Best of 2014: Comic Books – Best Mini-Series

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 Mini-Series

• Marvel Comics – Deadpool vs. Carnage (Cullen Bunn & Salva Espin)
• Marvel Comics – Edge of Spider-Verse (Various writers and artists)
• Marvel Comics – Hawkeye vs. Deadpool (Gerry Duggan & James Harren)
• Vertigo Comics – Sandman: Overture (Neil Gaiman & JH Williams III)
• Dark Horse Comics – Serenity: Leaves on the Wind (Zach Whedon & Georges Jeanty)

WINNER – Serenity: Leaves on the Wind (Whedon/Jeanty)

Serenity #1

Serenity #3

Serenity #4

Serenity #5

Serenity #6

FIREFLY! I was so excited when this series first came out and remained excited issue to issue. Like every Browncoat out there, I can never get enough of all things Firefly and seeing what our ragtag team of rebels got up to after the events of the film Serenity was a dream come true. The plot was well placed and characters as diverse and wonderfully-flawed as ever. This is the comic that made me most jived this year and I was really sad to see it end. Speaking of it ending: holy cliffhanger Batman! For someone who has historically steered clear of cliffhangers, Joss Whedon sure did end this series on one. I got to talk to artist Georges Jeanty at Denver Comic Con for a little bit (Adrian did too. Check out her interview here!) and when I asked him why Leaves on the Wind was ending so soon he said that the Whedons don’t write something if there isn’t a story. He doesn’t force anything. Does that mean there isn’t a great Firefly story down the line? No, but for now we have an amazing comic with hope of something more whenever Joss has a story in mind for our favorite, little, cargo ship. – Charlotte

Second Place – Edge of Spider-Verse (various)

Edge of Spider-Verse #2

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Spider-Man was a villain? What if instead of Peter Parker getting bit by a genetically-modified spider, it was Gwen Stacy? What if Spider-Man wore a mechanical suit instead of revealing spandex? What if Spider-man was a kid? What if, what if, what if?! Well, lucky for us pontificators, Marvel was also curious! Hence, they decided to bring fans Edge of the Spider-Verse mini-series. In all five issues of the series we got to experience alternate versions of Spider-Man and their vastly different backgrounds and rise to power. Stories ranged from playful, whimsical and adventurous to dark, creepy and thrilling. It was great to witness the creativity and how the multiple writers and artists that were involved with this event interpreted the wall crawling hero. It was the perfect draw-in for the Spider-Verse event that came right on this events heels. My personal favorite was the Japan-residing Aaron Aikman that wore a mecha-Spider-suit and squared off against a most deadly cyborg named Naamurah. This issue was captivating and a lot of fun to read. As were all the issues in this mini-series. Hush definitely puts the Edge of the Spider-Verse mini-series as one of, if not THE, best mini-series of the year. – Taylor

Third Place – Deadpool vs. Carnage (Bunn/Espin)

Deadpool vs. Carnage #2

 

The biggest mouth in the business goes against the craziest symbiote in the universe. What could go wrong? I don’t remember a single thing that I liked about Carnage but Deadpool was hilarious. It really is worth a read, especially only at four issues long, just for the Deadpool dialog alone. There are too many little jokes or panels to describe here, but the series was a riot from beginning to end. If Deadpool isn’t one of your favorite characters after reading this, nothing can convince you of his awesomeness. – Robert

RUNNER UP – Hawkeye vs. Deadpool (Remender/Craig)

Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #1

Deadpool does not get along with anybody, apparently. In the past couple years, Deadpool has taken on the entire Marvel Universe, along with classic literature, and the end result has been more or less the same – Deadpool murders everything. What if Deadpool actually got along with the one he shares the title with (or not; we really still don’t know)? Hawkeye vs. Deadpool is the buddy cop book we didn’t know we wanted, sticking the bumbling idiot with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent has been nothing but enjoyment. – Sherif

RUNNER UP – Sandman: Overture (Gaiman/Williams)

Sandman: Overture #1

As a great man once said, “I have a Dream,” and that Dream was once pulled abruptly away from his realm and forced to spend seventy years as a prisoner to his captors.  Why was the almighty Dream of The Endless able to be captured by a few mere mortals seemingly playing around with Satanic rituals they clearly did not understand?  This is the question Sandman enthusiasts have been debating since the final issue of Sandman.  Finally, Neil Gaiman has returned to the series, with the aid of J.H. Williams psychedelic and outstanding artwork, to deliver a prequel that will address this conundrum and put many theories to rest. – Jake

Next Category: Best of 2014 Movies

Diggin’ Through the Crates: Ras Kass “Whut Part of the Game”

Song: “Whut Part of the Game”

Artist: Ras Kass (featured on Killah Priest’s song)

Album: View from Masada (2000)

Lyric: “I’m live evil, I know live people/Anxious to bang ya with heavy metal like Magneto”

 

Character Reference/Meaning:

You would think that Magneto would be a reference that you’d see a lot more of in Hip-Hop. After all, in the grand scheme of the Mutant Civil Rights debate, Magneto is often referred to as the X-Men version of Malcolm X. Both believed that their people should not be bowing down to the populous and assimilate, but rather that their people should be proud of their differences. However, the militant mindset of both leaders led them to conflict with their peaceful counterparts who would rather integrate themselves into the current way of life (Malcolm X with MLK Jr. and Magneto with Professor X). Magneto even calls his band of outcasts the Brotherhood, a reflection of Malcolm X’s famous quote, “I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don’t believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn’t want brotherhood with me.” Throughout the years, Magneto ended up fighting against his good friend, Charles Xavier – something that both hate doing and ultimately made them ineffective against the ill will and violence created. Unfortunately, because these were the 60’s and every story needed a clear-cut protagonist and antagonist, the Brotherhood were always painted as the bad guys. It took until the late 1980s to early 1990’s for Magneto to really develop as a complex character.

He stopped mutant experimentations, destroyed Sentinel research (find more on their Hip-Hop relevance here) and even tried segregating them from humans on Utopia. Erik Lehnsherr, as he’s often referred to, isn’t even his real name; it’s one he adopted after escaping a concentration camp. Where Professor X grew up in a loving environment, whereas Max Eisenhardt (read X-Men: The Magneto Testament for that crazy story) grew up in Nazi Germany, where he was forced into a concentration camp and his family was murdered. It’s no wonder why he is willing to win the war for mutants’ rights, “by any means necessary.” The community can go back and forth on this debate, but there’s no nobody that can debate just how monstrously powerful Magneto is.

Word to Ras Kass for recognizing one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel U. His ability to control metal has been crafted to brutal perfection. Along with using metal objects small and large to murder his enemies, he has accomplished far beyond that. To date, Magneto has: turned invisible by wrapping light around his body (Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4), teleported himself through a wormhole he created (Excalibur #8), telepathically resisted Professor X and Emma Frost (Uncanny X-Men #521), and even stopped time itself when he froze the X-Men in place by controlling the body’s electrochemistry (Uncanny X-Men #304). Most devastatingly, Magneto got so pissed off at Wolverine that he ripped the adamantium straight off his skeleton. You do not want to piss this guy off.

You may have seen X-Men and you may have seen X-Men: First Class, but you don’t know Magneto. Forget Michael Fassbender. Forget Ian McKellen. Magneto is the baddest, most powerful mutant of all time. 20th Century Fox may have spent millions to show his prowess, but nothing is doing a better job of that then the new series, written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Currently on issue #5, Magneto has been a non-stop rampage to emancipate his people from being experimented on. Wiping out hordes of humans with everyday, household items on the regular, you shouldn’t get in Magneto’s way.