A Look Back at the Comics of 2010

2010 has been an incredible year for comics. We’ve seen history-changing, epic comic events, old favorites dying off, and some favorites making their return. From film adaptations to cable television series, comics have had a major impact on pop culture in 2010.

For someone like me who really started paying attention to comics just last year, 2010 has made it incredibly exciting and fun to read comics. What follows are some of my favorite highlights in comics from the past year.

I’ll begin my look back at 2010 with comics of the spandex-clad, masked-crusader variety. When it comes to the great divide in comic books you can either pick a side or jump into both worlds and read it all. I’m speaking of course of the Marvel and DC Comics universes of superheroes.

Coming off of Blackest Night, the biggest comic book event in recent years, DC has brought us Brightest Day this year. Brightest Day picks up where Blackest Night left off as it features 12 resurrected heroes and villains. The story follows Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Captain Boomerang, and Firestorm -- just to name a few -- and their quest to find the reason behind their resurrection. As a big DC Universe fan I’m enjoying the story, but the look of Brightest Day is something I have a problem with. In my opinion it’s because Ivan Reis, the penciler on Blackest Night, isn’t working alone on Brightest Day. The series is on issue 15 with issue 16 being released on December 15^th. If you’re interested in reading this series I strongly suggest reading Blackest Night first.

Continuing with the spandex and masks, we move onto one of my all-time favorites, Batman. Last year Grant Morrison brought us the death of the dark knight, Bruce Wayne, in both the Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis graphic novels.

Well this year, after the original Robin, Dick Grayson took up the mantle of Batman, guess what happened? In true comic book fashion, Bruce Wayne returned from the grave to take back the infamous cowl. I for one was really excited when Dick Grayson took over as Batman but Morrison does a great job of branching this story with the current Batman and Robin comic he is writing. Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne starts up from Batman and Robin issue 12 and the stories connect in Batman and Robin issue 16.

Last but definitely not least is Marvel’s Shadowland. This one is fairly new, it started in July, is being released once a month, and is getting some good buzz. The Shadowland limited series run is a storyline centering around Daredevil and features other Marvel staples like Spiderman, Ghost Rider, and Elektra, to name a few. The story follows Daredevils journey down a villainous path as the leader of the secret assassin organization, The Hand. A group of Marvel’s heroes must face-off with Daredevil and his Hand henchmen in an attempt to steer their friend off the dark path he is on. Issue 5 was recently released on December 2^nd and I believe the hardcover collected volumes will begin in February of 2011.

If caped crusaders aren’t your thing, do not fret! Superheroes might be what shot comics into the mainstream decades ago but there are plenty of stories and characters just as interesting and endearing.

I’m going to start this section with one of my all-time favorite comics…of all time, Y: The Last Man! This one is released by the DC subsidiary Vertigo and it’s one hell of a creative and original comic. Y: The Last Man chronicles the journey of Yorick Brown and his pet capuchin monkey Ampersand after an unknown virus kills every last human and animal with a Y chromosome. As the last man on earth Yorick sets out to find out the truth behind the virus, and the reason he was spared. Now I’ll admit that this 60 issue story ended back in 2008, but I’ve included it in this list for a very good reason. The first hardcover deluxe edition was released in late 2008 with the second volume released mid 2009, but Vertigo has released volumes three and four this year. Why? This is because in 2011 the fifth and final deluxe volume will be released! I feel this is truly a wonderful and intriguing story and I highly recommend it to any and all.

When I think of things like creative story writing, original characters, and black market chicken restaurants, only one comic comes to mind and it's called Chew. This one is brought to us by Image Comics and is written by John Layman. Chew seems to be one of those comics that people will look back on in a few years and call it a hidden gem. Chew is about Tony Chu, a cibopathic police officer turned FDA agent. Oh yeah, did I mention that the FDA is parallel to the FBI in this comic? That’s right, they are, and why you ask? Well that’s because chicken has been completely banned due to a bird flu epidemic that some people think was a hoax perpetrated by the government. And what the hell is a cibopath? Well imagine getting physic impressions from whatever you eat. For example, imagine biting into a burger and immediately getting visions of the cow your patty came from, the life it led, the things it ate, where it was raised, and of course, how it died.

Volume two, collecting issues 6-10, was released in April of 2010 and volume three is slated for a January 2011 release. I guarantee you there is no comic out there with quite the personality and uniqueness of Chew. If you’re truly craving a fresh comic experience like nothing you’ve know before, then invest in this comic.

I’ve chosen to end this post with the comic that has had quite possibly the biggest impact on pop culture in 2010. I’m speaking of course about Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. This is an amazing comic that transcends all boundaries. I really see this as a zombie story for people who are tired of zombie stories.  As the tagline perfectly declares, The Walking Dead is a continuing story of survival horror. I really can’t say enough about this comic. The Walking Dead is easily one of, if not the best written story in comics today.

With The Walking Dead television series alongside films like Red, Scott Pilgrim, The Losers, and Kick-Ass, comic book stories and characters are a major part of our culture and they don’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.