of spin-off series and further delays which saw the final issue come more than 4 years since the project was first announced.

And while the story's compressed conclusion ultimately left some fans unfulfilled, with the promise of some kind of a third volume it may be that Millar and Quitely have yet to have a final word on their grand superhero epic.

Best ongoing series

With both Marvel and DC's output increasingly failing to capture the fan's interest, and Image seemingly unable to pick up on the promise of it's supersteady 2012 and 2013, it was hard for me to really declare any of their monthly comic efforts as a favorite.

Eventually I settled on "Kill or be killed", as the series' twists and turns genuinely feel well crafted and unpredictable. Another high quality Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips collaboration, the ongoing seems poised not to outstay its welcome while maximizing the impact it makes along the way.

Best writer/artist

With "Who'll stop the Reign", the latest Shaolin Cowboy story, Geoff Darrow seems to have really come into his own as a creator. His exquisite highly detailed art has finally been matched with a story so satirical that it has forced out the writer in him to try and bring out the most of the over the top social commentary running through these four issues. While still sporting it's fair share of bizarrely mismatched fights, Shaolin Cowboy seems more biting and relevant then ever, and will hopefully continue to be so for a long time to come.

Best comics in 2015

The last year I spent largely away from the blog and the wider blogosphere, mostly concentrated on reading the actual comics and news sites. In an effort to maintain the blog, I've returned with a review and this yearly survey. Hopefully, the site will continue with more regular updates.

Best Event Series

In a feat that surprised all but the biggest fans of Marvel and Jonathan Hickman, the company's 2015 line wide event has managed to live up to the hype. "Secret Wars" supplanted most of the company's titles for the duration of the summer and has in turn managed to produce some fairly interesting books. More importantly, the main series has provided a very strong spine to the entire event. Serving as a coda to the writer's runs on both "Fantastic Four" and "the Avengers", the event series has maintained a strong level of craft throughout. With the exception of the first issue that should have been relegated to a prologue special, both Hickman and Ribić have provided what may well be the best superhero work of their careers. "Secret Wars" will likely remain an event to be remembered far longer than Marvel's typical summer offering and certainly longer than the company wide relaunch that succeeded it.

Best Storyline

It's hard to set aside a single storyline in an industry that is slowly orienting toward complete runs as definite artistic statements on company owned characters. In terms of storylines definitely marketed as something new and largely separate from the preceding issues, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's latest Batman arc comes to mind. "Superheavy" features a complete overhaul of the Batman mythos in an as of yet unprecedented move that has seen commissioner Gordon become a mecha Batman following Bruce Wayne's apparent death in the previous arc.

The ludicrous premise strayed far from the typical Batman storyline, being on the surface more akin to "Robocop" than the Bob Kane/Bill Finger co-creation. Inheriting more than just the Powers corporation from the cyberpunk "Batman Beyond" animated series, "Superheavy" has seen Gordon trying to rise up to the pressure of being a police sanctioned Batman in the city that faces new and terrible threats. That the new crime boss specifically targets Gordon and starts becoming a uniquely weird new creation only adds to the uniqueness of the setup. Also of note is the subplot involving a version of Bruce Wayne which has been increasingly relevant as the story inches towards the inevitable ending.

The end of "Superheavy" is also billed as the finale of Snyder and Cappulo's run on "Batman". Whether the two reunite on "Detective comics" following Capullo's collaboration with Mark Millar, "Superheavy" will likely remain a definite highpoint of their run of the title, following the "Court of owls" arc which stands as their best realized traditional Batman story.

Best Ongoing Title

In a market dominated by a large number of solid ongoing series, 2015 was a year preceding the full scope of the relaunches at both Marvel and DC, with the competing companies likewise more concentrated on branching out with new titles than maintaining the solid pace of existing books. Yet, there are still titles like "the Humans" which has started out with a very clear idea that has logically progressed in the most interesting direction.

Written by Keenan Marshall Keller and drawn by Tom Neely, best known for "Henry and Glenn Forever", "the Humans" is a comic that finds its creators eager to enjoy the atmosphere of true freedom filled with a dangerous mix of sex and death.

Presenting the reader with a motorcycle gang of anthropomorphized apes in a full on late 60-ies period piece certainly seems fresh and entertaining. The counter culture bent is never as realized as in "Easy rider", the controversy is never as pointed as authentic undergrounds, yet this Image entry really believes in its version of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll ape gangs warring with each other.

In a field riddled with high concepts trying their best to capture the attention of readers jaded by a deluge of all kinds of genre fiction, a book with a simple premise and believable characters who manage to be both silly and dangerous feels like a breath of fresh air and certainly ranks with the most solid titles every time it comes out. Hopefully, the creators will find it in their interest to continue working on a series that has yet to find its audience.

Best Mini-Series

When Ed Brubaker and his longtime creative partner Sean Philips were winding down their post-modern noir "Fatale" series, Image issued an announcement heralding their next project. The writer and artist were to be reunited in "the Fade out", a more traditional noir story set in the seedy post-war Hollywood scene.

Featuring a hard drinking writer harboring a secret involving a blacklisted colleague, the series started with the murder of an actress and grew to become a cynical look at the studio system. "The Fade out" draws most of its energy from its protagonist's status as an amateur detective driven to find redemption by solving the mystery.

Foregoing the over the top genre tropes associated with this kind of a detective story, the book maintains an air of style and intelligence, while never letting up the pace. A stellar effort in the duo's distinguished latter day collaborations, "the Fade out" is a triumph of first person narration and well realized modernist comic book storytelling.

Best Single Issue

It's safe to say that "Airboy" was certainly not a book that many fans expected to read once they heard of James Robinson's involvement. A longtime comic scribe best remembered for his "Starman" run, he has since been associated with a string of books that failed to equal the acclaim garnered by his most famous series.

Image marketed "Airboy" as a surreal comedy in the vein of "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas". Once "Airboy"#1 finally debuted, it immediately put a stop to any claim about false advertising.

In many ways, the series was a spiritual successor to "Auteur", in that it involved a frantic look into the creative process. Robinson and Hinkle's story went one step further, by presenting their work as autobiography, as it in some way featured a warped look at the writer's "lost weekend". Greg Hinkle, a relative newcomer to the field had provided a tour de force artistic presentation aimed at maximizing the comedic impact in a way that was both fresh and stylish.

And while the subsequent issues drew ire from the controversy surrounding transsexual representation, their one major flaw was the failure to continue the superb form witnessed in the debut. Seeing the fictionalized versions of Robinson and Hinkle trying to revive the Golden Age hero but getting sidetracked in a self-loathing drug bender ending with a delightful cliffhanger remains a as good a #1 as James Robinson has had in many years. With "Airboy", the venerable writer has earned a new set of eyes regarding his next creative endeavor, while providing the newcomer Hinkle with a high profile debut for his impressive artistic skill.

Best Graphic Novel

Working on the heels of "An age of license", Lucy Knisley has returned with an even more focused travelogue. This time, her efforts go to depict an ocean cruise she took with her elderly grandparents. Dispensing with the diary aesthetic that characterized her previous effort, "Displacement" is divided in chapters summarizing each day on the cruise ship, filled with equal times drama and comedy.

The graphic novel is a challenging read as its real world inspiration leads to a neurotic dash across the details that make for a very memorable vacation. Eventually, the well cartooned pages of "Displacement" build up to a very strong ending that stays with the reader.

The book's greatest quality is that it goes beyond the particulars of the writer/artist's relationship with her grandparents and becomes an artistic look at the process of aging, and the love tying the generations together.

Best Writer

Working in the capacity of a co-writer on "Grayson", Tom King has enjoyed high acclaim which he has aspired to build upon by lending his talents on books at both DC and Marvel. And while "Omega Men" has met with lukewarm sales despite the creative acclaim it accumulated, "the Vision" has grown to symbolize the company's current benchmark for quality storytelling.

The key to King's success lies in his ability to execute ambitious and fresh takes on some of the companies' most well worn characters. Recasting the original Robin as the superspy with conscience has finally enabled the character to grow from his role of the well adjusted junior Batman. The character's stealth takeover of the Batman line as symbolized by his central role in the "Batman and Robin Eternal" weekly series cements the popularity of King's makeover.

On the other hand, "Vision" serves as a finite story with a narration that is both grim and playful. Coupled with Gabriel Hernandez Walta, the writer has set out to tell a morbidly curious tale about the drastic fallout of the robot superhero's decision to start a family. As stylish as it's pretentious, the title has set out to complete its story without the crossover interruptions that have took so much away from the artist's previous run on "Magneto".

It remains to be seen how the industry's focus on King will impact on his work, but judging by the acclaim his first entries in the market have garnered him, the former CIA operative can look forward to a very successful second career as comic book writer.

Best Artist

Oliver Schrauwen was brought forward from relative obscurity thanks to his late 2014 graphic novel debut. Ostensibly adapting his grandfather's colonial adventures, the writer/artist uses the canvas of a lengthy biography as a showcase for his command of comics as a visual language. Working in faux-travelogue mode, "Arsene Schrauwen" allows the author complete control of the narrative, revealing him as a master of the form.

A formalist masterpiece posing as a narrative, Schrauwen's graphic novel delights in challenging and infuriating the readers. Ostensibly a love story and a jungle survival pulp, "Arsene Schrauwen" is delightfully sincere in staying true to itself and its author.

The fact that the writer/artist has decided to stay in comics despite the meager financial rewards associated with experimental books, and has gone on to publish a new comic in 2015 speaks to the fact that he truly enjoys working in the medium.

Captain America #17, Winter Soldier #10

CAPTAIN AMERICA #17

The Ed Brubaker "Captain America" run inches towards finish with an issue that will be of interest only to the fans who have stuck with the writer for all this time. Cullen Bunn continues to co-write, as Scott Eaton provides the visuals for another tiring issue in the much maligned "New World Orders" arc. This installment begins at a heavy handed attempt at relevancy, linking the causes of social unrest to the media manipulation.

Beyond the obvious CNN substitute, the script repeatedly uses the term "couch potato" to refer to the average American affected by terrorist manipulation. The message is somewhat muddled by the genre requirement science fiction technology, but it carries through in a way that climaxes the ideological underpinnings of the relaunched title.

Brubaker's latest cycle of stories have tried to deal more directly with the always tenuous grasp at relevancy, and "New world orders" certainly delivers on the premise of Steve's one time allies challenging him where it hurts the most. The problem is that Bunn presents such a dry, super-serious script that it feels a slog to get through. Diamondback's moment of flirtation aside, the issue is weighted down by a ponderous dialogue, going over many of the points made over the previous issues.

When the heroes finally decide to confront the threat, the co-writers split them into three teams, with most of them only starting to begin their assault when the story comes to a halt. Despite the fact that the bulk of the fighting is set to take place next issue, there is a clear sense that the Sharon Carter sequence has progressed to a point where Cap and Falcon will have to quickly deal away with their share of the threats and help save Agent 13 from the clutches of the enemies.

At this point, it's clear that the inclusion of Baron Zemo II was largely unwarranted. He serves as a secondary villain in this issue, but even as such he takes the focus away from Codename Bravo and Queen Hydra, that have lingered in the shadows since the inaugural arc of the relaunched title. The latter has particularly been slighted by Brubaker's retreat from the title, as the writer is effectively leaving the title before giving her any kind of definition.

It will be interesting to see how Brubaker eventually wrap ups the loose ends in his remaining two issues, but the feeling remains that there is little left of the strength of the writer's initial stories. The Steve Epting illustrated issues were very ambitious and well executed, standing in stark contrast with the above average fare that is on display here. It's not to say that Scott Eaton is a lesser artist, but that he's in a position where he's contracted to illustrate the tail end of a well defined run, which has already been defined by a host of artists with complementary visual styles.

Forced to follow the established character redesigns and the visual style that is contrary to his own caricatural aesthetic, it's no wonder that even the artist is finding little inspiration in the storyline.

WINTER SOLDIER #10

The first chapter of Ed Brubaker's last arc on the title begins by properly following up on the last issue's cliffhanger. The scene is protracted but expertly executed, in the writer's typical methodical manner. Butch Guice, the returning artist adds an experimental dimension to the proceedings, as his art looks like a cross between Jim ("Nick Fury") Steranko and Jim ("Modesty Blaise") Holdaway.

Bettie Breitweiser colors the pages in a washed out look, in keeping with the tense and somber mood pervading the issue. The layouts are ambitious but never confusing, with Guice rendering these larger than life super-spy characters in a way that is energetic, but completely in tune with the script. Most importantly, the artistic team manages to execute a flashback sequence in a very natural way, without resorting to some sort of unwieldy formal effect.

The series' accelerated schedule helps with the seeming lack of forward momentum, resulting in an issue that seems perfectly content to provide the reader with all of the necessary facts and exposition needed to follow the chase after Black Widow. Brubaker confirmed exit from the title adds gravitas to the death of a supporting cast member, even if the character wasn't anywhere as developed as the two leads.

Guice's subtly redesigns Leo, but the character is recognizable even with the addition of a longer hair. The innovative artist renders some of the Avengers in his own, bulky and energetic style, but the writer's thankfully chooses the characters with a degree of personal history with Natasha. It's hard to think that these late additions are going to seriously derail the departing writer in finishing his story on his own terms.

Despite a somewhat unwieldy start, "Winter Soldier" has proven to be a book that exemplifies Brubaker at his genre best, working with talented creators that are not afraid to push their boundaries. Most importantly, he has managed to craft a run that still makes sense despite his early exit from the series, with this last story shaping up to be as strong as any Brubaker has told with the character.

Captain America and Bucky #622

As it currently stands, Marvel is in a very strange place when it comes to publishing Captain America. With the advent of Joe Johnston's "Captain America: The First Avenger" movie, the main title has effectively been renumbered to appeal to potential new readers, and hew closer to the film's continuity, albeit still written by Ed ("Criminal", "Gotham Central") Brubaker, who has helmed the title since 2004. Meanwhile, the original numbering was carried over to make a new ongoing title, co-written by Brubaker, and titled "Captain America & Bucky". Seemingly little more then a spin-off book set in the past and somewhat similar in concept to "Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty", it was to be co-written by Mark ("Torso", "Manhunter") Andreyko and drawn by Chris ("Thor - The Mighty Avenger") Samnee, spotlighting the role Bucky has played in the Marvel universe - from the point of view of Brubaker's somewhat edgier and more grounded interpretation. There was a brief period of confusion pertaining to Bucky's status when it comes to the role he played in the "Fear itself" crossover, but now that Marvel have seen their summer event to its conclusion, it became clear that "Captain America" will be spinning off another new title, that of the long in development "Winter soldier", focused on Bucky's current adventures.

Taking all this into account, and seeing that with the end of the original five part arc of "Captain America and Bucky" Andreyko and Samnee are already replaced with new talent, it seems unlikely that Marvel will be keeping the book around for too long. Yet, for all of the original arc's focus in providing some continuity to the many retcons that make up Bucky's current continuity, it can be said that Andreyko's narration is the chief link that connects the five stories, all set at different points in Bucky's career as Captain America's sidekick. It can be hard to infer to what extent Brubaker has worked on the title (and will continue to work with the new co-writer), it can safely be said that his role must have been in extending the context of his earliest issues of the title, and probably co-plotting the books with Andreyko, who seems to be in charge with the actual dialogue and breaking the script down to panel descriptions.

In any event, ever since the original Joe Simon and Jack Kirby original issues of the title, Bucky's role has been retconned. First it was Stan Lee that dismissed with the character in order to provide the reintroduced Captain America with a somewhat more poignant origin, and paving the way for Brubaker's eventual return of James Barnes as a much more jaded and realistic character (in the context of the Marvel universe). This is not to say that Bucky was entirely missing from since the early days of Silver Age, as Lee's Marvel successor, editor and writer Roy Thomas featured the character in his "Invaders" ongoing series, which #622 of "Captain America and Bucky" draws back on, highlighting the role of a non-superpowered combatant in a World War 2 allied commando unit.

And while flashback scenes featuring teenage Bucky ruthlessly paving the way threw German forces featured quite heavily in Brubaker's early issues, they were still in service of setting up the wider story including Red Skull and his allies, that is nowhere to be seen in this stand alone issue. As a rule, today's Marvel is very conscious of providing new readers with accessible stories wherever possible, making "Captain America and Bucky" completely accessible to a reader that has a basic understanding of the Captain America concept, therefore eventually making an ideal trade paperback to go with the purchase of the DVD, if historically the launch of a new ongoing title to coincide with the film mostly works on carrying over the existing audience that has likewise been hyped with the attention the character has enjoyed this year.

In addition to a full page recap recapping the previous two issues, Andreyko goes on to spend three of the story's twenty pages summing up the Invaders by using a familiar new reel presentation further elaborated by Bucky's narration. This kind of heavy exposition somewhat slows down the story, as it's naive to believe that many of the readers will find it useful, yet it fulfills the aforementioned role of introducing the central players in the story that could hardly be considered one without it. Samnee struggles a bit to integrate the different designs into functional layouts, as each of the characters feels pasted in from a different image, with the prologue's gray tones actually sapping some of the energy and flow of the drawings.

 Thankfully, once Bettie Breitweiser comes to support Samnee's inks with a carefully chosen palette, most of the clarity problems disappear. Yet, Brubaker and Andreyko's decision to cut the provide a lengthy flashback just two pages into the actual story contributes to the jumpy feeling of the narrative, as the reader comes to doubt that Bucky's telling a story within a story won't entirely add up to a fulfilling reading experience. Thankfully, any doubt is quickly assailed as the flashback to three weeks earlier proves integral to the theme of the story despite consisting mainly of a well coreographed fight scene. By the time the conflict between Bucky and Namor is established, the reader has already seen these heroes launching twice into battle, yet the real suspense is saved for the story's third act.

What animates these typical genre scenes then is Samnee's art, depicting actual human beings with believable and even understated emotion. Invaders are by the definition garish characters, as they were grouped together years after their debut, having been designed by different artists to star in a variety of different Golden Age comic books, thus their grouping always seems random and visually contradictory. That Samnee manages to depict them as something resembling the team, aided by Breitweiser's blues, reds and greens, and actually have them seem just fantastic enough to provoke Bucky's response, and yet still somewhat fit in with the actual soldiers in Poland, speaks of his talent and the level of profession applied to what is little more then an origin mini-series.

And if the new reader picks up on Brubaker and Andreyko's "Captain America and Bucky" arc before getting to read the Simon/Kirby originals, or any of the related material, it can hardly be said that they are getting a workmanlike effort, slap dashed to fulfill a small niche in the bloated market. Seeing Namor's sneer and Captain America acting almost completely with his steel chin, makes clear the intelligence and subtlety behind the project. More importantly, Bucky comes over as a completely realized character, one moment seeming like a hurt child, and the other jumping into fray with the overjoyed boy's face, while all the while maintaining the unease and genuine surprise that comes with his lack of experience, and the plain unreality of coming of age in a grisly conflict, further complicated by the addition of superpowered soldiers.

 

Again, it's the attention paid to the details, such as Toro flying Bucky into action (with the Human Torch's sidekick's arms being the only part of his body that is not on fire), or the great care taken to ensure that Captain America's shield is highlighted just enough making the reader both surprised and delighted when it acts a turning point in the climatic battle. Bucky's bravery and respect for his mentor turn out as adequate substitution for his lack of super powers, but getting to such a common sense morale ending could easily have inspired a lesser story.

Where Andreyko and Samnee actually make the set piece worth reading is in their craft and commitment to the assignment. After all of the exposition and set up, actually reading the final eleven pages of the story feels flawless in execution and pacing. Gone are the expositions and character development expressed in nuanced dialogue, at the face replaced by a typical "Hellboy"-like Nazi castle with a customary mad scientist. Seeing the movie-inspired dr. Arnim Zola redesign could tip off readers that they are potentially reading a restrained, designed for children episode that merely clashes the notable characters into a familiar cliche, but Andreyko and Samnee are poised to prove more ambitious than that.

For a start, Zola's plan perfectly dovetails into Bucky's insecurities based around his place on the team, while at the same time providing him for a clear goal by which to prove himself. And while the Ubermensch he sets off against seems once again purposefully generic, designed to instantly recall Steve Rogers and proceed to establish himself as a physical threat for Bucky, the clever use of his powers, countered by Bucky's smart thinking leads to a very satisfying action sequence, that makes the only possible ending feel both earned and poignant.

Fitting for a story focused on James, even Captain America's contribution to Zola's defeat doesn't steal the scene, and merely continues their relationship in a believable way. Rogers is a stronger and more experienced fighter, and in this way he helps Bucky's plan, but doesn't work to undermine the closure Bucky's dialogue with Namor brings to the story.

Simply put, in Andreyko and Samnee's hands (and no doubt under close supervision and collaboration with Ed Brubaker) "Captain America and Bucky" was a very adequate read that justified the reader's trust in the quality behind Marvel's longstanding direction of Captain America. #622 serves as a prime example of this, as it recalls the impact of Mike Mignola's "BPRD" and assorted art centered Hellboy spin-off titles, that provide very fulfilling genre reads cognizant of the importance that pacing and careful attention paid to details can lend to a short story that substitutes shocking reversals of the status quo for commendable style, endearing the reader with classical comics entertainment.

Bucky's adventure with the Invaders leads to him coming to terms with the worst horrors of war in the very next issue, yet #622 shouldn't be looked down for it's lack of focus on Holocaust and the unspeakable cruelties committed by the Axis. In a weird way, "Captain America" had a genuine impression on the mind of American boys during the war, making for recalibration of real world events into this issue's pulpy fantastic completely justified, especially when produced with as much professionalism as displayed by Brubaker, Andreyko and Samnee.

the Marvels project 1-8

This last Wednesday brought the conclusion to the eight part "the Marvels project" mini-series, by the celebrated "Captain America" creative team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting. In commissioning the story, Marvel must have wanted to celebrate it's 70th anniversary by green lighting a more ambitious project centering around the Golden age heroes, than the oneshot Specials published throughout the year. In many ways, this was always a risky proposition, considering that the company's heyday was always in the 1960s revolution of superhero publishing, but charging Brubaker with the project, they were certainly counting on the continually solid writer to approach the assignment with serious intent.

In itself, it quickly became labeled as yet another mini-series retconning the carefree days of the late 30is days of first superhero comics, a territory recently touched upon by series such as "the Twelve", and even "Ultimate origins", all striving for the prestige of an effort such as Darwyn Cooke's "the New frontier".

"Marvel projects"' basic outline consists of covering a time span of roughly two years, detailing America's preparations to officially take part in World War II, from the fantastical point of Marvel's early superhero characters. In choosing a narrator to smoothen out the jumps between such a large cast, Marvel has chosen to spotlight it's first superhero, the little known Angel, who has recently surfaced in the "X-Men: Noir" line of books. He is the focal point through which the reader slowly gets a glimpse of the huge conspiracy, that ends up giving birth to the Marvel universe, by basically getting America to war with Germany.

Unfortunately, the Angel's heroism and background of both being a doctor, and a son of a prison warden, somehow translate to the page as bland and unconvincing, therefore making him perfect for the role of the narrator. The framing story pertains to the company's modern day universe relevance of the tale unintentionally confirms this, as the new take on familiar events ends up being designed to propel a new character altogether, introduced in it's closing pages.

Truthfully, this was always going to be be a problem considering that one of the main challenges of the whole book was spotlighting heroes other than Captain America, the only one of these Golden age masked men to have an ongoing series in the present day, alongside the perennial guest star Namor the Sub-Mariner.

Yet, by evoking the word Marvels, the company was also intent on drawing a parallel to the seminal graphic novel of the same name, whose first chapter centers around providing the most recognizable modern version of the origins of some of these characters. The original Human torch, who was on the cover of the first issue of "Marvel comics" from seventy years ago, is even rendered using Alex Ross' updated character design. And for all of the care used by penciller Steve Epting and colorist Dave Stewart to translate the painterly interpretation on the pages of the traditional comic, the effort cannot help but seem derivative.

And so it is with much of the story, presented in a dense and competent way, yet reserving most of it's emotion for the book's final scenes. Tying the story around Captain America's frequently retold origin seems sensible, considering his status as an important superhero archetype, but it somehow ends up diminishing all of the other characters that "Marvels project" wants to introduce to the modern audience. In opting for a single plot tying them all together, Brubaker has once again relegated them to bit players, whose garish costume designs jump off the page, but despite the lightness of touch they remain curiosities defined by little more than their overblown code names.

This is particularly obvious in a scene involving the Human torch and Namor's epic clash, and the Marvel comic books' first historical crossover, depicted skillfully, yet slighted due to the scope of the project dictating it be cut short. It ends up as an excuse for a telling scene, pulling back the focus to the previously unmentioned effort of the therefore unconnected superheroes helping save the ordinary people from the tidal wave. The many Golden age characters get but a cameo appearance, before the real conflict is resolved by once again featuring Captain America, thus diminishing the Human torch's finest hour for plot purposes.

Among the curiosities spotted in Epting and Stewart's murky debris are some of the characters given attention in JMS and Chris Weston's "the Twelve", driving a sharp comparison to that series. "the Marvels project" ends up seeming much more general and laborious when measured up to what was an exercise in reintroducing the long forgotten Golden age characters front and center, one that is still talked about by the audience, despite the prolonged delay in production.

The simple fact is that Marvel's Golden age staple of characters hasn't been a draw for the audiences for a long time, even with the recent Alex Ross' "Avengers/Invaders" maxi-series, which the company must have been well aware of before green lightening this newest project. And with such a broad focus, they seemed to want to lay a classic all time foundation to their modern universe, but such an effort would seem to need much more passion than the workman-like attitude exhibited by Brubaker and Epting. And truly, they cannot be blamed for having left the series without much in the way of a personal touch.

By commissioning a book so heavily reliant on research, both of the Golden age comic books and the real world events of the time in order to foster largely a retelling of well known stories, a true success would have called for needed nothing less than the passion of Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross' series of the same name, that seemingly ushered in a market for large scale nostalgic projects. And such originality is nowhere to be found in Brubaker and Epting's work, perhaps precisely becasue of the number of interpretations that have inspired it.

Somehow, the dusty beautiful pages depicting the 1940s New York end up being continually driven through by precisely the same high end automobiles of the time, as if by using the best recognized model of everything relating to the book would somehow make it a classic in it's own right. Such a calculated approach on what must have been a very expensive mini-series recalls a big budget Hollywood period piece that still falters at it's humblest - the basic idea at the heart of the well costumed recreation.

Using John Steele as an example, the reader is treated to a very obscure Golden age hero, as he awakens to his potential, and starts combating the Nazi threat behind enemy lines. Yet, he does it in such a way as to appear utterly generic and hard to provoke any sympathy with the readers. Even his design is such a stock action hero look that he ends up being distinguished by name only, yet another player in a huge cast, whose plot relevance would determine the importance of his addition to the story. There is no real excuse for such a treatment, considering that John Steele is a completely new face to the modern audiences, and Brubaker and Epting had every right, perhaps even an obligation, to change him into a much more interesting character, no matter the inconsistencies with the original simplistic idea.

The duo are somewhat better at redeeming their inclusion of the less propaganda-inclined characters such as Phantom bullet, whose background ends up adding some dimension to his over the top unappealing costume. Unfortunately, such characterization is mostly implied via the Angel's caption boxes, as they typically set up a scene shift for another part of the planet, sometimes to further elaborate the role young Nick Fury is needed to play in his heretofore unmentioned having helped liberate doctor Erskine, the scientist behind the process that created Captain America.

As for the immediate plot, it sets to humanize the German spies playing the role of their masters in New York's suburban neighborhoods, replacing the typical prohibition gangsters as the standard Golden age comics foes. By having such strong motivations for trying to smother the superhuman boom in America, and eventually reverse engineer it in their own laboratories, the story gains some pace as a legitimate thriller, when not switching back to provide the origin of even such minor characters, as Human torch's sidekick Toro. Even when these scenes are somewhat integrated in the shady proceedings, they still break form by subverting the hard won 1940s atmosphere. It's very hard to get into the history/science-fiction mash up when faced with Golden age minutiae of the Torch enlisting as a police officer to get a better perspective on the humanity. In this aspect, DC's more fantastical "the New frontier" was much easier to consider, which, Kennedy's speech aside, didn't really consider itself with reality, beyond what was needed to retell the origins of Silver age superheroes, before uniting them to fight on the Dinosaur island.

"The Marvels project" employs a much more naturalistic art style, and the many panels illustrated with every brick in the wall visible, or a typical rooftop water tower in the background seem determined to drive home the subjectively more realistic Marvel universe. This shaky balance is especially the problem in later chapters, as the somewhat more sympathetic German spies get replaced by the much more fanatical supervillain foes. The problem is that there is no real conspiracy for any reader familiar with the broad strokes of Marvel's past, without even brining the real world events into play. The story Brubaker supplants as the connective tissue between the bevy of superhero origins works almost too well, as it seamlessly connects them to play out their familiar tales, with most of the surprises relegated to the very last chapter. It itself, the scope once again ends up becoming the problem, forcing the villains to act through the proxies, while the page count gets eaten up with Captain America, Namor and the Human torch reenacting the most iconic events of their Golden age past.

This is to be understood at some level, considering that with their elimination, the creative team would likely end up constructing a story that could have been done using any of the rival publishers' staple of superheroes, at a time when they were new and mass produced for the hungry audiences. Still, the lack of an actual new element, to act as a secret at the heart of the plot of the conspiracy, does rob the book of some much needed innovation. Brubaker and Epting are careful to try and pace the dense story in a way that it doesn't overpower a new reader, but they leave out a simple idea that was present in a project such as Brian Bendis and Jackson "Butch" Guice's "Ultimate origins" mini-series.

Leaving aside the tie-in to the "Ultimatum" line wide event, Bendis was constructing a story that still centered around the company's most famous characters, and not their Golden age predecessors. Captain America and Nick Fury (himself a Silver age character) notwithstanding, the story centered around Spider-Man and the Hulk, with the chief revelation concerning Wolverine and the X-Men. In such a way, the writer managed to both tie the Captain America's and Wolverine's origins into a story that provided direct foundation for the line, without getting bogged down in watered down history and underdeveloped obscure character revamps.

But then, "the Marvels project" seemingly never had such a clear set of goals, existing as it does to map out a history of the superhero universe, that was more or less created wholesale twenty years later by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, working for a company that but inherited the rights to the previous publisher's back catalog. As such, they made rare references to the period despite propelling Captain America as the leader of the Avengers, while recreating Human torch as a completely different character. And when you have him recognizing Namor as a staple of Golden age comic books, before he goes to fight the rest of the Fantastic Four, it's easy to recognize the inherent discontinuity behind the late 1930s original "universe".

And even Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting at their professional best couldn't do justice to a time period more famous for it's subsequent retcons. In retrospect, Marvel is best to try and negotiate the completion of "the Twelve" series, which is justifiably becoming recognized as a rare successful effort in revisiting their Golden age past. Both Brubaker and Epting known to continue working on a serial such as Captain America, that is at least concerned with something of a current grasp of politics, while being rightly considered the publisher's premier superhero solo title, the irony of it's Golden age origins aside.

70 years of Marvel comics

This year marks the anniversary of the superhero giant's publishing line, thus making it interesting to take a closer look at the two of it's best-selling titles. Both "the Hulk" and "Captain America" are due for a renumbering next month, taking all of their history in print into account, yet there is much more that connects these two seemingly unrelated titles.

From the most cursory look, it's evident that even with the decades-old and world renowned characters, Marvel is forced to put all of their marketing savvy to ensure their continued existence. "Captain America" has just reached it's 50th issue, a round number guaranteeing extra sales, while "the Hulk" has, albeit belatedly, finished it's first year of publication with #12. To ensure sustained profit, Marvel has not only resorted to renumbering these two titles, so that they proudly sport #600 with the next issue, but they have already made plans to launch two mini-events on the back of it, with the long-term goal of putting out a pair of new monthly series starring related characters. Of course, it remains to be seen hos much "Reborn" and "Planet Skaar" have to do with Captain America and Hulk, respectively, yet the "New Hulk" spin-off has already been announced, with the "Captain America" franchise being a logical contender for extension, following the recently announced mini-series.

Putting aside the business concerns for the moment, and getting into the latest stories featuring the characters, reveals a lot of superficial differences. "the Hulk"'s latest adventure was featured as a three-part story-arc, while "Captain America" was presented with a one shot tale. "the Defenders-Offenders war" places Hulk amidst a complicated setup, to explain how multiple characters wound up pairing off against one another. Seeing as to how the heroes Hulk teams up with are his former "the Defenders" team mates, the lack of real depth makes a possible reiteration of the long-troubled franchise seem highly unlikely. Still, Marvel was successful at introducing Red Hulk as a new face in their superhero universe, resulting in him once again stealing the spotlight. Presented as extremely aggressive, Red Hulk seemed a natural choice for dominating most of the battles, but even so, the fights are presented as crass, short, and underdeveloped. 

On the other hand, "Days gone by" presents the reader with a much more somber experience, with most of the action devoted to framing around a different sort of story. Thus, the "Captain America" narrative consists of Bucky's introspection, as he flashes back to three different times in his life, intended to place his current situation in perspective. Bucky is of course, once again, center-stage, even though his fallen mentor's spirit continues dominating the book. By nature, the new Captain America is a violent man, with this story centering on the psychological effect the high stakes have played in his life, as opposed to the mundane birthday tradition, that many of his civilian peers spend with their closest friends. The high-speed present-day action sequences never really dovetail with his narrative, and seem mostly used to ground the book in the now, where where once long-forgotten sidekick struggled to walk in Captain America's footsteps.

Taking all of each respective title's runs so far into the context, the book appear even more different. Believing that "Hulk" should be a predictably action-oriented juvenile book, Marvel paired writer Jeph ("Batman: Long Halloween", "Superman for all seasons") Loeb with the fan-favorite artist Ed ("Superman", "Deadpool") McGuinness. Taking the editorial mandate for a new Hulk book, Loeb has decided on using the approach to pit all of the Marvel Universe against the Red Hulk, but not without setting up clues to the long-running mystery of the character's identity, in the vein of his work on Batman: Hush. Plotting to McGuinness' strengths, the writer famous for his ability to communicate with some of the most popular artists, has once again brought fourth the best of his collaborator, making the book a showcase for McGuinness' bold, cartoony drawings. Yet, for all the fun in pairing of Marvel Universe characters, the book has failed to connect with readers wanting more than a drawn-out, teasing affair.

In other words, it was not embraced by fans of "Captain America", a more mature and sensible exploration of the superhero conventions. Ironically, Ed ("Daredevil", "Criminal") Brubaker has spent years using the book to telling a single, well-thought out story, filled with over the top action in a spy/superhero hybrid. The art is depicted primarily by a striking classical action artist Steve ("El Cazador") Epting, with editorial managing to find suitable replacements, such as Luke ("Samurai: Heaven & Earth", "Jonah Hex") Ross that currently works on the book. The creative-team's unrelenting professionalism yielded a book that is consistent in all the best aspects, charged with a unique goal of fading Captain America out of the spotlight, for his former sidekick to step up. The authors are to be commanded for managing to concentrate on storytelling despite the sensationalism brought on by demise of Bucky's mentor. The Marvel superheroes reaction to the plot was actually hauled over to "the Hulk"'s Jeph Loeb himself, contained in a separate mini-series pencilled by today's most sought-out superhero artists.

The difference between "Hulk" and "Captain America" is most apparent in the way they treat the action sequences. "the Hulk" revolves more or less around the face-offs of it's various guest-starring characters, where "Captain America" includes the fight scenes almost as an after-thought, to fulfill the genre-requirements. Taking a closer look at the traditional superhero aspects of both books, finally reveals the most apparent symmetry - both of them follow firmly the Silver Age model.

In "the Hulk"'s case, it seems unnecessary to look for further depth, as "Defenders-Offenders war" is a throwback to the similar setups that forced groups of characters to fight one another for the most implausible reasons, such as in 1982's "Contest of champions". Yet, while that mini-series worked outside the context of the regular titles, seeing cosmic characters in "the Hulk", makes the reader try to appreciate the tale from the perspective of the Defenders. And yet, with such a strong focus on Red Hulk's atrocities, the whole story arc seems merely updated with a quicker pacing, and more adolescent sensationalism, when compared to it's decades-old inspirations.

Taking "Captain America" into account, the intent doesn't seem to be in doing a direct homage to a particular Silver Age story. Still, a stable of convention rears it's head even there, with the story feeling like a fill-in anniversary one shot of no particular significance on it's own. Despite the previous issue being a much needed look into a supporting cast member's fractured psyche, #50 features a familiar reflection told with the addition of unneeded action elements. After four years of developing Bucky as a hero in his own right, and a recent story arc devoted entirely on his coming to terms with his past, it seems superfluous. Unlike Red Hulk, the new Captain America has been given a lot of focus for some time now, and the only reason publishing a recapping issue like this makes is to try to present the new readers with the hero's new status quo.

Marvel seem to be doing their best to get new readers to sample the renumbered titles, ensuring them that they feature new characters. Taking the publisher's commitment into account, Bucky and Red Hulk might very well be prime examples of building up the interest in their new solo titles, once the original incarnations of Captain America and Hulk return to the forefront. Yet, despite all the differences, both are tied in so closely with Steve Rogers and the original Hulk, that by the nature of creating a family of titles, they don't actually feature new characters per se. Which is to be expected, as Marvel acts to further exploit their existing copyrights, instead of being forced to deal with the creator issues that come with completely new characters. They are, after all, a very successful company, devoted almost solely to updating their Silver Age superheroes to keep up with the market.

With the reality of the ever-shrinking audience, the publisher is thus forced to market their comics as aggressively as they can. And that means using "Captain America"#50 as an excuse to exploit the collector's interest by prizing the issue at 4$. The increase was justified with a text-story included in the back of the issue, illustrated by Marcos ("Doctor Strange: the Oath", "the Breach") Martin, designed to recap the title's history. More blatantly, "the Hulk", costing 4$ since the beginning of the storyline, has had a variant cover for each issue. Thousands of readers continually justify this kind of a publishing move by buying two copies of the same issue, for the sake of the different illustration on the book's front page. Still, despite the recap pages and promotions, the books attract next to no new readers, as defined by the today's young adults' almost complete lack of interest in superhero comics and the specialty shops they are sold in. The publisher is thus forced to rely on the existing clientele, hoping to entice them continue buying, and give spin-offs a chance. These would be the same readers, that have spent decades reading the titles, and are already familiar with multiple interpretations of familiar franchises. And this is how Marvel celebrates it's 70th anniversary, by retelling decades-old superhero stories, slightly updated, while hoping to launch spin-off books on the slight variations.