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Comic Book Galaxy's Best of 2002

 
 
AlanDavidDoane
13:54 / 24.12.02
I've posted my Best of 2002 column if you're interested:

best comics of 2002

Happy holidays!

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Ellis says:
14:03 / 24.12.02
Umm, not particularly.

Did you register just for that?
 
 
AlanDavidDoane
14:39 / 24.12.02
No, after lurking for weeks and being intrigued by the level of discussion, I thought I'd jump in and open with my year-end column as a sort of discussion-starter. Then I was hoping to be tersely insulted with a passive-aggressive insult.

So far, so good.

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The Falcon
00:36 / 25.12.02
Welcome to Barbelith, ADD!

I'm interested in anyone's year-end appraisals.
 
 
AlanDavidDoane
08:15 / 25.12.02
Thanks, Duncan. What were your favourite reads in 2002?

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Our Lady of The Two Towers
16:23 / 25.12.02
Not only had I not read most of those but, beyond the ones that were put out by the Big Two, I hadn't HEARD of most of those. Nice to see you differentiating between the big publishers and the independents.
< big fat Elvis >
In the ghetto...
< /big fat Elvis >
 
 
AlanDavidDoane
19:19 / 25.12.02
Thanks, I hope you'll check some of them out.

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The Falcon
23:46 / 25.12.02
I can't make it work. I like your initials Alan.
 
 
AlanDavidDoane
05:44 / 26.12.02
Duncan --

Just copy the URL and paste it into the address/location box of your browser. It should work then.

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The Falcon
16:56 / 26.12.02
No, I already tried that (twice - direct link and main site) 'n got a gateway timeout.
 
 
AlanDavidDoane
18:46 / 26.12.02
We've been having server problems for a couple of days now. Try it again maybe tomorrow if you're so inclined.

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Murray Hamhandler
22:26 / 26.12.02
...after lurking for weeks and being intrigued by the level of discussion, I thought I'd jump in and open with my year-end column as a sort of discussion-starter. Then I was hoping to be tersely insulted with a passive-aggressive insult.

Welcome to Barbelith, indeed...

(getting mighty tired of apologizing for those who want to act like tits to new people right off the bat)
 
 
The Falcon
23:23 / 27.12.02
It's like an initiation test.

"Do you really want to post here? Some of us are obnoxious and uptight."
 
 
Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo
15:10 / 29.12.02
Hm...I should think about my own best of 2002 what with all the lists out and about.

I know that Lone Wolf and Cub would be high on the list, Garth Ennis's wonderfully dark Punisher, and Bigg Time.
 
 
Mister Six, whom all the girls
14:25 / 30.12.02
S'funny... I would have reversed the reviews of Powers and Cap, personally. The only thing Powers is good for is the letters column. As far as I can tell and from the info given, it seems that Neiber was heavily edited by Quesada, hence the break ofthe neck in the last issue as Cap goes from questioning everything to 'ra ra Amerca.' Sounds much more like a corporate decision than one made by Neiber who rewrote the first storyline to include 911 elements at the urgings of twin towers Quesada.

And Ultimates the best mainstream read??? I dunno. NXM has that mantle for me. Millar is just too eager to be a company man by tryting to make an interesting comic by turning Hawkeye into a heroin addict or something. I bought the first storyline and like the big screen elements (because I miss Authority mostly), but it's a far cry from the best mainstream read. If it was his own comic or he were honoring the work done before him, it might stand a chance. Ultimates is just... I don't know what it is. Which is a shame as issue one was amazing. I still say if you want good Marvel hero stuff, just get the originals.

Still, I do very much like Absence of Ink comics and will check out their new releases.

Thanks for the link.
 
 
rakehell
22:51 / 30.12.02
Hey Alan. Nice list. I think I would have placed "Forlorn Funnies" near the top of my list as well. My top prize would probably go to Truth Serum. I really couldn't get enough of this book and try to recommend it to everyone I know.

That said, Kochalka's diaries is about the only book I can give to anyone without any sort of preface or explanation. I haven't encountered anyone who wasn't amused by it even a little bit.
 
 
Hexonym
22:08 / 06.01.03
Hello Alan. It's an interesting list because I haven’t heard of many of the titles you included so I'm eager to check some of them out.

More interesting to me however were some of the topics you brought up in the rest of your columns.

How did the Wolverine comic turn into an ode to homoerotic, sado-masochistic gang rape and torture without me knowing? Someone dropped the ball.
 
 
lentil
10:32 / 07.01.03
Hey, thanks for posting that, it made an interesting read. I only picked up the first issue of "Forlorn Funnies" and while I was very impressed by the formal aspects I found the ideas better than the execution. Did anyone else think that the dialogue was very clunky in parts? I originally didn't buy ish 2 because I'd heard that it was a more "straight" tale of heartbreak, ie. that it centred on what I thought was the weakest element of the first one.

Also, thanks for reviewing my comic! I'd say you hit the nail on the head, and no, I certainly wouldn't say it was Great Art. I've had a couple of other reviews that have been overwhelmingly positive, but poorly written. It means more to get a balanced review from someone who has a keener critical eye.

'spec.
 
 
Ethan Van Sciver
12:16 / 07.01.03
Hey Alan, as much as I enjoy your writing, I must confess, I never feel your love for comic books when I read it. It always seems sort of bleak to me, like you're angry often.

Not really meant as a criticism, just an observation.
 
 
The Falcon
12:32 / 07.01.03
Mark Millar is a fan, though.
 
 
AlanDavidDoane
13:00 / 07.01.03
Ethan --

I think my love for the medium comes through when it shines brightest, like when I am talking about Kochalka or Hornschemeier. But there's a lot to be angry about when talking about the industry, and yeah, I'm not terribly shy about expressing it.

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AlanDavidDoane
13:04 / 07.01.03
Everyone --

I hadn't stopped by in a couple of days, so thanks for all the nice comments.

As for Ultimates vs. New X-Men, New X-Men probably would have made the list if not for the inconsistent quality of the artwork. And The Ultimates is a polarizing book, no question about it. I said as much in my review:

"By the issue #5 kick-in-the-face scene, the battle-lines were drawn between readers who wanted to see this and those who didn't. By #6's domestic violence sequence -- one of the most haunting in a Marvel Comic ever -- you know absolutely for sure if this is a comic you want to read, or one you wish would just cease to exist."

The rest of that review is at:


http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/reviews_archive_090102.html

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