Top Ten Time Returns -- The First Five

Hello folks! Like children's birthdays, or graduation dates, or even election seasons (really? four years gone by already!?), it's time, once again for the Nexus Graphica Top Ten List which means that a whole year has gone by since Rick and I did this last time.

And while things change, ebb, flow, fall and rise in the world at large, some things, still, are immutable. At least, the basic caveats for this list. Which, if you need a reminder, means that neither Rick nor I are claiming these are the "ten best" among all the comics work released last year -- on paper, in digital form, on web sites, etc. -- but rather, of all the things we've read and reviewed in this space, these are the ten that have stuck with us by year's end. (And in most cases -- though not all, as you will see -- most of what Rick and I read was different!) Also, in my case, there's a big chunk of list entrants you haven't seen me review yet -- some late additions, things Rick reviewed first, etc.

So without further ado, here's the first half of the list -- numbers 10 - 6, from each of us:

10. (Rick) Action! Mystery! Thrills! Comic Book Covers of the Golden Age 1933-1945 edited by Greg Sadowski (Fantagraphics)
Editor/designer Greg Sadowski returns to his tireless exploration of the comic book with this magnificent collection of 176 full color covers, dating from the Golden Age. As in his previous volumes (Supermen!, Four Color Fear, and Setting the Standard), Sadowski supplies copious end notes and annotations. Though this time, the information additionally reads as an entertaining history of early comics. Perhaps the book's only flaws rest in the lack of an index and that the annotations might better serve the subject if printed alongside the images. Sadowski once again delivers an essential book for anyone with an interest in comics history.

(Mark) Take What You Can Carry by Kevin C. Pyle (Henry Holt)
This was a year where I seemed to read more "YA" graphic novels than usual, and this was one of the first I reviewed, back in early spring. Pyle's dialogue is spare, and the lines simply drawn and generally evocative in a story linking two initially separate tales of the World War II-era relocation of Japanese-Americans into camps, and 70s-set "juvenile delinquent" hellraising. At first it's not clear how the stories will intersect, then suddenly it is. And while that intersection may not seem entirely surprising in retrospect, a small quiet epiphany at the end -- about bending the rules, and most of all, a kind of forgiveness -- makes the spare story pay off. Even the title pays off, too.

9. (Rick) Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet)
Kazu Kibuishi's follow-up anthology to the award-winning Flight series, Explorer: The Mystery Boxes continues in much the same vein with an eclectic mix of beautiful stories geared toward readers of all ages. While the seven shorts, all centered around mysterious boxes, feature excellent art and superior storytelling, several of the tales excel. The creepy opening contribution "Under the Floorboards" by Emily Carroll, the clever "The Keeper's Treasure" by Jason Caffoe, Rad Sechrist's charming "The Butter Thief," and Kibuishi's foreboding "The Escape Option" showcase some of the best of the form.

(Mark) A Wrinkle In Time adapted by Hope Larson (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux)
I told you I'd read a lot of YA comics work this year, both adaptations and originals, and here we have a brazen choice of source material -- as Larson translates the beloved prose classic into comics form. Picking it up, I thought Larson's style might be too cartoony to do the source material justice. And after all, most of us (the one film version of the book aside) have been living with imagined versions of these characters -- the Murry clan, Mrses. Whatsit, Who, and Which -- in our heads for years or decades. But then, the more "tabula rasa" aspects of the cartoon style still allows the reader to fill in their own blanks, if you will. More importantly, Larson conveys that palpable sense you get from the book -- of characters being drawn together in cosmically inexorable ways for a Larger Purpose than they can fathom. Reading the graphic novel, I grew excited about the source material all over again, which is perhaps the highest compliment you can pay.

8. (Rick) The Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente, art by Ryan Dunlavey (IDW)
Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, creators of the unexpected and exceptional Action Philosophers, return to the nonfiction comics realm with this hilarious and insightful history of their chosen medium. Much like in Philosophers, the duo effectively use exaggeration and humor. Van Lente employs asides and one-liners. Dunlavey relies on the best techniques from his cartoonist forebearers. Perhaps nothing benefits more from this style than the events involving EC. They manage to display M.C. Gaines as a visionary, victim, and buffoon, often all at the same time. Though not as thorough as other similar prose histories, The Comic Book History of Comics covers the highlights in an energetic and exciting fashion of the convoluted, chaotic, and often tortured history in a unique and informative manner.

(Mark) Batman: Court of Owls, vol. 1 by Scott Snyder (script) and Greg Capullo (art) / Batman Noel by Lee Bermejo (DC)
There isn't a lot of superhero stuff on my list this year -- mostly because I'm admittedly behind in my cape-and-spandex reading, what with all this retooling of universes going on. But I know there's a lot of interesting work going on with the pantheon. I did catch up with the first collection of Snyder & Capullo's retooled new Batman series. (or is it the "new new" Batman? Hard to keep track of the iterations, sometimes), Snyder adds some great new sinister (and vaguely Eyes Wide Shut-like, except with violence substituting for sex) layers to Gotham lore, with the city's 1%ers here unleashed via a "star chamber" of sorts -- which we find has existed for decades -- which pronounces death penalties as it sees fit, around Gotham. When Batman falls into their clutches, there's a great sequence of an imprisoned Bats dancing on the edge of sanity -- and going over (more so than usual, I mean). Compelling stuff, and it's all set up for the "Big Twist" which comes later in the series (though which we didn't get to in this year's columns!)

I also wanted to give a shout-out to Batman Noel, by Lee Bermejo, which I almost put in this slot, except that strictly speaking, it came out late last year (even if I didn't review it until my first column of this year!) The story is set during one hard-knock, bitter Gotham winter, as an unseen "teller" recounts a Christmas involving a skinflint boss, brutal economic conditions, and ghosts of Christmases past, present and future -- namely, Catwoman, Superman and Joker, It's a quite moody, quite good retelling of A Christmas Carol, in Bat-terms, and writing this now makes me realize it's time for a seasonal re-reading!

7. (Rick) The Hive by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
Returning to the surreal universe first experienced in 2010's X'ed, Burns, creator of Black Hole and famed contributor to the legendary anthology series Raw, expertly reveals more of Doug's intriguing story in The Hive. As with the previous one, the beautifully disturbing, non-linear tale leaps effortlessly between the real and unreal. Though in this installment, the lines further blur as elements from the bizarrely apocalyptic reality and the "normal" collide. Inspired equally by the works of Hergé and William Burroughs, Burns once again provides one of the best graphic novels of the year.

(Mark) The Hive by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
What can I say? I went back to double check Rick's list to see how many spaces apart we were on The Hive (he wasn't even sure it would be on my list!) -- and guess what!? We both had it at Number 7! As ever, Mr. Klaw says it eloquently. We are even more weirdly through-the-looking-glass here than we were in X'ed and you should probably read that first if you want this to even make the most rudimentary sense. Then again, if you were after the merely linear, you probably wouldn't be reading Burns to begin with.

6. (Rick) Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery written by Grant Morrison, art by Frank Quitely (Vertigo)
Inspired by the long-running Charles Atlas "The Insult that made a Man out of Mac" comic book advertisements, popular 1996 four issue series languished uncollected thanks largely to a Charles Atlas company trademark infringement suit. The suit was eventually thrown out citing fair use in a parody, freeing the way for this collection. Flex Mentallo, refugee from another reality, fights crime using "muscle mystery." He can literally manipulate reality by flexing his muscles. Suddenly other elements from Mentallo's home world pop up, spawning his quest for the truth. Simultaneously, in typical Morrison fashion, a despondent, drug-addled artist struggles with his own reality issues. In their first collaboration, Quitely's lush art beautifully illustrates the bizarre twists and turns of Morrison's tale. Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery reinforces why Morrison and Quitely (All Star Superman, Batman and Robin, JLA: Earth 2, We3, New X-Men) are the best and most reliable tandem in comics today.

(Mark) Danger Club, vol. 1: Death by Landry Q. Walker (script) and Eric Jones (art) (Image)
This is one of the "new entrants" on the list. I'd been reading this in single issues throughout the year (tipped to it by my comics-writing son), and it's pretty engaging stuff. Especially if you're a fan of superhero deconstruction stories. And particularly if you're a fan of, say, Rick Veitch's Brat Pack, as this too also deals with the very dark side of being a sidekick. In this case, the premise is, essentially, what if the Justice League (and/or Avengers -- there are ideas/tropes/ doppelgangers from each) disappeared, leaving only their teen sidekicks to fill the superhero niche. While trying to figure out, at the same time, why the heroes have vanished. It's a good mystery, and the instantaneous betrayals and falling-out among the Danger Clubbers -- imagine a really bitchy, hormonal high school where everyone has superpowers -- makes for a very compelling read. And this review is going out before the new, 5th issue comes out (the book collects issues 1-4), so I'm still waiting to see what happens next.