Exams are over, but before we return to the normal format of the ol' Down But Not Out, I think it's probably a good time to cover the "Best of 2005”. Yeah, so it really doesn't fit in well with a column about old-school comics, but you guys will just have to deal, okay? After all, everyone else is doing it, so I might as well jump off that bridge too!
Anyway, I promise this won't be too painful, unless you're in the habit of hating everything I write.

Best Writer:

Robert Kirkman

This man has single-handedly proven to me that comics can still be fun. I can pick up any of his books and immediately get the feeling that Robert is not only passionate about his writing, but the characters as well. On that note, he's the first guy in years to, in my opinion, actually get what Spider-Man is all about.

I can't express how excited I am each month to get my hands on Marvel Team-Up, a book that's overlooked by too many readers. Sure, I get excited whenever I pick up each week's books from my comic shop, but none of them give me goose bumps like MTU does; it's the same feeling I got when I cracked open a comic when I was much younger.

Honorable Mentions: Paul Chadwick and Dan Slott

Best Writing Team:

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
 
Gray and Palmiotti took Hawkman, a title that was absolutely fantastic when Geoff Johns was on it, and made it better. It's rare to see a follow-up writer make an already great book, better. It's damn impressive! Oh, and the quality doesn't end there, though. Nope! The latest volume of Jonah Hex is just as good, if not better.
 
Best Artist:

Tom Scioli

It's almost hard for me to pick a guy that's making his money off of mimicking one of the greatest artists of all time, but I'll be damned if he isn't doing a great job at it. Scioli's work on Godland feels less like plain ol' aping than it does paying homage.
 
Maybe Tom's using some kind of dark arts to channel the spirit of Jack Kirby. If he is, I hope he keeps it up!

Honorable Mentions: Ed Benes, Scott Kolins, Matt Wagner

Best Overall Title:

Marvel Team-Up

The best book for my money each month. It packs action, humor, and perfect characterizations. What else can I ask for? Oh wait, Sleepwalker, Terror, Inc., Moon Knight, and Darkhawk?  Yeah, it has them too.
So really, was there any doubt that this would be my book of the year?
 
Honorable Mention: Hawkman

Best Mini-Series:

Concrete: The Human Dilemma

For those of you that have never experienced a Concrete book, then you really just don't know what you're missing. The style of book is completely different from anything you've read. The dialogue and situations are more human than I can express; this is probably the most thought-provoking comic book I've read in a long time.

The overall quality of the book is outstanding and it's pretty hard for me to relate to you how good it is. I honestly don't have words for it. I can say, however, that I am absolutely hooked on Paul Chadwick's Concrete.

Best New Title:

Fear Agent

Holy crap! What's this? An Image book in my list??

That would have been my reaction had this been the days of Liefeld, Silvestri, and McFarlane in the 1990's, but fortunately, it's not. Image has done more to impress me in the past year, what with Godland, Invincible, NYC Mech, and this, than they have in the past ten years!

Go read my review of the first issue and you'll see why I'm so pumped over Fear Agent. It's just so frickin' good.. and with only two issues released at this point in time and it already making my list, you know there's something special about it.

Honorable Mention: Godland

Best New Volume (re-launch) of a Series:

Jonah Hex

Yup, another book with just two issues under its belt that I consider to be the best of 2005! This new volume of Hex is just what I needed in a land of spandex-clad superheroes. The writing is fantastic, of course, but it also has something else going for it: single issue stories. Yup, that's right. Gray and Palmiotti have stated that the majority of the series will stick with that type of format, which is so damn easy for new readers to get into. It's just a refreshing book overall.

Best Event:

Marvel Monsters

October 2005 was a special month for me: it marked the coming of the only Marvel event in 2005 I was concerned with: Marvel Monsters!

Each week in October, Marvel would release a one-shot comic featuring some of the coolest monsters in comics: Devil Dinosaur was one of 'em; Fin Fang Four, Where Monsters Dwell, and Monsters on the Prowl were the other three books. Each one had a great cover by The Goon's Eric Powell, a brand new story, and a reprinted Jack Kirby semi-classic.

It may not have "split the internet in half" like House of M, but it did provide a refreshing pause in the world of super hero comics!

Best One-Shot:

Fin Fang Four

Some would think that Devil Dinosaur would get this slot by default, but no! Fin Fang Four, one of the Marvel Monsters one-shots, was the coolest!

The story takes place around four of the deadliest monsters in the world getting a chance to reform in a work-release (from Monster Island) program. Reed Richards has devised a way to shrink them down to a less threatening size and has offered to give them jobs in the Baxter Building. Comedy ensues.

Best Trade Paperback:

Concrete: Depths v.1

2004/2005's Human Dilemma mini was amazing, so naturally I decided to seek out other Concrete stories. I did so at the right time, because Dark Horse decided to release multiple trades of Paul Chadwick's Concrete material in a small, affordable format.

I cracked this trade open and had it read in no time flat. Was it as thought-provoking as Human Dilemma? More so; there are still stories in this trade that I think of each time specific situations come up. Now that's when you know you've read a good story: it has resonance.

I've pretty much covered just about everything there, so let's look ahead to 2006, shall we?

What I'm looking forward to most in 2006:

- the return of Moon Knight!
- the rest of Infinite Crisis and its fallout
- Mark Millar's 1985
- the return of Apocalypse in the X-Men books
- more Essentials from Marvel
- more Showcase Presents from DC
- hoping for another Marvel Monsters event in October 2006!

And I'm done! If you agree or disagree, shoot me an e-mail. If you want to know how to steal cable, shoot... not me and e-mail.

Next week? A return to normal format! Just in time for the... uh, after-Christmas-pre-New-Years Holidays!