Best of 2014: Comic Books – Best Story Arc

Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised  us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.

Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.

Best Comic Book Story Arc

• DC Comics – Batman: Zero Year (Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo)
• DC Comics – Batman: Endgame (Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo)
• Marvel Comics – Spider-Verse (Various writers and artists)
• DC Comics – Forever Evil (Geoff Johns & David Finch)
• DC Comics – Multiversity (Grant Morrison & various artists)

WINNER – Spider-Verse (Marvel Comics)

 

Amazing Spider-Man #9

Spider-Verse #1

Spider-Verse #1

Amazing Spider-Man #10

Spider-Man 2099 #6

I think it’s official. Spider-Man is my new favorite superhero. I can’t say that I actually ever had an original favorite. Being a fanatic Star Wars kid I don’t tend to focus on “superheroes” to often. I’ll tell you what though – the feelings I felt during the Spider-Verse events were synonymous to the feelings of watching A New Hope the first time. There were so many aspects that made the Spider-Verse event fantastic. The well-conceived plot, the intriguing villains, and clear & solid use of multidimensional travel all amplified the enjoyment of this event. But what made the Spider-Verse event “the best” all year long was getting to experience the vast variety of other-dimension Spider-Men and Spider-Women. Each issue hosted a new hero or gave us eye-popping insight into new worlds. The energy and creativity spawned from this event has been palpable. The event has been a ton of fun for fans and creators alike. The best part is that it’s not over. The first part of 2015 will keep the web-slingers busy as they try to survive the onslaught of the Inheritors. If the event maintains its awesomeness it may end up being the best of 2015. – Taylor

Second Place – Batman: Zero Year (DC Comics)

Batman #30

 

We know Bruce Wayne’s parents got shot, and we know that he did some stuff and then became Batman (Year One, mostly). But what the hell kind of stuff did he do to become Batman? Seems pretty important, right? Scott Snyder sure thought so. Zero Year is quite possibly the best Batman origin story I have ever read (Frank Miller, eat your heart out). Snyder and Capullo show they’re all in by paying homage to the original Bob Kane/Bill Finger lore – peep the stylish purple gloves – but still make the story their own by creating a whole new world. I was almost disappointed to return to the present, but then Endgame came along… – Sherif

Third Place – Multiversity (DC Comics)

Multiversity: Thunderworld #1

How to even begin describing Multivesity? It’s Grant Morrison’s personal cosmology given comic book form using the shape of DC. Every month for eight issues, Morrison creates a new what-if in DC’s expansive universe, sometimes creating alternate versions of characters, new characters, or old characters in alternate situations. The only bummer is it’s eight issues instead of fifty-two. – Cuyler

RUNNER UP – Forever Evil (DC Comics)

Forever Evil #1

As exciting as DC Comics can get, a lot of their ideas in the New52 are just recycled stories from the 70’s and 80’s. So when Forever Evil looked to be nothing more than a redo of Crisis on Infinite Earths, I set my phasor to “meh.” Right away though, I was hooked when they publicly revealed the identity of one of my favorite characters. It was another thrill entirely to watch the Justice League fight their way back from a very near edge of demise, and defeat a force so powerful that full repercussions haven’t even been felt yet. If you like alternate universe stories (like the new Spider-Verse, for example), then this story should be at the top of your list, too. – Sherif

RUNNER UP – Batman: Endgame (DC Comics)

Batman #35

It’s true that we don’t even know how Batman: Endgame will end, but I don’t care, it has been my favorite of the year.  Only three issues in, and it is the comic I look forward to every month.  The Joker’s pranks are absolutely chilling.  Batman isn’t as calm and composed as he usually is.  Gotham is going through a Joker-pocolypse.  Things look grim, but when a comic book can leave me on the edge of my seat, I’d say it’s a winner. – Adrian

Next Category: Best Creative Team

“Respect My Craft” – George Pérez

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

Name: George Pérez

Profession: Comic book artist

Notable Work: Wonder Woman V2 (1987-1992), The New Teen Titans (1980-1984), The Avengers (1975-1980)

“While I have enjoyed considerable professional and personal success with both Marvel and DC, it was becoming all too evident that many of the books being produced by both companies seem to be getting more and more corporate driven. Many of the characters I grew up with were turning into strangers whose adventures were determined by factors that had less and less to do with what made a good comic story and more to do with how these properties can be exploited for other purposes.” – George Pérez

 

The term legend is thrown around a lot in comic books, but trust me when I say that this gentleman, George Pérez, is in that club. A career spanning over forty-years, Pérez has had his hand in just about every corner of DC and Marvel. This forefather’s road to fame wasn’t an overnight one, though. George Pérez comes from humble beginnings; he was born in the Bronx as a second generation (mainland) American, born of blue collar Puerto Ricans, George knew he was going to be an artist from an early age, drawing his own characters and stories since he was five years old.

Pérez is a self-taught student of art, helping him get a position with Marvel Comics as an assistant to Fantastic Four artist Rich Buckler after networking at a convention. At the time of Buckler’s call, Pérez was working as a bank teller (I know how that feels…). He wasn’t handed great projects right away; Pérez had to work his way up to the big titles. He began his career writing a few pages for various small books, and ended up gaining experience from pencilling hand-me-down titles and books that were expected to die soon. Back in the mid-70’s, team books weren’t all the rage like they are today. This stemmed from the fact that artists were not being paid royalties yet (that wouldn’t begin until the early 80’s), so the appeal of making the same amount of money for drawing ten characters just wasn’t there.

Enter George Pérez, the man with the unmatched work ethic. In 1975, he started drawing Avengers and Fantastic Four, both of which he would draw in stints until his departure to DC Comics in 1980. Team books became not just a way to keep work, but turned into a trademark of his. He gained a reputation for doing great group panels, with an unprecedented level of detail – much before the digital age made it a less strenuous process. Pérez insists that he does not have a favorite superhero, which really has drawn him to do more team-oriented books. His ability to fit so much into a panel, and not distract readers’ attention from the story, is a quality that can get lost at times today – thanks to the use of over-scripted scenes.

The role of the penciller isn’t just to draw out the writer’s instructions. Both are on the cover and both are credited as creators because the comic book medium calls for a written story that is built upon the illustrated world the penciller creates – and the colorist and inker accentuate. When Pérez drew Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds with Geoff Johns, who was a huge fan of Pérez, he showed Pérez the amount of scripting that has to go into a “George Pérez panel,” which was a thick stack. Pérez refuted that a script gives him nothing to do, and that the relationship between writer and artist should be a symbiotic one, where they build off each others’ ideas.

Pérez has been the penciller for some of the industry’s most iconic book stories. Among his most renowned work is: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinity Gauntlet, War of the Gods and the Wonder Woman reboot. He was also the penciller for the crossover event, JLA/Avengers – which took almost fifteen years to see the light of day. The iconic JLA/Avengers #3 cover is home to a ridiculous amount of DC and Marvel characters in a Who’s Who of superheroes. Pérez’s best working relationship was with Marv Wolfman, with whom he created the Teen Titans, an idea that Pérez was certain would fail. While they struggled to dissociate team from the X-Men, the book was a huge success. The New Teen Titans isn’t the only contribution Pérez has made to comics; he’s also attributed to creating (or co-creating): Cheetah, Deathstroke, Ravager, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, Nightwing (not Dick Grayson), and a LOT more.

In the New52, Pérez gave his hand at writing Superman after he has promised creative freedom. Unbeknownst to him, his book was slaved to Grant Morrison’s Action Comics. As amazing as Morrison is, he is very vague and not forthcoming when it comes to his approach to writing. Frustrated, Perez was glad to get off the series after the first arc. After leaving his last DC Comics book, World’s Finest, Pérez joined BOOM! Studios, a smaller company, as an exclusive writer and penciller, given actual creative control over his own books. Left on bad terms but harbors no ill will, just didn’t like direction DC & Marvel were going. He is currently happy writing his own creation, Sirens, and touring the country for various cons, where he has a great rapport with fans.

Outside of the comic book work, Pérez has been known to work for organized charities such as: The Charlotte Firefighter’s Burned Children Fund, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, Make-A-Wish, as well as the Florida Hospital Diabetes Association and The Juvenile Diabetes Association. He is a founding member of The Hero Initiative, a non-profit designed to help comic book creators in need.

For charity, The Hero Initiative sells “100 Project” books, a collection of artist covers

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties (DC Comics). Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with Arrow star, Stephen Amell.

Justice League Flashpoint Paradox Review

DC has no shortage of stories set in an alternate universe, with most of the play going to Infinite Crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and other Elseworld stories. So when Geoff Johns came out with the Flashpoint arc in 2011, fans were initially skeptical. Not only was Johns trying to reconstruct the DC comic lore, but he was doing it with Flash at the helm. While Barry Allen has been a staple character in the Justice League since his mid-1950’s induction into DC Comics, he remains out of the spotlight. The premise of the Flashpoint storyline is that, in a desperate move to change events in time to save his mother from being murdered, he taps into the Speed Force (it’s a long story; basically, the best way I can describe the Speed Force is an energy that the Flash can pull from to manipulate time… or some crazy shit like that), unknowingly creating a Butterfly Effect, saving his mother but putting himself right in the middle of a world war between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. Flash has found himself in a world without allies and without his powers. It’s a bit far-fetched of a story, but it really works out. So many questions about the DC Universe that begin with “What if” are addressed in the Flashpoint Paradox. What if Hal Jordan never was given a Green Lantern ring? What if Superman’s Kryptonian shuttle passed Smallville and landed in the hands of the government? What if Aquaman and Wonder Woman never got to interact with humanity before their rise to power? Maybe it’s just the fanboy in me, but there’s just something thrilling about not knowing what will happen next – an entire realm of new possible outcomes.

Everything that makes the book work shows up in the film. Foremost, the Flash is an excellent leading character. He’s charismatic, witty and is the one voice of hope in a universe full of darkness. Plus, he can run really fast. But really, it’s Flashpoint Batman that steals the show. Batman (who is not Bruce Wayne in this world) is one of the most rugged and dangerous characters I’ve ever seen. He’s missing the high-tech gadgetry, but he more than makes up for it by being a total badass. Even the President respects his gangster. The rest of the Justice League is also in full effect. Flashpoint Aquaman and Wonder Woman could easily hold their own movie. As the two juggernauts clashed, I almost forgot I was watching a DC Animated movie. Professor Zoom AKA The Reverse Flash AKA… (this could take a while; he has a lot of nicknames) … AKA Thaddeus Thawne plays a crafty villain that is obsessed with bringing down the Flash, even at the expense of destroying the world (Sheesh dude, get a hobby). He presents the perfect match for Flash, as he can manipulate the Speed Force to make it appear that he is going faster or slower. He’s the yin to Flash’s yang and they play off each other well.

I bet the first time The Flash and The Reverse Flash met, it was just like this.

The biggest note of discussion with this film is the decidedly adult nature it takes on. Not only is it darker than the comics it adapts from, but it is the darkest DC Animated film released yet. There are tons of violent deaths, and nobody is off-limits. It’s like I was watching The Wire. While some might see this as unnecessary, I feel that the violence and tragedy add to the gravity of the film. It’s not for the faint of heart, and definitely not a family-friendly movie, but the anime-style brutality made me feel more in touch with the characters and the stakes they were fighting for. The animation is complemented by nuanced changes in the storyline to make things fit more cohesively. Die-hard fans can tell, but there are several events that allude to several of the spin-off stories that come from Flashpoint, chronicling the stories of the Justice League in this alternate timeline from hell. On the other hand, though, some of the subtleties may fall off the deaf ears of many of the casual fans that look to these movies to learn more about comic books.

Overall, this is one of my favorite graphic novel movie adaptations that DC Animated has done. It has a solid storyline and a great voice acting cast to carry it throughout the amazing action scenes and large-scale thrills. Its mature content and subtle hints may turn off some casual fans, but do pay homage to the grave nature of the source material. If you want to broaden your horizons in the comic book world and aren’t afraid of graphic violence, this is the DC Animated film you have been waiting for.

 

SCORECARD:

Category	Explanation	Score
Plot	One of the best alternate universe stories I’ve ever read, there are a few points in the film you can’t really understand unless you’ve read the source material.	8/10
Voice-acting	An All-Star cast creates believable characters that carry themselves.	10/10
Representation of Source Material	Flashpoint does a solid job of taking the source material and bringing it to life, keeping some of the most memorable moments intact.	10/10
Animation	The hardcore and anime-like feel of the film fit the dark storyline. They also do a great job of making the Flash’s animations clean.	8/10
Sound Effects and Music	Hero-certified music and cool time-warping sound effects fit the ambiance	8/10
Captivity	Flashpoint is broken up into enough segments that it never feels like it’s as far along as it really is.	10/10
Overall awesomeness	There is nothing about this film that does not kick total ass.	10/10
Creativity	Even though it’s a remake of a graphic novel, the genius that is Geoff Johns crafted an amazing story that explores an alternate universe with no reservations.	10/10
Replayability	I’ve seen the Flashpoint Paradox three times already, and there are more details to catch everytime	9/10
Special Features	A feature on the Rogues Gallery, a scientific breakdown of the Speedforce and some great DC Vault episodes make this an excellent showcase of The Flash	10/10

 

 

 

IF YOU LIKED THIS, CHECK THESE OUT:

Justice League: Doom (film)

 

All the Flashpoint books!

 

NEXT FOR DC ANIMATED:

Justice League: War will be DC Animated’s first New 52 movie and will reprise the first storyline of Jim Lee and Geoff John’s Justice League. All that I have on my wish list is that it’s animated by Jim Lee (I’m kind of obsessed with his art) and that I get to see the animated version of this. It’s already been released that Whedon alum Alan Tudyk is voicing Superman and DC Animated veteran Jay Oliva will be directing. Check out the teaser trailer at the link below.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib