The Best Comic Book of 2016: 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK

Matthew Rosenberg co-wrote 2015's We Can Never Go Home, one of the the best comic books of the last few years, so his new book was highly anticipated. Thank God it exceeded the hype. 4 Kids Walk into a Bank is basically the tale of a group of high school nerds dealing with the usual antics and horrors of being a teenager...while also dealing with criminality. One of the kids' fathers is mysteriously involved with a local gang of thugs...so bring on the clandestine, spy missions to uncover the truth! And, I guess, a bank gets robbed eventually...but only #1 through #3 were released in 2016 (yes, they're apparently going with the Afterlife with Archie release schedule) and it's a 5-issue mini-series. The art, by Tyler Boss, is pretty bare and standard (it kind of looks like a 50's newspaper serial), but the writing is off-the-charts. This was by far the funniest and most entertaining book of the year. It was also one of the weirdest. The hilarious dialogue is top notch, the unfolding mystery is compelling, and it just feels fresh and vibrant and thrillingly alive. This is the kind of book you can't wait to read and you're sad when it's over. Books this good just make you glad you started reading comic books in the first place.

Best Writer of 2016: BRIAN K. VAUGHAN "PAPER GIRLS" "SAGA" "BARRIER" "THE WALKING DEAD: THE ALIEN"

Paper Girls is an entertaining, weird, funny, beautiful book. Saga isn't even as good as it used to be but it's still one of the best, most creative and wildest books out there. Barrier, Vaughan's weakest, is truly bizarre. And his The Walking Dead one-shot was awesome. Everything he writes is compelling. He just doesn't do boring or stale or by-the-numbers. Vaughan has been the best writer in comics since Alan Moore and Frank Miller. And 2016 was another stellar year for him.

Best Issue of 2016: VISION #4

Writer Tom King wrote quite the masterpiece with Marvel's Vision this past year. It will definitely go down in history as a legendary book in league with Watchmen and Sin City and Preacher. I didn't like it as much as some of the critics, however, mainly because it was way too depressing and dark and also, more or less, just a super-hero version of the movie American Beauty. But I admit that a few of the issues were emotional powerhouses. This particular issue had a light, playful opening that spoofed Charlie Brown trying to kick the football that Lucy always moves. It had a heart-warming talk at school between Viv, the robot daughter, and her "crush." And it had a shocking, gut-punch of an ending that made you dying to read the next issue. Just a stellar piece of work.

Best Art of 2016: GREEN VALLEY

Guiseppe Camuncoli has been one of my favorite artists for awhile now, ever since his work on Hellblazer. He moved on up to work on The Amazing Spider-Man, which he's been drawing for a few years now. He somehow found the time to also pencil writer Max Landis' 9 part Medieval book, Green Valley, and it was well worth it. Along with inker Cliff Rathburn and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, GV is a gorgeous, colorful, awesome looking book. The story is typical dragons and knights stuff, but I looked forward to the art the most. It was the reason I continued to read the book, and that's certainly saying something.

Cliff Rathburn, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Jean-Francois Beaulieu - See more at: https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/green-valley-1#sthash.eUIUaCVq.dpuf

Cliff Rathburn, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Jean-Francois Beaulieu - See more at: https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/green-valley-1#sthash.eUIUaCVq.dpuf

The Best Cover of 2016: VISION #7

The Best Pages & Panels of 2017

BATMAN #50

STRAY BULLETS: SUNSHINE & ROSES #16

VISION #8

 

 THE FIX #6

BATMAN #48

 

SAVAGE DRAGON #213

 

SOUTHERN BASTARDS #14

 

DESCENDER #15

 

PAPER GIRLS #7

 

STRAY BULLETS: SUNSHINE & ROSES #12

4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK #3




























MOONSHINE #2

KILL OR BE KILLED #1 & #2

Ed Brubaker, one of my current favorite writers, is back with a new book. That's always welcome news, as his books never disappoint and he's been on quite the interesting run as of late (The H.P. Lovecraft-esque Fatale, then the 50's Hollywood epic The Fade-Out, now this). It probably helped that I didn't know what the central plot was to this. I figured it was just another crime book. The main character is a typical guy, a 28 year old grad student living with a roommate that's dating a girl he's in love with and fucking on the side. The main character attempts suicide and fails...but a demon shows up saying that he's been granted a new life. The catch? He has to kill someone every month or else he dies, hence the title. Yes, it's truly bizarre, but it works. The people he ends up killing are bad guys...so it's sort of a super-hero book? Kind of like Kick-Ass in a weird sense. Why this works, though, is fairly obvious: Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips, who have been working together forever, work wonderful together. The art is gritty and perfect. The script is typical Brubaker; brutal, cutting, funny, dark, and engrossing. After two issues who really knows where the hell this book will go, and that's kind of the beauty of it. It's strange but compelling. ***1/2