Ryan the Iowan's Best of 2009 Power Rankings

It's that time again.  The year is coming to a close and we reflect on what has come to pass.  Before we say goodbye to 2009 for the last time, let's curl up close to our desktop computers and our laptops and even some of our fanciest cell phones to look at the year that was.  It's time, of course, for the Best of 2009 Power Rankings, where your pal Ryan the Iowan counts down the best in the comic book industry from the past year, all leading up to the coveted Best in Comics title.  Who will take  home the year's biggest honor?  By now you should know that you'll have to hit the jump to find out!

THE CHARACTERS AND STORIES

VILLAIN/ANTAGONIST OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Iron Man (2006), Sinestro (2007), The Joker (2008)

Awarded to the antagonist character whose past year has been the most rewarding. Major storylines, issues sold, villainous acts, and non-comics exposure are all taken into consideration.

5. Norman Osborn – All Marvel Titles

4. Loki – Mighty Avengers, Thor

3. Mason Savoy - Chew

2. Vulcan – War of Kings

Winner: The Black Lanterns

Blackest Night, Blackest Night Tie-Ins

Let’s face it, no other villain or villainous force had the impact in 2009 that the Black Lanterns did. These undead friends, loved ones, heroes, and villains ran rampant over the DCU making life hell for nearly every character whose path they ran across in the Blackest Night mega-event. What really made these villains so great wasn’t just the fact that they were ripping out still-beating hearts left-and-right, but rather the reactions that they elicited from the living ranging from pure horror to heartbreaking loss. The Black Lanterns were a pure mindf*** and no one was safe in 2009 as they ripped their way through nearly every title currently being published by DC and forced their way up the sales charts.

HERO/PROTAGONIST OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Wolverine (2006), Booster Gold (2007), Iron Man (2008)

Awarded to the protagonist character whose past year has been the most rewarding. Major storylines, issues sold, heroic acts, and non-comics exposure are all taken into consideration.

5. Deadshot – Secret Six

4. Dick Grayson – Batman Family Titles

3. Ender Wiggin – Ender’s Game: Battle School, Ender’s Game: Command School

2. Barry Allen – Final Crisis, Flash: Rebirth, Blackest Night

Winner: Wolverine

Old Man Logan, Wolverine: Weapon X, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine: First Class, X-Men: Origins – Wolverine (film), Wolverine and the X-Men (TV)

This was a strange year for heroes and protagonists. Despite the fact that superheroes seemed to be everywhere you turned this year and all of the comic book companies held major stories, few characters really stood out of the bunch. Wolverine nabbed this award by starring in some of the most critically acclaimed comics of the year, including the instant-classic Old Man Logan, and by anchoring two major media projects, the X-Men: Origins – Wolverine film and the Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon. In 2009, he really was the best there is and what he does and, for once, it was nice.

STORYLINE OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Sinestro Corps War (2007), Seven Capital Cities of Heaven (2008)

Awarded to the best story in comics that concluded this year. Eligible stories do not need to be limited to a single series and may crossover into multiple titles.

5. Taster’s Choice - Chew

4. Solve Everything – Fantastic Four

3. War of Kings – War of Kings, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy

2. Old Man Logan - Wolverine

Winner: Dangerous Liaisons

Elephantmen, Elephantmen: War Toys – Yvette

In my year-end post last year, I said that 2009 would be the year that Elephantmen made a major comeback after a sparse shipping schedule in 2008. Even with those promising words, and the momentum from last year’s War Toys miniseries, I couldn’t have expected the depth of this year’s Dangerous Liaisons storyline. Nearly every character in the Elephantmen universe was spotlighted in this massive, and massively complex story told mostly through one-off tales. Writer Richard Starkings worked with a “who’s who” of artists that you should be following, including series regular Moritat and this year’s biggest surprise, Marian Churchland. You should have been reading this franchise from the beginning, but if you skipped over this storyline in 2009, you really missed out.

THE CREATORS

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Marvel Comics (2008)

Awarded to the comic book publisher that has excelled above all others this year. Both creative and financial successes will be taken into consideration for this award.

5. BOOM! Studios

4. Dark Horse Comics

3. Marvel Comics

2. Image Comics

Winner: DC Comics
 

After years of living in the shadow of Marvel Comics as the number two company in the industry, DC Comics battled back in 2009. With bold moves like the restructuring of the Superman and Batman family titles, the release of the weekly Wednesday Comics, and the implementation of the co-features initiative, DC made great strides in capturing fan interest while Marvel struggled to get fans to latch onto its overarching Dark Reign status-quo.

What made the year for DC and brought it closer to being #1 than it has been in years, though, was the Green Lantern storyline Blackest Night that spilled into the entire line. Fueled by the return of dead heroes, villains, supporting cast members as well as a genius promotional scheme featuring plastic power rings, DC took back a chunk of the market share towards the end of the year and found themselves riding a creative and financial wave that had long since been absent.

Despite the departure of longtime president Paul Levitz earlier this year, things are looking very strong for DC heading into 2010 and with big storylines like The Superman War as well as The Return of Bruce Wayne, don’t be surprised if you see the company repeat its successes next year.

INKER OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Norm Rapmund (2007), Mark Morales (2008)

Awarded to the inker or finisher that has shown the best quality of art this year. The inker’s entire body of work for the year is considered, both positively and negatively. Special consideration is given to how the inker enhances the work of the penciler.

5. Christian Alamy/Tom Nguyen – Blackest Night, Final Crisis, Green Lantern

4. Jon Sibal – Blackest Night: Titans, Supergirl, Superman: Secret Origin, World’s Finest

3. Butch Guice – Captain America, Captain America: Reborn

2. Dexter Vines – Batman: Streets of Gotham, Hulk, New Avengers, Red Robin, Wolverine

Winner: Norm Rapmund

Booster Gold, Final Crisis

The best way to describe why Norm Rapmund deserves this award is to keep it simple—he takes the work of fantastic artists and he makes it better. This year, once again, Norm Rapmund did just that by bringing out the best in Dan Jurgens, Mike Norton, and Doug Mahnke. All of these artists are great in their own right, but Rapmund’s clean finishes and strong attention to detail brought their art to all new levels.

COLORIST OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Christina Strain (2007), Hi-Fi Designs (2008)

Awarded to the colorist or coloring team that has shown the best quality of art this year. The colorist’s entire body of work for the year is considered, both positively and negatively.

5. Veronica Gandini – Mice Templar: Destiny, Black Widow & the Marvel Girls, Dark Reign: The List, Finding Nemo, Uncanny X-Men: First Class, Toy Story

4. Val Staples– Criminal, Incognito, Iron Man & Armor Wars, Models Inc, Uncanny X-Men: First Class, War of Kings: Warriors

3. Pete Pantazis – Batman & Robin, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Final Crisis, Justice League of America, Justice League: Cry for Justice, Supergirl, Superman, World of Krypton, Teen Titans, Trinity

2. Paul Mounts – Black Panther, Captain America: Reborn, Fantastic Four, Power Girl, Secret Six, Terra, Wednesday Comics, Wolverine

Winner: Nei Ruffino

Astonishing Tales, Blackest Night, Escape from Wonderland, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Superman: World of New Krypton, War of Kings: Warriors

Nei Ruffino made a huge splash in the coloring world this year with some of the sharpest work in the industry. Her bold choices and great sense of lighting combine for some of the most eye-catching and memorable pages, pin-ups, and covers of 2009. She showed a great handle on a number of genres this year, proving that she’s got the ability to remain one of the most prolific colorists in the industry for years to come.

BREAKOUT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Chris Samnee (2008)

Awarded to the creator whose career reached new heights this past year. This does not need to be the creator’s first year in the industry, just his/her most prolific. Creators from all aspects of the industry are considered.

5. Veronica Gandini (Colorist) – Mice Templar: Destiny, Black Widow & the Marvel Girls, Dark Reign: The List, Finding Nemo, Uncanny X-Men: First Class, Toy Story

4. Nei Ruffino (Colorist) – Astonishing Tales, Blackest Night, Escape from Wonderland, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Superman: World of New Krypton, War of Kings: Warriors

3. JT Krul (Writer) – Blackest Night: Titans, Justice League of America: 80-Page Fiant, Soulfire, Teen Titans, Titans

2. Ryan Stegman (Artist) – Incredible Hercules, Riftwar, Escape from Neverland, Grimm Fairy Tales, Vampirella: Second Coming

Winner: Marian Churchland (Artist)

Beast, Elephantmen

Despite this being her first year of prominence in the industry, Marian Churchland displayed an uncanny sense of poise, style, and maturity in her artwork that not only brought her a great deal of attention, but also outshined the work of a number of industry professionals. I can think of very few artists that burst onto the scene in such a dramatic fashion like Churchland did in 2009. This critically acclaimed artist has a huge career ahead of her and is already off to a great start with some of the most critically acclaimed work of the year.

COVER ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: JG Jones (2006), James Jean (2007), Marko Djurdjevic (2008)

Awarded to the best cover artist of the year. The artist’s entire body of work for the year is considered, both positively and negatively.

5. Joshua Middleton – Supergirl

4. Mike Mignola - BPRD, Hellboy

3. Brian Bolland – Jack of Fables, Last Days of Animal Man

2. Marko Djurdjevic – Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil, Dark Reign, Mighty Avengers, Thor, X-Men: Magneto - Testament

Winner: Skottie Young

Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Marvelous Land of Oz, Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Wolverine: First Class

Several comic book websites have run their “Best Covers of 2009” posts over the last few weeks and, on every site that I’ve seen, Skottie Young has dominated the lists. His unconventional approach and bold images have made for many of the most memorable covers of the year. Covers need to be eye-catching and full of personality, which is something that Young’s covers have in abundance. His work was so good, in fact, that I was tempted to give him all five spots for this award.

PENCILLER/SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Mark Buckingham (2006), Justin “Moritat” Norman (2007), Gary Frank (2008)

Awarded to the pencil artist or solo-linework artist that has shown the best quality of art this year. The writer’s entire body of work for the year is considered, both positively and negatively.

5. Marian Churchland – Elephantmen, Beast

4. Chris Samnee – The Mighty, X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Batman: 80 Page Giant

3. Amanda Conner – Power Girl, Terra

2. Nicola Scott – Secret Six, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman

Winner: Mike Norton

Green Arrow/Black Canary, Booster Gold, Trinity, The Curse

A lot of artists have done some tremendous work in 2009, but none more so than Mike Norton. He’s been doing a great job for some time now, but he really stepped up his game with stellar runs on both Green Arrow/Black Canary and Booster Gold.

What impressed me most about Norton this year was his tremendous storytelling and the ability for his art to adapt to his inkers. His flexibility, consistency, and storytelling pushed him into the upper echelon of artists this year. Given how much he has grown as an artist over the last few years, do not be surprised if you see him in the running for this award next year as well.

WRITER OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Brian K. Vaughan (2006), Christos Gage & Ed Brubaker (2007), Geoff Johns (2008)

Awarded to the writer that has shown the best quality of writing this year. The writer’s entire body of work for the year is considered, both positively and negatively.

5. Bryan J.L. Glass – Mice Templar: Destiny, Riftwar

4. Richard Starkings – Elephantmen, Doctor Who

3. Geoff Johns – Green Lantern, Blackest Night, Superman: Secret Origin, Flash: Rebirth, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, Adventure Comics, Justice Society of America

2. Christopher Yost – Ender’s Game, Red Robin, X-Force, Psylocke

Winner: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (DnA)

Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Authority, War of Kings, Realm of Kings

I’ve always been a big fan of Marvel’s cosmic titles, but if someone would’ve told me that an entire arm of Marvel’s superhero publishing would be devoted to them and that they would be as good as they are today, I’d never believe you. What the writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have done to revitalize these end of the Marvel Universe is nothing short of extraordinary and this was a banner year for their efforts.

On top of their already stellar runs on Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, DnA dropped the amazing War of Kings mini-event—one of the few “can’t miss” storylines in 2009. They consistently find the perfect balance between fast-paced action and brilliant character work which has made their quirky cosmic adventures incredibly addictive.

THE COMICS

SPECIAL FORMAT SERIES OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Criminal (2007), Sky-Doll (2008)

Awarded to the finest comic that resides just outside the realm of the other categories, including translations, children’s comics, anthologies, co-features, and special format titles.

5. Ravager (co-feature)

4. Tiny Titans

3. Mike Norton’s The Curse (24 Hour Comics Day)

2. The Stuff of Legend

Winner: Wednesday Comics

DC followed-up two lackluster weekly comics (Countdown to Final Crisis and Trinity) with a very bold experiment—the 12-week newsprint anthology Wednesday Comics. The series was printed in a massively oversized format and featured stories covering a wide-range of DC characters by a great mix of industry legends like Neil Gaiman and up-and-comers like Joe Quinones. Highlights included the brilliant Strange Adventures by Paul Pope and Kamandi by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook. This was a bold move that was more about creativity than unit shifting and I’d say it paid off as one of the highlights of the year.

BEST COVER OF THE YEAR

Awarded to the highest quality cover design of the year.

5. Uncanny X-Men #512 by Yannick Paquette

4. Wolverine: First Class #19 by Skottie Young

3. Supergirl #47 by Joshua Middleton

2. Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #53 by Skottie Young

Winner: Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love #1 by Chrissie Zullo

I have absolutely loved this cover from the first time that I saw it. Chrissie Zullo packs in so much detail into this seemingly simply image—every time I look at it, I find something new that blows me away. This single cover made Zullo a superstar for me and has me clamoring at the bits for more work from her. The last time I was this excited by a cover, it was the first time I saw James Jean’s work on Fables.

ONE-SHOT OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Villains United Special (2006), Sinestro Corps War Special (2007), Final Crisis: Requiem (2008)

Awarded to the best single release comic of the year. Done-in-one stories within an ongoing series are not eligible with the exception of Annuals. Starting this year, original graphic novels are being considered for this award.

5. Giant-Sized Old Man Logan #1

4. Sub Mariner Comics #1

3. Scott Pilgrim Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe

2. Elephantmen: War Toys - Yvette

Winner: Beast

It has been about a month since Marian Churchland’s beautiful graphic novel was released and I’m still completely enraptured by it. This haunting tale of inspiration and creation is one of the most thought provoking comics in years, while the strength of its art is unparalleled. I was unable to put this comic down once I cracked it open and now, weeks after I read it, I still cannot let it go.

NEW SERIES OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Blue Beetle (2006), Dynamo 5 (2007), Guardians of the Galaxy (2008)

Awarded to the best ongoing comic book that debuted this year. Titles must have released at least 5 issues, including a #1 to be eligible.

5. GI Joe

4. Red Robin

3. Batgirl

2. Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man

Winner: Chew

Image Comics’s Chew burst onto the scene in 2009 as perhaps the year’s single biggest surprise. The buzz on this quirky and unique series started early and continued on through a number of sell-outs and reprintings. If you told me last year that the best new series of 2009 would be a hard-boiled crime series about a reluctantly cannibalistic FDA agent who can siphon memories out of anything he eats, I’d think you were insane. Now I know that the only insane ones are the folks who have yet to check out this brilliant series.

LIMITED SERIES OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Agents of Atlas (2006), Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite (2007), Elephantmen: War Toys (2008)

Awarded to the best limited series of the year. Titles must have released the majority of their issues from January 2009 to December to be eligible.

5. War of Kings

4. Superman: Secret Origin

3. Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2. Mice Templar: Destiny

Winner: Ender’s Game: Command School

Christopher Yost, along with the art team of Pasqual Ferry and Frank D’Armata, really stepped up their game with this second chapter in their adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s original Ender’s Game novel for Marvel. The creative team has perfectly captured the intense nature of the novel, as well as its more heartfelt moments. Furthermore, it enhances them with beautiful art and designs. Not only is this a Must Read comic for fans of the novel, it is also the best miniseries of 2009.

ONGOING TITLE OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Fables (2006), Captain America (2007), Nova (2008)

Awarded to the best ongoing title of the year. Titles must have released at least 9 issues from January to December to be eligible. This does not include any “wait for trade” books (basically anything Vertigo).

5. Green Arrow/BlackCanary

4. Nova

3. Green Lantern

2. Elephantmen

Winner: Secret Six

No other ongoing series really stood a chance against Gail Simone’s Secret Six this year. The comic was nearly flawless through all of 2009 as DC’s most unique super-team battled the world’s creepiest little sister, slave traders, and even each other through 12 of the most superbly crafted issues of the year, including a brilliant fill-in story focusing on Deadshot written by the legendary John Ostrander. This series had it all—great action, memorable characters, amazing writing, superb art, and an undeniable charm that made it incredibly addictive

SINGLE ISSUE OF THE YEAR

Past Winners: Justice Society of America #1 (2006), Green Lantern #25 (2007), Final Crisis: Requiem (2008)

Awarded to the best single issue of the year from any title including one-shots, limited series, and ongoing series. Eligible issues do not need to be standalone stories.

5. Wolverine #70

4. Elephantmen: War Toys - Yvette

3. Secret Six #15

2. Mice Templar: Destiny #5

Winner: Uncanny X-Men #512

I actually read through all of the five finalists again several times before coming to this decision and, after each pass, Uncanny X-Men #512 kept getting better and better. This issue, which follows Beast’s Science Team, is the type of irreverent and brilliant fun that makes comics so addictive. It isn’t fancy and doesn’t feature any Earth-shattering changes, but it does showcase the talents of Matt Fraction and Yanick Paquette in a way that no other titles they worked on this year could. If I could walk away from the store with only one comic this year, it would be this one. It excels in every aspect of its craft and, perhaps more importantly, it reminds me of why I started reading comics in the first place.

BEST IN COMICS

BEST IN COMICS

Past Winners: Criminal (2007), Elephantmen: War Toys (2008)

Awarded for the highest form of excellence in all of comics over the last year—this is the pinnacle of the industry in 2009.

Winner: Secret Six

There really wasn’t a question when it came to this award, as Secret Six had pretty much locked it up in the first half of the year, then ran away with it in the second half. Gail Simone put together the best work of her career this year on this title, though she had some tremendous help from a talented crop of artists led by regular series artist Nicola Scott.

Secret Six may follow the most unlikely band of characters you’ll see headlining a mainstream comic, but it is the most likely place to find sheer enjoyment on the stands. Ever since she introduced the team years ago, fans have been begging for a Secret Six ongoing, but I don’t think even the most rabid of us could have predicted the year this title would have. It was, hands down, the best comics had to offer in 2009.

Related Posts