CBR Year End Round-Up: The Best of 2007

[CBR News]

What writers, artists, and titles did CBR’s reporters feel were the cream of the crop in 2007? Was any one writer, artist or book consistently praised? Yup. Come in and find out who our favorites were.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/ne...m.cgi?id=12679

[Aaron Kashtan]

This list appears to be limited to mainstream comics. What about comics published by Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, First Second, Top Shelf, Oni, etc.? How can you justify not including things like Scott Pilgrim, Exit Wounds or Shortcomings?

[Adriel]

I believe that splash page from Green Lantern was by Ethan Van Sciver.

(The one with the 7 Corps)

[Also Known As]

Surprisingly I Agree with most choices.
I love Iron Fist and X-factor, good to see all the praise around it.
and Adriel is right, that's by Ethan.

[andy khouri]

Are the reporters aware of the existence of comics not published by Marvel, DC or Image?

Yes.

Collectively and in multiple categories within the Best Of 2007 lists, we called out Dark Horse books "The Umbrella Academy," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Zero Killer," "Rex Mundi," "BPRD," "Hellboy" and "Lobster Johnson, as well as Devil's Due book "GI Joe: America's Elite"; Avatar book "Doktor Sleepless" ; Dynamite Entertainment's "The Boys"; and BOOM!'s "Potter's Field."

In terms of site-wide coverage, I can't speak for the other guys, but more than 20% of my work in 2007 was related to non-Image, non-DC and non-Marvel projects.

[True North]

Loved the comment about being able to understand the X-Men! ROTFLOL ! :D

Brubaker is going to be the Hemingway of comics!

Epting is the Michelangelo of comics !

I really enjoyed BKV's take on Dr. Strange. He did some really inventive stuff on a character that needs lots of love and exposure! What did you guys at CBR Editorial think of the Oath?

It's nice to hear Bendis get praise for his writing skills, instead of getting ridiculed. His character development is spot on! I agree about his take on Spider-Man! It's a blast to be able to have thought balloons again and get inside these character's heads to see what they are thinking! Loved the private thoughts of Iron Man & Ms. Marvel when they were picking out the Mighty Avengers team!

McDuffie has been a breath of fresh air on the FF! I wish he had come on a lot sooner and stayed on a lot longer. Let's hope Millar & Hitch really deliver on making the FF the World's Greatest Comic Magazine in 2008 !

2007 ! It was a good year!

[andy khouri]

I believe that splash page from Green Lantern was by Ethan Van Sciver.

(The one with the 7 Corps)

I don't know what on multiple Earths you're talking about. It's clearly the Ivan Reis double-page spread AND IT ALWAYS WAS YOU NEVER SAW AN VAN SCIVER IMAGE THERE.

I guess it's possible Superboy-Prime punched the walls of the CBR servers again.

[andy khouri]

This list appears to be limited to mainstream comics. What about comics published by Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, First Second, Top Shelf, Oni, etc.? How can you justify not including things like Scott Pilgrim, Exit Wounds or Shortcomings?

Firstly, it would have been more helpful to me and thread-lurkers if you'd simply replied to my post after I corrected your needlessly snarky original post -- in which you asked if CBR staffers were even aware of the existence of non-DC, non-Marvel and non-Image books, to which I responded with a list of eleven books by an additional five publishers that we mentioned in this article -- instead of just editing your original post to make it appear less rude.

So I guess you decided the eleven titles and five publishers I mentioned weren't good enough... or something?

Anyway, since when are Dark Horse, BOOM! and Avatar books considered "mainstream comics?" Really, since when are Image books considered "mainstream comics?" Sure, they publish some tentpole licenses, but it's not like we're talking about Star Wars or Spawn here, we're talking about books like "Zero Killer" and "The Nightly News," books made by creators just as "independent" as anybody else.

Seriously, "The Nightly News" is a total downer of a book all about terrorism and the media and how much everything just sucks so horribly, told in the most bizarre, uncomfortable style a first-time creator could employ -- a creator who thought up his book in the shower, did a shit-ton of research and didn't even paid to make the thing. Half of us give this book our top honor, and you're suggesting some bias for "mainstream comics?" That's some bullshit, man.

How do we "justify" not listing the titles or publishers you mention in our Best of the Year list? Like the piece says, we read and write about assloads of comics in a given year, and almost if not all of the publishers and projects you mention have been covered on CBR in '07, so it's not like we didn't read that stuff. We covered a lot of Archaia Studios Press projects, too, but none of them are on this list.

The books in these lists are just the ones we personally liked the most. The onus is not on us to justify why we didn't include things, the onus is on us to justify the items we did include.

(I fucking knew someone was going to get all bitchy when nobody listed Scott Pilgrim! I fucking knew it!)

[Aaron Kashtan]

Firstly, it would have been more helpful to me and thread-lurkers if you'd simply replied to my post after I corrected your needlessly snarky original post -- in which you asked if CBR staffers were even aware of the existence of non-DC, non-Marvel and non-Image books, to which I responded with a list of eleven books by an additional five publishers that we mentioned in this article -- instead of just editing your original post to make it appear less rude.

So I guess you decided the eleven titles and five publishers I mentioned weren't good enough... or something?

I'm sorry about that. I edited my post almost as soon as I'd finished posting it, so I actually never saw your reply until just now.

Anyway, since when are Dark Horse, BOOM! and Avatar books considered "mainstream comics?" Really, since when are Image books considered "mainstream comics?" Sure, they publish some tentpole licenses, but it's not like we're talking about Star Wars or Spawn here, we're talking about books like "Zero Killer" and "The Nightly News," books made by creators just as "independent" as anybody else.

I have a pretty broad definition of mainstream, I guess. Maybe what I really unconsciously meant was comics that are primarily sold in the direct market.

Seriously, "The Nightly News" is a total downer of a book all about terrorism and the media and how much everything just sucks so horribly, told in the most bizarre, uncomfortable style a first-time creator could employ -- a creator who thought up his book in the shower, did a shit-ton of research and didn't even paid to make the thing. Half of us give this book our top honor, and you're suggesting some bias for "mainstream comics?" That's some bullshit, man.

All right, I admit I myself was unaware of the existence of this book, so maybe I'll check it out now. But...

How do we "justify" not listing the titles or publishers you mention in our Best of the Year list? Like the piece says, we read and write about assloads of comics in a given year, and almost if not all of the publishers and projects you mention have been covered on CBR in '07, so it's not like we didn't read that stuff. We covered a lot of Archaia Studios Press projects, too, but none of them are on this list.

The books in these lists are just the ones we personally liked the most. The onus is not on us to justify why we didn't include things, the onus is on us to justify the items we did include.

(I fucking knew someone was going to get all bitchy when nobody listed Scott Pilgrim! I fucking knew it!)

Well, you did make a choice when you excluded Scott Pilgrim, Exit Wounds, etc., even though those comics were widely acclaimed in other media outlets as being among the best comics of the year. When you chose to include certain comics on your list, you were claiming, not only that those were the best comics of the year, but also that they were better than all the other comics that didn't make the list.

[andy khouri]

Well, you did make a choice when you excluded Scott Pilgrim, Exit Wounds, etc., even though those comics were widely acclaimed in other media outlets as being among the best comics of the year. When you chose to include certain comics on your list, you were claiming, not only that those were the best comics of the year, but also that they were better than all the other comics that didn't make the list.

You're right, that is the implication on our part, but I still don't agree there's some kind of obligation on us to make arguments for our selections vis-a-vis products other outlets hold up higher. Also, just because something isn't listed in the Top 5, it doesn't mean we think it was no good, or that it wouldn't be in the Top 10 if we had one.

Your philosophy sort of assumes there's a set list of books from which to choose the five or ten or however many best, and that a separate piece needs to be written to explain why the remainders weren't ranked higher. If we operated like that, we'd be here till 2009, you know?

[Michael P]

Brubaker is going to be the Hemingway of comics!

Epting is the Michelangelo of comics !

Are you insane?

I'm not saying Brubaker and Epting are bad, but seriously, are you insane?

[True North]

Are you insane?

I'm not saying Brubaker and Epting are bad, but seriously, are you insane?

Insanity is genius in disguise! ;)

But, like they say on the commercials, "Ask your doctor, ask your doctor, ask your doctor?" :D

I suspect you have alternates for the comic book equivalents of Hemingway and Michaelangelo. Who might they be? :)

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Your philosophy sort of assumes there's a set list of books from which to choose the five or ten or however many best, and that a separate piece needs to be written to explain why the remainders weren't ranked higher. If we operated like that, we'd be here till 2009, you know?

I think you can choose whatever you want to be the best, it being an opinion piece and all, but really, there should be a piece where you all explain why Scott Pilgrim didn't make the list.
That or 'sorry' written over and over again.

[StoneGold]

I suspect you have alternates for the comic book equivalents of Hemingway and Michaelangelo. Who might they be? :)

Probably Jack Cole for Hemingway, but that's more due to their similar penchants for suicide. Otherwise, I'd say Steranko, but again, it's more due to them both being mysterious badasses.


Sadly, I don't know much about Michelangelo, except he's a partying dude.

[Paul McEnery]

You're right, that is the implication on our part, but I still don't agree there's some kind of obligation on us to make arguments for our selections vis-a-vis products other outlets hold up higher. Also, just because something isn't listed in the Top 5, it doesn't mean we think it was no good, or that it wouldn't be in the Top 10 if we had one.

Your philosophy sort of assumes there's a set list of books from which to choose the five or ten or however many best, and that a separate piece needs to be written to explain why the remainders weren't ranked higher. If we operated like that, we'd be here till 2009, you know?

Hah!

Sir Tim went light on you.

That's almost universally a list of top mediocre mainstays none of whom contributed anything of lasting value. Honorable exception to Ellis and Ennis, neither of whom really produced their best work last year; and to the League, which is a slight amusement.

I mean, yeah, 2007 was a feeble year for most realms of entertainment, but these lists? Oy oy oy.

Oh, and nobody mentioning All Star Superman over this dreck? Tch.