CBR's Top 100 Comics of 2012, #24 - 11

**CBR News** · 12-30-2012, 11:41 AM

We get deep into the Top 25 in the latest installment of CBR's Top 100 comics of the year with some major superhero events, some of the biggest creator-owned smashes, a legendary anthology and the most inventive webcomic ever.

Full article here.

**passer-by** · 12-30-2012, 11:48 AM

Azzarello's Wonder Woman at #21 and Aquaman at #91? Hm... oh well, there's no accounting for taste. I dropped WW after a dozen issues.

Same for Animal Man and Swamp Thing - dropped them somewhere in the Rotworld arc. If these two representatives of DC New 52 are at #12, I, Vampire should be a top 10 title.

I lost interest in Ultimate Spider-Man a little after Mark Bagley left the title, read it till the first few issues after Ultimatum and dropped it. So a #23 ranking surprises me a bit. But I admit that I don't care in the least about a Spider-Man who is not Peter Parker, except when written by Peter David.

I'm not surprised by the high ranking of Fatale, even though I dropped it a few issues ago. I much prefer Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips on pure crime stories sans superhuman or supernatural elements (though I admit I liked Sleeper, but mostly for the infiltration part) - Criminal is their magnum opus for me.

Mind the Gap sounds interesting, and the art is by Rodin Esquejo whose Morning Glories covers are, well, glorious. Might have a look at this one.

And Saga will be in the top 10, perhaps even the top 5, that's good.

**colin.ynwa** · 12-30-2012, 12:03 PM

Well clearly after the thrill-powered year we've just had 13th is 12 places too low for 2000ad BUT well done for placing it at all. Thanks to the sterling work of CBR more of the American audience might finally be cottoning on what a joy we have in the Galaxies Greatest comic. Go on check it out, you deserve it 2012 been a hard year, make 2013 a treat!

**dupont2005** · 12-30-2012, 12:03 PM

Nothing I actually read in here, although I used to keep up with Locke & Key. I didn't stop liking it, I just made severe cuts to my pull list and it didn't make it. I only follow a small handful of comics. Maybe I'll catch up in trade. I also plan to read Rachel Rising eventually since I love Strangers In Paradise so much. I hear a lot of good about 2000ad, and I bought one issue and enjoyed it, but it comes out too frequently for me to realistically keep up. It would probably double my comic budget.

**thwhtGuardian** · 12-30-2012, 12:03 PM

Great to see some love for BPRD, one of my all time favorites.

**CTpitch** · 12-30-2012, 12:11 PM

Fatale just missed the top 10

yet I am satisfied it made it so far up

**passer-by** · 12-30-2012, 12:13 PM

I wonder what CBR's top 10 will be. Saga for sure, Batman very likely, Building Stories since it was the #1 pick of Brian Cronin (who also has Darwyn Cooke's Parker in his top 10), but what else?

Elephantmen, Hellblazer, Manhattan Projects, I, Vampire?

Yeah, I wish.

**astrakhan** · 12-30-2012, 12:17 PM

At least Century 2009 was better than 1969 (although the text story still makes absolutely no sense). Moore is bringing back Janni Nemo for the next volume, and she's been the best part of LoEG Century, so I have that to look forward to. Still, I think he buggered the Invisible Man* again with 1969.

*Someone pointed out to me that we needed a better cliche than "jump the shark", so "buggered the Invisible Man" got the vote.

Originally Posted by passer-by

I wonder what the top 10 will be. Saga for sure, Batman very likely, Building Stories since it was the#1 pick of Brian Cronin, but what else?

Elephantmen, Hellblazer, Manhattan Projects, I, Vampire?

Yeah, I wish.

Hawkeye is definitely going to be in the top 10 (and deservedly so).

**flapjaxx** · 12-30-2012, 12:25 PM

To have Animal Man and Swamp Thing up that high is insane. For what it's worth, yes, the first six issues of Animal Man were great, but after that it turned into a crash course in "How To Do Nothing for Eight Months Until the Crossover Happens". Swamp Thing has been marginally better in recent months, but it too seemed to do very little for most of 2012. From about March to October of this year the only thing either title told the reader was that "The Rot is Coming. It's very scary. Yes, it is. It's coming. Soon. The Rot. Very scary. It's almost here, you know. Be afraid. The Rot is indeed coming. Yes. Soon. The Rot. Very scary, it is." I was speechless that people who have read better, more original runs of these titles could be at all impressed with this stuff. Again, they've been a bit better recently (at least Swamp Thing has, I finally dropped Animal Man after issue 12 or 13), but to put them that high on this list is just sad.

I guess we know that Snyder's similarly unoriginal and overblown Batman run will probably rate no lower than #3. I enjoy it okay, but it does very little that a random Spawn comic from 1995 didn't do 90% as well in terms of art, tone, or storytelling. Somehow, though, it impresses people to inexplicable extents.

**Xenigma** · 12-30-2012, 12:28 PM

Very happy to see Mind the Gap and Avatar: The Promise place so well, loved both of them. Kudos especially to the latter for perfectly capturing the feel of the show: I can only hope this creative team keeps doing Avatar comics for a long time. Now to just wait and see how the top books are ordered: Saga, Hawkeye, and Batman seem like safe bets, and with any luck I, Vampire will sneak in there after a stellar year.

**ultraaman** · 12-30-2012, 12:39 PM

I haven't read most of the entire list so no real opinion. The few I have read, I either agree with or can see why other people would think highly enough of them to rank them in the Top 100.

With one exception.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 2009 was by far one of the worst comics I have read so far this decade. It is amalgamated junk tossed together to capitalize on a series of books that had already taken a serious dive after it's second installment. No no no no no no no. Awful.

**InformationGeek** · 12-30-2012, 12:40 PM

Oh! Mind the Gap at number 15! Frankly, I've only read two issues of it and I feel it should be higher on the list than Fatale, which I also like, but not as much.

Oh boy, the top 10 list should be interesting. I'm going to predict that the following overrated books are in it: Snyder's Batman (And I love this book), Morrison's Batman Inc., Vaughn's Saga, and Hickman's Manhattan Projects. It's so painfully obvious that it kind of hurts.

Interesting to note; I have not seen American Vampire; I, Vampire; Daredevil; and Hickman's Fantastic Four (I saw FF a while back) on this list. Makes you wonder.

Also, Wonder Woman shouldn't be at 21. It should be much lower than that. Maybe 60s or 70s. That Hades arc was awful and be waste of time. It brought the whole story to a stand still and went nowhere interesting; plus with Tony Akins drawing most of it, it was just awful looking. Made me almost want to drop Wonder Woman completely. Thank God it bounced back, but that was a severe drop in quality.

**Outside_85** · 12-30-2012, 01:08 PM

Glad to see some people are appreciating Wonder Woman.

**MartinNL** · 12-30-2012, 01:34 PM

I guess Underwater Welder will pop up in the top 10 as well. If not the whole list is invalid imho. There are lots of titles that aren't as good as Lemire's book. Same with Building Stories as mentioned by someone else before.