Comic Book Resources

The Meta-List returns: The 100 Best Comics of 2008

Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button

Sandy Bilus of I Love Rob Liefeld, the Comics Internet tips its collective hat to you. Picking up the torch from the sadly discontinued blog of Dick Hyancith, Bilus has compiled a "meta-list" of the 100 best comics of 2008, as tabulated from the personal best-of lists of dozens of critics and commentators. Behold the Top Ten:

1. Bottomless Belly Button, by Dash Shaw
2. Acme Novelty Library #19, by Chris Ware
3. All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
4. Too Cool To Be Forgotten, by Alex Robinson
5. What It Is, by Lynda Barry
6. Ganges #2, by Kevin Huizenga
7. The Alcoholic, by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel
8. Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua Cotter
9. Kramers Ergot 7, by various
10. Capacity, by Theo Ellsworth

The point system used to tabulate the list makes it easy for books that made it onto a lot of individual lists but didn't top them to put in a strong showing; perhaps that explains the blowout victory of Bottomless Belly Button, which I recall as being widely liked but few people's #1 pick.

For you front-of-Previews types out there, DC's All-Star Superman is the highest ranking superhero comic, coming in at a strong #3. DC/Vertigo's The Alcoholic is the Big Two's next-highest representative at #7, while its labelmate Scalped comes in at #12. The top Marvel book, and second-highest superhero comic, is Omega the Unknown at #13. Manga's top-ranking title is Travel at #16. Click the link to see what else made the grade.

Me, I've got some quibbles here and there, as is to be expected. But overall, if you're looking to do some shopping this holiday season and don't mind being a year behind, you'd be hard pressed to top this for a wishlist.

Spurgeon to Hollywood: Hurry up and make that Dr. Strange movie already

Doctor Strange: The Oath

No doubt inspired by his arrival to Comic-Con, Tom Spurgeon has made up a list of what he feels are 10 properties that should be fast-tracked into movies or TV shows. No. 1 on the list is Dr. Strange, and Tom has an interesting suggestion as to who should don the Eye of Agamotto:

While some folks reading that original post thought I was hinting at Johnny Depp being best suited for the role, the actor I was thinking of was actually Leonardo DiCaprio. A number of you probably just vomited, but DiCaprio is already 34, he can act, he's as believable as Downey Jr. -- albeit in a different way -- as someone who once had a glamorous career, lost it and has seen tough times since, he's a major motion picture star, he has considerable onscreen charisma it's fun to see him embrace rather than flee and he's adept at playing romance. But so many actors would do.

Go check out the whole list. There are some interesting and eclectic choices found there.

40 most violent comics, my Aunt Fanny

Lev Gleason, you wuz robbed

I suppose in general I agree with most of the selections in Complex Magazine's  The 40 Most Violent Comics Ever, put together by Chris Sims and John Parker. The picks tend toward the obvious though, with a decided emphasis on recent, mainstream comics of the past 20 years, making me wish they had put a bit more effort into their selection process. Garth Ennis, Frank Miller and Mark Millar are all name-checked several times and books like Preacher, Hard Boiled and Faust all put in appearances. No surprises, really.

And while I'm glad to see manga included via Lone Wolf and Cub and Blade the Immortal, but is that all they could come up with? What about Hideshi Hino? Suehiro Maruo? Shintaro Kago? Takashi Nemoto's Monster Men Buriko Lullaby makes Faust look like a Casper comic. Kazuo Umezu's The Drifting Classroom has elementary school kids falling to their death and being strangled by madmen and stabbed fer crissakes!

Even if we keep to North America there are still plenty of worthy entries that got the shaft for watered-down stuff like Kraven's Last Hunt. How, for example, can you not include Chester Gould's Dick Tracy? The underground comics of Greg Irons and Tom Veitch? Lev Gleason's Crime Does Not Pay? Friggin EC horror comics for cryin' out loud! I demands a recount.