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The 2006 Extreme Celebration Thread 2006!
hughtron
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The 2006 Extreme Celebration Thread To The Max 2006!
What this thread is: Alright nerds, this is it. I want to hear about your favorite comics from 2006. Your favorite single issue, your favorite graphic novel, your favorite mini-series, your favorite new character, your favorite creator, whatever. Your favorite stuff from this year. And don't just list some comics. I want to know why. Gimme some reasons.
What this thread isn't: A best of list. I don't care about arguing and ranking or anything like that. I want to know what your favorites are and why. If you disagree with somebody, that's great, make another thread for it. I don't want to hear about why Hudlin is ruining Black Pather or why DC is raping your favorites or why Joe Q sucks or any of that awful stupid crap that ruins my favorite hobby. Go to Newsarama. This is my thread and we're going to celebrate our favorite comics from two thousand and six here.
What this thread is: Alright nerds, this is it. I want to hear about your favorite comics from 2006. Your favorite single issue, your favorite graphic novel, your favorite mini-series, your favorite new character, your favorite creator, whatever. Your favorite stuff from this year. And don't just list some comics. I want to know why. Gimme some reasons.
What this thread isn't: A best of list. I don't care about arguing and ranking or anything like that. I want to know what your favorites are and why. If you disagree with somebody, that's great, make another thread for it. I don't want to hear about why Hudlin is ruining Black Pather or why DC is raping your favorites or why Joe Q sucks or any of that awful stupid crap that ruins my favorite hobby. Go to Newsarama. This is my thread and we're going to celebrate our favorite comics from two thousand and six here.
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Cyclops with a gun (Astonishing #17 IIRC? I am away from my comics currently). Great. Fucking. Comic.
CW #4, but only for the part where Sue stops Clor and the artwork in general.
The Escapists #1, the funnest, nicest sleeper comic awesomeness of the year.
Favorite Graphic Novel: American Born Chinese. I'm as white as they come, and yet I found myself identifying perfectly with Gene Yang's touching story of identity and acceptance. A perfect example of work that transcends medium and genre. The Monkey King is dynamic and fun, and everything ties in fantastically. A perfect little book, and a great gift for people who don't do capes and tights.
Favorite Creator:This is a tie between Brian K. Vaughn and Seth Fisher. Between Y, The Escapists, Dr. Strange, Pride of Bagdhad and Runaways, BKV is blowing up. I think I spelled his name wrong. Putting out some of the best comics this year, and with a incredible variety, he's proved himself one of my favorite creators in a long time, and one I'll follow pretty much anywhere.
On the other hand, there's Seth Fisher, who left us far too soon. His stunning Batman arc and Big in Japan were detailed, funny and incredibly unique. A truly gifted creator, who is deeply missed already.
Favorite Miniseries: The Escapists. Not only was this fun, cool and a great follow-up to the novel on which it was based, but the last issue is inspiring, touching and fantastic. Perfect for anyone who has ever wanted to make comics, and definitely something speical.
Favorite Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim. This comic is great, and the world is a better place because it exists.
Favorite Meta Maxiseries Crossover Extravaganza: Seven Soldiers. The way everything in this 30-part crossover fit together is a testimony to both Morrison and whoever had to edit this ridiculous thing. Amazing art, fantastic characters, and a great (IMO) conclusion, this was the DC crossover that the cool kids read.
Favorite Single Issue: All-Star Superman #4. Morrison and Quietly not only made Jimmy Olsen into the coolest kid in the DCU, but they managed to take all the craziness of the Superdickery Age and compress it into this little pop gem of a comic. Doomsday, Black Kryptonite, Ray guns and Lucy Lane combine into my definite favorite comic of 2006.
Favorite Graphic Novel: Would New Frontier fit? I know its technically not a graphic novel, and not from 2006, but I picked it up on a whim based off the art, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Favorite Writer: I think I'll go with Brubaker. Iron Fist was sweet, and I picked up the first of his Daredevil trades. I really like this guy's style.
Favorite Miniseries: I don't read many comics, but Vaughn's: "Doctor Strange, The Oath" is awesome.
Favorite Single Issue: Immortal Iron Fist #1 - My brother is a huge Iron Fist fan, so I bought it for him. I decided to give it a look, and oh god, it was so much more awesome than I hoped. It was also my first introduction to Brubaker (oh god don't flame me)
So, as far as comics go, it's been a really, really good year for me.
Simply the best. I cant recall a bad issue of Fables. Its consistant, it has incredible art and those covers by James Jean are always the best. Include the delicious 1000 Nights one shot and a second series starring Jack and we have the year of the Fables.
Runner Ups: Ultimate Fantastic Four was great until Carey took over (I love his Lucifer and Xmen, but UFF is trash compared to Land/Millar's run), Daredevil and a plethora of others. I want to say Nextwave, but for all its awesomeness it lacks substance for me. Others suffer from too many delays despite their quality to be listed.
Writer of the Year: Ed Brubaker
Id give it to my boy Bill Willingham, but with only Fables and Jack for most of his workload, he loses to Ed Brubaker. Ed pumped out some seriously good books this year. From flawlessly picking up and actually improving on the steller DD run of Bendis to making Captain America a must read and even making me pick up an Iron Fist book make him my top writer this year. While his Uncanny isnt the best ever, its leaps and bounds above the drek that franchise has been wallowing in for the last few years since Onslaught and Zero Tolerance basically.
Runner Ups: Props go out to Bendis, who ended his DD (I believe it was this year his ended) and his Ultimate Clone Saga finally getting USM back on track as well as the always awesome Powers. Mark Millar has to be commended for his Civil War work and his amazing Ultimate Fantastic Four work with Greg Land.
Artist of the Year: Steve McNiven
I simply love his Civil War work. While I loathe to give it to someone who is constantly late, his Thor/Clor from CW 4 was incredible and I dont think he draws a single character bad in the entire Marvel Universe.
Runner Ups: Mark Bagley is a work horse and I love him, but you can tell hes getting tired of the USM and needs a break. I personally like Greg Land's work, but it seems a bit like he just takes model poses and draws over them and I dock him the AotY for it.
Trade of the Year: Absolute Sandman
This is a monster of an Absolute edition. Words cannot describe the awesome contained within.
Runner Ups: Absolute Kingdom Come continued the Absolute awesomeness this year. Runaways Hardcover was also incredibly well done and the Marvel Zombies, even with the badass cover, couldnt compete with an Absolute Sandman.
Moment of the Year: Fables 50
Yes, the whole issue. Simply incredible issue. Bigby / White marriage, the whole behind enemy lines and Ghepetto confrontation. Everything. Yes, a whole issue is a cop out of a "moment" award, but I dont care.
Runner Ups: "Bu-Wha?" from Kitty in AXM. Pick any random scene in Nextwave and you probalby have one, but Ill go with the hanged stuffed toy of the Captain's in flashback. Clor putting the beat down in Civil War 4.
Disappointment of the Year: Infinite Crisis / 52
While some will love their focus on the B and C list heroes / villains of the DC universe, the slow pace, lackluster (and disjointed) artwork of the series and overall complete lack of any momentum or feeling that anything in the series matters makes it a complete bust. The terrible IC series that ended at the beginning of the year gets lumped in wiht it since they lead into each other.
Runner Ups: Planet Hulk started so badass and the whole Anarchy arc has been basically filler. While I still look forward to it every month, its kinda disappointing since it had such potential. Everything DC except Batman and Superman seems to have been relatively subpar coming out of One Year later. Nightwing especially was saddening for me since it used to be so good.
Cover of the Year: Fables 54
I'm a Fables whore, but that is simply an awesome cover regardless of if you like the series or not.
Runner Ups: Any of the Marvel Zombie covers would be an easy pick. The Annihilation covers were all great, especailly the Thanos / Drax one.
Very gay indeed.
ARES
Each issue is full of action, it's all very fast paced, and doesn't feel stretched out just to make a nice hardback one day. There isn't any unnecessary filler, which is all too common these days. I think that all of the characters are getting great development, and I can't wait to see what happens with Hulk when he gets back to Earth.
Favorite Graphic Novel - Absolute Sandman.
I always meant to pick up the individual trades as I hear great things. What better way to have your first Sandman encounter than with an Absolute edition.
Favorite Story Arc - Ultimate Clone Saga
I was just about ready to give up on USM, but this has brought me right back into it. There is just so much crazy shit going on in there right now. Bendis is ending is run on a high note
TIED - Marvel Zombies.
Surprisingly entertaining. I was expecting…not much but was really pleased with the way this all turned out.
Favorite Individual Issue - Astonishing X-men 17?
This story went from all sortsa weird, to all sortsa awesome. Never ever would I expect to see Scott Summers shoot someone with a gun. Well played..
Biggest Letdown - Civil War
I was really pumped for this series when it was announced, seemed to have so much potential. Each issue just leaves me disappointed. Hopefully they are able to pull this one out of the gutters
I know stuff.
I mean how awesome is that?
There needs to be a hardcover collection of this guys work. If you don't believe me, just go to your local shop and look at any issue of 52. Want more proof? Try some of the new Justice League of America variant (shame) covers. More? Take a look at the covers to Wonder Woman a few months ago. I don't think I have to explain anymore than that.
Runner Up: Adam Hughes. Things that make you go AH! indeed. Hughes does one thing and one thing right, he draws sexy women..sexy. Nuff' said.
Best Series that nobody is reading: Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters
I keep saying it every month, and Im sure DMAC will agree, this is a good series. Yeah, it started off fairly slow, and you kind of had to sit through the disturbingly bad Battle for Bludhaven to get a backstory..but it's worth it. If you can do that, you'll find the series is easily accessible, as with the exception of Sam, all the team members are new, but similiar versions of the previous team. The best thing about the series? It features some of Daniel Acuna's best work. Hopefully we'll see more of these guys after the series is over.
Bestest awesomest Mega Event of the Year: Seven Soldiers
I'll just quote Hughtron. "The way everything in this 30-part crossover fit together is a testimony to both Morrison and whoever had to edit this ridiculous thing. Amazing art, fantastic characters, and a great (IMO) conclusion, this was the DC crossover that the cool kids read. "
Best New Series to come out of Infinite Crisis: Shadowpact
I always liked the magic portion of the DCU. Characters like Dr. Fate, Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Zatanna..I could go on and on. It's just so damn cool when put in the hands of the right writer. Day of Vengeance was my favorite IC mini, so naturally, I knew Shadowpact would be a favorite as well. Fortunately, it is. The characters are all likeable, and the storylines / dialogue can be comedic yet at the same time take on a serious tone. Hopefully this one has a long life.
Best Revival of a Character: Jonah Hex
(Yeah yeah..started in November 2005) Jonah Hex is pure, unadulterated violent fun, pure and simple. Every issue features Hex killing...someone. Whether it's with his trusty six guns, and a fucking hatchet...whatever. Anybody can pick this book up, at any issue. Every issue (with the exception of the last two and the one coming up) is a standalone story, with a definitive beginning, middle, and end. The artwork varies, though it's been top notch throughout most of the series.
Im sure I'll think of more.
PSN: OrneryRooster
That's the opposite of what this thread is for
Single Issue of The Year: Planetary #26
Wow.
What a ride. What a long ride. From 1999 to 2007, but that's an epilogue issue. Planetary is one of the greatest things I have ever read, and the ending is just fantastic. Ellis pulls just about everything together for a final showdown between Snow and Dowling, and finishes terrifically.
Cover of The Year: Planetary #26
I admit, I'm biased. But it's such a fucking awesome cover.
Best Graphic Novel: Absolute New Frontier
Reading this is one of the greatest comics experiences I have ever had.
Best Artist- Gabriel Ba. Don't know the name? He does Casanova. He also put out an OGN with his brother Fabio Moon, where he did numerous short stories about his native Brazil. He has a terrific style, filled with stark contrasts and economic use of lines.
Best New Ongoing- X-Factor. Picking up from the end of the mini-series "Madrox," Jamie Madrox, the multiple man, decides to form a detective agency along with his old friends Strong Guy, Monet, Siryn, Wolfsbane, Rictor, and the mysterious, prophetic Layla Miller. A fantastic noir story, with a rotating cast of artists that perfectly capture the dark, smoky atmosphere present in old detective movies. Peter David also brings his A-game as the series' writer, focusing heavily on characterization, and slowly building long arcs that feed into one another.
Best Mini-Series- Captain Atom: Armageddon. Featuring Captain Atom after he crashed headfirst into the Wildstorm Universe, where he realizes that the heroes of that world are not the highly moral paragons of virtue that he knew from his own universe. Over the course of his travels, his own character becomes strengthened, as he finally realigns his perceptions and accepts his responsibilities as a hero.
Best Character Revamp: Machine Man aka Aaron Stack of Nextwave. Because he hates fleshy ones and will impregnate fleshy women with his many useful devices.
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best series finale- lucifer
spinoffs are never good, as a rule, but lucifer took off from one of the best loved, best known modern comics ever written and became its own strange, ugly, fantastic beast. it was too bad to see it go, but excellent while it lasted
runner up that squeaked in under the wire- the losers
maybe the best straight up action comic ever written, 32 issues was too few.
best emerging artist- david aja
one issue in, and iron fist already blows most action comics out of the water. something as fluid and kinetic as martial arts shouldn't work in a still medium like comics, but aja proves that all you need is the right person
best writer- ed brubaker
everything this guy writes turns to goddamn golden awesome comic. from his daredevil, which straight up blows old daredevil away, to iron fist, to captain america, the guy has spent the year making me love cheesy old marvel all over again.
edit- i just realized kvw wrote almost the same thing. oh well, suck it everyone.
Without a doubt the Best Rehabilitated Book is X-Men. Everything I expected from Milligan writing the book, Carey's delivered in spades, and it's the best-used Rogue and Iceman have been in a very long time. Hell, he manages to make Cable cool. If it weren't for Bachalo's art, this would be my book of the year. As it is, the book is inconsistent, and Bachalo has some flashes of sheer brilliance, but he always has a problem with his storytelling.
Best Death: It's a really tough call between [spoiler:7f5c027fc6]Superboy[/spoiler:7f5c027fc6] and [spoiler:7f5c027fc6]Gravity[/spoiler:7f5c027fc6]. They both had old-school badass sendoffs, say what you will about the series they each happened in. Honorable mention, just for how well done I thought it was, [spoiler:7f5c027fc6]Hawkwoman[/spoiler:7f5c027fc6].
Best New Character: Ares. Fuck yes.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Choi, The All-New Atom
Best Writer: BKV
Best Artist: Carlos Pacheco
Best Colorist: I normally don't even think about this sort of thing, but have you seen Johns and Donner's Action Comics run? Dave Stewart is the fucking man.
I have to echo Hugh's nomination of Scott Pilgrim as Best Scott Pilgrim
Best Manga That I Read: Destiny's Hand. Yeah, it's english language, but it's got pirates and it's pretty awesome. From Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilipis, who used to write New X-Men before getting booted for...
Biggest Shock Of The Year: New X-Men is maybe even better than it used to be.
Best Fight: Kitty Pryde vs. Emma Frost, Astonishing X-Men.
Honorable Mention: Hulk vs. Silver Surfer, Planet Hulk
Really, 'nuff said.
Best Hat: Molly Hayes, Runaways
How many of those damn hats does she have?
Best Annoying Teen: Misfit, Birds of Prey
Dark, dark vengeance is my favorite new catchphrase.
Best Mini: Escapists. I love Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. It's one of my favorite novels. This is an amazing sequel to it.
Best Book Nobody Reads: Manhunter
Best Hardass Protagonist: Heath Huston, Fear Agent
Best Witty Banter: Y The Last Man
Best Cover Artist: James Jean
Best Ongoing: FABLES. Fables so hard.
SCIENCE!
Nah. It was in like June or something.
This story about two soldiers on opposing sides in Vietnam is just amazing. Astounding covers and interiors by Cameron Stewart. It really is astounding how Jason Aaron manages to cover the two sides of the war with these characters. Go check it out if you haven't already.
Yes yes yes. So good. Cameron Stewart is one of my favorite artists, and he is nailing this book.
DC gave Aaron two books based on the strength of the first Other Side script, which he sent in unsolicited. He is living the nerd dream.
Best artists: Ba, Aja
Biggest Surprise - Punisher: War Journal. I was actually kind of debating on whether or not I should pick it up, but I'm really glad I did. Now I just hope the rest of the series is as good as the first issue.
Worst Surprise - How terrible Kirkman's run on Ultimate X-Men is. I mean seriously.
Second-best Surprise - The Stan Lee meets "X" books. I mean holy crap, how awesome were those?
Moment of the Year - Was Layla's "I know stuff" electrocution this year? Because that was amazing.
Spider-Man of the Year - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It's completely ridiculous, but it's always fun. And hardly ever as "literary" as Amazing's gotten. I mean come on, I don't need third person narration in a comic book, JMS, especially when you're going to switch to first person halfway through.
Best Superhero - I'm calling it a three way tie between Spidey, Superman and Kitty Pryde. Spider-Man and Superman get in for having some of the most entertaining moments in multiple series, and Kitty for Astonishing #16.
Best Writer - Peter David and BKV. I don't know how they find time to write so many awesome things, but man, they're both on fire right now.
Best Artist - Steve McNiven. Because no matter how ridiculous Civil War gets, it always looks fucking amazing. Lenil Yu is a close runner up. I mean, like super fucking close.
Best Colorist - I wasn't going to do this, but how can someone bother to put this in without putting Morry Hollowell on top? God I hope I spelled that right.
Event of the Year - Civil War. I know it looks like I've got a bit of a Marvel bias, but that's partially because I found their big events entertaining instead of confusing. And besides, a lot of the tie-ins have been amazing.
Single Issue of the Year - X-Factor #13. Man, I mean, just read it. It's amazing.
Miniseries of the Year - The Escapists. Because I can't think of any miniseries that was nearly as entertaining this year. Although 1602: Fantastick Four and Dr. Strange: The Oath are both off to great starts.
Although I guess McNiven didn't really do a whole lot either.
Batman & the Monster Men and Batman & the Mad Monk are terrific
If you'd believe it, Gene Yang was my computer science teacher in high school. I remember watching him work on it whenever we were doing a project or something. I remember when I first saw American Born Chinese in a book store and was floored to see he had made it big.
Best Mini Nobody Is Reading Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters--Wacky politcaly inspired silverage acid trip charecters crossed with cool art and great writing
Your God Grant Morrison
should stick them both ogether in an Absolute HC
I think he's gonna keep going with the early Batman stories
Will report back later.
For blowjobs.
But I'll get them soon
EXCEPT THE AWARDS I WOULD GIVE TO ASTONISHING XMEN, WHICH ARE SEPERATE YET EQUALLY IMPORTANT.