Giant-sized - Comics year in review, best publisher, event, and awards
In our special year in review episode, we recap the best of the best in 2019. We also make our picks for best writer, artist, color artist, and more! Nathan Simmons joins Forrest Hollingsworth and David Brooke to talk over the best of the year. Nathan also serves as a tie-breaker as we determine what truly is the best of the year!
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Show Notes
This is an extra-long episode with categories predetermined and agreed upon. Here are the nominees...
Best comic to show a lapsed fan
- House of X / Powers of X
- Black Hammer
- Hellblazer
- Green Lantern
- The Immortal Hulk
- Middlewest
Biggest Disappointment
- Fallen Angels
- Batman: Damned
- 2099
- Spider-Man by Abrams
- Return of Wolverine
- Last Knight On Earth
- Invisible Kingdom
Best Comics Trend
- Team listed as Co-Creators
- Sexploitation characters are now written by fabulous writers (Red Sonja, Deja Thoris)taken seriously
- Major publishers embrace horror/genre
- Grand Design
- ALPHA / OMEGA issues
- Kitschy properties are being given fun and clever books (Six Million Dollar Man, Barbarella)
Worst Comics Trend
- Solicitations Too Far Out
- Too Many Event Tie-Ins
- Constant Re-Scheduling
- Creator’s rights in jeopardy (Watchmen)
- Political Avoidance
- An overabundance of Elseworld Batman stories (Last Knight on Earth, Bat-dad in King’s run, Curse of the White Knight)
Biggest Surprise:
- DC Restructures into age bracket model
- Vertigo shuttered
- Young Animal returns
- DC Zoom and Ink a success!
- X-line complete relaunch
- Marvels are annotated and BACK
- Conan under Marvel and in every book
Biggest Surprise
- X-Men Immortality
- Hot claws NO MORE
- Walking Dead ends abruptly
- Black Hammer & Justice League
- Doomsday Clock finally completed
Best Publisher
- Marvel
- DC
- Image
- Vault
- Dark Horse
Best #1
- John Constantine: Hellblazer
- Silver Surfer: Black
- Captain Marvel #1
- ACTS OF EVIL: PUNISHER ANNUAL #1
Best Ongoing
- Immortal Hulk
- Justice League
- Venom
- The Dreaming
- Thor
- Black Hammer (+ various tie-ins)
- Gideon Falls
Best Event
- War of the Realms
- HoX & PoX
- Absolute Carnage
- Leviathan
- Year of the Villain
Best Reboot
- The X-Men Line
- Young Justice
- Daredevil
- Fantastic Four
- Batman/Superman
- Buffy
- Hellblazer
Most Memorable Retcon (bad or good)
- Moira X
- Wolverine and the Infinity Stones
- Xavier and Magneto working together
- Doomsday Clock
- Venom creates children on purpose
Best Romance
- Gambit and Rogue
- Krakoa Polyamory
- Batman and Catwoman
- Spider-Man and MJ
- Harley and Poison Ivy
- Betsy and Blob (X-Tremists)
Best Hero
- Venom
- Xavier
- Miles Morales
- Dora (The Dreaming)
- Doctor Strange
- Hum (Coda)
- Martian Manhunter
Best in-comic Team
- Excalibur
- Marauders
- The Marvelous X-Men
- Young Justice
- Doom Patrol
Best Villain
- Mister Sinister
- Knull
- Morbius
- Leviathan
- Lex Luthor
- Batman Who Laughs
Best Costume
- Captain Britain (Betsy Braddock)
- Batman Who Laughs
- Captain Kitty Pryde
- Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein
- Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy
- Dark Captain Marvel
Best Series Debut
- Little Bird
- Silver Surfer: Black
- Spider-Man: Life Story
- The Batman’s Grave
- Far Sector
- Peter Cannon
- Die
- Sandman Presents: Hellblazer