As 2011 comes to a close, it’s safe to say that it has been a banner year for the comics industry and fans alike. Here at Comic Booked, we have always taken our comics pretty seriously, and after a stellar year of new material, we are pleased to present you with our awards for Best of 2011! For this year’s awards we asked each of our team members for their input and nominations to see who they thought were the best of the best in the comic book industry over the past year! After a few weeks of careful thought, consideration and deliberation, we’ve selected these titles as our choices for the best that 2011 had to offer!
Every year, comic book publishers attempt to reboot various series to see if they can make them a bit more profitable, but in 2011 we may have seen record numbers of reboots as at least one major publisher rebooted their entire line of comics! On top of that, most other publishers committed to reboots of their own titles as well, leaving us with quite a few new takes on great characters we know and love. Here are our nominees for Best Relaunch or Reboot of 2011!
- It is pretty well impossible to not give this nomination to Aquaman. Seriously? Geoff Johns took a character everyone had permanently written off as a joke and made him awesome, let alone a great read! I never thought I’d see the day that I would walk into my local comic shop to see “SOLD OUT” where Aquaman should be. This book deserves every ounce of praise it gets!- Jordamus Prime
- BOOM! Studios relaunch of the Hellraiser franchise with creator Clive Barker co-writing it shows that just because all but the first two movies were bad doesn’t mean the whole concept it. This series is so amazing that I’m buying it monthly instead of grabbing it in trade like I originally planned.- Skott of Fables
- The new Daredevil book is fun. Its a throw back to what comics used to be. With more of a traditional comic book style of art and an appearance of The Spot in the first issue, Daredevil reminds us of when comics were just fun.- Rob The Wrecker
- Mark Waid’s Daredevil has been everything you could ask for in a relaunched title – it’s a bold new direction for Matt Murdock as he shrugs off the last couple of years of creative missteps, but without copping out or negating any of the story that went before it. Ol’ Hornhead’s rediscovered swashbuckle and derring-do attitude makes for a truly optimistic book in a time of uncertainty, with Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin’s neo-Silver Age art sensibilities making it one of the prettiest on the stands.- Colin bell
- Justice League, the series had a lot riding on it, and so far has delivered immensely. The writing and artwork is astounding. – James Halstead
- Justice League! Since the reboot, this has been the best book in print. Easily better than anyone could have predicted. It is truly the flagship book DC was hoping it would be. – Jason Padua
- Action Comics. As much as I have a love/hate thing with Grant Morrison‘s work, this is the most readable thing I’ve seen from him since his run on New X-Men. As long as he can avoid sinking to the depths of borderline incoherent weirdness he occasionally reached in the course of his Batman run (I’m looking at you, Batman RIP), we may well have a winner on our hands.- Nick C
- Action Comics. Hands down, and for multiple reasons. First off, Lex Luthor is a sexy, crazy-ass, mofo and I dig it. Second, Lois is a good strong female lead in a time when comics have forgotten what that means on many a front, even in sagas of Superman recently passed, and I am so grateful to Grant for bring her back into a spotlight of strength and intelligence; all the while still keeping her accessibly down to earth and sexy as well. Because strong, smart, beautiful, down to earth women are sexy, and they don’t need to take their clothes off to prove it. Finally, Grant Morrison has been looking into the state of the world and giving us not only the Superman we need to fight the real crooks of our modern times, but the Clark Kent as well. What could be more inspiring than showing the world what a man can accomplish even without super powers? Also, have you seen the art? So much detail and emotion. Issue #3 is still fresh in my mind from the re-imagining of the destruction of Krypton to the look on Lex’s face at the end of the issue. Go, go forth and read this series, and rest assured no matter what you may have heard DC is still doing something right. More than that, they’re making history. – Nicole Sixx
- Batgirl. Whether you love or hate the idea of Babs back in the cowl, this has been a very solid book, and one of the few I’m actively keeping up with since the relaunch.- Robert LeMoyne
- Ultimate Spider-Man. I really think the book is well put together, from the pacing of the story to the choice of Sara Pichelli on art. Miles Morales has shown to be an interesting character, despite the media focusing on his one flaw; that he’s not Peter Parker. – Michael Wirth
- All Star Western is quickly turning into not just a great reboot of Jonah Hex, but in itself an essential element of the DC Universe’s history. -Emmet O’Cuana
Winner, Best Relaunch or Reboot of 2011-
Action Comics
Congratulations to Action Comic‘s creative team and DC Comics for being Comic Booked’s Best Relaunch or Reboot of 2011! A special congratulations also goes out to all of the other nominees for being some of the best titles available this year!
