The Year of Comic Books in Review - Part One (January and February)

So, it's time to start gathering nominees for the Best Comic Book of 2004 according to Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog.

I decided that this year, I'm not going to limit myself to books that I rated at four and a half starfish. My reviews are rapid first impressions, and my opinions of books sometimes change in the weeks/months since I first read them. So I'm going to flit through all the shipping lists and look for books that stood out in my mind even after some time had passed, along with the ones I loved when I first read them.

Let's start with January and February. The three books that got my highest rating in those months were Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Aquaman #14, and PS238 #5. They make the nomination list automatically. Looking through the shipping lists, the next one that jumps out at me is Abadazad #1, which was a wonderful start to a series cut short. I'd also like to send a shout out to Common Grounds, which won't make the nomination list (sorry Troy), but definitely deserves some extra attention.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood covers the life of Marjane Satapi from about 1979 until 1984 as she grew up in Iran. The artwork is only detailed enough to tell the story, and yet conveys volumes. This is a book that I think ought to be required reading for anyone who wants to talk about politics of the Middle East. It's a wonderful book, and highly recommended.

Aquaman #14 was a fill-in issue from John Ostrander, and echoes my all-time favorite Aquaman story (Aquaman #13, Dec 1992 by Shaun McLaughlin) in which a young boy with AIDS goes on a journey of discovery while trying to find Aquaman. In this issue, a reporter hunts for the public's opinion of Aquaman, and finds a little more than he bargains for. While I'd hate every issue of Aquaman to be about people in the DCU's opinion of him, this was a very good issue.

PS238 #5 continued the impossible record of my giving every issue of this book my highest rating. In fact, this issue came very close to earning the impossible five full starfish. In this one, Tyler and a few friends go wandering the school at night and discover a mystery right in the heart of their home, as well as a ghost of some sort... they think. This is a thread that will continue, most recently in the latest issue. If you like superheroes and are not getting this book, you are missing out. And this issue? Yeah, I just had to go reread it. It's still one of the best stories I've read all year.

Abadazad #1 is mostly here as a tribute to what this series ought to have become. The best, the coolest, the most awesome all-ages book to come along in ages, with artwork by the incomparable Mike Ploog, writing by J.M. DeMatteis... it was the book with the best potential to come along in ages, and I found myself rooting for the recovery of CrossGen only to see more issues of Abadazad.

More nominees coming tomorrow. In the meantime, I wish everyone a happy Christmas.