Beth's thoughts - "Brent and I are huge fans of Image Comics (it really shows in our top 10 comics of 2015 at the bottom of this blog). I loved how they got interviews with the original 7 guys that started Image Comics. For me the most interesting part was how the movie explored the reasoning for why each of the 7 creators were willing to leave the safety of their position at Marvel Comics. 9 out of 10."
Brent's thoughts - "Was there any doubt I'd love this movie. This is probably my favorite company in comics and I've enjoyed telling this true life story to anybody that will listen because I find it very interesting. Not to mention Jim Lee and Erik Larsen are probably the two artists (along with Mike Allred) that I will follow to any book. As a film, the director does a nice job of not distracting from the story or inserting his own narrative. The only negatives are a few scenes where dialogue from comics is shown to underscore how dramatic things were and being a bit skimpy on the Wildstorm buyout and anything non-Walking Dead related in the more recent years. Highly recommended for fans of comics or interesting business deals. 9.5 out of 10."
Beth's thoughts - "I had really high hopes for this movie since it stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and is getting really good reviews, however it was just an okay movie. I can't believe this movie was over 2 hours long because there was just not a lot of story. I also wish they would have shown more development between Annie and Philippe. The best part of this movie was how well they showed the audience the height of the World Trade Centers. 7 out of 10."
Brent's thoughts - "I can see why this film was overlooked when it came to awards nominations. It's not a bad film, but it's high ambition is matched instead by it's high amounts of whimsy. The acting is fine in the movie, but the tone is set early on so that everything feels like a fairy tale, and when the stress and emotions are ratcheted up at the end the stakes don't feel as high (pardon the pun) as they should given the circumstances. The visuals are fine, although if you've seen the end of 'Vanilla Sky' you've also seen the scary view. For a film starring one of my favorite actors and directed by a Hollywood legend, I came away disappointed. 6.5 out of 10."
Cliff got to spend some more time with his Aunt Lori and cousin Charlie this week, as well as Beth's Grandma Ruth and the rest of the usual gang. One thing we've noticed with Cliff is that when somebody holds a camera up, he is very good at stopping what he's doing and looking at the camera, even when the person sneaks up from behind him.
10.
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mahmus Asrar or Andrea Sorrentino
Last Year's Rank: 7th
Beth's thoughts - "Every year a ton of X-Men books come out. This one happened to be our favorites. In an attempt to stop Scott Summers (Cyclops) Beast brings the original X-Men from the 1960s to the present day. At first I was very skeptical of this premise, but I really like how the original X-Men are portrayed in this book. I also find it really interesting to see the conflict between the original X-Men wanting to be their own people and make their own choices, but also being stuck by the fact that they have already lived their lives (or their future selves have) so they know some of the bad things that have occurred.
9.
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Diego Bernard or Rafael Sandoval
Last Year's Rank: Did not place
Brent's thoughts - "This is the longest running Valiant title since the company relaunched, likely because the quality of the writing as stayed so solid throughout. The book tells the story of a Visigoth from over a thousand years ago being joined with an alien armor that may or may not drive its host crazy. Through the magic of space travel the main character ends up in the present day and both his civilization as well as an alien civilization end up in a political battle in Nebraska. Typing out the plots of some of these books makes them seem completely crazy, but it's the same crazy unpredictability that makes this such a fun read each month."
7. (Tie)
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Last Year's Rank: Did Not Exist
Beth's thoughts - "This book is about a child companion robot named Tim-21 that is being hunted because robots have been outlawed due to a tragedy involving them. I always think it is interesting to examine the morality of artificial intelligence and their rights. This book has some of that, but it also has a mystery element that draws you in each week, because you slowly are learning what happened in Tim-21's past to get him to where he is at the start of the book. I am still not sure who the good guys are in the book. I just really think this book is always a good read each month."
7. (Tie)
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Esad Ribic
Last Year's Rank: Did Not Exist
Brent's thoughts - "Secret Wars is not only the biggest Marvel crossover event in years but it's also the best executed (which isn't saying a lot, as most of them have been bad since Civil War). Beth and I have been huge fans of the writer, Jonathan Hickman, since his incredible run on Fantastic Four a few years back, and while his Avengers run leading up to this story was good, I was still caught off guard by how excellent this series was. After an apocalyptic scenario, Marvel's universe is 'saved' by its greatest villain, as he reshapes the universe with himself as God. At the same time, a lifeboat of characters caught outside of the known universe arrives to find the world as they knew it completely warped. Anything with Dr. Doom featured heavily is going to be good, but this was way better than it had any right to be."
6.
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Ben Dewey
Last Year's Rank: Did not place
Beth's thoughts - "This is an anthropomorphic fantasy story. I love how this book really feels like a classic fantasy novel with elements of magic and some set rules on how the magic works. The best part is the characters, there are a good amount of characters in this book, but each one of them is flushed out and really interesting. This is definitely one of the wordier comics we read each month, but the style really suits this book. I recommend this to anyone that likes to read Brandon Sanderson novels."
5.
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Last Year's Rank: 1st
Brent's thoughts - "This book was still Beth's favorite book this year, and I still think it was a great read (all the way through the end of the letters pages) but this year of stories felt like a bit of a drop off as the three main characters, two aliens from opposing races and their child, were split apart through some poor decision making and unfortunate circumstances. Whereas the first year of the book felt like it was all discovery of crazy new worlds and characters, this year felt like it was much more oriented on conflict. As always, Fiona Staples art work is amazing and there's usually one page per issue that will shock the modest reader. Overall it remains one of the best books on the stands."
4.
Writer: Jimmie Robinson
Artist: Jimmie Robinson
Last Year's Rank: Did Not Exist
Beth's Thoughts - "This was a six issue miniseries about an apocalyptic world that is being poisoned. This book had one of my favorite team ups of characters, they are all odd but are a likable group you really end up rooting for during the book. At its heart it is about 4 main characters which under normal circumstance would not interact with each other, that are forced to go on an adventure through this crazy world to see if they can save their own people. The first issue is a little odd, but it is definitely worth reading on six issues."
3.
Writer: Jay Faerber
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Last Year's Rank: Did Not Place
Brent's Thoughts - "This book was too new last year to make it onto our top ten list, but right away we both agreed this was an exciting new series. Copperhead is a space western that tells the story of a new sheriff on an alien world that has to deal with a a stubborn deputy, a corrupt mayor and a mysterious man in the desert that has befriended her son. The most amazing thing about this book is how it succeeds at multiple genres. I would completely recommend it to fans of science fiction, westerns or mysteries. I wasn't familiar with the artist prior to reading this book, but the clean artwork makes it so the characters are recognizable and easy to differentiate from their first appearance. This is definitely another book that could have placed number one if we ranked them on a different week."
2.
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Mike Allred
Last Year's Rank: 3rd
Beth's thoughts - "I don't think I have ever read a bad issue of this book. It focuses on the adventures through space of the Silver Surfer and the human Dawn Greenwood. This book takes a simple premise and really makes it exciting every week. I love how every week they are working on a new problem and are introduced to some new interesting set of aliens. However, by far the best part of this book is the interaction between the Silver Surfer and Dawn. These two are written in such a likable way and the Mike Allred art just captures the feel of this book perfectly. I can not recommend this book enough. Out of all the books on our list, this is the one that is just the most uplifting to me."
1.
Writer: Jonathan Luna
Artist: Jonathan Luna
Last Year's Rank: 2nd
Brent's thoughts - "Last year's runner up for best series concluded its run this year, and the ending was as perfect as the rest of the book. While I almost prefer ongoing titles so the characters have plenty of time to develop and have twists, there's a definite advantage to a book where the writer clearly has an ending point in mind when it starts. This story about a depressed guy that gets a companion robot for a gift could have been a simple rip off of 'Lars and the Real Girl' or any number of generic romantic comedies. Instead it turned into a dramatic and suspenseful story that kept a sweet relationship as its center. This is the sort of book that people who dismiss comics as an art form would likely enjoy and end up missing out on."