Gold Medal: The Unwritten (Vertigo) Deja vu, much? Yes, I'm aware I gave this book my gold medal last year, but the thing is, there is not a single book on the market that has captivated me as much as this one. Mike Carey and Peter Gross's creator-owned title has earned its place as Sandman's heir, and I feel set the standard for contemporary, mature storytelling. It's been quite the year in the world of Tom Taylor, Lizzie Hexam, and Savoy including Joseph Goebbels' phantom, vulgar rabbits, the return and sudden death of Tom's father, Wilson, and the revelation of the final Tommy Taylor book - suspense, drama, genuine humanity, and an engaging story that has me wrapped out it's finger.
Silver Medal: Strange Tales II With the first issue opening up
with a Wolverine as a lucha libre wrestler in a deathmatch-style
arena, all the while the narration of a letter written by a lost love
echoes throughout the story you realize, this isn't the normal Marvel
fanfare. Nope, this is Strange Tales II, the second collection
of stories that takes popular independent creators and artists like
Kate Beaton and Jhonen Vasquez, and let's them play in the Marvel
sandbox. The stories range from touching, to downright hilarious. I
missed out on the first series, but I made sure to check this one out.
I mean, how could you not purchase the second issue of this series
based off the cover alone?
Bronze Medal: Scotty SnyderTalk about one hell of a year. I had
seen promotions for American Vampire at my LCS leading up to it
coming out. I didn't pick it up atfirst, just because I was worn out from the whole vampire genre basically being shoved down my throat. It wasn't until I found myself reading, and enjoying, Iron Man: Noir that I decided to take the gamble with a new title with a relative unknown. Vertigo titles rarely lead me astray, and I fell head over heels for the new envisioning of what the American vampire is and Snyder's own theories and spins on the myth and folklore of the ancient creature of the night. Soon after buzz surrounds AV, Snyder becomes a DC exclusive writer, and soon after that, is announced as the writer for Detective Comics. Though, at press time only one issue of 'Tec under his direction, I just have a feeling Snyder will give the title some of its best stories yet. Quite an impressive year indeed.
What to watch for in 2011: Artifacts With only four issues out,
I couldn't really give this a place on my list, however, I am certain
this is the mega-series we will be talking about next year. With Hope
still missing, and the bearers of the Artifacts coming closer together, the end of the world draws nearer and nearer. While Ron Marz and Michael Broussard have given most creative teams a run for their money, I cannot wait to see what the remaining nine issues hold for the Top Cow characters and the universe at large.
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