STILL ON THE SHELF-THE SPECIAL (GUEST) EDITION
(Okay, so I'm not that special.)

Don’t panic - no one was crazy enough to give me my own column. Craig Reade was kind enough to let me step in this week and do a little guest stint, discussing books that are among the best in comics today - but, for one reason or another, are languishing on the sales chart.

Admittedly, everyone has differing ideas of what is “best”, and some - I’m thinking specifically of Brian Michael Bendis’s Eisner winning, brilliantly written Daredevil, and Bruce Jones's moody, complex Incredible Hulk, for example - are selling quite briskly, giving me hope for the comic buying audience. But too many books that are rather bland or even downright crappy are selling well, mostly due to collectors who will buy anything with a certain title and want to amass entire runs, regardless of the quality within the cover. (I’m not naming names, but you know who you are, and shame on you.) Comic publishers will always respond more to the bottom line than reader complaints or compliments, so it’s important than when you vote with your dollars you make it count, and not complain about the quality of the title while continuing to spend your hard earned money on it. That cliché “actions speak louder than words” couldn’t be more accurate, especially in this set of circumstances.

But rather than smack you upside the head and ask “What the hell’s wrong with you?!”, I’m going to name some of my favorite books on the market now and explain why they’re deserving of your money. And I have a challenge for all you readers: the next time you’re in a comic shop, and you have a spare three dollars, I want you to pick up an issue of one of these comics. I don’t care which one or which number, just do it. If you don’t enjoy it or find it excruciatingly bad, you have my permission to come here, tell me why you didn’t like it, and question my lineage and taste for all to see. But I think you’ll be thanking me.

The Best Books You’re Not Reading

Sleeper (Wildstorm/DC) - A limited series due to end at issue twelve (although there may be a “Season Two” next year - we’re all crossing our fingers for that ) and currently at issue seven, this has turned out to be the greatest surprise of the year. A sharp espionage book with a superhero twist, it is tautly written and plotted as tightly as clockwork, tricky without being overly complex or incoherent - a balancing act pulled off with grace and ease. The writing by Ed Brubaker is as sharp as a razor, and gives suspense to the sturdy plot device of having a deep cover agent way over his head inside a super criminal organization, with no one to trust, and worse yet, no way out. The only man who knows that he’s really a good guy is in a coma, and while the good guys don’t trust him, he lives in fear that his cover will be blown among the bad guys who believe he is one of them. But do all of them believe he is on their side? Or is the criminal mastermind starting to realize that he isn’t what he is supposed to be? This series has been unfolding like a novel: the issues can all stand on their own, but meld into each other seamlessly, and get better and better as the story hurtles onward to its certainly inevitable climax. Brubaker has made the lead of the series - the troubled, tragic Holden Carver - truly sympathetic. Without being maudlin or making the character a perfect angel, he’s made you sympathize with him, worry for him as he gets in deeper and closer to his own destruction. He also exposes the gray areas inherent in an undercover situation: to preserve his cover, he’s had to murder good guys as well as bad. It pains him, but he has no choice but to do what he has to do to survive. Even his “best friend” in the group, the menacing Genocide, is curiously likeable for a hard core bad guy, if only due to his unwavering loyalty to Holden - the very man who may have to betray him, if he ever finds a way out. The art by Sean Philips and Tony Avina is the perfect compliment to this gritty, present day noir, showing the beautiful and the ugly in equal measure. Morally ambiguous, dark, nasty and yet strangely touching, this is the first book I read when my monthly pile of comics some in. This is the book you should show to people who scoff at comics as “kid’s stuff”. It should be collected in trade paperbacks by the end of the year, but don’t wait until then to see how brilliant this is. A masterpiece in the making.

Captain Marvel (Marvel) - Possibly the best selling of all the books on this list, it’s still languishing in a position best described as neutral on the sales chart, even after the “U-Decide” engineered brouhaha. Before its relaunch, it was a wonderful, affectionate, zany parody of superhero comics in general and Captain Marvel in particular, and a great read. Now, “retooled”, it is a blackly humorous, savage take on having superpowers - namely cosmic awareness, the knowledge of everything that is happening and could happen. It drove Genis (Captain Marvel) insane in the debut arc, and he’s been crazy ever since; not a hero but a complete head case. Bad enough on its own, but he’s not even a hero anymore, while at the same time being too scattershot and unfocused to be a true villain. What is he exactly? Who knows - and please don’t ask him, or he’ll tell you why he should be worshiped as a god, with impeccable - and yet completely insane - logic. His hapless sidekick Rick Jones - attached to him by a cosmic link - is struggling to pull the reins in on Genis’s more insane schemes and behaviors, but it’s a losing cause, as he is only human. The only thing he has over Genis is experience and knowledge in the ways of the world, as Genis is honestly a child, no matter how old he appears to be. By turns blasphemous, sarcastic, slick, and just plain evil, this book is not for the easily offended or for children. It’s not a Max title, but in a way it should be, as the themes grow more disturbing as Genis himself continues to revel in his own insanity. The art has always been top notch, with the bulletproof team of Chriscross and Chris Sotomayor to start with, being eventually ceded to the equally great team of Ivan Reis and Sotomayor. Sadly, now Reis has gone to DC, and the penciler on this title is in flux, but at least we can count on the coloring being rock solid. Problems between writer Peter David and and Marvel President Bill Jemas may have endangered this book more than sales figures. If you’d like a dark take on the traditional superhero comic - and aren’t overly sensitive - pick this one up while you can.

Rex Mundi (Image) - Being from a small publisher instantly puts you at a disadvantage on the marketplace. But when you write an intricate series that is hard if not impossible to break down into a bite sized blurb, you’re just asking for trouble. Such is the fate of Rex Mundi, a gothic supernatural science fiction fantasy conspiracy theory murder mystery. (No, none of that is a typo.) It sounds convoluted and impenetrable, which is a shame, as this is a well written, well thought out series, plotted as tightly as Sleeper but in a completely different way. In an alternate version of the Earth as we know it now, the Catholic Church has almost unheard of power, and monarchies are far from an outdated political system. In the middle of all of this is a struggling but well intentioned Doctor named Julien, trying to solve a string of murders connected to a stolen scroll, which may connect to powers higher than he could ever imagine. Beautiful artwork by Eric J and Jeromy Cox bring real atmosphere to what is essentially an alternate reality period piece. If you like mysteries, supernatural tales, or political stories with a dose of “What if?” speculating, this book is made for you.

Lucifer (Vertigo/DC) - The only actual “spin-off” of the historic Sandman series, this follows the continuing “adventures” of Lucifer Morningstar, former lord of Hell, now owner of an L.A. piano bar. If you think that sounds strange, it actually gets stranger, and that’s the beauty of this series - it’s unlike anything else on the racks today. The ever popular Death from the Sandman series even made an appearance in an arc not too long ago. Is this Neil Gaiman? No, of course not, but Mike Carey has made this his own book, fun and philosophical and sometimes even quite trippy - and yes, that’s a compliment. There’s been some flux in art on the title, but Peter Gross and Ryan Kelly have been doing the majority of the work on the title, and they go with the unique spirit of it quite well. To quote our own DC advance reviewer Dave Harris, “…give Lucifer a chance; it's just freaky enough to love.”

Runaways (Tsunami/Marvel) - Had to include one in here for the younger set, as all the books I’ve mentioned so far are mature. (Captain Marvel doesn’t have that label, but as I said, it probably should.) Probably the best written and most original of all of the Tsunami books launched so far, it is also one of its lowest sellers, and it’s a poser as to why. Kids on the run from their parents - whom they have discovered are actually a cabal of super villains - has a primal feel to its premise, and writer Brian K. Vaughn has a gift for writing teens as teens, not miniature adults. His knack for language also gives this book a younger feel without being patronizing, and it’s dynamic enough that teens are not its only audience; adults could get into and enjoy this as well. So why isn’t it selling in Venom numbers? The manga lite art might put some people off, and it may be the book’s weak point, but it’s still not as manga or “skater boy” style as other comics in the Tsunami family (look at Venom or Human Torch, and you’ll see there’s no comparison). It’s worth a look if nothing else, even if it is free from ties to the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Queen & Country (Oni) - Sort of a “cult” favorite, I almost hesitated to put it on the list for that very reason. This is an espionage thriller with no superhero connections, but often the same kind of grittiness and moral ambiguity as in Sleeper mentioned above, and even more realism. Centering around Tara Chace, a member of the Special Section of Britain’s Ministry of Intelligence, the politics of the modern day are often folded into smart, cleverly crafted story lines of writer Greg Rucka. There have been several impressive artists on this series - Steve Rolston, Leandro Fernandez, and Brian Hurtt, to throw out some names - but the current one may be the best of all, Eisner winning Carla Speed McNeil (no, she’s no relation to me). Since this is put out by Oni Press, this is even more at a disadvantage than Rex Mundi; it may be extremely difficult to find on the shelves of your comic store, as they put out a rather limited run. But if you love spy thrillers, this is definitely worth seeking out, even in trade paperback form.

I’d better stop here, as I have rambled on far too long, but there are more titles worth checking out, from Fables (just missed a mention because it does sell reasonably well, and just won itself a well deserved Eisner) to Y-The Last Man (same reason, although Eisner free); Usagi Yojimbo to Noble Causes; Global Frequency to Way of the Rat; Wildcats Version 3.0 to Liberty Meadows. If I’ve neglected to mention a little known (or sold) favorite of yours, please feel to mention it below. There’s also a separate sub-category of books that have gone seriously downhill in a short amount of time and may deserve a cruel fate if things aren‘t done about them soon (Exiles, Harley Quinn) but that’s probably for another article.

There are a plethora of great comics out there; they deserve your time and money, and they are what make this a viable medium for story telling. But if you only buy the mediocre, you will only get more of the same. We should all aim a little higher than that, readers and publishers alike.

This column is solely the opinion of Ms. Speed, and by no means reflects the views of Comixtreme, other staff members, or any other human being on the planet. We disavow all knowledge of her, and wish she'd go back to her home planet, but they won't take her back either. She's free to a good home, but she's extremely picky, and has been known to drive people to a hermitage. Whatever you do, don't ever give her a ride!