MATERIAL MOST WORTHY OF REPRINTING: THE COMPLETE PEANUTS, 1950-1952 and 1953-1954, by Charles M. Schulz

Like many comics readers my age, I grew up with the pocketbook-sized collections of Schulz’s Charlie Brown and Snoopy strips, which didn’t offer much in the way of organization. I must have had a dozen PEANUTS books, but there was never any indication as to what order they should be read, or if there were any strips missing. I was able to glean through subtext that some strips were older than others: Linus would be a little younger or Schulz’s artwork would seem a little less stylized.

With that in mind, Fantagraphics’ new COMPLETE PEANUTS series is an absolute joy, offering every single Schulz PEANUTS strip, two years per volume, two books a year. Granted, that means that collecting the entire series makes for something of a long haul, but I’d rather get quality books for the next decade or so than see a rushed, sloppily produced paperback edition. The editions themselves are gorgeous, handsomely bound with dust jackets designed by the cartoonist Seth that capture the wistfulness and subdued emotion that made Schulz’s work so distinctive. These are books worthy of their content.

MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE: THE PULSE, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley

I don’t even know why I started buying this book. I haven’t usually been a fan of Bendis’ Marvel stuff, and very much disliked ALIAS, THE PULSE’s predecessor series. For some reason, it found its way into my regular reading list, and I was for the most part pleasantly surprised if not blown away.

THE PULSE finds Jessica Jones, ex-superhero and private eye (and carrying Luke Cage’s child, by the way) taking a job for J. Jonah Jameson as a sort of super-celebrity investigator in residence, to help balance JJJ’s known anti-superhero bias. In the course of the investigation of the murder of a Daily Bugle reporter, Jessica and reporter Ben Urich confront Norman Osborn about his involvement in the murder, only to be met by the Green Goblin, Osborn’s supervillain alter ego. Jessica and a passing-by Spider-Man manage to fend off the Goblin, but not before Jessica takes a bit of a beating, raising fears that she’s lost the baby. Much to the relief of Jessica and Luke Cage, the baby is fine. However, and here’s where I became a real fan of THE PULSE, Cage can’t let it go. As Osborn leaves the police department after surrendering and presumably posting bail, Cage attacks Osborn’s limo, and before the police, the assembled press and all of New York, Osborn begins chucking pumpkin bombs at the crowd and tries to flee on a hidden Goblin Glider, wearing his Goblin mask with his three-piece suit.

A quick-thinking Spidey and Cage bring him down, and now, finally, after years of beating the rap, Osborn is once and for all revealed as the Green Goblin. It’s a very cool moment, well executed and thought out by Bendis and Bagley.

BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK: SUPERMAN/BATMAN, by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness and Michael Turner

Sadly, DC Comics’s two trademark characters, Superman and Batman, are currently in a creative slump. The Superman books, with the exception of Greg Rucka’s solid if unremarkable ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, are failing to excite, particularly Brian Azzarello’s ponderous run on SUPERMAN. The BATMAN books haven’t really been notable since the end of Loeb and Lee’s HUSH, with Judd Winick writing a fairly blah run (including the worst-written Alfred dialogue ever written), followed by the Bat-crossover event WAR GAMES, which accomplished little except making room in the Batcave for another dead-sidekick trophy. Thankfully, writer Jeph Loeb has been taking care of business in SUPERMAN/BATMAN, a monthly team-up book that tends to take a “big-picture” approach, with gigantic storylines that involve not only Superman and Batman, but usually a heaping assortment of their friends and allies.

The first storyline involved the culmination of President Luthor’s vendetta against Superman, accusing him of responsibility for a massive Kryptonite asteroid heading for Earth. Superman and Batman must face off against a hastily assembled goon squad of superheroes ordered to apprehend the Man of Steel, then against Luthor himself, who’s begun inoculating himself with liquid Kryptonite. By story’s end, Luthor is impeached as President and believed dead, but in fact is seen muttering a disturbing threat for the future:

In Loeb’s second story arc, drawn by Michael Turner, we discover what the Kryptonite meteor actually was: a spaceship bringing to Earth Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin from Krypton.

Loeb and Turner deftly re-tell the introduction of Supergirl from a modern perspective, involving Wonder Woman and the Amazons in the girl’s education, and shrewdly emulate the SUPERMAN animated series by involving Darkseid as the story’s antagonist, providing a menace worthy of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman’s attention. Issues #11 and 12, in which the trio, plus Justice League reservist Big Barda, invade Apokolips to retrieve the kidnapped Kara, are particularly good, with a Batman-Darkseid encounter that’s unexpected yet precisely in character.

SUPERMAN/BATMAN is one of DC’s most consistently satisfying series, doing what the best of DC’s books do nowadays: paying tribute to the past while moving the characters and stories into the future.

BEST COMIC-BOOK MOVIE: THE INCREDIBLES, written and directed by Brad Bird

This was a tough one. A recently as a month ago, the winner here would have been SPIDER-MAN 2, hands down, no question. But THE INCREDIBLES absolutely rocked my world. Writer/director Brad Bird proves once more that all the flashy animation and souped-up CGI in the world is meaningless without a good story, well told, which is what he brings to the table.

Bird takes a deceptively simple premise – what happens to Superman when he’s not allowed to be super? – and imbues it with tension, humor, and real heart. People who skip this thinking it’s little more than a one-joke “superhero family” or “fat superhero” parody movie are denying themselves a real treat, arguably one of the best movies of the year. The performances here are stellar as well, particularly Craig T. Nelson, who delivers not only in the more broad action moments but also when called upon to really emote, such as a moment when Mr. Incredible thinks his wife and children have been killed. Also great is director Bird himself as costume designer to the stars Edna Mode, who provides some of the funniest moments in the film. There are so many moments here that just ring true, whether it’s Dash’s gleeful unconscious chuckle when he realizes he can run on water or Mr. Incredible’s confession to his wife that he’s not strong enough to handle the prospect of losing her. Great action, lots of laughs and even a little genuine emotion. What more do you want for nine bucks?

BEST COMIC-BOOK MOVIE MOMENT: SPIDER-MAN 2, directed by Sam Raimi

Despite what I said above, the best single moment for me in a theatre this year was during the amazing train sequence in SPIDER-MAN 2, when, after saving the train from plummeting off the elevated track, the train’s passengers gingerly pull the unmasked, exhausted Spider-Man into the passenger car, and gently pass him over their heads in an obvious Christ parallel, setting him down to recover. As the passengers stare at the much-younger-than-they’d-imagined hero, Spidey awakes with a start, realizing his secret was out. Two kids step forward from the crowd to hand him back his mask: “Don’t worry, we won’t tell nobody.” The crowd nods in agreement. “It's good to have you back, Spider-Man.”

Man. That gets me every time. Obviously manipulative? Sure. But damn, if it isn’t effective.

BEST RECOVERY: BIRDS OF PREY, by Gail Simone and Ed Benes

When creator Chuck Dixon left this series a couple years back, things were pretty bleak. In the hands of less inspired replacements, the series’ quality varied wildly, from mostly okay to downright awful. However, ever since writer Gail Simone took over with issue #56 in August 2003, the book has been on a steady upward trend, and continues to improve, to the point where I’m currently enjoying the book as much as when Dixon and artist Greg Land were on it.

Simone has a knack for combining suspense, action and humor, and has a very strong handle on the characterizations of Barbara “Oracle” Gordon, Dinah “Black Canary” Lance and new recruit Helena “the Huntress” Bertinelli. While the art occasionally ventures into cheesecake territory, it’s never at the expense of the leads, who consistently come across as both strong protagonists, and real, three-dimensional characters. In recent months, Simone has taken advantage of the chaos from the mediocre “War Games” crossover event to shake up the series a little, with Barbara leaving her home in Gotham and leading the team on globetrotting away missions, even hiring a full-time pilot: none other than Lady Blackhawk, the obscure and little-seen female member of the famous WW II-era fighter-pilot squadron, still young through one of DC’s patented time-travel dysfunctions. Now would be a very good time for new readers to jump on board.

BEST NEWS FOR AN AVENGERS FAN: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES, by Joe Casey and Scott Kolins

I’ve mentioned this a couple times elsewhere on the site, but for those of you who didn’t get the message, pay attention. The best Avengers stories in years are coming from Joe Casey and Scott Kolins in their miniseries EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES, which takes a look back at the early days of Marvel’s foremost superhero team from a slightly more modern perspective, but without undoing what’s come before or robbing the characters of that Silver Age innocence that makes them work so well as a team. I’m particularly enjoying Casey’s portrayal of Henry Pym, which attempts to foreshadow his eventual emotional breakdowns without doing what so many lesser writers do, painting him as a foaming-at-the-mouth ranting wifebeater.

Kolins’ art is excellent as always, clear, handsome storytelling with a not overly rendered style. Word is that the success of this series has already garnered Casey a similar flashback gig with the Fantastic Four, to which I say to Marvel: Good move. Keep the man busy until that seat opens up on AVENGERS, and let him get to work cleaning up the mess.

THE BEST BOOK YOU”RE NOT READING: FALLEN ANGEL, by Peter David and Dave Lopez

Thankfully, it looks like DC’s belated marketing campaign, steadily increasing sales of the trade paperback and creator Peter David’s promotional efforts have borne fruit, as FALLEN ANGEL has begun to see a rise in sales and a renewed (if not overwhelming) commitment from DC.

It’s a good thing, as FALLEN ANGEL is probably some of Peter David’s best work in comics, definitely his best since his award-winning run on THE INCREDIBLE HULK in the ‘90s. FALLEN ANGEL is unlike anything David has written in the past, a moody supernatural thriller that eschews the writer’s trademark puns and wordplay and replaces it with genuine tension and a slowly dawning comprehension of the intricacies of Bete Noire, the mysterious city where Lee, the series’ titular Fallen Angel, makes her home and offers her services to those who come to her asking for help, so long as she feels they deserve it. Go pick up the trade paperback – you won’t be disappointed.

BEST SHAKE-UP: AQUAMAN, by Will Pfeifer and Patrick Gleason

After a shaky start from Rick Veitch’s unremarkable relaunch of the AQUAMAN series, writer Will Pfeifer took over with issue #15, and kicked things off with a bold move: sinking the entire city of San Diego into the ocean, presumably killing its entire population.

As the readers and Aquaman discover, many of the city’s inhabitants aren’t dead, and have somehow mysteriously gained the ability to live underwater, while suffocating within minutes on the surface. With the help of San Diegan Lorena, who for equally mysterious reasons can survive outside the ocean, Aquaman searches for those responsible for the submerging of the city, then finds himself with the responsibility of protecting the newly dubbed “Sub Diego” both from predators from the surface, and themselves as well. Unfortunately, Pfeifer is already off the series (as of issue #23), with his replacement being John Arcudi, a writer whose work I’ve never liked, so I suspect I’ll be off the book soon. But check out these back issues by Pfeifer if you can find them.

BEST RETURN FROM THE DEAD: Colossus’ return in ASTONISHING X-MEN, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday

Just recently I was singing the praises of this series, and well, it bears repeating. Joss Whedon and John Cassaday are kicking ass and taking names in their new X-Men series, and whatever Marvel is paying them, they should double it to get them to come back for a second year. As I mentioned before, the editors and writers at both Marvel and DC should take notes for the next time they decide to resurrect a popular character. This is how you do it. Don’t leak it to anyone, don’t hint in the fan magazines, don’t give it away in the PREVIEWS solicitations, and don’t give it away on the cover. The moment of Colossus’ return was a genuine surprise for most readers, and those are hard to come by in comics nowadays. Equally good was Whedon’s scripting for Kitty Pryde’s reaction to the unexpected return of her long-thought-dead first true love, a dead on-target mix of shock and anger.

A trade paperback collection of Whedon and Cassaday’s first six issues, entitled “Gifted,” hits stores today, so if you’ve been missing out, here’s your chance to catch up.

BEST BOOK YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF: COMMON GROUNDS, by Troy Hickman and various artists

Imagine if somebody was a big, big fan of Kurt Busiek’s ASTRO CITY series, and was so bummed about the fact that it came out so infrequently that they just started writing and producing their own issues. That’s pretty much what COMMON GROUNDS reads like, and I’m certainly not saying that it’s bad.

Quite the contrary: creator/writer Troy Hickman shows real promise here writing human-interest stories that take place in a superhuman environment, and if he doesn’t quite have Busiek’s light touch with character names and ability to invest a story with an emotional line and subtext yet, well, hey, the guy’s just getting started.

Some of the stories, such as “Time of Their Lives,” which shows an accidental meeting between two former super-foes in their twilight years, and “Glory Days,” a lighthearted tale of delayed romance illustrated by the great George Perez, are as good as anything I’ve read in ASTRO CITY, a personal favorite of mine and the innovator of the “super-human-interest story.” Even the ones that don’t quite hit the mark, like “Where Monsters Dine,” an homage to the Lee/Kirby monster comics of the late ‘50s, are still well executed and a lot of fun.

MOST WELCOME RETURN TO THE COMIC-BOOK SHELF:CONAN, by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord

After an absence of too many years, Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian is once more a thriving presence in comic shops, thanks to Dark Horse Comics’ outstanding new CONAN series, written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Cary Nord. Kurt Busiek shows an aspect to his writing I never knew he was capable of here, unerringly adapting Howard’s original works so faithfully, I’m liking this series even better than the classic Roy Thomas/Barry Smith comics from the 1970s.

Nord’s deceptively simple art fits the series perfectly, a back-to basics, no-frills style, made even better by exquisite colors from Thomas Yeates that give the comic the slightly faded, aged veneer of an oil painting. Simply a gorgeous book, with rock-solid stories.

There was a lot to like in 2004, so we’ll finish this up next week with a look at my picks for BEST NEW SERIES, COOLEST TV MOMENT and lots more, including the first-ever awards for THE COMICS 101 BOOK OF THE YEAR and THE COMICS 101 MVP. Come on back, won’t you?

Disagree with the Professor’s picks? Well, too bad, Charlie. However, if’n ya feels like arguing about it, send them fightin’ words to stipton99x@comics101.com.Oh, and Happy New Year.

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