Best New Series of 2009
Jim Doom: Spider-Woman! 
Tone-wise, this book reminds me a lot of Alias, the Bendis book from years back. It’s this first-person series revolving around a strong female lead with a definite “Woe-is-me” quality to the narration. But this has super-powers and more action, and it features a character whose value in a solo book has been slowly building over the years.
It’s great to read Bendis and Maleev together again, even if I’m starting to think that “Alex Maleev” is just a codename given to a Photoshop filter. It sports typical Bendis decompression, which is frustrating at times, but you can really see the creators’ admiration for the character in this book.
I bought the first issue figuring I’d give it a shot, fully expecting that to last for one issue. But at $2.99, I continued to pick it up, and now it’s become something I look forward to.
Honorable Mention: Unwritten I love the premise and the execution has been pretty good as well. I try to push this book off onto Harry Potter readers. It’s one of the best candidates for gateway book I can think of. I initially had this as my winner in this category, but then I remembered that I stopped reading it around #6 even though I kept buying it. So I went back and read those issues that had just piled up. The bloom is a little off the rose, but it’s still a solid series.
I think my main nitpick is that the profanity sometimes seems forced and unnatural, as if to constantly remind the reader that these aren’t children’s stories anymore. It’s actually too bad, as I think this could be a great story for younger Harry Potter readers as well.
Doom DeLuise: Adventure Comics! Just kidding. Batman and Robin!
I think that, technically, Batman and Robin probably counts as a mini-series, but I couldn’t think of anything else that I’ve enjoyed quite as much as this new series, so I’m giving the award to it anyway.
After months and months of poorly handled Bat-stories (from RIP to Final Crisis through Battle for the Cowl), it was nice to finally see somebody reestablish the characters and start telling compelling stories again. The first few issues of this, penned by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely, were among some of the best Batman stories I’ve ever read. It was incredibly satisfying to see somebody actually handle Dick Grayson with the maturity and respect that I’ve always wanted to see him handled with.
For a second, I actually believed he might be the Batman for quite awhile. Like I said, though: It was only for a second.
Here’s what we latched on to in previous years:
2008:
Fin Fang Doom: Secret Six
Doom DeLuise: Guardians of the Galaxy
Jim Doom: Guardians of the Galaxy2007:
Fin Fang Doom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Doom DeLuise: Booster Gold
Jim Doom: The Brave and the Bold2006:
Fin Fang Doom: Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis
Doominator: X-Factor
Jim Doom: Ghost Rider2005:
Jim Doom: New Avengers
Fin Fang Doom: Fear Agent
Jean-Claude Van Doom: Young Avengers
So according to Wikipedia, Batman and Robin is an ongoing series. I have no idea where I got it in my head that it was a 12-issue miniseries. But anyway, had I not been totally wrong on that front, Batman and Robin would’ve been my easy winner in this category.