COACH'S TOP 10 OF 2009!

Yeah, this is late. I've been sitting on it for over a month but since a certain floating fat man who shall remain unnamed threw down the gauntlet on his own read worthy blog (although I'm not sure how he did it with his tiny T-Rex type arms and enormous abdomen blocking the way to his keyboard), here are my picks for the top 10 books of 2009. Most of these will be sadly predictable but tough, I'm writing this and you're not. If you don't like them, add your own top 10 in the comments. All covers are from whatever issues I can find because that's what I want. In reverse order:

10. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt

I like Hellboy, I like giant pig monsters, I like Celtic legends, and I like characters that shout "Boom!" when they knock the snot out of something with their giant stone whammer hand.

9. The Destroyer

Robert Kirkman is a great writer and the artwork by Cory Walker was more than sufficient. This was an ultra-violent retrofit of a Timely Comics character from the Golden Age. There's some great black comedy here as The Destroyer works out new and creative ways to destroy (go figure) villains in each issue. Get the trade and read the whole thing at once.

8. Witchfinder: In the Service of the Angels

Another choice from the Dark Horse imprint. This tale of Victorian supernatural investigator Edward Grey started out slow but by the end I was eagerly looking forward to each issue. More monsters and protoplasmic fun for all.

7. Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds

Ah, George Perez. This was one of the last if not the last Final Crisis story to be finished up from DC but boy was it ever worth it. I believe Perez draws the best 2 page spreads in the business. Some of the battle scenes in this series as well as the creative panel-to-panel continuity continues to show that even though Perez is getting older and a little slower, he's still getting better. I missed this one in the local comic shop's hardcover blowout but I'll pay full price for it simply to read it all in one volume. Great story to introduce someone to the DC universe as Perez packs hundreds of characters in there. The image is shown slightly hugified because this is just a one-sheet ad for the series and so you can see it. It all looks like this and better. Insane!

6. Grimjack: The Manx Cat

We're going back to the 80's on this one. Tim Truman's dimension hopping, semi-immortal, reincarnated anti-hero has long been a favorite of mine since First Comics (long gone by now) started producing the series and it's great to see that Truman still has a place in heart for the scarred old fella. The story combines a touch of Moorcock, swords, science fiction, and a guy named Saint John of the Knives. Are those that know me well at all surprised?

Wolverine: Old Man Logan

I've ranted about how good this story was in previous posts but the double-sized conclusion really made this one worth the long wait in between the final two issues. Mix Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, an apocalyptically shattered Marvel Universe, an infestation of gamma-irradiated inbred rednecks, and a reluctant human/mustelid/Canadian hybrid with Steve Mcniven and Mark Millar having a ball and you've got a real winner. Some of Mcniven's best work to date and the fate of the Red Skull really made my day.

4. Hulk

This one snuck up on me. When Jeph Loeb started on this one I got the feeling that he was kind of flailing in the dark trying to find his footing on the writing. Was it a serious restructuring of the Hulkiverse following World War Hulk (aka Conclusion of the Energy Splashes from hell) or was it a comedy book where Rulk (aka Red Hulk) punches out Uatu the Watcher and gets away with it (ridiculous). However, this book has grown on me throughout the year and every time I tried to drop it, Loeb would improve something that hooked me back in. I have to say that its become one of my looked forward to reads if only for the fact that I might see some more clone M.O.D.O.K.s getting their giant brains harvested while Rick Jones tries not to barf.

Astro City: The Dark Age

This book is far too overlooked by most people which is just fine by me. It makes me feel "leet." For my money the most original and consistently well-written non-Marvel/DC super hero book around. It has its own self-contained, separate universe and it is obviously a labor of love for Kurt Busiek, Brent E. Anderson, and Alex Ross(!). All of the character designs are by Ross and they have a way of just dropping new characters into the story so cleanly that it's a wonder that other companies with lots more people and street cred can't do it as well. I pick up the separate issues as they come out and the trades/hardcovers when they are produced as well as the one or two-issue specials they do in-between the major story arcs. You never know what era you might be seeing next in Astro City, but no matter where it is, you're sure to be get your four bucks worth of fun (and a real letters page too).

2. Green Lantern Corps/Blackest Night/Green Lantern

Surprise! It wasn't number one. For all the ranting about this series I've been doing over the last year or so, I'm sure you all thought that this would be my top pick and if it wasn't for one thing they did in the marketing and it being a super-giant crossover maxi-series (I've really had just about enough of 'em) you would be right. For my money this is the best book and the best big crossover DC has ever done since Crisis on Infinite Earths. All of the stories in the little books tie into the main books and you have the option of just reading Blackest Night, Blackest Night and the two Green Lantern titles, or the whole spectrum (Hah! A light joke. Ha-Ha! Another!) of one shots and mini series and you can still follow what's going on. The thing that knocked this down for me was that DC made the fatal error of revealing the big baddie for the series on the cover of a Diamond Comics Previews which I didn't read but which was sitting on a shelf at my local shop in plain view. A real misstep after keeping the secret under wraps for so long only to reveal it 2 months early (and no I won't spoil it even now). Even so, this book/series is tops and I really can't wait to see how it is all resolved with Geoff Johns at the helm.

And so we're here, my number one pick of 2009. I have to say that this is totally based on my month to month satisfaction with the entertainment my comics dollar is providing. This book has truly kept me looking forward to the next issue for the last twelve months and has taken what could have been a poorly handled gimmick book and has turned it into a monthly must-read. So, my top book for 2009 is:

1. Dark Avengers

At first the concept was ripe with potential for lame. Take a bunch of villains and messed up heroes in the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War/Secret Invasion and have them replace the Avengers who were on the lam from now top lawman Norman (Green Goblin for life) Osborn. However, veteran draftsman Mike Deodato and wunderkind scribe Brian Michael Bendis have managed to return the old school Marvel month to month excitement I felt as a kid in this book in a way I haven't seen in a long time. With tons of guest stars, straight up good times action and ridiculous, world-shattering threats, they continue to keep my running to the comic shop each month to see what happens next. I hear this book is ending soon and perhaps that's a good thing for it to go away at the top of its game in Bill Wattersonesque fashion. Get it, read it, and see what makes Marvel Comics great again.

That's it! My tops for the year 2009. Agree or disagree in the comments and write your own list if you don't like mine. There you go Fatty, how's that for a post? Continue to entertain me with your godless scientific ramblings and write something about comics yourself some time. And Ack x3, I probably would have sat on this until 2011, but the insult of Lord Chunkula telling me to get to work was too much to bear.

COACH'S WEEKLY WIN - CAPTAIN AMERICA #50

That's right, after a brief hiatus and a variety of trips Coach Cohen has returned to shout his comic book opinions at the internet with the veins bulging in his forehead and his whistle/keys jangling around his neck! This week, I'm choosing a character who is near and dear to my heart and whose book has been a standout performer in the Marvel stable for a number of years now, Captain America #50.

Scribed by Ed Brubaker and drawn by the excellent Steve Epting and a rotating stable of fill-in artists (Luke Ross and Rick Magyar take on the penciling and inking duties for the main story in this double-sized issue), the uniform of Cap is currently filled by his old partner from Dubya Dubya Deuce, James Buchanan Barnes aka Bucky aka The Winter Soldier. You see (Spoiler Warning - if you've been absent from comics for the last two years and live in a news free box) Steve Rogers got himself capped (pun intended) 25 issues ago right after the Marvel Civil War and Bucky was given the uniform and indestructible adamantium-vibranium alloy shield by then head honcho of S.H.I.E.L.D. Iron Man. Bucky has since struggled with carrying the mantle of his former partner and best friend and this issue does a good job portraying a very special day in the life of the current Captain America.

Now, when I first heard that they were bringing Bucky back for this story, I was totally against it. Bucky was one of those Holy Grail characters who was cool because Marvel refused to bring him back from the dead. However, I have to say Ed Brubaker has knocked this book out of the friggin' park and it is consistently one of the best if not the very best read that Marvel currently has to offer in their collection of classic Golden/Silver Age characters. It is consistently full of win on a monthly basis.

Also, Bucky is a badass. He has a Soviet bionic left arm, carries a pistol and commando dagger (both of which he uses - BLAMM! flying bizatch), and unlike Steve Rogers, who was enhanced from a weakling to the peak of human performance by the Super Soldier Serum, Bucky is a born fighter and scrapper who spent his entire childhood on military bases. This issue reveals that he was sent off to train with the British Special Operations Group at age 16 after a birthday bar fight with two Navy boys and an MP. Crucial.

Finally, this issue has an excellent 50th issue anniversary backup by Marcos Martin who has a very Tim Sale style to his pencils (probably not a coincidence since Sale's Captain America: White series is coming up) and a cool Fred Hembeck comedy piece to finish things off. As I said, full of win.

So if you're looking for a good read with great characters, quality artwork, and really standout writing, take Coach's advice and pick up Captain America #50. Now hit the showers!!!