From The Scoop: Scoop's Best Trade Paperbacks and Hardcovers of 2006
From the December 15 issue of Gemstone Publishing's The Scoop:
Last week, we had ties for the first time in the few years we've been doing these Top 10 lists. Now we have ties, plural again, for the second time. Like our comic list, our Top 10 Comics of 2006 is eclectic, offering a diverse tally of characters ranging from the historically significant to more recent fair. Included with the results are the original Off The Presses entries.
As always, we have excluded our own work here. This year, that would include Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion, The EC Archives Weird Science - Volume 1, and The EC Archives Shock SuspenStories - Volume 1, all of which are selling like crazy and have received critical acclaim to boot. We heartily recommend all of them to you.
We've also excluded books that our staffers contributed to, such as Shi: Ju-Nen from Dark Horse and The Wicked West 2 from Image. The Wicked West 2 is a sequel to The Wicked West, which won "Best" in this category in 2004.
Since there are two ties, our Top 10 count-down actually starts with number seven:
7. [Tie] Powers - The Definitive Hardcover Collection - Volume 1
Marvel Comics; $29.99
At long last, Powers in hardcover! The first 11 issues of the creator-owned series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming has been collected in trade paperback format for a long time, but now they're finally available in hardcover. In addition to a chronological presentation of these issues, the book is packed with extras including the Powers newspaper strip that ran in Comic Shop News, the Powers Coloring/Activity Book, Bendis' script for Powers #1, and Oeming's character sketches and cover concepts. It also includes a "best of" section from the series' lively letters pages (even spotlighting the "All-Stalker" column from Powers #9). Originally published by Image, the series now resides at Marvel under their Icon imprint. Not for the kids
7. [Tie] Conan - The Tower of The Elephant and Other Stories
Dark Horse Comics; $24.95
Collecting Conan #16, 17, 19 - 22, and revisiting the intro story from Conan #0, this third volume in the hardcover series from Dark Horse centers on "The Tower of the Elephant," which adapts one of Conan creator Robert E. Howard's most revered stories. Writer Kurt Busiek and series artist Cary Nord are joined by guest artist Michael William Kaluta for journey that makes a great reading experience.
6. Silver Star Graphite Edition
TwoMorrows Publishing; $19.95
Pacific Comics originally published Silver Star in serialized form back in 1983 and 1984, and it turned out to be Jack Kirby's last fully realized original property. Now TwoMorrows, the same folks who publish The Jack Kirby Collector, have brought together this new edition of Silver Star. What makes it different, and intriguing for art enthusiasts, is that it is reproduced unlinked, straight from Kirby's pencils. It's an enjoyable read, and something no Kirby fan should be without.
5. Sam & Twitch - The Brian Michael Bendis Collection - Volume 1
Image Comics; $24.95
In addition to his larger historical moves (launching Marvel's Spider-Man and co-founding Image Comics come to mind), Todd McFarlane made at least a little bit of history when he hired Brian Michael Bendis to write Sam & Twitch. To that point, the duo had been bumbling, shuffling supporting characters in Spawn. McFarlane thought there was more to them and let Bendis, then still best known as an indy crime comics writer-artist, find out what that "more" was. It was, in hindsight, a brilliant move.
Bendis quickly established that not only did he know these characters, he knew them very well. Angel Medina did a great job with the art on the "Udaku" story arc collected in this volume. Presuming it does well, we hope this means we'll see the first Bendis-Alex Maleev collaboration in a second volume (it lead to them working together on Daredevil).
There was a previous version of this trade, but it was in black in white. This one's color and has one more issue in it, too. Great read.
4. Justice Society - Volume 1
DC Comics; $14.99
Following both the successful JSA trade paperback series and the highly acclaimed All-Star Comics Archives hard cover series, DC has finally released a collection of the 1970s All-Star Comics revival, which introduced many readers to the world's first superhero team, at least outside of their periodic crossovers with their Justice League counterparts. Earth II's heroes -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate, Wildcat, Powergirl, and others - offer readers a great step into DC history. Great stories by Paul Levitz and Gerry Conway, too.
3. Adventures in Oz
IDW Publishing; $39.99
Here's one from the "How could we have possibly overlooked that?" file: Back before Image Comics' Age of Bronze was the highly acclaimed, impossibly detailed work of art that it is today, its creator, Eric Shanower, had already carved out a little bit of comic book immortality. From 1986 to 1992, he wrote and illustrated five original graphic novels set in the world of L. Frank Baum's famous Oz series. The Enchanted Apples of Oz; The Secret Island of Oz; The Ice King of Oz; The Forgotten Forest of Oz; and The Blue Witch of Oz were published by First Comics (the first four) and Dark Horse Comics (the last one), and each of them met with positive reviews and generated fond memories in their readers. Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully written, the graphic novels dovetailed with the world created in the original books and found favor with Oz enthusiasts. By the late 1990s, though, these graphic novels were out of print. Now, IDW has done what should be considered a public service and brought them back in one excellent volume. Released earlier this year in both trade paperback and signed, limited hardcover editions, Adventures in Oz belongs on just about everyone's bookshelf.
2. [Tie] Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Dark Horse Comics; $18.95
As we've commented previously, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has been one of the most pleasant surprises this year. It's a regular, on-going Star Wars comic with characters and stories that you can sink your teeth into, and that is a good thing. "Commencement" is the first story arc of the series and it ran in #0 - 6, collected in this edition. We knew as we were reading the individual issues that writer John Jackson Miller had done a great job, but some of that really doesn't come out until you read the whole story in one sitting. Check it out and let us know if you agree!
2. [Tie] The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy - Volume 1
IDW Publishing; $29.99
Dick Tracy was born of the gangland despots of the 1930s and the active imagination of Chester Gould, who would spend decades chronicling the adventures of the straight arrow detective and his startlingly weird rogues' gallery. This first hardcover volume in IDW Publishing's new series collecting Tracy's adventures is a proverbial "must have" for anyone who is serious about the comic book and comic strip arts. With an insightful foreword by Road To Perdition and Ms. Tree creator Max Allan Collins, who succeed Gould as writer of the strip, as well as an interview with Gould conducted by Collins, Volume 1 is superb introduction to Tracy's world and what impelled its creation. Do not miss this book!
2. [Tie] Alias Omnibus
Marvel Comics; $69.99
Collecting the complete Alias #1-28 and the related What If Jessica Jones Had Joined The Avengers? in one volume, this is one honkin' big comic book collection. Aimed at mature readers, this series introduced Jessica Jones, who went on to be featured in The Pulse, Young Avengers and Daredevil, and if you loved the series you'll love this book.
1. Nexus Archives - Volume 4
Dark Horse Comics; $49.95
As much as the other volumes of this series to date have been cool, this is the one in which artist Steve Rude begins really stretching himself on Nexus (leading to the experimentation that would take him away for periods represented in subsequent volumes). At this point, he and writer Mike Baron are really in sync, bringing out the best in each other's work. A lot of the mystery of the series is explained in Nexus #19-25, which this book reprints.
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