Action Comics whips ass, and today we want to look at some the choices in and around the books that have enabled this ass whippery by the current run of one of America’s longest running superhero comics. Very important work.
Read MoreThis post includes Zack’s picks for the best comics of 2021, #16 to #15, an eclectic group that includes comics like That Texas Blood, Hellions, Superman and the Authority, and more.
Read MoreBy d. emerson eddy — The “Leviathan” crossover has been building at DC Comics for a while now, starting with the “Leviathan Rising” storyline in Action Comics and then coming to a head two weeks ago in the Superman: Leviathan Rising Special. We've seen the intelligence community in the DC Universe shaken to its core, with entire organizations obliterated, seemingly, by Leviathan. Even that organization itself has seen a kind of upheaval, as Talia al Ghul no longer seems to be its head, and a new unknown character calling himself (or herself, who knows?) “Leviathan” has taken over the reins. To what end no one knows yet.
Read MoreBy Zack Quaintance — A difficult thing about a strong year for comics (like this one) is doing a retrospective Best Of list. Now, to be sure, no one mandates websites do rankings. That would be a clear violation of civil liberties. There is, however, a part of the pop culture blogger brain that goes wild for it, whispering all year long...where does this one rank...and if you don’t satisfy that beast—well, bad things happen.
So, here we our with ours, freshly formulated for 2018 by our committee of one. Before we dive into the third and final and (let’s face it) best part, which features in descending order selections #5 to #1 (Top Comics of 2018, #16 - #25 and Top Comics #6 - #15 are also up now, btw), let’s rehash our ground rules:
No trades or OGNs: Building out our OGN coverage is a priority for 2019. We’re just not there yet. So, while I absolutely loved work like Tillie Walden’s On a Sunbeam, Box Brown’s Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, and Ryan Lindsay and Eric Zawadzki’s Eternal, you won’t find them here. Ideally, next year’s we’ll have an entire post dedicated to OGNs.
No webcomics, manga, or newspaper strips: Again, our site is a bit deficient covering these (if you are into these things, we’d love to chat about you writing for us!). I should, of course, mention that in 2018 someone under the pen name Olivia James took over the long-running Nancy strip and did amazing things with it (Sluggo is lit), but, again, you won’t find it on our list.
Longevity matters: New this year, you will find what I consider a key stat—how many issues were published this year. Late debut series like Die, Electric Warriors, and Bitter Root have tons of promise. They just haven’t been around enough to be a definitive comic of 2018. Ditto for comics that ended in April or earlier.
There you have it: guiding principles of our Top Comics of 2018. Now, without further adieu, let’s finish this bad hombre!
The Immortal Hulk by Alex Ross.
5. Immortal Hulk
Writer: Al Ewing
Artists: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Issues in 2018: 10
The first of the Big 2 titles to make my Top 5 Comics of 2018 is the Al Ewing and Joe Bennett-driven Immortal Hulk, a startlingly-blunt take on a long-time hero that reads more like a creator-owned book than a shared universe corporate story. We’re late in the superhero trajectory, with comics having constructed, deconstructed, and exported the concept to other mediums plenty. Our best modern stories are those that get closest to capturing a character’s core, and rarely has a title done this as well as Immortal Hulk.
At the same time, this book has found a darker place that was always there, taking existing elements and extrapolating them so thoroughly they feel novel. It’s found ground not possible for the sensibilities of the 1960s, Hulk’s heyday. Both artwork and audience have evolved, becoming more sophisticated and thereby allowing Ewing, Bennett, and others to push Hulk further into monster territory while at the same time making Banner the emotional blank slate he was perhaps always meant to be. In this book, Banner is backgrounded, standing in for humanity at large as darker base impulses drag him places no one wants to go (ahem, hell). The Hulk is not the hero—that honor goes to anyone who can live a contented and peaceful life.
On the surface, this comic has also benefited from consistent artwork from Bennett who has needed few guest replacements, plus early chapters that provide satisfying narratives independent of what came before or will come after. This is a bit of a lost art, but still very much welcome, and it’s something that Immortal Hulk did expertly.
This gem by Ryan Sook and Brad Anderson from Action Comics #1006 is quite possibly the comic book page of the year.
4. Action Comics / Man of Steel / Superman
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, Ryan Sook, Ivan Reis, w/Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Jay Fabok, Kevin Maguire, & Adam Hughes
Inkers: Wade Von Grawbadger, Joe Prado, & Oclair Albert
Colorists: Alejandro Sanchez, Nathan Fairbairn, Brad Anderson
Letterers: Josh Reed
Issues in 2018: 5 / 6 / 6
In 2017, Brian Michael Bendis—a leading voice at Marvel Comics for almost 20 years—announced a jump to the distinguished competition, leaving fans with questions that ranged from whether Bendis could thrive there to which titles he would take over. Some suggested this would spark a creative rejuvenation for Bendis, a chance to recapture energy from bygone days. Here’s the thing, though: Bendis had quietly been doing some of his best work at Marvel. Following the stumble that was Civil War II, his Infamous Iron Man, Jessica Jones, and Defenders titles were all excellent.
This is my way of saying I predicted Bendis at DC would be successful. He’s generally praised most for early work on Daredevil, as well as for creating Jessica Jones and Miles Morales (who’s having a moment with new film Into the Spider-Verse). What gets lost is that Bendis is likely the most prolific comic writer of a generation, consistently producing three to five monthly titles and rarely (if ever) suffering delays. As I’ve written, part of what I love about comics is the deadline-driven schedules force creators to just do the damn work, to put forth ideas without belaboring them as one must in film or prose writing. When it comes to embracing child-like excitement, love of comics history, and just doing the damn thing—Bendis is the best.
Still, even I didn’t predict what he’s doing with DC’s Superman titles. Flanked by the best artists to work on the character in decades, Bendis is telling a story that breaks this hero and his mythos down to its core before (seemingly) building it back up with slight tweaks for 2018. His Action Comics, Superman, and Man of Steel miniseries have all felt both classic and progressive as he revels in iconic stature while viscerally having a blast using the DC Universe that’s been off limits for so long. The end result is that both Action and Superman continue to rise, as satisfying as they are epic.
From Monstress #18. Artwork by Sana Takeda.
3. Monstress
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2018: 6
This was the year of Monstress, with Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s expansive creator-owned fantasy hitting big at the Eisner’s and (presumably) finding a much larger audience. For fans of the book from the start, it was incredibly rewarding to see this story get its due. Liu’s world-building is phenomenal, drawing loosely from traditions while first and foremost exploring original elements. Takeda’s artwork, meanwhile, is second to no artist keeping as regular a release schedule (save for possibly the great Fiona Staples), with an intricate manga-influenced look that makes every panel of Monstress feel like the product of months of design work.
This year saw Monstress play out its third arc, a grandiose story heavy with confidence. The world-building continues, but it’s not as noticeable as it was in earlier arcs (both of which were also phenomenal, btw). The real focus of the story now is the journey of the main character. Given this is a fantasy comic (the fantasy comic of the decade), we wouldn’t have it any other way.
What started as a revenge story in 2015, has grown into a powerful young woman reckoning with a range of life: her relationship with her history, with her mother, with the mysterious power inside her, with the most responsible way to use it, and with the repercussions for noble actions that grew out of a simple desire to escape oppression and survive.
Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Quantum Age, Doctor Star, and Chtu-Louise.
2. Black Hammer
Black Hammer: Age of Doom / Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows / Quantum Age: From the World of Black Hammer / Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Dean Ormston, Rich Tommaso, Max Fiumara, Wilfredo Torres, Emi Lenox
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Todd Klein
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Issues in 2018: 7 / 4 / 5 / 1
This past year also saw the establishing of a new superhero universe: Black Hammer. Technically, this homage-heavy universe was created back in 2016 with the advent of Black Hammer #1 from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston. That issue was the start of a specific story. The wider universe grew later, doing so with an adjacent miniseries that broadened the plot in 2016 (Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil from Lemire and artist extraordinaire David Rubin).
In 2018, however, we got an even broader expansion. This past year, the Black Hammer universe continued with its main title, while adding two more miniseries and a one-shot. Add to that all kinds of rumors about what’s coming in 2019—from Lemire himself writing/drawing a 12-issue series, to a crossover between Black Hammer and DC Comics—and all signs point to this universe being here to stay. I had a chance to interview Jeff Lemire at San Diego Comic Con, and he agreed, saying as much.
I point this out as a way to note Black Hammer is so well-done that it has found a strong foothold in a market over-saturated by superhero concepts since basically 1970 (if not sooner). This is Lemire in all his brilliant Lemire-ness, following his deepest ideas and tragic lonesome sensibilities. He’s created a tone that allows him to write a few pages of funny before lapsing into full-blown meditations on the nature of generational comic book stories. Shared superhero universes function best with a strong guiding voice or perspective (see Marvel in the ‘60s). Black Hammer is doing just that, and I for one feel lucky to experience it in real time.
Saga #50 (cover by Fiona Staples) finds the family in happier times.
1. Saga
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Letterer: Fonografiks
Publisher: Image Comics
Issues in 2018: 6
I’ve written about this often, but it’s easy to take long-running creator-owned comics for granted, forgetting what a rare thing it is to have talented writers and artists string together wholly original stories with only their keyboards and pencils. For many of us, our lifetimes have been marked with a mainstream comic selection dictated by corporations and distributors, plus whatever experimental work was on the fringes. In recent years, this has changed, and, leading that change, has been Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ familial sci-fi epic, Saga.
This year, however, was one in which we were all but forced to stop taking Saga for granted. The first reason for this was Saga’s latest story arc (which ran in issues #49 - #54, and wrapped up in July) was obscenely consequential. I don’t want to give anything away, but $@#% goes down and it’s bad, so bad I wrote about why it hurts, partially to make sense of why I was so devastated. It’s a testament to this story that it can hit such intense emotional beats so far into its run.
Second, the book announced it would be going on a year-long (minimum) hiatus. Obviously, you can’t take something for granted once it leaves you. Kind of bummer (we’re compensating with a year-long Saga re-read), made all the more bumming (is that a word? ah well) by how good the comic got before the announcement. There really is, quite simply, nothing else like Saga, not in terms of the scope of the story, the artful thematic explorations undertaken within, or the industry-best action and design graphics generated a whopping six times a year (or more!) by the massive talent that is Fiona Staples.
This site is dedicated to discussing comic books in thoughtful and analytical ways as the medium enjoys a new golden age. To us, Saga remains the leader of an ongoing renaissance, and a big part of the reason we think it’s so important to volunteer time to cover the artform. It is an absolute honor to give the book and its devastating 2018 story (kind of fitting, in sooooo many ways) our Top Comic of 2018 honor.
Check out Best Comics of 2018, #16 - #25 and Best Comics of 2018, #6 - #15! And check back later in the week for more year-end lists, including our Best Single Issues and our Top Creators of 2018!
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.
By Taylor Pechter
1. Hawkman
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Bryan Hitch
Publisher: DC Comics
The sleeper hit of the year. Written by Robert Venditti (Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps) and drawn by Bryan Hitch (The Authority), Hawkman explores the character of Carter Hall. It weaves a story about history and self-discovery that is intrinsic to his character. From its start back in June, this has been a must-read series. Not only is Venditti’s script immaculate in consolidating the convoluted nature of Carter’s origins, but Bryan Hitch is supplying the best artwork of his career. The art is big and cinematic but also contains a lot of emotion within it. Go read this series
Read more about why we like Hawkman!
2. The Wild Storm
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Jon Davis-Hunt
Publisher: DC Comics
A holdover from last year, Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt’s gritty, stripped-down, espionage-fueled retelling of the WildStorm Universe continued to chug along in 2018 and continue its greatness. Not only did we see the formation of the proto-WildCATs and John Lynch searching down his Thunderbook agents before IO gets a hand on them. Ellis, like always, is a master in character interactions. His injection of dark humor also adds a great edge to the book. Davis-Hunt’s art work continues to be simple, but also dynamic with some of the best rendering of action in the business. The end of 2018 brings us to the end of the third of four arcs. With all the pieces set in place, the final arc is sure to be a doozy, and I am all here for it.
3. Justice League Dark
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Alvaro Martinez Bueno
Publisher: DC Comics
Re-teaming hot creative team James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno straight off their acclaimed run of Detective Comics, Justice League Dark focuses on the mystical side of the DC Universe. Formed by Wonder Woman after the events of Justice League: No Justice, titular team works to discover something amiss in the magic community. Much like his run on Detective, Tynion is an expert in character voices and dynamics. Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Man-Bat, Detective Chimp, Swamp Thing, and many more have great interactions with each other that help add a personality to this book. Martinez Bueno’s art is astonishingly detailed and creepy paired perfectly with Brad Anderson’s moody but vibrant color palate.
4. Doomsday Clock
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
Publisher: DC Comics
The series that never ends. Jokes about the delays aside, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s examination of the DC Universe through the eyes of Watchmen characters continues to be one of the most illuminating reads on the shelves whenever it does actually come out. How Johns expertly moves from dark and dour to hopeful and optimistic is a hallmark of his writing. His scripts are dense and complex, heavy with nuance. Gary Frank continues to be one of, if not THE, best artists in the business. He is a master of rendering and emotion, capturing both the bleak tone of Watchmen and the light tone of the DC Universe. He is also joined again here by colorist extraordinaire Brad Anderson. The release of issue eight brought this year to an end with a bang, both literally and figuratively.
5. Action Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, Ryan Sook
Publisher: DC Comics
In November 2017 it was announced that industry heavyweight Brian Michael Bendis was jumping from Marvel to DC. Speculation arose to which character he would write. In February of this year, it was announced he would write the six-issue mini series Man of Steel, a callback to the 1986 John Byrne-penned book of the same name. Bendis would then subsequently take over both Superman and Action Comics, focusing on two different aspects of the character. The main Superman book would focus on cosmic level threats and big action, while Action would be a more grounded take focusing on Clark Kent the journalist. This is an aspect that is barley touched upon in modern Superman stories, and it’s also what hooked me right away. Bendis’ main focus is on the Daily Planet. With Lois away working on writing a book, they have lost one of their premier reporters. Not only that, but a rash of unexpected fires have started popping up and a shady underground criminal organization is rising from the underbelly of Metropolis. Clark the reporter is on the case. Like most investigative journalism, there are a lot of steps to be traced. Bendis takes advantage of that by focusing on two new characters he created: fire chief Melody Moore and upstart Planet employee Robinson Goode. Intrigue is abundant as Bendis uses his signature snappy dialogue to give new life not only to the Planet newsroom but to Metropolis in general. Joining Bendis on art duties is Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, and Ryan Sook. Each of them lend their unique style, adding richness to the characters and the world around them.
Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.
By Zack Quaintance — This month there are quite a few titles from spring and summer appearing for the first time, books that launched with promise, settled in, and just now landed really memorable issues. I’d certainly put Action Comics #1004 and Submerged #3 in that category, both of which come from series I’ve liked from the start and was just waiting for a marquee issue to celebrate.
Meanwhile, our Shout Outs for October is heavily weighted toward superheroes. I’m not sure how this happens (or why), but I will note our Best New #1 Comics of 2018 had more creator-owned books. This could all, of course, be happenstance. I should also note this wasn’t one of the stronger months for individual issues in recent memory, but a quick glance at November indicates that is soon to change.
And now! On to the comics!
I pointed this out recently on Twitter, but we are, indeed, lucky to have National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates writing comics. His work on both Black Panther #5 and Captain America #4 was outstanding, continuing to establish him as a massive talent increasingly confident within this medium. Shout outs as well to artists Daniel Acuna and Leinil Francis Yu.
Coates, however, isn’t the only massive talent with two killer books in October. Jeff Lemire had Gideon Falls #7 and Black Hammer: Age of Doom #6, stellar works from great series. Props to Black Hammer guest artist Rich Tommaso and Gideon Falls’ Andrea Sorrentino for their contributions.
Tony Stark: Iron Man #5 was a pleasant surprise in a series that is consistently fits that description. Writer Dan Slott and artist Gang Hyuk Lim incorporate (heh) Tony’s ethically gray younger brother in a one-off that foreshadows repercussions for the main plot as well. I’ve just found the futurism and corporate politicking angles in this run intriguing, so far.
Shout out to Bryan Edward Hill and N. Steve Harris for concluding their run with Wildstorm: Michael Cray #12, which ends the story of the titular character, murdering his way (sympathetically!) through evil versions of the Justice League within Warren Ellis’ new Wildstorm Universe.
Mark Russell is at it again in Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1, which is set in the Vietnam Era, and told in a way that draws comparisons to now and leaves one feeling wistful for the integrity of Nixon and Watergate.
Not much to say about Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch’s Hawkman #5, other than carry on boys, what you’re doing with this character and book is refreshing and excellent.
Meanwhile, Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis’ Superman #6 was good, but Action Comics #1004 was better. Bendis’ dueling Man of Steel series are two of our favorite things at DC right now. More on that below.
Our other favorite thing at DC? Scott Snyder, James Tynion, and some of the best artists in the business ongoing Justice League epic, which reads like a really smart big budget epic touching every corner of the DCU. This month we get Atlantis, spread through a bevy of titles, including Justice League #9 and #10, Aquaman #41, and the Justice League Aquaman Drowned Earth #1 special.
5. Hot Lunch Special #3
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: Jorge Fornes
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Price: $3.99
After Hot Lunch Specials’ first issue, I pegged it as a generational, Fargo-esque Midwestern noir, a comic that planned to deal in equal parts with a modern American immigration story and the sort of organized crime retribution that would be more at home in The Godfather. There is, to be sure, a fair amount of that stuff in this comic. Hot Lunch Special #3, however, serves up notice to readers that this book is headed for places they never expected.
Every issue of this comic so far has been great, but this issue pushes the book to a new level, one of organic storytelling (not a food pun) that has me excited to see how this all ends up. I don’t know how to explain it that much better without revealing the twists. So, I’ll just say that Hot Lunch Special is a must-read comic, last month and from here until its end.
4. Redneck #16
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Lisandro Estherren
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
From its start, Donny Cates and Lisandro Estherren’s Redneck has been a neatly-constructed vampire romp, filled with Robert Kirkman-esque twists and a down home Texan accessibility Cates has honed. This issue, however, does something I wasn’t sure Redneck could: it goes to emotional places that are welcome and justified.
In fact, in the parlance of this title, I’ll say I reckon’ Redneck #16 is a great representation of Cates’ biggest strengths as a writer. It has a scene in which Nazis are outlandishly thrashed in a prison (so cathartic) and another later on in which a son inadvertently/reluctantly comes out to his father, who meets the news with easy acceptance. I never get tired of that scene, and Redneck #16 nails it. There’s been a whole lot of blood in this book, but this is the first issue with a massive amount of heart (in retrospect that sentence was gross and I’m sorry).
3. Submerged #3
Writer: Vita Ayala
Artist: Lisa Sterle
Colorist: Stelladia
Letterer: Rachel Deering
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
We wrote a Submerged #3 review, so we won’t rehash the many reasons we love this book too much, but we will note this issue made us even more interested in a title that has hooked us from the start. Simply put, Submerged #3 simultaneously takes us to the most fantastical places this story has gone while also rooting its stakes deeply in character. It’s a great mix for a wonderfully scary and introspective book steeped in personal experiences.
Like many of Vault Comics other books coming out right now, this one is very much a must-read title.
2. Immortal Hulk #7
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Simply put, Immortal Hulk #7 is the best superhero comic right now. I am far from the only comic critic to say this. Hell, it’s probably comic book critic Twitter’s favorite title so effusive have we been with our praise. Not that that means a book is unimpeachable, but what writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett are doing here is truly special.
They’ve taken a horror-laden approach to Hulk stories, which has been done before just not with this level of detail, imagination, and willingness to go to truly disturbing places. In this issue, the undead Hulk gets his comeuppance at the hands of the Avengers, who use a satellite from space to blast him into pieces somewhere in rural Iowa. Except, comeuppance is the wrong word. This title does a great job of making you feel sorry for everyone involved, which is perhaps the only correct way to handle stories about such a brutal, rage-driven figure.
1. Action Comics #1004
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Ryan Sook
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Brad Anderson
Letterer: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
This issue hit me right in my personal life. In Action Comics #1004, Clark and Lois reunite after life has forced them apart. Now, my wife spent this summer in Washington D.C., covering federal immigration policy for the LA Times. Meanwhile, I was in California, working my own job, etc. In this issue, Lois and Clark pick up where they left off sweetly, almost as if nothing has changed, acknowledging that while neither can predict the future, their love is strong, even if their proximity must occasionally be distant.
I found it true to my own experiences with such reunions, especially in tone. I’ve also been a reporter for a decade, and I like Lois quitting the newsroom. I’m not advocating for superhero stories going too far into media industry weeds, but having the most-celebrated journalist on the planet give up the lousy daily newspaper grind to write books is a logical move. Books are, quite frankly, what everyone I know at daily papers now aspires to write. Mileage will (and should) vary based on your own connections with these classic characters; I only speak for my experience with the material.
Check out our Best New #1 Comics of October 2018 plus more of our monthly lists here.
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.
The new comics fireworks started July 4th and just kept coming. Groan, I know. But anyway, the most impressive thing about this month’s new #1 was the wide variety of stories they told. So many boxes got checked by these books: New Orleans plus horror and drugs? CHECK. Encouraging new direction for Amazing Spider-Man? CHECK. Ethereal exploration of death that reads like literary magical realism in graphic format? Somehow also CHECK.
July’s variety of #1 comics speaks to a major change in the industry: a broader and expanding audience is fostering broader and expanding demand. You know what that means? That’s right—broader and expanding supply. Or, more and weirder comics. With this in mind, it’s easy to be bullish on comics right now, and the entries on our list today re-enforce why.
Let’s do it!
The Long Con #1 came out the Wednesday after SDCC, telling a story about a never-ending apocalyptic con. Its timing was perfect and its concept sharp. Read our full review.
Cliche alert! Catwoman #1 was a (fancy?) feast for the eyes. The story and art—both by Joelle Jones—were phenomenal. Most importantly, though, Jones gets Selina...the aesthetic, narration, villain...nigh-perfect.
I saw Donny Cates at SDCC on a panel about Image Comics. Someone was late...so Cates, obviously, put Pantera on his phone and growled into his mic, WELCOME TO IMAGE. This is also the aesthetic of his latest Marvel #1s: Cosmic Ghost Rider and Death of Inhumans, which are both madcap and grandiose.
Mariko Tamaki and Juan Cabal had to follow Tom Taylor’s excellent 3-year run on All New Wolverine. Tough challenge. In X-23 #1, however, the team meets it, preserving the best of Taylor’s work (the heart) while also heading in a horror-tinged new direction.
Everyone said read Bone Parish #1 by Cullen Bunn Jonas Sharf. They said it was excellent, frightening in a way I wouldn’t expect. Everyone was right. Bunn’s latest horror book (of an estimated 19) is frightening in a way you won’t expect, either. Now I’m the one urging you to read it.
Speaking of horror, check out Clankillers #1, a gritty story about gaelic mythology. Read our full review.
Ever think to yourself: I’d love to read Miami Vice meets Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Of course not, few probably have, but someone is writing it as a comic and it’s a winner. The Mall by Don Handfield, James Haick, and Rafael Loureiro is a solid debut, rich with ‘80s camp. Recommended.
James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez nailed Justice League Dark #1. In a summer of strong new directions for DC, this is one of the strongest, with stellar art and gleeful depictions of the publishers oft-underused bench.
Vault Comics (one of our favorites) has had a great year, and Submerged #1 is the latest book to become a part of it. Vita Ayala and Lisa Sterle craft a story with intriguing family dynamics, a natural disaster, and a potpourri of mythos.
It’s tough to evaluate Brian Michael Bendis’ debuts via Superman #1 and Action Comics #1001. Bendis is a prolific and veteran writer, a student of superhero history who thinks in eras, not in single issues. So far, he’s established tones and started unveiling his the vanguard of his plans. The full scope of his aspirations, however, largely remain to be seen.
Unnatural #1 by Mirka Andolfo
This book lives in an intriguing world of dystopian reproductive laws, one that has enabled Italian comic auteur Mirka Andolfo to craft a story that is at once poignant, tantalizing, and horrific. This issue is the first of 12 parts, and I knew about halfway through reading it that I was onboard for the long haul.
To quote our Unnatural #1 Review: Andolfo clearly has strong thoughts about the intersection of sex and government, but she is also well-aware that those thoughts are best served by first and foremost telling an entertaining story. As a result, Unnatural #1 is not to be missed. And we very much stand by that.
Captain America #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates & Leinil Francis Yu
Early indications are strong for Ta-Nehisi Coates & Leinil Yu on Cap.
This debut fittingly dropped on July 4, and it’s the best single-issue Captain America story I’ve read since Ed Brubaker’s all-time great run ended. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer I first became aware of via his articles in The Atlantic, before then reading his non-fiction works, specifically Between the World and Me. When he came to comics in the spring of 2016 to write Black Panther, I enthusiastically added the comic to my pulllist.
And Black Panther has been decent enough, a little wordy and dull in parts as Coates struggled to reconcile the new medium with his writerly instincts. With Captain America #1, any and all growing pains are clearly behind him. Coates and collaborator Leinil Francis Yu have made a declarative statement with this book...this is going to be a dark and action-heavy take on Cap, one that will test Steve Rogers with problems that grow out of his past continuity as well as the modern state of the U.S. It won’t be heavy handed, no, on the contrary the book seems bent on making its thematic intent slow-burning and subtle. Come along if you dare. Read our full review.
Amazing Spider-Man #1 by Nick Spencer & Ryan Ottley
I think it was in one of those retailer columns on Bleeding Cool that I read about someone saying a back-to-basics well-done Amazing Spider-Man book could be the industry’s top seller. Well, we’re about to find out if that’s true. Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley’s debut on Marvel’s flagship title is almost indisputably those two things: well-done and back-to-basics.
We here at Batman’s Bookcase, however, have now written two full pieces about why we like it, so rather than trying to find a facet of the comic we haven’t explored, we’ll just wrap up quickly here by pointing you toward our Amazing Spider-Man #1 Review and our 5-Panel Amazing Spider-Man Explainer.
This is easily one of our favorite covers in recent memory.
Euthanauts #1 by Tini Howard & Nick Robles
Remember way back at the start of this piece when I mentioned an ethereal exploration of death that reads like literary magical realism in graphic format? Well, here we are. The Euthanauts #1 is a unique comic, as self-assured as any debut issue in recent memory. It does understated and deliberate work familiarizing you with a relatable character, one who is maybe even a bit on the mundane side, before fitfully plunging you into a world where life and death intermingle.
Someone on Twitter asked me recently if this comic was good, and I told them yes, very good, but pretty abstract and best consumed in a way where it just sort of washes over you—read twice for good measure. That’s how I read it, and it has been haunting me ever since. I can’t wait to see what this creative team has in store for this story. Oh, and I should also note that as mesmerizing as Tini Howard’s ideas are, this without question seems to be one of those ideal books wherein her and artist Nick Robles lift each other, both seemingly poised to do career best work. Read our full review.
Relay #1 by Zac Thompson, Eric Bromberg, Donny Cates, & Andy Clarke
While reading Relay #1, I got a feeling I’ve maybe only previously had while emerging from a classic sci-fi novel. Basically, this comic reads like layered and complex sci-fi being doled out by an engaging plot line, one with evident shades of the masters of its genre, namely Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin.
I really dug Relay #1, to the point when someone recently asked me what books I was reading (always a difficult question to answer on the spot), I stumbled around for a moment before just blurting out: Relay. For more on why I enjoyed the first issue of this book so much...that’s right...read our full review here.
Thanks as always for reading, and make sure to come back this week for our Best Comics of July 2018, period.
Check out more of our monthly lists here.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
By Maya Kesh — Since Lois Lane first debuted in 1938’s Action Comics #1, right alongside Superman and Clark Kent, she has been a lightning rod for how society views strong women. Through the years, this significance has been a double-edged sword, with Lois’ characterization reflecting both progress and limitations in various eras. As the Superman comics pass to a new writer this summer amid much media coverage and fanfare, I think it’s important to look at how Lois has been written historically, what it means to write her well, and why her depiction is so important for Superman stories.
In the early Golden Age comics (1938 - 1955), we see Lois Lane very much steeped in the working dame mode of that era. This is familiar to us through old movies like His Girl Friday.
In the Silver Age (1956 - 1970), Lois becomes a caricature of this idea, a desperate career woman who needs to marry to be happy. Lois having an end goal of marriage isn’t a problem, but it is a problem how that end goal is defined, as if when she marries Superman, she will have achieved the sum of all her ambitions. Marriage basically became an obsessive goal, one that wasn’t portrayed sympathetically at all.
Next came the Bronze Age (1970 - 1985) and the women’s liberation movement. During this time, Lois was seen through those changing progressive attitudes. Groovy, right? I am woman hear me roar. She was navigating slowly-evolving attitudes toward women in those years.
In the Modern Age, we’ve come to another turning point for Lois. She’s currently married to Clark, and they have a son, Jon. There has been a lot of discussion lately about what this means for Lois Lane, and it often comes back to this idea that being married to Clark and raising a child somehow limits her character.
This begs a question: Why? I think it goes back to the Silver Age idea that marriage is somehow an end for her. If she’s married, she can’t be everything she could be. That notion, however, brings us to another question: Are husbands and dads primarily defined by those roles, too? Or, are they written as multifaceted complex characters who are able to be many things to many people? The answer to the second question is decidedly yes. They can be career men (which isn’t even something men are called), as well as husbands and fathers. Women, however, are still often defined by stereotypes within labels, as if Lois Lane being a career woman means that she can’t also be a mother and a wife.
When Lois is written as a mom, for example, there is this idealized version of who mom is. And usually in the Superman-verse, this means Martha Kent, the stay-at-home mom who kept house and baked pies. Trying to fit Lois into that mold means writing her in an inorganic way that belies her personality. One’s personality doesn’t change after you have kids—my own teenagers can attest to that. Do priorities change, though? Of course.
Being a mother, however, shouldn’t turn Lois into Martha Kent. They’re entirely different people, and Lois doesn’t have the same skillset Martha does, nor does she need it to be a good mother. Basically, Lois might not be able to bake a perfect pie (although Clark probably can because he grew up with Martha as his mother), but she may be better-able to show her son how to pick a lock or hotwire a car if he ever loses his keys. This doesn’t make Lois any less of a mom. The definition of mother/wife should broaden to include all types of people. Just as dads are not inept stereotypes, neither are moms an idealized throwback to Leave it to Beaver.
In general, I think Lois often suffers from baggage writers bring when they think of her character throughout history. Some remember her as the abrasive pest she sometimes devolved into in the Silver Age, never mind that Superman was just as culpable at that time (so much so a site was dedicated to his Superdickery). Some seem to remember her as a man-hungry husband hunter, or as somebody who only loves Clark’s powers (I’d argue she always loved the man behind the disguise, no matter which persona that was).
It sounds simple, but I think this bears emphasizing: to write Lois Lane, it is important to know who she is and the traits that have long defined her. Lois is strong, tenacious, compassionate, and ethical. She also wears her own masks. She’s vulnerable but doesn’t want the world to see it. Lois is fiercely dedicated to truth and justice, using journalism as her own superpower. She also understands there are shades of gray. Truth isn’t binary. There are some truths worth protecting from the public.
Clark’s identity, for example, isn’t for public consumption, as it doesn’t have any bearing on public welfare. There are, however, lies that exist to destroy people (ahem, most of what Lex Luthor does), and she is out to expose people who hurt others as they quest for power.
There are recent examples of Lois being written this way. This scene from Mark Waid’s Birthright shows us a Lois who stands up for injustice no matter where she sees it.
And this scene from Kurt Busiek’s Action Comics #850 shows us Lois’s early days with Clark. It’s a great example of how to write the triangle for two while giving empathy to both players, rather than turning Lois into an unsympathetic person only interested in Superman and his powers.
These are just two examples. Teenage Lois in Gwenda Bond’s young adult Lois Lane prose trilogy also gives us a multifaceted portrayal. In live action, for all of Smallville’s ups and downs, the TV show ultimately captures Lois’s complexity pretty well.
In the end, I think it’s important to remember Lois Lane was originally created alongside Clark Kent and Superman for a reason: she provides the audience with a narrative bridge between his identities. Through Lois, we as readers see the wonder that is Superman, while we also see the everyday life of Clark Kent—a dichotomy filtered through one character to create a consistent perspective.
This all speaks to why I believe it is so important for Lois to be written well, because it is through her that we gain access to all that is Superman. When Lois is allowed to reach her potential? Superman stories truly soar.
Maya Kesh is a lifetime comic reader and a writer whose articles often focus on how women are portrayed in comics. You can follow her on Twitter at @mayak46.
No! YOU went overboard with collecting Action Comics #1000 variants!
April had one landmark issue—Action Comics #1000—and what felt like some place-holding between new initiatives for both Marvel and DC. Creator-owned books were strong, especially in terms of debut issues, but mostly April was a month of looking toward the future, toward flashier summer happenings like Marvel’s Fresh Start, and DC’s No Justice, New Justice, Man of Steel, and Bat-Cat Wedding.
Even so, there were still a strong crop of books to be consumed. So what are we waiting for? Nothing. Let’s do this!
Batman and wonder Woman, stuck in the cover art of a metal album via Brave and the Bold #3.
...Brave and the Bold #3 had me really hoping Batman and Wonder Woman can escape from the metal album cover art they’ve somehow gotten trapped in...
...Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s run together culminated with this month’s Captain America #700, and it was unsurprisingly a joy, given how adept both men are as graphic storytellers. The future for Cap fans now belongs to Ta-Nehisi Coates, who takes over the title with a new No. 1 in July. Here’s hoping he pushes the character to headier, more analytical spaces, as his interviews and Free Comic Book Day short suggest...
...Champions #19 featured a new creative team of writer Jim Zub and artist Sean Izaaske. Zub’s script is as big-hearted as the Champions themselves, but I was most impressed by Izaaske’s phenomenal artwork, which gave me early Jorge Jimenez vibes, high praise given I currently consider him one of the best monthly superhero artists...
...Huckleberry Hound’s relationship with the cop in Exit Stage Left: Snagglepuss Chronicles #4 put tears in my eyes. Just tragic. I’m loving this satirical book, which goes to some very poignant places but thankfully has the Sasquatch shorts at the end serving as an emotional palate cleanser...
...New Super Man and the Justice League of China #22 is yet another stellar entry in one of my favorite in-continuity DC runs in many years. With this book, Gene Luen Yang has created a layered and believable superhero story for a country outside the United States. It’s an odd comparison (and we’re getting off track) but the only other time I remember half as much thought going into non-American heroes is Alpha Flight. Anyway, this book is ending soon, but what a treat it has been…
...Mister Miracle #8 is yet another installment in an ongoing modern classic maxi-series from Tom King and Mitch Gerads. I don’t have anything to add to the discourse, other than I could easily put this book in the Top 5 every month but am holding back because of how frequently we’ve featured it...
...Finally, R.I.P. to a pair of too-short Justice League runs by Christopher Priest and Steve Orlando, both of which concluded in April with Justice League #43 and Justice League of America #29, respectively. Priest’s was a brief teaser that re-enforced him as one of our best superhero writers, able to work magic with seemingly any character. Justice League of America, meanwhile, was a dense and rewarding treat throughout its life, one I may write about it at length sometime in the near future, schedule permitting.
5. Grass Kings #14 by Matt Kindt & Tyler Jenkins
Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins next book, Black Badge, begins in August
This book has been rich and engaging from its start, driven in equal parts by character, mystery, and Jenkins wispy, ethereal artwork. Every arc has been deliberate, a slow burn, but things are entirely ablaze now. No. 14 really snuck up on readers (or at least on me, anyway), and now all of a sudden we’re in the middle of a tense, life and death situation.
One of the highest compliments I can pay a piece of narrative art is that it made me feel intense and surprising emotions. This issue’s ending did that, making me really feel the danger for the characters. This is the penultimate issue. But! Kindt and Jenkins already have a follow up work on the way in August, Black Badge.
4. Action Comics #1000 by Various
A comics Twitter friend of mine—Dan Grote of WMQ Comics—pointed out that many of the stories in Action Comics #1000 feel like fodder for a forgotten annual, and I can’t entirely argue with that. Minus the context of this being a landmark 1000th issue, many (but not all) of the vignettes here fall flat. These stories, however, do have that benefit, and it’s impossible to evaluate them without contextualizing them within the legacy they honor—which is why I wrote so glowingly about this book in a recent review.
I should note, however, this review was written the day of release, and I’ve since had time to meditate on my rankings. The only change I would make would be bumping The Car by Geoff Johns/Richard Donner, Olivier Coipel, and Alejandro Sanchez to No. 2. I continue to standby my list of favorite variants, though.
3. Thanos #18 by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, & Antonio Fabela; Thanos Annual #1 by Various
Just a bit of the awesomeness from Thanos Wins.
With the release of Avengers: Infinity War, April was a huge month for Thanos, as his appearance in that movie essentially made him a household name, even inspiring some to start writing/Tweeting about how thirsty they are for him because that dude is so thicc (I just found out what that means because I’m old or uncool or both...probably both). The world is a strange and wonderful place. Anyway, April was also a big month for Thanos in comics, thanks to the double dose of Thanos #18 and Thanos Annual #1.
The former was a killer ending to one of Marvel’s most memorable runs in years, aptly titled Thanos Wins (read more about How Thanos Won here). It was a six issue bout of epic imagination and even more epic silliness from the red hot team of writer Donny Cates and artist Geoff Shaw. The Annual, meanwhile, was a nice chance for some other major industry talents—Ryan North, Kieron Gillen, Andre Arujo, Al Ewing, and Frazer Irving, among others—to do their own quick hit stories about Thanos, Marvel’s biggest bad (I tacked on my favorite panels from that book to my Infinity War review, fyi).
2. Saga #51 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
Words to live by from Saga #51.
Saga lands on our Top Comics list for the second consecutive month. I try to account for how I’ve over-exposed my interest in the book. Still, No. 51 was so good I had to. There are no bad arcs in Saga, but some arcs are more engaging than others. Right now, our story is hitting pretty high notes, as some of our principal characters wrap up quests and start to knock around with each other, resulting in all kinds of narrative tension, some of it with pretty severe consequences.
This issue gives Fiona Staples another chance to show off her imaginative design skills by creating a new creature, one who like most of Saga’s other creations is memorable and interesting. Staples’ design work on Saga is as strong as that of any fictional universe, giving Saga a distinct feel generally only found in much older sci-fi properties, specifically the Stars, both Trek and Wars (I stole that from the character on 30 Rock played by Alec Baldwin, btw). There is a certain look to a Saga creature, a Saga character, a Saga ship, and that was again made evident in this issue.
1. Batman: Creature of the Night #3 by Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon
This series is a spiritual and conceptual successor to Busiek’s 2004 mini Superman: Secret Identity, in that Batman: Creature of the Night essentially tells the Batman story on our Earth, where Batman is a ubiquitous comic book character.
Plot-wise, Creature of the Night is a bit trickier than Secret Identity. Superman was easy to get going, because Supes got his powers inadvertently and surprisingly. Batman’s heroics, however, were born of tragedy and an obsessive, steely response. Creature of the Night got the tragedy aspect right from its start, as well as things like the protagonist’s personality and his supporting cast, or at least Alfred.
What was missing until now was a believable way to have a Batman as a crime fighter. This book gives us that, dark and surprisingly, as it should be. Overall, Creature of the Night is one of the best Batman stories in years. Busiek is a veteran writer, one who has long been a storyteller communicating in a language of huge ideas. This book is turning out to be a pure distillation of the lessons he learned throughout his august career, plus his penchant for layered and complex stories, the sort more common in award-winning novels.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at@zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
Batman: Creature of the Night #3 is this series' best issue yet.
Forbidden Planet retailer-exclusive variant by Jock
Action Comics #1000 is a monster book, with a page for each of the 80 years Superman has existed. It features 11 stories and is perhaps best evaluated on the merits of its individual vignettes, rather than as a whole. So, let’s take a quick look at the good and bad, before doing a ranking of the stories that comprise this historic publication.
The Good: Action Comics #1000 is a trip through the past, present, and future of Superman, one that is ultimately a meditation on not just Superman/Clark Kent, but on why fans have read about powerful beings in capes for eight decades plus.
The Bad: Not enough Lois Lane. I didn’t count, but Mr. Mxyzptlk’s wife might have more lines in one vignette than Lois in 80 pages. Lois is a presence, certainly, but a story about the Lois-Clark relationship should be here. (I’ve talked about the importance of Lois before.)
10. The Game by Paul Levitz and Neal Adams
This story is strong and its art stronger (Neal Adams has been doing some great work again lately). That said, it’s one of two stories about Superman and Lex, and it’s the lesser of the two.
9. An Enemy Within by Marv Wolfman and Curt Swan
A decent story that inverts the usual relationship between people and Superman, this one examines how mankind inspires its Kryptonian protector. It’s pretty good, also standing as an homage to the character’s political history, taking aim at the teachers with guns nonsense, police violence, and individuals resisting nefarious manipulation. It’s a fine work, just not one of the more memorable in the book.
8. Actionland! by Paul Dini, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Trish Mulvihill
One of the book’s best-looking stories, this one is expertly handled by Paul Dini and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. But a whole section for Mr. Mxyzptlk? He should be included, as one of Superman’s most interesting and oldest foes, but this is almost a story entirely about Mxyzptlk. The other pieces focused on specific places or characters (Luthor in The Fifth Season, Daily Planet in Five Minutes) still take a backseat to Superman, making this a bit confounding.
The Daily Planet is hardly The Daily Planet without Lois.
7. Five Minutes by Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Dave McCaig
I’m a writer at a trade magazine and my wife is a reporter with the LA Times. I should love this story of Superman being a powerful superhuman AND a heroic journalist. The problem, however, is it's a Daily Planet story without Lois. A Daily Planet story...without Lois. Freaking Bibbo gets in here and Lois does not. I liked it, though, especially this line:
Superheoring. Reporting. They’re not so different if you do them right.
But why not give the reporting heroics to Lois, a human who fearlessly does the job, often putting her life at risk?
6. The Fifth Season by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Dave McCaig
The issue’s most complex story, this is a tale of Superman and Lex Luthor. Admittedly, I didn’t understand it well upon first reading. It’s not low-hanging fruit, but it’s classic Scott Snyder, rewarding those who invest effort to really digest and understand. This story deals with shades of gray, questions of results versus intentions, nurture versus nature, and, ultimately, whose road is harder: the human genius or the powerful alien striving to be altruistic. Basically, it's a perfect encapsulation of the dynamic between Superman and Lex.
5. From the City that has Everything by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
With quiet and consistent work, Dan Jurgens has over the years established himself as an all-time great Superman writer, and stories like this illustrate why. It expertly blends significant parts of Superman’s past and present—big galactic adventure, being a symbol of inspiration and hope, believing the best of mankind, newfound domesticity—to create a modern incarnation of the character that started superheroics 80 years ago. There’s even a touching panel here with the heroes of the DC universe thanking Supes for his influence. I’m excited for Bendis' run (more later), but I also want to thank Dan Jurgens for his service. His contributions to Superman are appreciated and will be missed.
4. The Car by Geoff Johns/Richard Donner, Olivier Coipel, and Alejandro Sanchez
In this story, Superman follows up his adventure from Action Comics #1 by finding Butch, the tough who drove the green car from the cover. The Coipel art and Sanchez colors are gorgeous, and the panels are laced with callbacks to history (a bird, a plane, a line about the trunks). It’s the best type of Superman story, in that our hero saves a troubled soul, makes the world better, and doesn’t throw a single punch. It’s a clever conceit, but better still, it suggests Superman’s real heroism is his ability to understand and inspire, not his fantastic powers.
3. Faster Than a Speeding Bullet by Brad Meltzer, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin
This story had my favorite panel in the entire book. Just look at this beauty:
Artwork by John Cassaday with colors by Laura Martin.
Its construction is stunning, but, moreover, it shows the enormity of Superman’s task, how even though he can fly and whatever else, he’s still a single man who can only be in one place. He is, by no means, omnipotent. It also has a wonderfully simple setup: an assailant shoots a woman in the head point-blank as Superman rushes to save her; with a powerful outcome: a little bravery by the woman gives Superman the slight help he needs to succeed. A funny joke about Batman, a touching dedication to Christopher Reeve, and we’re out. There’s an odd choice made, however, with the woman’s look, in that she bears a strong resemblance to Lois Lane. We also later find out her name is Lila. Still, this is a nigh-perfect story nonetheless.
2. Of Tomorrow by Tom King, Clay Mann, and Jordie Bellaire
Of Tomorrow was pretty good the first time I read it, but during my third read, I found myself near tears as I fully realized what it was about. Tom King is a master at poignant stories about family and superheroes, and this is one of his best. It’s essentially a man talking to himself after multiple lifetimes, contemplating his childhood, marriage, son, and the cause to which he dedicated his life, as close as a writer has come to capturing the human condition in five pages about a guy in a cape.
1. Never-ending Battle by Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Alejandro Sanchez
Patrick Gleason's retailer-exclusive Newbury Comics variant.
Vandal Savage imprisons Superman by weaponizing hypertime, trapping him “in a fabric of yesterdays--a loop that never ends,” which sees our hero living out his past lives from the decades in which they were published. He powers down in the 30s, fights World War II in the ‘40s, is consumed with Silver Age goofiness thereafter, and so on. He's even fried and nearly destroyed in what is presumably the ‘80s, with a piece Gleason signs with a nod of the cap to Frank Miller, whose Dark Knight Returns deconstruction was an obvious inspiration here.
Superman fights Savage’s time manipulation onward, reaching the versions of himself that followed Death of Superman all the way through to Alex Ross’ and Mark Waid’s depiction of him aging in Kingdom Come. Not to spoil the exact nature of how Superman saves himself, but in the end we are given a comforting shot of him and his family as seen them Tomasi and Gleason’s now-concluded Superman run.
I loved everything about this section, from the villain (Savage is one of my favorites) to the logical exploration of the character and his past to the hopeful domestic note it ends on. Gleason’s art and Sanchez’s colors make for truly beautiful pages. If I could pull one story from this compilation and turn it into a fully-realized issue it would be this one.
Disqualified: The Truth by Brian Michael Bendis, Jim Lee, and Alex Sinclair.
I’m disqualifying this one because it has the unfair advantage of ending with “TO BE CONTINUED…” while the others are inherently self-contained. I will say, however, I’m more excited for Bendis’ run than ever after reading this. Bendis’ villain concept is fresh enough for an 80-year-old character/mythos, but where he really shines is in depicting average Metropolis folks reacting to Superman. Bendis has said he wants to make the city a realized and vital place, and he’s off to a good start. I can’t wait to see what he does with the Daily Planet.
Overall: I'd been looking forward to this celebration of Superman for months (if not longer) and this book did not disappoint. Today really felt like true observance of Superman and what he has meant to the world over the years. It was an anthology, so some stories were always going to be stronger than others, and I definitely wanted to see way more Lois Lane, but overall I'm glad I not only got to read this book, but be apart of comics fandom during its release. 9.5/10
Zack Quaintance is a career journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
The first major comic I read as a kid was Superman #75. This isn’t unique to me. Released on November 18th, 1992, that book was the culmination of the Death of Superman, in which Supes and beastly kill machine Doomsday perished at each other’s hands. I was 9 and not exactly an active participant in our economy, so I had to read a copy belonging to a friend’s older brother in the basement of their house. I can still smell must mingling with that glorious new comic aroma.
It was formative. I loved Superman almost as much as I did my parents (again, I was 9). Every page in the book was a single panel; this was something special, something epic and grandiose. There had even been stories on the news—TV and print—about the gravitas of it all. Basically, it felt like we’d never see a comic so huge again, and I’d argue that we haven’t.
You can make a case for other books in the past 25 years being more influential or important, but it’s hard to argue another comic has garnered as much attention upon release as Superman #75—until now. Enter Action Comics #1000.
Landing on April 18, 2018, just shy of 80 years since the landmark Action Comics #1 launched the superhero concept, this book will celebrate all things Superman, and, in many ways, all Superman has given rise to, including superheros, shared universes, accessible science fiction, and so many allegories about hope. To mark the occasion DC has tapped a veritable army (or at least a squad) of the best artists in comics to do variant covers.
A cynical view is that DC is simply milking this achievement for every last dime, and, for sure, these variants are a sure fire way to bank. The more optimistic take, however, and the one more fitting for Superman, is that each of these artists had a moment like I did when I was 9, a moment blending an intense love of the character with a sense that his adventures were meaningful, and that these variants each represent that feeling, that formative bit of our histories put to paper.
Anyway, there’s no denying these covers look great, which is why today we’re taking a look at some of our favorites, and sharing a few thoughts about what makes them special.
Behold! In no particular order our favorite Action Comics #1000 variants:
One of the best parts of DC’s Rebirth publishing initiative (which is essentially ending with Action Comics #1000, but that’s a whole other story…) was how it revitalized Superman by putting his wife Lois and son Jon back into his life. Patrick Gleason, the artist responsible for this cover, was vital to that run, which he commemorates beautifully here, depicting Superman, Lois Lane, Jon, Krypto, and the flag of the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Newbury Comics retailer exclusive variant by Patrick Gleason.
Of course Michael Allred (one of my favorite artists in comics) did the 1960s variant, of course he did. His kitschy pop art aesthetic is a perfect fit for Silver Age Superman, from the beefy stature, to the colorful details, to the spiderweb of panels showing the most beloved and maligned of 60s Superman tales (Lori Lemaris!). I wasn’t a big fan of the other cartoony Action #1000 variants, largely because of my firm belief that this one is absolutely perfect.
1960s decade variant by Michael Allred.
One idea permeating Action Comics #1000 is that Superman is character with strong core values, but also one that remains malleable to best fit the present decade. You can really see subtle ways he’s changed from decade to decade here, be it through his hair, logo, facial structure, and, yes, The Trunks. Superman is also a character built on hope, and the Superman in the forefront of Scott’s wonderful piece looks more hopeful than any of his predecessors, as if he has learned from recent mistakes of the past (ahem, no trunks), and is still determined to make tomorrow better. That’s a thought that gives me goosebumps.
Kings Comics Retailer Variant by Nicola Scott
This cover really lives in the decade it depicts (look at Lois’ blouse, hair, makeup!), with an aesthetic best described as Deathly Sincere 80s Adventure Movie Poster. It also, however, has a timelessness to it. See the facial expressions that perfectly capture the essences of Superman (determined and brave, charging off toward peril), Jimmy (wow!), and Lois (confident and ready, pen poised). Oh, and then there’s Luthor speeding across the frame while a terrifying visage of Braniac looms high above all. Wonderful.
1980s decade variant by Joshua Middleton.
Okay okay, so I said these were in no particular order, but I have to admit this cover is my top choice. Besides from just being straight-up gorgeous, it speaks to one of my favorite things in all of comics: the Superman-Lois Lane relationship. I’ve written about this at length, so I won’t belabor it again, but Superman without Lois Lane is hardly Superman at all. She’s been there from issue one, so having her central was always going to be a must for my favorite cover.
Third Eye Comics Retailer Variant by Kaare Andrews.
I don’t really have deeper thoughts about either of these, other than “Hoo boy, look at this!”
Forbidden Planet Retailer Variant by Jock.
Bulletproof Comix Retailer Variant by Gabriele Dell'Otto.
I'd like this one quite a bit more (heavy Lois presence and all) if not for the Kaare Andrews cover, which I like better.
1990s decade variant by Dan Jurgens and Kevin Nowlan.
Zack Quaintance is a career journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.