The Best Comic Books of 2010: Part 1

25. Red Robin
Issues: 8-18

Writer: Chris Yost (8-12) and Fabian Nicieza (13-18)
Artist: Marcus To (8, 10-18) and Ramon Bachs (9)

The year’s been a tough one for Tim Drake; he started 2010 in the middle of his war against the Council of Spiders, as he’d infiltrated Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins. The following arc saw Ra’s attempt to get revenge on his traitorous young crimefighter by launching an assault on Gotham City which led to a brutal confrontation between the two, ending Red Robin’s first year. Moving into the Batman Inc era of the Bat-Family, Red Robin arranged a hit list of individuals who needed to be removed from the equation to maintain order within the chaos; as well as this, the culmination of his search for Bruce Wayne led to an emotional reunion between the pair following Bruce’s return. The final issue of the year started the next story arc as Red Robin headed to Russia.

24. Sweet Tooth

Issues: 5-16

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Jeff Lemire

His first full year has been a tough one for Gus (the titular ‘Sweet Tooth’). In the first issue, concluding the initial story arc, he was handed over to the shady military camp leaders by the mysterious Jeppard and apparently left to die. The second story arc explored Gus’ imprisonment and the lone scientist’s discovery about his origins, as well as exploring Jeppard’s past and revealing him to be much nicer than we’d given him credit for. In the third arc, which closed out the year, the military went looking for the cabin Gus and his father lived in at the start of the series, saw Jeppard join forces with a sadistic group to attack the military base, and saw Gus launch an escape from the camp. The arc won’t wrap up until January 2011, but already it’s proving to be stunning stuff.

23. Wolverine: Weapon X/Wolverine

Issues: 9-16 (WWX)/1-4 (W)

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Yanick Paquette (WWX 9), CP Smith (WWX 10), Ron Garney (WWX 11-15), Davide Gianfelice (WWX 16) and Renato Guedes (W 1-4)

Wolverine’s had a pretty turbulent 2010; he started with the concluding chapter to his mental asylum story, ‘Insane in the Brain,’ and continued with a one-shot about his relationships with women. The final arc of his Weapon X series saw him face-off against Deathlok, and the final issue featured his dealing with the death of his best friend, Nightcrawler. Then, he was graced with his own titular series once more, and immediately went to Hell to battle the hordes of foes he’d sent into the pit, while a demon paraded around in his body, murdering all his closest associates.

22. Stumptown

Issues: 2-4

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artist: Matthew Southworth

It’s a sad thing that Greg Rucka’s first series after leaving DC has been so delayed, but Stumptown has still managed to be a compelling mystery and the start of something which, once collected, will be an exceptional series. This first arc, or the latter parts of it, deals with a case for Private Investigator, Dex Parios, as she searches for a missing girl and uncovers all the conspiracies surrounding her disappearance. It’s an original character from Rucka and the opportunity for something fascinating to evolve in 2011 when the series gets back on track.

21. Jonah Hex

Issues: 51-62

Writer: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti

Artist: Dick Giordano (51), Jordi Bernet (52, 54, 57, 59, 61), Billy Tucci (53), Vicente Alcazar (55), Phil Winslade (56), Giancarlo Caracuzzo (58), Brian Stelfreeze (60) and Eduardo Risso (62)

Jonah Hex is always an enjoyable mish-mash of a series, showcasing the very best artwork modern comic books have to offer. Each issue is a one-and-done, which means there’s a lot of story within; Hex started the year with Dick Giordano’s final comic work prior to his death, before continuing with a tale of Hex on the run, a mysterious connection between Hex, a train robbery, a double-crossing, a dancer and a coffin, the return of Star Man, the tale of Billy Dynamite, and a movie tie-in. And that was before things got series as Hex rounded out the year with: some Western heroes, a significant bullet, the Gray Ghost, a gambling brawl, a wife and a gang of freaks.

20. Daytripper

Issues: 2-10

Writer: Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon

Artist: Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon

The tale of Bras de Oliva Domingos was a sad one; each issue of his series told a different set of events all leading to his inevitable death. But each tale dealt with human nature and the subjects of life, love, death and happiness. At the age of 21, Bras has his first fling while on holiday. At the age of 28, Bras catches a glimpse of true love. At the age of 41, Bras’ father dies. At the age of 11, Bras experiences his first kiss. At the age of 33, Bras comprehends death following a plane crash. At the age of 38, Bras tests the limits of friendship. At the age of 47, Bras’ absence unites his wife and child. In a dream world, Bras examines the connections of all his various deaths as he draws closer to death. And in the final issue, aged 76, Bras dies of cancer, having accepted his fate and passes on valuable life lessons to his son.

19. Uncanny X-Force

Issues: 1-3

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Jerome Opena

One of the best new series of 2010 was Rick Remender and Jerome Opena’s epic tale of an X-Men strike force comprising of Wolverine, Deadpool, Fantomex, Psylocke and Angel. It never should have worked, and in lesser hands, it probably wouldn’t work. The premise of this first arc is the Uncanny X-Force’s mission to hunt down and kill Apocalypse, who’s been transformed into a child. It’s a great premise and when it wraps up in 2011, it’ll surely be a fantastic trade.

18. Action Comics

Issues: 885-896

Writer: Greg Rucka (885-889), Eric Trautmann (885-889) and Paul Cornell (890-896)

Artist: Pere Perez (885-889) and Pete Woods (890-896)

The year for Action Comics began with the conclusion to Greg Rucka’s Nightwing and Flamebird storyline following the resolution of the New Krypton event within the Superman books. When Paul Cornell took over, the book shifted focus to Lex Luthor, following his misadventures as he searched for a Black Lantern Ring in the aftermath of Final Crisis; along the way he faces off against numerous DC villains including: Mr. Mind, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd, Vandal Savage and the Secret Six. As well as this, Luthor died and encountered Death, one of the Endless from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, finally bringing that series into continuity.

17. Morning Glories

Issues: 1-5

Writer: Nick Spencer

Artist: Joe Eisma

So far, this new series from Image Comics has had everything going for it; a great premise, interesting characters and enough action and laughs to keep appetites whetted for the duration. The first arc deals with a group of children shipped off to boarding school, all of whom were born on the same day, and all of whom are subject to conspiracy, danger and violence. As the issues continued, the realities of the world they’d entered became more apparent and the series found itself becoming more and more unnerving with every plot development and twist.

16. New Avengers/The New Avengers

Issues: 61-64 (NA)/1-7 (TNA)

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Stuart Immonen (NA 61-62, TNA 1-7), Daniel Acuna (NA 61-62), Mike McKone (NA 63-64)

New Avengers started the year in the midst of the ‘Siege’ event with the team taking on the Hood and his group of super criminals, all of whom were under the thrall of Norman Osborn. Post-Siege, the series rebooted to coincide with the three other ‘just okay’ Avengers books: Avengers, Thunderbolts and Avengers Prime. The first arc of this second New Avengers series saw the team deal with the problems arising from the fallout of their magic arc from the first volume; everything got serious and a major character died. Then, the status quo was altered slightly in the final issue of the year as Dr. Strange officially joined the team.

Next: 15 to 6