Biggest Comic Book Busts of 2010
With 12 categories dedicated to our “Favorites of 2010″ we thought we’ve spread enough praise to have at least one category dedicated to those things that weren’t our favorites, our “Biggest Busts of 2010.” Could be anything; a book, a creator, a news item, a specific moment — just anything that, well, busted.
2010 Biggest Comic Book Busts
Dark Horse Cancels Star Wars: Old Republic & Legacy Geoff Arbuckle
For a company that rarely makes poor decisions, I found myself scratching my head as to why the company canceled these two series. I kinda understand Knights of the Old Republic going away. The story had basically been told and there was a fairly nice bow on the whole Zayne Carrick redeeming his name and all. It was disappointing, but I kinda thought a new series would come out of that. Guess not. Then, Legacy, the most popular and critically acclaimed series was shown the door. The reason given was that the creators, John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, wanted to send the series while it was doing well and the stories were good. O…kay. There seemed to be no sign of it slowing up. In fact, it seemed like it was revving up to something really awesome. Yes, a miniseries for Legacy has started, but the whole thing has really soured me on the otherwise excellent Star Wars franchise at Dark Horse.
J. Michael Straczynski & Superman John Barringer
After such a great job on Thor I was more than just a little excited when the news broke that Straczynki would be going to DC to write the Superman title and the Superman Earth One graphic novel. I’ve never bought Superman on a weekly basis but decided it was time to hop on. I bought Earth One the day of it’s release and the first three issues of his Superman “Grounded”…and I didn’t enjoy any of it. At all. Not even Earth One. The heavy handedness and over-the-top helpful and ‘getting in touch with America Superman walking through America (despite flying at one point in just about every issue) was corny and laughable at times while Superman Earth One was anything but a fresh restart for me; it felt like every Superman story I’ve ever read just without the elements of Superman I enjoy, like his rogue gallery, instead we got a K.I.S.S. band member to invade the Earth and do an Independence Day impression just to get beat in a matter of pages. I don’t have a vast library of Superman books and I’ve read a lot of positive reviews of Earth One, so maybe it’s just me, but nothing let me down over the last year as much as Straczynski’s Superman.
J. Michael Straczynski On & Off Superman/Wonder Woman Phillip Carson
After the general let-down that was all of New Krypton, the very idea that JMS might be coming in to clean house and take over Superman was too much to bear. After loving his work on Spider-Man and Thor, nothing would make me happier than seeing him on Superman. But then we find out he’s not on the main book, but on the DC equivalent of Ultimate Superman. Okay, fine, I can live with that. Oh, wait, no, he’s on the main book, nevermind. Cool. And Wonder Woman too for some reason. Alright. But then I actually read Grounded, and while it wasn’t horrible, per se, it was a tad underwhelming. I get the idea that he’s going somewhere with this, it’s just taking him way too long to get there. And then, after like 4 issues, Earth One hits big, Super BIG, and suddenly he’s off the books to work on Earth One Volume 2 full time. Well, at least that means Grounded will be shortened. Oh no, wait. They’re still doing Grounded, with another writer using JMS’s notes. And while Chris Roberson seems like a class act, I just can’t help but look over at the Batman line of books, and see how DC seems to have no clue what they are doing with Superman, and hate their general habit of announcing something to huge fanfare, and then the minute the parades die down and the interviews stop, they say screw it and pull a bait and switch on us.
World War Hulks Victor Kutsenok
All of the planning and subplots and devious bullshit could not make this piece of dog poop smell any better. Everything was predictable. No surprises were revealed. I had to wait over 2 years to find out that Thunderbolt Ross was the Red Hulk and Betty was Red She Hulk. 2 GOD DAMN YEARS. And I knew it was Ross by issue 4. What a complete waste of time. That’s why I hate a mystery. Because in the end, its always a letdown. No titanic battles at the end. Nothing other than disgust and disappointment at all the time and money you wasted just to see a bunch of super-heroes with big heads. Big deal. The ONLY good thing about this “event” was it brought Banner to the front of everyone’s radar and it brought back the Green Hulk.
Justice League: Cry For Justice Wayland
A writer who has done great things pens a story about the Justice League, and then fills it with plot holes, out of character moments, things that don’t make sense, hero deaths,and then caps it with maiming a long time hero, making him into a villain, and killing a young girl who had SO much potential for the future, not to mention what was it, 100,000 civillian fatalities? This was one of the best examples I can think of that shows how so many modern comic writers don’t know how to tell a story without gratuitous death and wholesale destruction. The horridly named “RISE” of Arsenal is a close second.
Other Favorites of 2010:
Favorite Independent Comic Books
Biggest Bust of the Year
1 Comment
JT Krul made Roy an anti-hero, not James Robinson… remember, that didn’t happen in Cry for Justice… as for the rest well… Wayland, I think you know where I stand so I’ll digress. That said, however, given any plot holes that may have been here, at least it wasas bad as the atrocity of a massive crossover as Blackest Night… that story was the real POS.