JOHN BARBER
Senior Editor: IDW Comics Hasbro Titles, Writer: Transformers: Robots In Disguise
Matt Fraction & David Aja’s Hawkeye
DISCLAIMER FROM MR. BARBER: “A couple things I have to say – just had a baby last year (anyway, my wife did), which probably ate into my comics time – and into my specific comic tastes for the year. Which looks more mainstream comics than it’d usually be (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Very specifically: I haven’t read Chris Ware’s Building Stories yet; I’m kinda setting that aside to read right after Christmas because I’ll have some time to really dig into it then. Man. That sounds crazy, I don’t usually schedule my comic book reading months in advance. Plus, I’m excluding any comics I work on in any capacity, and trying not to sound like an IDW shill (but TMNT is awesome!!!)!
Oh, and also, I’m sure as soon as this goes live, I’ll remember The Greatest Comic Ever that came out this year. ”
ERIC STEPHENSON
Publisher: Image Comics, Writer: Nowhere Men
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. III Century: 2009 by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill (Top Shelf/Knockabout)
As the song goes, “ain’t nothing like the real thing.” Just as DC launched its myriad and needless Before Watchmen prequels to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic original, Moore and League co-creator Kevin O’Neill returned with the third and best installment of LoEG, Vol. III: Century, a brilliant and instant reminder of why Moore remains one of the best writers comics has ever seen. I suspect Century as a whole is going to read better when it’s eventually collected in one volume, but this particular chunk is pretty fantastic on its own. The quality of Alan Moore’s work often gets somewhat obscured by the fact that he is ALAN MOORE, but once you get past whatever is said in interviews or on the Internet or whatever, he’s just a damn good writer.
Parker: The Score adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Darwyn Cooke is hands down one of my favorite artists working in comics right now. Not only does he do dynamite work, but he has impeccable taste. I think that shows in his lovingly crafted adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, all of which are filled with the kind of cool, uncluttered illustration that wouldn’t be out of place in the advertising of the era Cooke’s recreating with this early ’60s crime noir. Cooke’s a great writer, to boot, and considering that The Score didn’t exactly set the gold standard amongst Stark’s original Parker novels, I think it says something that Cooke manages to transcend the limitations of the source material to make this volume just as good as the previous two.
A Wrinkle In Time adapted by Hope Larson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR)
The first three books in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time series (five in all) were firm favorites of mine growing up. The original book, A Wrinkle In Time, was read to me when I quite young and then I read it again myself a couple years later before discovering there were two more. I’ve read it a couple times since, too, because even though it’s technically a YA novel, I love the story and the characters as much now as I did when I younger.
So I had pretty high expectations for Hope Larson’s graphic novel adaptation, and happily, they were not only met, but exceeded. In the hands of a lesser talent, this could have been a tragic mess, but Larson hits all the right notes here, making this illustrated version just as enjoyable as the original.
Scott Pilgrim Color Edition hardcovers by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
When Oni first announced Scott Pilgrim was being re-issued as a series of color hardcovers, I have to admit, I was kind of put off. I loved the original books and thought they worked just fine as they were. Not everything has to be in color, after all, and I took this kind of irrationally purist viewpoint that the originals were in black and white, so the new color editions were automatically inferior.
Well, I was wrong. Very, very, VERY wrong. These books are gorgeous, and Nathan Faribairn’s colors have had an almost transformative effect on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s already incredible work. The whole package, at least for the two volumes I’ve seen so far, is beautiful, and best of all, it got me to go back and read these fantastic books all over again.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)
I went back and forth on including this, because on the one hand, it probably seems weird and self-serving that I’m including something Image publishes on this list. On the other hand, though, it’s my favorite new series of 2012, and I feel like it would be somehow dishonest to put something else in its place.
The thing is: I love this book. There aren’t a lot of comics I read multiple times between issues, especially not comics that I’m directly involved with, but I do that every issue with Saga. On a recent trip to England, I read the trade paperback on the flight over, and then again on the flight back. I read these stories when BKV sends me the scripts, I read them again when the art is finished and everything is lettered, and even then, I can’t wait to get the printed copy so that I can read it all over again. And, as it turns, again after that. Saga is a masterclass in comic book storytelling, and as much as I’m honored to publish it, I’m even more thrilled to read it.
GREG PAK
Writer: Incredible Hulks, X-Treme X-Men, Dead Man’s Run, Doctor Strange Season One
Hope Larson’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time
A fantastic adaption of a book I loved as a kid that perfectly channels all the beauty and creepiness of the original. Larson’s fluid, expressive art brings out all the quirky realness of its everyday heroes while gorgeously evoking the mind-bending fantastical elements of L’Engle’s tale.
Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples’ Saga
Saga stole my heart in issue one when the ram-horned Marko tells his bat-winged bride and newborn child, “My family… I loved you so much.” This is an insane sci fi book that crams a billion loopy ideas into every page — while slowly, surely, and beautifully building a deep, true story about love in all its forms. I love this book so much that as a fellow writer I kind of hate Brian. It’s really that wonderful.
The Viz/Studio Ghibli reissue of Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
Nausicaa is one of my favorite graphic novels ever, and now for the first time I can read it in full-size in a gorgeous, affordable two volume hardcover collection. Thank you, Viz!
Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover’s Bandette (and the promise of Monkeybrain)
Tobin and Coover’s creator-owned labor of love is a lighthearted crime romp about as far from grim ‘n’ gritty as you can get — but with compelling adventure and fantastic cliffhangers. I also love the brave new world of distribution that its publisher, Monkeybrain, represents. It’s creator-owned work being released independently through Comixology for ridiculously affordable prices. I hope everyone who loves comics gives as many of the Monkeybrain books a try as possible. If the audience can grow to sustain books like these, we’ll see a huge flowering of talent.
Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s Wonder Woman #0
My buddy Fred Van Lente and I delved deep into Greek mythology while writing the adventures of Hercules in the Marvel Universe for almost five years, and it was a total blast. So I’ve always been intrigued by what writers have done with Wonder Woman’s connections with Greek mythology in the DC Universe. Azzarello knocked it out of the park with Wonder Woman #0, which tells a deeply affecting story of a very young Diana coming of age as the greatest student of Ares, God of War. It’s got all the power and twisty truth of a great fable. Wonderful storytelling.
