End of a Decade (Part III)

I am a huge fan of comics and graphic novels.  Since the nineties we have seen a new golden age dawn in the medium, while at the same time sales are dropping.  The smallest percentage of people/kids now read comics than have ever read them in the past 75 years and a lot of that is due to this strange monopoly that is in place with the "single distributor system" as well as the squabbling between Marvel and DC that continues to this day.  Although the new rise in comic-based movies is helping some, it will hopefully never take over.  At least people like Jeff Smith, Dave Sim, Terry Moore, and many others have proven that this is an art form and one can be successful without the mainstream system.

Here are my picks for the decade.  This with yet another hard list to compile due to all of the great young writers and cartoonists that have emerged as well as the ending of some of the most iconic series's.

5. Marvel Civil War.

This is the only book from the mainstream Marvel/DC companies to make my list.  Although overall I despise these all-encompassing, multi-title crossovers because for the most part they are a plot just to sell more comics and not about the story, they actually did a decent job with this one.  Some of the most unthinkable things happened to the Marvel Universe and we got to see characters in situations that were thought of as impossible at the time.  I will give credit to Marvel for not totally messing this one up.





4. Bill Watterson - The Complete Calvin and Hobbes.

This is the first of two of me choices that are 90's based, which I know is kind of cheating, but this collection is the definitive edition of the work of Bill Watterson.  He only created comic strips for ten years, but in that time graced the world with some of the most influential strips along with fun and lovable characters.  The collection here also earned the distinction of being the heaviest and one of the most expensive books to grace the New York Times Best-Seller list.






3. Craig Thompson - Blankets.

Blankets was first printed in 2003 with the 9th printing edition coming out this year.  This piece by Craig Thompson is autobiographical and shows some wonderful cartooning designs.  A sweet story about growing up and finding one's first love while questioning faith and the meaning to life, Blankets is a great mix of story and illustration.







2. Alex Robinson - Too Cool to be Forgotten.

When I first saw the cover to this, I thought it was silly and looked interesting.  I knew Alex's work and knew that this was going to be good, but I was blown away by what I found.  This story starts of silly, almost comical, quickly falls into reminders of high school and being kid, only to hit you hard at the end like a punch to the gut.  I have read it a few times and wept at the end each time.  Alex has proven himself as one of the premier graphic novelists of our age.






1. Jeff Smith - Bone.

This is the other 90's cheat coming in at number 1, but I would not have felt right with myself if I left it off.  This series, started in '91, ended in '04, but since it's end and the subsequent color editions that were released in the recent years, Bone has been one of the most successful publications in the past few years.  Not only has the big (1300 page) "One Volume Edition" been through like 14 printings, the Scholastic reprints have gone on to change the way that parents and teachers can use comic books as a learning tool.  Thanks Jeff!





That is the end of my "Best of the Decade" series.  I almost wanted to do a list on televisions, but then I saw some again recently and was reminded why I didn't.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions, please comment or contact me directly.  I will start working on the lists for this decade and it comes along and hope to find more creativity and brilliance.