2016 in Comics

[The Adventurer]

It's getting to be that time of the year, the end of it. And that means taking a moment to look back at all the comic books we read in the course of said year.

As I was compiling my list I came to a couple of shocking realizations...

1) my pull list is at its lowest ebb in years, and...

2) Only one comic was new in 2016. Everything else I read had gotten its start in 2015 or earlier.

My monthly pull list basically looks like...

Savage Dragon
Spawn (off my pulls with the new year)
Invincible
Autumnlands
East of West
Saga
Paper Girls
Usagi Yojimbo
Dark Horse Presents (at least until the latest run of Carla Speed McNeil's FINDER ends)
Superwoman (my one 'new' comic)

This is more then a little... sad IMO. I'm not sure if its a statement on the general quality of new comics right now, my lack of interest in adding more comics to my pull list, or just general obliviousness. At the start of the year I caught myself up with both Paper Girls and Monstress, two excellent new Image titles. But since... not much. Superwoman by comic stalwart Phil Jimenez is probably one of the best super-hero titles out there. I actually get the sense that a lot of DC Rebirth has been exceptional. But I'm taking it slow.

What I've been reading has been excellent, no doubt, but there's a certain lack of excitement that I know was there just a few years ago.

Its just a little bit disheartening. I know things will pick up eventually, but for me 2016 in Comics seemed to just being going through the motions.

I did spend a bit of 2016 catching up on some older material, either via back-issues or new collections, Jerry Ordway's 90s Power of Shazam series is excellent stuff. And manga collections of Tsutomu Nihei's BLAME! and Hirohiko Araki's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure kept with thoroughly entertained and eager for more.

And of course the weekly comics I love so much in 2000 AD and Weekly Shonen Jump always filled the drier gaps of my month. 2000 AD has been solid with the exciting Prog 2000 hitting this year. WSJ on the other hand has been in pure turmoil for months now. With three long running series having come to an end and nothing yet to really replace them. 2017 WSJ is going to be an adventure from week to week I suspect.

I honestly just can't put a 'Favorite Comic of 2016' on anything this year. As I enjoyed everything mostly equally. But that's the problem isn't it?

[Colin YNWA]

Think I'll be returning to this thread when I've got a more considered opinion on my comics 2016, but off the top of my head and looking at my current pull list and this years reading for me the comics year has been a good one and one that sustains the quality of the last few years.

New ongoing pulls to my list are Cry Havok (not bad but still on the possibly dropped list), Cinema Purgatorio (excellent), Flintstones (crazy good),  Black Road (solid), Kill or be Killed (magnificent), Kong of Skull Island (fun) and Hillbilly (beautiful) and the exceptional Black Hammer, which is almost certainly the book of the year. Alongside a number of amazing minis I've more than maintained my pull list and I suspect even with some glorious series ending (I miss you Maxx) or going on long term hiatus (come on Copperhead where are you) my list may have expanded significently, if not my actual monthly intake.

My move from the big two, for all their efforts have been proved lasting this year, even with all the launchs I've only got Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur coming in from the 'mainstream' superhero universes.

I think for me the big thing about 2016 is my continuing inability to keep by purchaes down the way I'd have liked. In part due to the never ending exceptional digital sales out there. Secondly due to some truly astonishing reprint efforts.

[The Adventurer]

Oh my goodness, there was no Copperhead at all this year!

[Colin YNWA]

Oh my goodness, there was no Copperhead at all this year!

Yep shocking isn't. The new artist is in place and apparently has a good number of issues done already bit they ain't soliciting until the whole arc is done apparently.

[Dandontdare]

How is Autumnlands shaping up? I got the first trade and enjoyed it (reminded me of Meltdown Man in places!), but unsure if I want to commit to collecting what feels like is going to be a long run

[The Adventurer]

I still enjoy it a lot! I feel it was a bit infrequent in 2016 though, I think there were only 6 issues total. Second trade comes out in the new year. Series has some dangerously good world building going on.

[Colin YNWA]

Yep loving me some Autumnlands. One of many good titles of 2016, not the best but definately well up there and the second arc brought some great new stuff with it.

[Dandontdare]

Cheers - reckon I'll get the 2nd trade but if it's coming out so slowly it's not going to break the bank. I started buying Chew and those seemed to pop up evry five minutes, I've now got 11 books with no sign of a let-up!

[Tombo]

Cheers - reckon I'll get the 2nd trade but if it's coming out so slowly it's not going to break the bank. I started buying Chew and those seemed to pop up evry five minutes, I've now got 11 books with no sign of a let-up!

The Autumnlands is indeed a good, if infrequent series.  There has in fact only been five issues this year.  Lucky for you DDD chew finished last month so Volume 12 is the final one.

This year has been fairly good to me with regards to both old favourites and new series.  Highlights for me include Black Road, The Discipline, the Black Monday Murders, and Cry Havoc.  Two series which I did not think I would like based on the art, Snotgirl and She-Wolf, have also secured their place on my pull list.

Interestingly between Cry Havoc, She-Wolf, and the recently started Moonshine there have been three werewolf-based comics this year (that I know of).  Could they be replacing zombies as the "next big thing" in comics.  Another trend I've noticed recently is series set in small towns/backwoods places - Dark and Bloody, Cannibal, Moonshine, plus last years Black Magick, and Slash & Burn.  Guess small towns are good places for secrets.

Of the old favourites Saga ([spoiler]Izabel NOOOoooooo![/spoiler]), Shutter, East of West Deadly Class (despite a bit of wavering mid-year), Paper Girls, Monstress (best art in comics at the moment I believe)  Wayward, Unfollow, and Clean Room all remain on my pull list as does Revival despite the fact that I haven't got round to reading it for nearly a year.  The James Bond stories from Dynamite have also been fun romps.

The only series I've tried and dropped this year was a Dark Horse series called the Shadow Glass.  Set in Elizabethan England with lovely art I picked up the first issue and just couldn't find it interesting.  Apparently I wasn't the only one because Dark Horse dropped it and the creator (Aly Fell) had to go through a print on demand company to get the last two issues published.  Dark Horse are printing the trade next year so I might pick it up if I see it on offer anywhere.

here ends my longest post in a long time.  Now who's gonna start the "Comics to look forward to in 2017" thread.

[Fungus]

Autumnlands, I'm disappointed with. A dull series that I've considered dropping often. It's more about pretensions in the current climate of titles, with so much else to enjoy.

Pull highlights in the past year, just those I won't hear a word against: Vision, Saga, Maxx, Black Hammer, Black Monday Murders, Midnight of the Soul, AD After Death, East of West, Discipline, Sheriff of Babylon, Unfollow, Doom Patrol, Cave Carson, Mother Panic, ODY-C, Fuse, Black Science, Seven to Eternity.

Constantly behind in my reading. I blame the great comics...

[I, Cosh]

I dropped Autumnlands after the first arc. It was readable but nothing special at all.

I think The Spire was the best thing I picked up this year. For my groat, it was the tightest and most interesting of the various Spurrier series I got. Typically dense script from Si and gorgeous art from Jeff Stokely which really wants you to get lost in the detail. No doubt Colin will disagree but it was a huge step up from the same duo's Six-Gun Gorilla.

The trade's out this week. Snap it up if you didn't already. The reason it's a bit pricier than average is because you're getting eight fat issues of content instead of the usual four or five.

Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl had its ups and downs but was ultimately an excellent - even slightly touching - closure for now. I continue to read Wicked + Divine in the vain hope that it will one day become something more than a slightly more long-winded imitation of its stablemate but that day still hasn't come.

I would (and probably have) said something similar about Pete Milligan's recent (since 2001) work just being retreads of things he did shorter and better before. So the year's surprise package has been his Roman-era mystic detective series Britannia. The run finished this week but I'm already hoping there's going to be another outing.

I also continue to read Saga (meh!) and East of West (yeah!) in trade.

Best ongoing series I get is definitely Ragnarok but issues are few and far between (not a criticism.) Enjoying Unfollow but think I owe the first year a reread just to get everything straight in my head.

In short: only buy 3 or 4 regular comics per month but forever dropping cash on comixology sales. Must be almost time for the annual Image Humble Bundle...

[Fungus]

Very aware as I read Unfollow that I'm ironically not following everything on offer. Begs a proper reread.  Still hugely enjoyable though.

Flicking through The Spire hasn't inspired me but may buckle based on comments here. Trying to be selective...

[Colin YNWA]

The Spire .... No doubt Colin will disagree but it was a huge step up from the same duo's Six-Gun Gorilla.

Of course I would cos I'm not BLOODY INSANE. Having read both recently I can indeed testify that any notional that The Spire (which I reviewed someone on here recently) is bloomin' great and you absolutely should check it out Fungus... but its no Six Gun Gorilla which was possibly Spurrioso's best work to date. 

But I forgive you your insani...

... Must be almost time for the annual Image Humble Bundle...

... oh take that back for reminding me about this. Damnit I've got enough of a back log already... must be strong, must be strong...

[Theblazeuk]

My picks of the year have been BPRD , Kill or Be Killed and the collected edition of Semiautomagic, from the pages of DHP. Loved the latter all in one place and would love to spend more time with the character and the setting. Wish I'd remembered to ask for the physical version of the book for Christmas!

BPRD is a bit of a cheat as it's been something of a long haul and there are surely many more that I am just getting the timings fuzzy in my head that might be more suitable. However after feeling a certain amount of fatigue with the apocalypse, the seemingly futile fights against terrible monsters, I feel Arcudi brought it all to a brilliant end. Only the end for now, of course.

Kill or Be Killed - similar to Demon over at Image, which is one of their Pilot season ideas from quite a ways back. I remember enjoying the Pilot idea a little more than the actual thing though. In any case Kill or Be Killed does it better because it does it Brubaker. Looking forward to seeing how this one ends.

Other highpoints of the year for me have been Lake of Fire, Cinema Purgatori (or whatever, it's a mixed bag but I enjoy it overall), Harrow County (only started reading it this year so it counts) and Weird Detective (hope this comes back for more).

[jacob g]

I always find difficult to create top list for passing year but with comics it's a little bit easier.

So as usual Lazarus will be on top. Next with Head Lopper, Space Raiders, Phonogram, Cinema Purgatorio and Mooncop. Honorable mention goes to first issues of Big Trouble in Little China / Escape From New York. This books is stupid fun and have all the right elements that ongoing series lacked.

2016 forced me to rethink my pullist one more time. I moved from floppies long time ago but made execptions for few titles (Lazarus, The Fuse, Daredevil, Velvet, Stumptown, Green Arrow, Maxx Maxximized) but now with end of Maxx reprint I think I'll stay only with Lazarus. It's not that it's cheaper to go full trade-wait but too many ongoing series can't keep my interest in month-by-month basis. Elephantmen can't keep schedule but on the other hand this book still is serial. The same goes with Lazarus. Rucka split everything in arcs but this still works best if you read story month after month and then reread everything during breaks between arcs. But rest of them are just OGN forced to be split in episodes.