2011 From Steve Robles’ Point of View
The countdown toward a fiery death is about to begin. What better way to celebrate the lack of a future than to hopelessly lingering on the past?
This year was a good one for geeks of all stripes.
Let’s take a step toward a brighter path and talk about the positives first. This is all from my point of view.
2011 was the year I discovered Lost Girl. It’s Canadian, but it’s really good. I finally learned to enjoy the new Doctor Who and managed to follow X-Factor from its first episode to its last.
Lost Girl
This year was also a monumental year for comics fans. DC broke and then reset its Universe. Marvel split up their most popular franchise and introduced yet another Wolverine book.
Naturally, the big news was the “New 52” DC “re-boot”. If you want my opinion on certain things, you can check out Geekscape’s extensive launch month coverage of which I was a part.
Overall, with several months behind us, I’ve managed to stick with the titles one thought might be the strongest: Action and Detective Comics, Superman, Batman. I managed to stick with Swamp Thing and Animal Man, as well as All-Star Western and Justice League Dark.
It’s weird seeing John Constantine in a spandex book. Yeah, I know he comes from Swamp Thing but it’s still weird. Constantine has had a pretty rough year over in Hellblazer. Set upon by demons summoned by his own niece, losing his thumb and his trench coat (and having the latter go on a killing spree) are just a few of the things that bedeviled John this year in what I consider one of the best years for that book in a long time.
It’s followed up by the story that unfolded in the initial arc of the New 52 Batman. The Joker’s face now hangs in a Gotham Police Precinct. The Puppetmaster gets a cold and violent re-boot and the book gets dark. Real dark.
Scott Snyder, I just realized, writes many of the books I like. Swamp Thing, Batman, American Vampire’s various incarnations. He just knows how to weave a tale that is appealing to comcs newbies and vets.
This was also the year I came to the party called The Goon over at Dark Horse. You hear David Fincher’s directing the movie? There are trade paperbacks to collect and enjoy.
I’m trying to stay away from my usual exaltation for anything Mike Mignola. My favorite comic moment is actually a series of moments culminating in my having read “The Fury” over in Hellboy. Far and away the best story of the year and a satisfying (if also maddeningly incomplete) end of the latest arc of Hellboy stories. My fellow Mignolians couldn’t help but be thrilled by the events of “The Fury”.
Plus, if you’re one of those comic book fans who like quality storytelling and fantastic, evocative art then you need to get your hands on Hellboy: House of The Living Dead.
But I just separate all Mignola-verse books from everything else. They’re just the best.
Anyway, I’ll give up one worst moment in comics to share. It’s pretty funny.
In the New Batman and Robin #1, there is an informative sequence where Batman is explaining the increasing irrelevance of Crime Alley to Robin. While they’re having this conversation, the bat-whatever they’re in helpfully chirps out directions.
Batman is using GPS. To get to Crime Alley.
The world’s greatest detective can’t find his way to the most significant place in his life. The very crucible of the essence of the Bat. The place that shaped him. The place that defines him. The place irrigated with the blood of his parents – and he’s got to use the Tom-Tom to find it. He probably has it programmed with Michael Cain’s voice.
Some detective he turned out to be…
So stupid. This moment has haunted me all year. I can’t wait to tell people about it when they ask what I think about the New 52.
The worst comic of the year is Wolverine: The Best There Is. However: It’s also the coolest! WHAT?!? Yep. On one hand you have this scene where Wolverine channels his inner-scissorhands and takes up a part of MY $4 real estate with HAIR STYLING:
BUT then you have the incredible art. By incredible, I mean GORE GALORE. Wolverine slices and dices like we’ve always dreamed. F Jackman’s dainty little grunts. W:TBTI brings the violence.
LOOK:
So I am torn. It’s a really horrible, fan fiction-y written book, but the art is gorgeous.
It’s the worst book I read this year.
In the best things of the year category:
Also this year, two people I know had some major comic book milestones happen:
FIRST, Geekscape whatever-he-does Jonathan London put out his own comic book. Well, half a comic book, as it shares real estate with another story (editor’s note: and I wrote that one too so… 100% of a comic?).
NONETHELESS
SUPER ACTION MAN
We could say that J-Lo is a prophet in that he predicted the exact method of demise of Osama Bin Laden! Pretty exciting. I have a list for you, Jonathan. A list of people for you to kill.
I bought this book to support Jonathan, but I hadn’t read it until just now. I like it. It has a fun quality to it. The art is good and very retro in style. I love violence. It could have been more violent. Did a #2 come out? I have no idea.
THEN my good friend Heather Kenealy was selected in a contest to write the new Stan Lee/MTV Comics “The Seekers”. She was chosen by Stan Lee himself out of a field of hundreds and got to travel to New York Comic-Con and get introduced by Stan Lee and MTV.
Speaking of blockbuster franchises, we’re heading into 2012, the final year of our planet with some great comic book movies on the flaming horizon. The Avengers and Dark Knight Mister Mojo Rising will provide the biggest perspectives, I think. Just as Iron Man and Dark Knight did during that magical year.
I really thought 2011 might have been the best year in terms of the quantity of good comic book movies. Both Captain America and X-Men: First Class were awesome comic book action movies.
That’s why Captain America was the superior movie to X-Men (Marvel really knows what they’re doing with their own stuff. Whooda thunk it?) but I was glad to see the filth of Bryan Singer all but washed away. There is still a faint miasma but not enough to suffocate the good parts of First Class.
Captain America was exactly what I thought it would be. Actually, I admit that I had my suspicions of sucktitude but the finished product far exceeded my expectations. See? I can like stuff too.
I’m sorry, hipsters, Green Lantern was awesome. Not every comic book movie has to be dark and sullen and listen to My Chemical Romance. Sometimes, they can just be fun.
Thor was disappointing to me. I wanted to see more of Thor on earth and less of the weird Narnia he comes from. The story seemed rushed and the character moments simply ignored. However, the worst of Marvel Studios’ efforts are better than most anyone else’s best.
In events:
San Diego Comic-Con was less of a centerpiece to the year than it has been in recent years. I don’t think it ended up being the cluster-frack it was last year and they did move the Twilight fans to the beginning of the convention and got them out of the way! Woot. Oorah. However, there is still the intrinsic problem of crowd control with huge events on the trade floor and I did get trapped in a corner again – only for 15 minutes this time.
In the end, 2011 was more of a decent year for Geeks than most people would give it credit for. Sure, we’re in a recession and people are occupying stuff and things seem uncertain. It’s in those times that escaping into comic books, video games and movies becomes the most important.
