Monthly archives: January, 2007

With a ton of mega events to choose from in 2006, you’d think the Doomers would be salivating to annoint the greatest. Well, if you thought that, you were wrong. Still, we had a few thoughts.

Civil War

“I doubted it would happen, but I think Civil War has been executed very well. And I anticipate that it will have a better conclusion than House of M too.”
— Jim Doom

None

“I’m going to say that because I voted for Infinite Crisis for this award in 2005 (or I would’ve if we had this award. I can’t really remember), that it doesn’t qualify for 2006. Out of all the events (and there were lots: 52, Civil War, Annihilation, OYL, Planet Hulk, etc.), none seemed worthwhile enough to be declared “the Best.” So, I’m pulling the great cop out and going with D: None of the above.”
— Jean-Claude Van Doom

Infinite Crisis

“Sure, half of it happened in 2005, but even half of Infinite Crisis is a bigger event than anything else that happened in 2006. It reshaped the DC Universe, just like DC said it would. Crossovers like Infinite Crisis are the reason people still look forward to “events” when all too often they end up being quite uneventful.”
— Fin Fang Doom

The Black Panther/Storm wedding

“I don’t think anyone cared about what was dubbed “The Wedding of the Century.” Most fans had already grown sour on Reggie Hudlin’s Black Panther. And with Civil War going on, who the hell cares about the wedding between two wholly unimportant characters? People reading Black Panther, and that’s it. Just like how only people that read She-Hulk care that Jennifer Walters and John Jameson got hitched. Yet Marvel still pushed this thing as a major milestone for the company.”
— Fin Fang Doom

Brave New World

“It was totally worthless, boring, and poorly executed. We all knew the Monitor would be back months before the issue came out, so the big “twist” or “SURPRISE!!!!!!” didn’t ring true. It was hollow. Plus, all the mini-serieseses that came from it were pretty much without worth across the board.”
— Doom DeLuise

Annihilation

“Maybe it’s been good, but Marvel really dropped the ball on their timing with this. I don’t care about the characters, but I would have been much more likely to give it a shot if it weren’t going on at the exact same time as Civil War.”
— Jim Doom

Everything big and green

“While I’m a big anti-fan of Civil War, that series has at worst been mildly entertaining, and much more so than Marvel’s previous Mega Events. To be the absolute worst of a year, though, takes something more. Something truly bad. And along those lines, I give you Planet Hulk. Here’s a series in which one of the most famed heroes of all time is taken to a completely irrelevant setting and strung through a never-ending cycle of “smash everything” adventures that somehow managed to not be exciting. Even the Silver Surfer vs. Hulk battle was weak at best. But, you know what’s even worse? The event that never happens. Sure, I love Leinil Yu and Damon Lindelof, but it would’ve been nice if their Ultimate battle between Wolverine and Hulk would’ve at least seen, you know, a fight.”
— Jean-Claude Van Doom

So you’re reading along in a comic, just minding you own business. You turn the page, and your eyes bulge out of your head. You’re overwhelmed for a moment and at a loss for words. Maybe you even get a little teary-eyed. Every year there are only a handful that stick with us. Those are the moments we all read comics for.

The Eyes Lost It

“Cyclops losing his powers and coming back with the gun. The ruthless we’ve always wanted to see from the boy scout of the mutants.”
-Doominator

The Deader the Better

“Best moment of the year, for me, came in issue six of the mini-series Battle for Bludhaven, when Captain Atom finally woke up and blew the town to kingdom come. Sure, the series sucked hard, but we were all waiting for that moment, and it delivered. Another great moment was when Galactus fell in Annihilation. I did not see that one coming.”
-Doom DeLuise

“This seems like it should count in 2005, since that was the year of Infinite Crisis, but when the Joker killed Alexander Luthor and wrapped up the biggest event ever seen in comics, I applauded.”
-Jean-Claude Van Doom

A Superman/Superman Fight Done Right

“Back in March, Robert Kirkman put on a fight between five Superman-level characters. The fight was brutal, as it should have been. The double-page splash by artist Ryan Ottley stands out in particular as one of the best pieces of art from 2006. Perhaps what makes the moment even more memorable is the fact that DC had put on a relatively disappointing Superman vs. Superman fight juts a few weeks earlier in Infinite Crisis.”
-Fin Fang Doom

So you’re reading along in a comic, just minding you own business. You turn the page, and your brow furrows. You’re overwhelmed for a moment and at a loss for words. Maybe you even get a pissed off. Every year there are only a handful that stick with us. Those are the moments we all dread comics for.

Detective Comics #825

‘Well, Detective Comics #825 with a guest writer was tepid and one of the most dull issues of any series I’ve read this year. It’s a sour break from a great Paul Dini run. Royal McGraw, you disappoint me.”
-Doominator

Dick (Grayson) Sucking

“So Jason Todd gets eaten by some spider-ish guy, and then gets pooped out inside a shell of green slime. So naturally, when Jason eventually gets out, he has the ability to eat people and poop them out inside of shells green slime. Oh wait, I’m sorry, that’s stupid. Sometimes I confuse stupid with not stupid. This one was definitely stupid.”
-Fin Fang Doom

“Worst moment was when Dick Grayson read Jason Todd’s farewell telegram in Nightwing. Ugh. Just stop already. That whole series had such potential, but man, that was one hundred percent without worth.”
-Doom DeLuise

The “I’m Leaving You” Sex

“No one particular thing stood out in my mind that really filled me with spite. Civil War #4, however, had a bunch of those moments. The worst for me was Sue leaving Reed. Just an emblem of the many wrongs contained in that book.”
-Jean Claude Van Doom

A good cover isn’t necessarily all about the artist. A bad cover on the other hand…

Rob Liefeld or Michael Turner?

“There’s one question that no one has been able to give me an answer to since I first posed it two months ago: “Which cover is uglier?” Both Rob Liefeld and Michael Turner submitted truly heart-wrenchingly bad covers to the first issue of Onslaught Reborn, but I guess that’s fitting.”
-Fin Fang Doom

Michael Turner, Apparently

“Everything that Michael Turner does.”
-Jim Doom

“Anything by Michael Turner. This guy sucks. I hate having to buy his covers. Alternate covers are stupid and Turner is just riding this lame horse to the horizon. I hope he falls off the edge of the earth in 2007.”
-Jean-Claude Van Doom

Wonder Man #1

“Worst cover was “Wonder Man #1,” for obvious reasons. I am such a huge Wonder Man fan, and I can’t stand to look at it.”
-Doom DeLuise

While we all pretty much agreed on what makes a bad cover (or who makes a bad cover, rather), the Doomers torn on what makes a good cover. Does an iconic image make the best covers? A cast of thousands? Paint? I’ll just let you decide.

Lone Ranger #2

“As has been picked elsewhere, the first issue of 52 had an amazing cover. Also, John Cassady continued a great run of covers (and interior work) in Astonishing X-Men. But it’s a lesser-known Cassady cover that impressed me the most. For the second issue of the new Lone Ranger series, he took an icon and twisted it slightly, making an iconic image all his own.”
-Jean-Claude Van Doom

DC: The New Frontier Volume 2 TPB

“Darwyn Cooke’s artwork is pretty. Just inked and colored, it’s a delight. But fully painted, and on actual canvas, no less? Breathtaking. I stared at that thing for hours before I even cracked the spine.”
-Fin Fang Doom

Infinite Crisis #7

“Best cover goes to “Infinite Crisis #7,” take your pick of which variant. They’re both amazing.”
-Doom DeLuise