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Now 2013 has ran its end credits, we take a look back at an action packed year of delightful and surprising storylines and reinventions of titles which kept us engaged. Here’s to the New Year.
1) Superior Spider-man
This comic made one of the most controversial comic decisions of all time – have Dr Octopus secretly swap bodies with Peter Parker at the end of Amazing Spider-man #700, kill “Dr Octopus” and take over as Spider-man in Peter’s body.
The story alone should make you want to read it, problem is, once you start, you can’t stop. Everybody was angry with this decision, EVERYBODY! But then they read the comic and were blown away.
It inspired us to re-read the whole of supreme writer Dan Slott’s Spiderman run (even when good ol’ puny Parker was in his own body) and couldn’t believe how inferior he seemed to the now heroic Otto. The best comic of the year, bar none. I’ll be gutted when Peter inevitably comes back (as nobody stays dead in comics)!
2) Batman
The start of the year saw us finishing off the fantastic Death of the Family storyline, featuring everybody’s favourite arch-enemy, the Joker (now wearing his own face as a mask… creepy) with a very clever ending, before moving onto Batman’s origins in a story called “Zero Year.”
A fantastic exploration of what makes Bruce and later Batman tick, new takes on the beginnings of some of his main villains and an exploration of the interesting history of the Red Hood gang, and we all know who the original Red Hood was, right?
3) Infinity
For some the story had too many threads to follow, but it the was a rich and interesting story. Bringing the Avengers into space, we see them display their powers, strategy and team work to combat a threat almost as old as the universe itself, as well as the Mad Titan Thanos, who you may know from the end of the credits scene of the Avengers movie.
Using a massive cast; the large Avengers team on Earth, the Galactic council featuring various alien races from across the Marvel Universe and some more obscure characters not used properly in years. A gripping story from start to finish.
4) Forever Evil
This amazing story is only this low on our chart because it has not yet finished, but it has massive potential to become a classic. Spinning out from the end of the Trinity War crossover, from a universe where evil is the norm, an alternate reality Justice League invade our world, “kill” our Justice League, block the sun with the Moon and essentially enslave the planet.
The only people who can stop the Crime Syndicate of Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Power Ring, Deathstorm, Grid, Johnny Quick and Atomica (counterparts to Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Firestorm, Flash and the Atom, respectively) are our universes greatest super villains.
5) Guardians of the Galaxy
After a hiatus following “The Thanos Imperative”, the Guardians of the Galaxy got a relaunched comic series as part of Marvel Now (no doubt, partly due to the upcoming movie). Starring half Earthling/half Spartoi prince Star-Lord, the green skinned, deadliest woman in the universe, a sentient tree, a talking “racoon” and a man whose name says it all (Drax the Destroyer) we see the Guardians defending the Galaxy from a whole manner of cosmic threats. With Tony Stark following in Captain Kirk’s footsteps, we have an awesome, dynamic and interesting team whose antics are not be missed.
6) Saga
A space fantasy story, whose collected editions are among the year’s top selling graphic novels, Saga is the tale of two aliens (from species at war with each other) who fall in love, have a baby together and are hunted throughout the galaxy by the robots and bounty hunters and meet a variety of interestingly designed characters. Created by Brian. K. Vaughn; the author of cult comic book “Y: The Last Man”, this comic is best described as Romeo and Juliet meets Star Wars meets Game of Thrones.
7) The Wake
Marine biologist Lee Archer is recruited by the Government to research a new threat in the artic circle, with the aid of her diverse team. We soon discover this menace is more dark and terrifying than we could have possibly imagined. With the feel of a blockbuster horror movie, with a thriller twist. Genuinely scary, which is difficult for a comic book, The Wake is not to be missed.
8) All New X-Men
After AvX, when Cyclops was possessed by the cosmic powered Phoenix and murdered his mentor Charles Xavier, a bitter and angry Hank McCoy (aka Beast) with the intention to make Cyclops see how he’s changed, travelled back in time and brought the original 5 X-Men to present day… and they’re here to stay!
Seeing the younger X-Men interact with their older selves is pure gold, particularly Iceman, (and especially when Future Iceman, [or Icemaster, as he makes people call him] gets involved). We know this shouldn’t be allowed in the time stream, we know this is gonna mess things up but it’s too much fun to ignore.
9) Superior Foes of Spiderman
This was touted as “the sleeper hit of the summer” and when we saw that, we wondered how they could possibly come out with that statement. But we read one issue and we’re hooked. Featuring the new Sinister Six and their leader Boomerang, we follow this gang of losers trying to make it as big time villains without any of the hard work. Genuinely funny and certainly the sleeper hit they promised it would be.
10) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The IDW take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is truly fantastic; featuring a different spin on things we all know, making the old new and a delight to read. The storyline “City Fall” which has just wrapped up is one of the best Turtles stories we have ever read, it sees alliances shattered, sides changed and plenty classic characters come to the lime light. Highly recommended for any TMNT fan!