By Kenny Cooper
In celebration of the end of the decade, I compiled a list of the best comics of the 2000′s. I narrowed it down to specifically singular stories (leaving out such things as the whole run of Batman, 100 Bullets, Invincible, etc), books that started and ended within the decade (leaving out Cerberus, Planetary, Preacher, Bone (yeah, I know), etc.) and I tried to maintain a wide range of genres and styles, which basically means I tried to keep the superhero presence as small as possible. The list is in alphabetical order to avoid trying to rank these very different books. Some of these books I’ve written on length about before which means if they pique your curiosity, you should take a look back at them.
Honorable Mentions:
Astonishing X-Men
Batman and Robin
Essex County
Exit Wounds
Fear Agent
Gotham Central: In the Line of Duty
Green Lantern: Willworld
Hellboy: Conqueror Worm
I Kill Giants
Identity Crisis
In the Shadow of No Towers
Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
Parker: The Hunter
Pedro and Me
Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl
Sandman: Endless Nights
Scott Pilgrim
Sleeper
Three Shadows
Umbrella Academy
1.) All-Star Superman
Superman might be one of the hardest characters to write well in mainstream comics so when it happens this well, it must be noted. Grant Morrison, also known as the God of Postmodern Comics, is also the man today that most stringently believes in the transforming power of the superhero and God bless him for it. Every page of this series is a testament to his love for the Man of Steel. No character ever seems more like what they should be than when Morrison writes them. This non-canonical series, which chronicles Superman struggling with his cells going into solar overload through Lex Luthor’s machinations (think the conceit of Godzilla vs. the Destroyer, only better executed), is full of hope and excitement, proving the Last Son of Krypton’s appeal isn’t dead; it’s waiting for people to do him up right.
2.) American Born Chinese
The 2000′s saw the rise of the pseudo-autobiographical graphic novel with American Born Chinese as a standard bearer, winning a lot of awards and getting a lot of accolades. Gene Yang’s novel features three stories that range from the realistic to the downright fantastic, interlocking in ways you wouldn’t expect. One stars the Monkey King and his quest to be taken seriously. The next features a Chinese-American boy’s quest to live a normal life without ignorance interferring. The last has a high schooler’s quest to avoid his cousin, a flagrant and unabashed personification of every Asian stereotype in existence. It’s equal parts dramatic and comedic and definitely an interesting and enjoyable read.
3.) Asterios Polyp
I hope I’m not being too hyperbolic when I say this is the Watchmen/Maus/A Contract with God/whatever else for the 2000′s. David Mazzucchelli, known mostly for Batman: Year One, returned out of the depths of obscurity to release a phenomenon this year in the comic book world. Asterios Polyp has a fairly simple premise of an architectural professor that is reexamining the fallout of his marriage but the ways in which Mazzucchelli uses pencilwork, color, framing, and even lettering to tell the story is simply amazing. It’s a master class on how to do your comics.
4.) Blankets
Craig Thompson put everything out there for the world to see with Blankets. Another autobiographical novel, Blankets hightlights Thompson’s growth from a child to a man, struggling to find love and questioning the clash between the realities of his life and the structures of his family-born belief systems. The book is utterly heartfelt and immensely raw yet beautiful in its honesty.
5.) Criminal: Bad Night
Ed Brubaker exploded onto the comic book world in the 2000′s with Gotham Central, Sleeper, and his run on Captain America. However, it’s his creator-owned series with Marvel, Criminal, that has gotten people talking the most. The story, Bad Night, is perhaps the culmination of his series. Bad Night features a former counterfeiter turned comic creator Jacob Kurtz whose one moment of weakness spirals into a never-ending unraveling that ruins himself and everyone around him. Brubaker, a former criminal himself, puts a lot of himself in Jacob and does what he does best, classic noir tales with a fresh look about them accompanied by gritty art by Sean Philips.
6.) DC: The New Frontier
Formerly an animator on the Superman and Batman Beyond animated shows, Darwyn Cooke is probably one of the biggest names to hit comic books in the 2000′s. After Batman: Ego, Cooke released DC: The New Frontier, a re-imagining of the DC Universe against the backdrop of the Eisenhower years. An equal mix of superhero action and real world exploration, this book represents the best of DC’s now defunct Elseworlds line.
7.) Fell: Feral City
I already talked about this book at great length previously so I suppose it’s enough to say this book is an innovation in form and a wonder story to boot.
8.) Ice Haven
Daniel Clowes is a legend of the indie comic book world and Ice Haven is probably one of the best indicators of that. Set against a kidnapping in a small town, the book uses the kidnapping to loosely connect the various town characters together and their quirky mundane lives. Perhaps the most interesting of these characters are Charles (a decidedly naive if a little unsettling boy) and Carmichael (a compulsive liar with a penchant for outrageous stories). The book is stylistically eclectic and one of Clowes’ best works alongside Ghost World and David Boring.
9.) Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel about her days in Iran during the Iranian Revolution has taken a life of its own at this point in time. It’s being taught in schools. There’s an Oscar nominated film now. The effect this book had on the understanding of comic art as art cannot be denied. It’s a nuanced and enlightening tale of a land the West rarely has any understanding of.
10.) We3
As I’ve already devoted a full article to this great story, I’d rather not overstate the quality of this story. It’s honestly one of the emotionally responsive comics I’ve ever read and a great example as to why Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely were the comic creating duo to watch in this decade.
Sources:
http://www.grovel.org.uk/all-star-superman-volume-2/
http://paper.toastandtea.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/abc.jpg
http://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/mazzuchelli/mazzucchelli_asterios_polyp.jpg
http://witwar.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/dwwp_3002.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ut1TT8TBzBw/SM8_r5hfQOI/AAAAAAAAAGE/xAm9ojT-Afw/s400/criminalconc.jpg
http://www.desenfocados.cl/wordpress/2008/03/24/dc-the-new-frontier/
http://wordballoon.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/fell2.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/collective/dnaimages/gallery/2/danielclowes/3.jpg
http://butterfliesandbears.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/persepolisbasij.jpg?w=400&h=269
http://mindlessones.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/we33.jpgIn
