Broken Frontier

We here at Guiding Lines, for the third year in a row are making choosing your New Year’s resolutions easier. Instead of suggesting things for you to give up, we are suggesting things you should pick up. We have nine, low-selling books that we think you would enjoy. These are the titles you should add to your pull list now!

The deal is the same as the last two years. Each of these titles charted just outside the Diamond 100 on a regular basis over the last year. This is the danger zone when it comes to sales and might mean these titles are in danger of cancellation. They also share the fact that I believe they are some of the best comics on the market. After each title, I will list the chart position and sales figures for the last several issues of each title.

If you clicked that second link above, you will see a few repeat entries on this year’s list. Yes, of the nine books on last year’s list, five of them are still ranking outside the Diamond 100. Three from last year’s list were cancelled—Checkmate, Shadowpact, and Blue Beetle.   One, The Walking Dead, has ranked in the Top 100 two of the last three months available, so we’re calling that a success story and not including it this year.

Of the remaining five, we are not carrying over Powers or Ex Machina to this year’s list. It’s not that we don’t think they are still good or that they are selling well enough not to be included. They are and they aren’t. But Powers comes out too infrequently to bare inclusion on this list (yes, we do have standards) and Ex Machina is entering the final year of the series, which makes it unlikely to be cancelled.

So, with no further ado, the nine books you should make it your New Year’s Resolution to start reading!

Jonah Hex (#35=#152, 13,277; #36=#169, 12,627; #37=#137, 12,534):

This title is a perennial entry on this list, having made it on each of the three years. This gives weight to the rumor that this book is cancellation proof—that Jimmy Palmiotti’s friendship with DC Head Honcho Dan DiDio means he and Justin Gray can write this book as long as they want to and it won’t be cancelled.

Regardless if this is true or not, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one of the best books on the market, and a great one for new readers to hop on. They keep it simple here—no big crossovers, no year-long storylines. What you get is great characterization and two-fisted adventure. Don’t be dissuaded by the lack of a cape and tights, Jonah can out-mean Batman any day of the week.

Wolverine First Class (#7=#132, 16,163; #8=#156, 14,934; #9=#132, 13,854):

Granted, a more accurate title for this series would be “Kitty Pryde and Her Grumpy Pal Wolverine.” But even though he is just a tag-along in this title, it doesn’t mean it’s not the best of the 15,000 Wolverine comics published in any given month.

It comes as close as you can to capturing the glory days of Claremont’s work with Kitty and Logan. The relationship between the two helped make Kitty into a gritty and resourceful hero and helped humanize Logan.

That’s all here in this series, along with stories that are old-school fun and appropriate for pretty much all ages. If the golden years of Marvel were the 1980s, then this book is for you. And I’m sure you modern fans would like it, too.

Terry Moore’s Echo (#5=#137, 14.039; #6=#154, 13,029; #7=#170, 12,555):

First things first, this series isn’t as good as Strangers in Paradise—yet. It might never be (although it took Strangers a while to get rolling in the beginning). But, putting that aside, it is a very good series. I dare say great, even.

If this was a TV show on HBO or Showtime, it would be deemed buzzworthy, the talk around the water cooler, and the DVD season sets would be pre-ordered on Amazon as soon as they came available. It is a mystery. It is a character study. And it is a sci-fi/action adventure series. So, in other words, it is something for everyone.

And it also has Terry Moore’s typical beautiful art, strong, well-defined female characters, and right-on pacing. If you are looking for a great read, you’ll find it here.

Criminal 2 (#4=#130, 15,613; #5=#134, 15,610; #6=#152, 15,132 ):

Putting this series on the list might be pointless. Not just because if the series winning an Eisner for best series wasn’t enough to get you on board and almost every critic in the world telling how great it is can’t persuade you, then there’s really no convincing you. But, rather, because this series is going on hiatus for a couple of months while Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips focus on their “Wanted-going-in-the-opposite-direction” epic, Incognito.

But I think that just gives everyone out there more time to save up their pennies and dimes to be able to afford issue 8 when it does come out. Because, in a perfect world, Criminal would be a top ten book and All-Star Batman & Robin would be searching for readers. Because, and trust me when I say this, when it comes to giving us gritty tough guys and corrupt cops, Brubaker and Phillips eat Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s lunch. 

The Goon (#28=#183, 9,669; #29=#199, 9,645; #30=#164, 9,399):

To know The Goon is to love The Goon. But, obviously, not many readers must know The Goon based on the poor sales numbers for this series. It appears to not effect it still being published, but it is a down right sin that this book is not doing better.

Imagine John Ford melded to Tim Burton with a little George Romero mixed in. That is about as close as anyone can come to explaining the tone of The Goon to those uninitiated. It is funny, scary and action-packed. It is truly a unique combination of all of those genres and yet it works to make a great story. You have to try it to find out what I am talking about. Pick up the trades to get caught up then buy the comics when you’re up to speed.

The Spirit (#21=#168, 11,547; #22=#185, 10,996; #23=#152, 10,370):

It might not be on par with Will Eisner’s original stories, or even with Darwyn Cooke’s run that started off this latest series, but Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés’ run to date has been something not many comics are these days—fun.

Both men are consummate professionals with years of experience behind them. Since they took over, they have crafted a series of done-in-one stories that were a breezy alternative to the typical grim-and-gritty tales found in almost every other comic on the stands today.

The pair is taking a slight break as the producers of The Spirit movie take over the writing chores briefly. I hope that both Evanier and Aragonés make a speedy return—and that they have a book to return to.

Scalped (#21=#216, 7,027; #22=#241, 6,963; #23=#190, 6,908):

If this series only focused on the main concept—a Native American FBI agent returns to the reservation to investigate its corrupt chief—then the series would be a winner. But it is far more than that. It’s a generational saga. It is a commentary on the life of Native Americans in this country. It is a morality play on why an easy, bad decision might be worse than a hard, good one.

This series is, hands down, the best series to come out of Vertigo in the last five years. As a matter of fact, it stands with Sandman, Preacher and Swamp Thing as one of the best Vertigo books of all time. Jason Arron and R.M. Guera have created a large cast of characters that are vivid and alive and placed them in heart-wrenching situations that make you worried about them. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and wish that more people would catch on to its greatness.

RASL (#16=#126, 19,409; #17=#117, 18,377; #18=#137, 17,799):

In Hollywood, there is a thing called typecasting. If you play nothing but romantic comedies, nobody would accept you as a crazed, psycho-killer. If you are one that avoided RASL because you thought it was cute family-fare, then not only did you typecast Jeff Smith, but you also were wrong.

This is a gritty sci-fi mystery about a dimension-hopping thief whose life gets a whole lot complicated after a theft gone wrong. It shows the solid storytelling skills Smith developed on Bone but is definitely for adults. If you want mature science-fiction that keeps you guessing and coming back for more, then this series is for you. Fans of Bone might not find it their cup of tea, but fans of a great story will dig it.

Glamourpuss (#2=#235, 7,089; #3=#233, 5,640; #4=#222, 5,051):

This series is actually two books in one, and that makes it a difficult one to recommend. The “poking-fun-at-high-fashion” part, when taken in context with Dave Sim’s public comments about women, can be a little hard to take. Is he rightfully mocking something that deserves mocking, or is this just another avenue to promote his misogyny?

The other part, where he does a scholarly examination of the art styles of Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, and Milton Caniff, is an enlightening look at the history of the medium. This is not simply Comics 101, Sim analyzes these artists brushstroke by brushstroke and provides context for rumored competition between the artists. In my opinion, this educational look at comic legends more than makes up for the uncertain nature of the fashion parody. Your mileage may vary.

So, once again, there you have it—nine books in need of love and you in need of a New Year’s Resolution. That seems to be a marriage made in heaven. You might save a comic from extinction and find a new favorite book at the same time. Wouldn’t that make your new year great?

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He also writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters, and is a contributor to Film Buff Online. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.