Graphic Content
By Wally Flores Jr.

2010 was an interesting year for me for comics. I considered giving up on buying a few titles monthly and going straight trade paperbacks, but in the end my impatience won out. Well, that combined with saving money by dropping a few titles (which I never thought I'd drop). As the world of comics becomes more accepted in mainstream culture things are changing. Not always for the better, but not always for the worse. But, I thought I'd look back and see what a few of the good and bad things that stuck in my mind were.

The Good

Legion of Super-Heroes - The Legion was re-launched . . . again. I think this is like the fourth time this has happened since I attempted getting into the Legion more than a decade ago. It gets old. REALLY old. However, we're getting back to the basics now. This is the same Legion I had a digest copy of when I was a kid. So, some things are familiar. While the story isn't incredible and it is moving along slowly there is more consistency here than I have seen in a while. Plus, as a Green Lantern fan I do have a fair amount of interest in seeing what happens with the establishment of a new Green Lantern Corps in the age of the Legion. Sure, it may not happen within the pages of the main title, but I'm enjoying the connection. Justice League: Generation Lost - The best thing to spin out of the "Brightest Day" event. Yes, I'm including the main Brightest Day title in that statement. What isn't to love? Booster Gold, the new Blue Beetle, Fire, Ice, a new Rocket Red with a horrible grasp of US pop-culture and sayings, and of course Captain Atom (a personal favorite character). Add to that the writing of Judd Winick and you're all set. Not everyone enjoys Winick's writing but I tend to, and his style of humor works wonderfully for a group of heroes that originally came together with a heavy hand of humor in their stories. Secret Six - Still one of the best titles out there in my opinion. Gail Simone never fails to deliver great stories. Sometimes you may feel like you're dropped in the middle of something, but when it does happen it's always a great ride getting things sorted out. The characters are so simplistic and shallow at times (OK, most of the time) that you can't help but enjoy the times when their true depth is shown. The Six were saving people through questionable means way before people were enjoying the questionable tactics of the characters in shows like 'Leverage' and 'The Human Target' (Guerrero to be more specific). Torchwood - While the Torchwood magazine may be ending someone was smart enough to know there are those of us out there that need our Torchwood fix. So, this year saw the start of the official Torchwood comic. The comic comes straight from Titan Publishing, who also did the official magazine. And, as with the magazine there are a variety of writers (including current and former cast members) for the original stories. While it may be frustrating to have a story that could be contained in a single issue split between multiple issues it does encourage the reading of all the different stories. Plus, we've already had the return of Bilis Manger. What more could a Torchwood fan ask for? Well, besides the next series to start immediately. Shadowland - Now, I'm not a reader or follower of Daredevil. However, when I saw a number of characters I have had interest in over the years were showing up in the pages of the Shadowland event, I had to check it out. So, I picked up Shadowland, Daredevil, Shadowland: Moon Knight and Shadowland: Power Man. I picked up a few of the one-shot issues too. I have to say that I was not disappointed. With Andy Diggle writing the main Shadowland title, I didn't have much to fear (pun intended). Plus, I also got the updates I wanted with Moon Knight and Iron Fist. I'm not following Moon Knight into anything else (just like I didn't read any Avenger titles with him in it before), but I'm glad I caught up on where he is. From this event I am definitely going to be giving Heroes for Hire a chance (I really enjoyed the first issue) and of course I will be picking up the new Power Man & Iron Fist. Then, much to my surprise (as I avoid spoilers on the net the best I can) I found out that the Black Panther (T'Challa) would be taking over Daredevil's title under the new name of Black Panther: The Man Without Fear in issue #513. I'm glad about this because I really have not been liking how Marvel is treating the Black Panther (either of them) or Wakanda in general, but that's a future rant.

The Bad

Teen Titans - While I'm only two issues into the new writer's run, J.T. Krul isn't impressing me. Of course I don't put the full blame on him. Frankly I don't care for the new Robin (Damien), and I'm really not too thrilled with how he was put on the team. I always thought Dick Grayson was one of the people who pushed the idea that the Titans were family and that's what made them different from other groups. Well, it seems he has given up on that idea. That is, unless Damien is that annoying cousin that is family you don't have a say about and have to play with because your parents say so. Still, I will give Krul a chance. He can't do worse than Felicia Henderson can he? I'm sorry, but her writing is why I quit the title when I did. Justice League of America - Speaking of bad writers, I really cannot wait for the day when James Robinson leaves this title as its writer. I'm sorry, but I've given his run multiple tries and his dialogue is just dismal. I can barely track it through the word balloons. It might work on a stage, television, or movie but it is simply horrid in the medium of a comic book. They can keep the team as is. I don't mind lesser known characters. I actually prefer them at times. But please, please, please DC find a new writer for this title. I'm reading the current story just because it factored in the Tangent Universe. The Boys - Wow did I love this title when I first got into it. It was something really different and it took the concept of super heroes into a whole new world. It's not so much that they were flawed (which has been touched on many times), it's that they were seriously messed up, and they had to be kept in check. Until this year the title has been solid, but this year it's sliding. A lot of the issues have been very slow to bring about what they're getting to and it feels like what could be done in two or three issues got bumped up to five just to lighten the load so Garth Ennis could write the side minis and plan ahead. I'm not giving up on this title, but as a whole the last year was bad. The Transformers - Yeah, this title is on the chopping block. They current world of the Transformers is interesting. I really do like it, but the monthly just isn't packing the punch of the shorter series, be they the ones of the past or that are happening alongside the current title. Humans are angry. Yeah, we get it. Plus, there needs to be a call made by editorial staff as to how the Transformers are going to look. I don't care if they have more of a G1 look or more of a movie look, just pick one. It's annoying having characters looking so inconsistent.

The Bittersweet

I'm just dropping this in because it's a combination of sometimes having too much of a good thing, or good things coming to an end. Ex Machina - An incredible title from the start that kept a high level of enjoyment for the entire run, which ended this year. While not all were pleased with the last issue I think it did exactly what the rest of the series did, and that was make us (the readers) wonder what we would have done if we had been in Mitchell Hundred's shoes. Comics that make you think. I'm all for that. I'm sad to see it go, but glad I was there from the start. Doctor Who - The recent title from IDW was great. For sixteen issues we had one more adventure with the tenth Doctor. Plus, this wasn't just some random set of adventures. This was a story from Tony Lee that was worth of an entire series on television. Of course, with all that happened the title could have take up two series, but at least one would have been great. Some new characters, and the return of some old characters. Overall, a great ride worth of the name 'Doctor Who'. While the next run will be the eleventh Doctor, I am glad this particular tale of the tenth was told. Finally, there is the Green Lantern and Deadpool titles. These are two of my all-time favorite characters/concepts. While 2010 has really blown up with titles for these two there can be too much of a good thing. I know this because my wallet is not happy with me since these two have gotten more notice and that means there is more collectibles and apparel to buy. While things don't look to be changing in the near future on the Green Lantern side, it does seem things will be calming down from the Deadpool side. How things will carry on after the movies come out, is anybody's guess. For now, I'm just enjoying the extra breathing room where I can. 2010 has been a so-so year for me and the world of comics, but overall it's been more good than bad. I'm thinking that 2011 is the year things will get a little more "locked down". I've dropped titles I never thought I would and am looking at smaller corners of the Marvel and DC universe to find things I really connect with. Hopefully some new and interesting concepts/characters will pop-up along the way too. Something truly new for the new year.

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