The "Muttleys" part 2

Thanks for coming back to see what Matthew and I have come up with for some of the year end awards. We hit the big ones last time (comic, writer, artist,etc.) and now we go after some of the smaller, but no less important, categories.

On with the show!

Best Idea:

Matthew:
The Booster Gold series. Every issue has been great and the concept of him being a hero, by pretending he’s a jerk and a goof-off is brilliant.

Ron: I have two, but they kind of dove tail together. First off, the reuniting of characters and creators. Teaming creators like Marv Wolfman and Chuck Dixon with Nightwing and Robin are great things. Yes, Chuck did not actually create Robin, but he did make him a great solo character. The other teaming of Joss Whedon and Buffy leads to my second best idea. That of giving the rabid fans of a cult classic a chance to see things played out. This idea has been taken with shows like Angel and Star Trek, with varying degrees of success. It would have been nice if something like this was done when Gene Roddenberry was still alive. I wonder how he would have ended the original series.

Best Character:

Matthew:
It’s so hard not to just go with one of my favorite heroes…Oh, I can’t resist, I’ve got to pick May "Mayday" Parker a.k.a. the Amazing Spider-girl!!! For villain, I’m going with Baron Zemo, even though he’s kinda trying to reform a bit.

Ron: This one is also a tough one for me. But I think I am going off the page and say Frank Castle. Not the watered down "War Journal" guy, the "I will kill you seven different ways and enjoy them all" guy. His tussels with the Russian mob, the Barracuda, and his own inner demons made the MAX book a great read. Garth Ennis has been nothing if not consistent in dealing Frank both inner and outer pain.

Most Consistent Book (either good or bad):

Matthew:
This goes to Action Comics, with delays, fill-in’s, sub-par Zod storyline, the annoying Chris Kent, but now we have the excellent Legion storyline – this book has been all over the map. Superman has similarly suffered as well, which I blame on DC’s countdown/crisis mega-event disease. Really, Busiek’s run on Superman should be one of the best ever, but it is mired in all the ever-changing continuity madness that’s going on at DC right now.

Ron: My most consistently confusing book goes to Countdown. Talk about all over the place. Everything that went right in 52 has gone wrong in Countdown. Storylines took forever to get moving, and if you didn't read an ancillary title from time to time, you would not know who some of the characters were. I had not idea at the outset that Holly Robinson was Catwoman. Nothing was given, and it's never mentioned. The book has started to gain some momentum, but it may be too little too late.

Most underrated Book:

Matthew:
Amazing Spider-girl. All you have to do is read issue 15 that came out this week to see what I love about this book. That issue also celebrated her 10th anniversary as a character and it was the best of the relaunch so far. This is another story that I would like to write a detailed review for one day. Now, you may think I can only say good things about this series, not true. There was a somewhat miserable Carnage storyline this year, where her baby brother Ben gets his hearing damaged. I was not pleased, but it really ended the year on a strong note. Plus, you get to see Peter and MJ happily married!

Ron: Invincible. This book has been a fun read for me from the moment I heard about it on the show. Robert Kirkman does a great job weaving a story that draws you in and makes you want to read the next issue to see what happens. Even his placeholding stories are infused with both witty banter and great action. I admit that I came late to this party, but I picked up a couple of the trades and I'm happy to say that I'm in until the bitter end.

Most underrated Character:

Matthew:
Bart Allen. In the span of one issue, the writer totally turned his series around with one of the greatest splash pages of the year – Bart revealing his identity to his police bosses. This character was finally going some place, taking over the legacy and they KILL HIM OFF!!! What a waste. I only hope he ended up in that lightning saga lightning that the Legion captured in…well…the "Lightning Saga".

Ron: You know what? Matthew makes a really good point. So I will just say Bart Allen and that I totally agree with my comrade.

Most Overrated Book:

Matthew:
Picking up from my previous response, I’m going with The Flash. I have not been pleased with the return of Wally West under Waid. Maybe it’s the decompressed storytelling, because I really loved his kids’ characterization in the recent Brave and the Bold series also penned by Waid. Just isn’t working for me, I dropped the book for now…

Ron: Wolverine. This book went from being so good with Mark Millar to being so awful. Iron Wolverine? Please. And Jeph Loeb? All we got was the same old battle between Wolvie and Sabertooth. The latest run with Marc Guggenheim hasn't been the best either.

Most Overrated Character:

Matthew:
Iron Fist. No, just kidding. Superman wins this one or is that loses? I love Superman, but he’s been the victim of editorial mismanagement this year and I find All-Star a little too quirky for me, but I’ve still got to read those issues I won from Jim earlier this year.

Ron: Spider-Woman. She became a part of the Avengers, got a convoluted backstory on who she's working for, and other than looking really hot, did not do much else to warrant being in an A-list group like the Avengers.

Worst idea or problem:

Matthew:
JMS Spider-man, culminating with One More Day. I don’t know if JMS is responsible for Peter’s unmasking, but I did really like Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man #23, where Peter and Jonah have their verbal and physical fight. I didn’t like the concept, but that was an excellent issue.

Ron: I agree that the Outing of Peter Parker as Spider-Man wins hands down. To do this as a stunt only to try and act like it never really happened (One More Day) is absurd. Yes I know that the OMD is supposed to wipe out the marriage of MJ and Peter, but don't you think that it is also designed to wipe out the unmasking as well?

Hall of Fame:

Matthew:
Easy, Mike Weiringo. He was a great artist and he will be missed.

Ron: Yep, a no-brainer on that.

Hall of Shame:

Matthew:
JMS. Really, his Gwen Stacy/Osborn affair ruined Spider-man for me years ago and all the "Other" junk, including the unmasking, OMD, etc. He deserves this one or the editors that encouraged or let him do some of these things deserve it.

Ron: To that point, Joe Quesada gets my nod. He had made no secret of his hatred of the marriage of Peter to MJ. But to go about it in such a sleazy way sucks. Yeah JMS' run has not been the greatest, but even he saw the venom that would be unleashed by fans everywhere who had come to accept the marriage. The rumor that he tried to take his name off of the last two issues of OMD was just proof that this is a Quesada-run story. Shame on you for inflicting your prejudices on a good couple.

Well, thats it for me. But Matthew has some categories he would like to add, so I'm going to step aside and let him take over. Matthew?

Matthew:
Best comic industry magazine or internet site: Well, I do go to Newsarama quite a bit, but I really love Two Morrow’s Back Issue bi-monthly publication. It focuses on books from the 70’s and 80’s (my favorite era) and provides in-depth interviews, analysis and rare art from these series. This year we got an issue focusing on the Warlord, Micheline/Layton’s Iron Man and a spot light on Isis. Which leads me to my next category…
Best super-hero/comic character movie/DVD or Boxset: The Secret of Isis. I used to watch this series as a kid on Saturday mornings and am now watching it with my children on DVD. It is really an excellent live-action show with cool special effects, great characters and an "after school special" moral (like don’t hitchhike, don’t give up, etc.). If you’ve never seen it, seek it out – only $23 on Amazon. Isis is quite beautiful too. I may have had a crush on her as a kid, I know I did with Penny Robinson.
Best super-hero/comic toy series: One of the reasons I’ve been cutting back on some of my books is to buy toys. I get Mego style Marvel Legends signature series figures to collect (and Mego reproductions of Star Trek figures – plus they’ll be doing Planet of the Apes this year too!), but I get JLU and Marvel Super-hero squad figures to collect and play with on the floor with my children. So, the winner goes to Super Hero Squad. They’re inexpensive (two figures for $6), already have a lot of characters, are readily available (not too hard to find) and they’re soooo cute! I can rearrange them into almost any group: Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four. If I ever get a digital camera, I’ll take some pictures. This year we’ll get some cool Iron Man figures, including a giant Fin Fang Foom – so much fun.
Best super-hero/comic toy figure: Tough decision, but it’s a tie between the San Diego comic con exclusive JLU maskless Hawkgirl (it was a gift J ) and the Target exclusive, Gorilla Grodd figure – he’s huge.
Best HC: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus. I know it’s gotten flak for the paper, but it does have the feel of an old comic. Plus, ordering the series in the publishing sequence was inspired. As much as I love the Marvel Omnibuses (another reason I’m cutting back on monthlies), I’m actively reading these books. I read the B/W trades a few years ago, but it’s like reading it for the first time.
Best Fanboy moment: It has to be meeting the legendary Herb Trimpe at the Baltimore Comic-con and getting him to draw a Godzilla sketch celebrating my 30th anniversary or collecting comics. Ron: That's the photo at the top of the posting. Sorry still trying to work out the bugs.

All right, that's it. We hope you've enjoyed our little compilation of the past year. Maybe it's not to your liking, but you can always leave a reply giving your best or worst. Everyone take care and have a HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! =)