From Top to Bottom #19: The End?

by Matt

Welcome to the return (or is it the end?) of the long running and Tony award winning "From Top to Bottom" column! Every column, I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

I was in the middle of writing my new Shout Outs! and Scream Ats! column and I was looking at my set of Premiere hardcovers and I noticed that I have two of Marvel's The End series in that format. I was thinking of some of the other ones that Marvel published and thought about making a new Top/Bottom column based on Marvel's The End series. Especially since Iron Man: The End should be hitting shelves next month and we still have Daredevil: End of Days on the horizon. Hopefully these new End series will be more like my Top 3 picks than the Bottom 3.


3) Fantastic Four: The End
There are a couple of reasons why I really liked this series. The biggest reason was the art by my favorite artist, Alan Davis. The second reason why I liked this series was because it actually had a happy ending. The third reason is that this felt like the Fantastic Four, this is what I would imagine them doing in the future. It begins with the FF battling Dr. Doom which results in the death of Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards. The FF 'disband', Reed loses himself in his work, Susan leaves for an archaeological expedition underwater and eventually runs into Namor. Johnny, is leader of the Avengers, who now police much of the universe and Ben lives with his wife Alicia on Mars with their three children. The Fantastic Four, Reed in particular has helped Earth become a force in the Universe and has invented many things to improve life on Earth especially after the "Mutant Wars". Eventually they reunite when Sue contacts the team and they battle Dr. Doom again and we find out that Franklin and Valeria are alive and they are reunited with their family. A lot more happens than this. The only thing I didn't like was the last page, where basically it tells us that this wasn't really the end but just the beginning. The premise of these types of series was that this was the "End" or final story of the Fantastic Four. I don't mind the happy ending at all but it should just have ended there.



2) Hulk: The End
This is the first 'The End' that Marvel published and I feel that it was one of the best ones. Peter David and Dale Keown crafted a tale where hundreds of years later, the Hulk and Bruce Banner are still fighting for control. The world has ended with a nuclear war and the Hulk is the only survivor. Banner is devastated and tries to end his life but the Hulk manages to keep him alive. Finally, the Hulk and Banner reach a conclusion that results in both getting what they want. Not the happiest of endings but one that did end happy.



1) Punisher: The End
When I first read this I hated it. But each time I read it, I started to really like it and I think it is the strongest "End". Nuclear war (must be a trend here) has ended all life and the Punisher is in prison. A year later, Frank and another survivor trek to New York City to find a bomb shelter, which is hidden deep beneath the former site of the World Trade Centers. There he finds other survivors but deems that these survivors are ones that he would not run the world. So he kills them and then he kills the other guy that came with him because he was a criminal. Then he gets out and walks towards Central Park where we all know is where his family was killed and where the Punisher was born. Then he is consumed by fire. Garth Ennis really nails the Punisher here in this MAX End.


Not all "The End" series were great. Some of them could have been good but either were too long, not creative, or felt familiar.


3) Marvel Universe: The End
This really was not a terrible series but it felt like I had read it before somewhere. There were a couple of things that I did like. I enjoyed Thanos retelling how the Marvel Universe ended and I also liked how heroes kept being resurrected to keep evil in check. And they all the heroes were resurrected during the course of the story as well. What I didn't like was that it felt like the Infinity Gauntlet all over again, or was that Infinity War? It might have been Infinity Crusade, which is my point. I had read this before, the heroes get slaughtered until the strongest ones are left and then they do battle. Can you name them all? Hulk? Check. Warlock? Check. Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Dr. Doom? Check. Out of all the Bottom Ends (pun totally intended) this was the most enjoyable and most accessible.



2) X-Men: The End
You would think that the Father of the X-Men would have been the best one to end that franchise but I was wrong. First, this series lasted WAY too long. Three 6-issue series was way too much for me. Claremont had some neat moments in the series but they were few and far between. The majority of the comics just pandered to Claremont's favorites (WarSkulls, Slavers, Brood, Vargas, etc). If you didn't enjoy Chris's second and third run on the X-Men I would stay far away from this series. Most of the X-Men were featured which was nice but this didn't really feel like an X-Men story. I was expecting something along the lines of God Loves, Man Kills but I got something more like New Excalibur.



1) Wolverine: The End
At least this one didn't go beyond 6 issues. This was supposed to tie into Origin but I had a hard time following what was going on. Why did this series take #1? Wolverine (whom was an old fart by this time) was being stalked by the White Ghost who claimed that he could have killed him 200 years ago. Then why he just didn't kill him then? The White Ghost turns out to be John Howlett III, his brother from Origin. The White Ghost has this grand plan to put mutants on top and Wolverine and him wrestle and they fall out of a window and the White Ghost is killed when he is impaled on Logan's claws. Then the White Ghost whispers that he is sorry. That makes little sense to me. Why would he apologize when he said he could have killed him anytime? This horrible story was not helped by the cluttered artwork as well. I expected something like Wolverine's first miniseries but I got something completely opposite. Ugh.

This concludes another "Top/Bottom" column. Is this the "End" of these columns as well? I might have another one in me, I did just recently re-read Secret Wars II (in anticipation of the Omnibus) and I could post my Top/Bottom moments if you readers would like more. Read more!

The Return: From Top to Bottom #18: The 90's!

by Matt

Welcome to the return of the long running and Einstein award winning "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last time, I admitted that I like gimmick covers and that I was one of those fans that helped make it a problem by buying a ton of them. I still stand by saying that some of them were cool and I looked at the Top and Bottom of Gimmick Covers. After reading more of Brandon's great Casualties of the 90's columns I decided it would be fun to look back at the 90's as well. With this special extended 18th edition, I will be looking at my favorite projects that came out in the 90's. While the 90's were not looked at as one of the greatest eras in comics, it was certainly important and is probably my favorite era.


10) Cyberforce
October 1992. Marc Silvestri is one of my favorite artists and I could not wait until this series came out. Like all early Image books this did have problems with lateness but it was worth waiting. The first miniseries had 5 issues (#0-4) and the second series lasted only 35 issues. What I liked about this series is that Cyberforce's main enemy was destroyed in the 25th issue and then it had to change direction. That new direction introduced a more supernatural edge to it that became Top Cow's main staple.



9) Ultraforce
August 1994. I am a sucker team books and Ultraforce featured all of Malibu's top guns. Another big draw was the return of George Perez to a monthly book. Sadly, this series only lasted 10 issues before Marvel destroyed the line. But the 2nd volume that came out a year later was still pretty entertaining, it featured early work from Warren Ellis. This series and the original Prime title were fantastic.



8) Solar
September 1991. The only Valiant title that I have a full run (except for that pesky #60) of. Those early issues was absolutely terrific. Solar was not an ordinary super hero, and I recognized that quickly when he lost control of his powers and destroyed the whole Earth. The split personalities and alternative universes were more than plot devices, they were clever ways for the reader to learn how god-like and how human Solar really was.



7) Stray Bullets
March 1995. I discovered this book a lot later than when it initially came out and I wish I had picked it up then. Back when I first collected comics, I rarely went beyond Marvel and DC and I was more into superhero stuff. This book would have changed my comic buying habits for the better. This book is still going although sadly it is on hiatus. Reading Stray Bullets makes me feel better about the life that I have, there are moments when I read it that I feel sick to my stomach. I feel that way because I feel like I know these characters and the terrible decisions that they make and it is hard to watch what happens.



6) Age of Apocalypse
March 1995. I couldn't believe it when I heard that Marvel was cancelling all of its X-titles (I heard this in the comic shop, way before the Internet was used) and I couldn't believe what these "new" X-titles looked like. Probably one of the greatest events of the 90's. While I knew that the normal Marvel Universe would return, it was so much fun to see how characters were changed and how they fought. It really felt important and would affect the X-titles for years after. Hey Marvel! This is how you kill off Banshee!



5) Hellboy
March 1994. I always like Mignola's moody art when it was on Alpha Flight and I remember flipping through this issue at Woodhaven Comics in New York and thinking that this could be something special. This was pure Mignola art, not like I saw when he was on Alpha Flight. It wasn't until Wake the Devil that I knew for sure that this was special. I never imagined that this series would still continue today and that there would have been a few movies as well.



4) Stormwatch
July 1996. When Stormwatch first came out I collected and loved the early issues, Backlash turned out to be a personal favorite of mine and I followed him through the Kindred and then to his own Backlash series. But the reason I listed Stormwatch on this list was when Warren Ellis took over the book and turned it around. Ellis gave me a superhero book that was not just about capes and supervillians. He gave us a book about how those who have abilities can change the world. His work grew more ambitious and led the way to the 2nd volume of Stormwatch and then naturally turned into the Authority. His run changed comics forever.



3) Bone
July 1991. My first real independent book that I picked up. I heard a ton of good reviews about it and I saw #15 on the shelves and decided to pick it up. At first glance I thought I was picking up a kids book, the Bone characters looked silly. But as I read the issue and laughed out loud, I knew I was wrong. The black and white art really stood out and the pacing seemed a lot slower than other comics (this was before decompression was really used) and it fit. Those first 25 issues of the that series (it was completed with #55) were classic!



2) ClanDestine
October 1994. By now I am sure everyone knows that I a MAJOR Alan Davis fan. I loved his run on Excalibur and was intrigued by this new mysterious series that featured all new characters. What I loved about this book were the relationships between the characters, they felt like a family to me. They argued like a family does, they treat each other like family members do, good or bad. During this time, comics were more grim and gritty. It seemed like every team book had a guy with claws and a guy with large guns. This book hearkened back to the older days, where characters had code names like Crimson Crusader and they wore a cape. This was a refreshing look back at the classic feel of the old days. Sadly, Alan left the book with the 8th issue and returned for a 2 issue miniseries with the X-Men and it would take almost 15 years for them to return.



1) Savage Dragon
July 1992. At first I really disliked Erik Larsen and now I love the guy. His book has never failed to entertain me. This book literally has everything. I never know what to expect when I read it, it is full of shocks, twists, violence, sex and a whole lot more! The best part is that Erik Larsen will always be on the book until he dies and I will be along for the ride the whole time. How can you go wrong with a character like BrainApe? Yes, he is a huge gorilla with the brain of Adolf Hitler. Erik is not afraid to change anything, NOTHING is sacred, even the Dragon himself!


See? I love the 90's! I could have easily added Preacher, Starman, Alan Moore's Supreme to this list! Now there are books that came out that were not so great either. I will not bore you with a huge list of what was ridiculous but I will give you my Bottom 3 projects of the 90's.


3) Deathmate
September 1993. This crossover featured 2 of the hottest comic companies in Image and Valiant and this series was one of the things that caused the downfall of comics in the 90's. Image was extremely late in the project, so late that retailers could not return any unsold comics back to the publisher. There was thousands of Deathmate Red and Black left unsold in comic shops. The project was hastily put together and it should be noted that Todd McFarland and Erik Larsen wanted nothing to do with the project. Its only bright spot was that it did introduce Gen13 to comic fans.



2) Heroes Reborn
November 1996. You'd think that with Liefeld and Jim Lee returning to Marvel would be the greatest thing but it wasn't. None of the creators could even stay on the books the whole time, which was extremely disappointing. The only good thing about it was it gave more exposure to the Avengers and Fantastic Four titles and made them just as important as the X and Spider-titles.



1) The Clone Saga
October 1994. I never thought it would come to a time when I didn't collect a Spider-Man book. It has only happened twice, with Brand New Day and back in the 90's with the Clone Saga. Comic book companies in the 90's found a formula of success by overhauling characters completely, they killed Superman, broke Batman's back, made Hal Jordan go crazy, kill Daredevil off and replace him with an 'armor' version, make Colossus go bad, suck the metal out of Wolverine, kill off Green Arrow... ...geez, the list is endless. The biggest disaster was the Clone Saga. The Spider-Man we all knew was just a clone! The Clone Saga was only supposed to last a year or so but it sold well (like all the comics in the 90's) and so Marvel extended it and it went on and on and on. Now there are some good stories within that craptacular event, Amazing Spider-Man #400 being the best, we ended up with a new Spider-Man. The costume was cool, but Ben Reily was not. Thankfully they ended it by killing Ben, who was revealed to be the actual clone but it also brought back Norman Osborn. Ugh.

Sure the 90's had some terrible moments but there were some great gems that came out of the same era!
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From Top to Bottom #17: Gimmick Covers

by Matt

Welcome to the 17th edition of the long running and Grammy winning "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last week, in celebration of Star Wars week, I looked at the Top and Bottom of Marvel's Star Wars comics. This week, after reading Brandon's fantastic Casualties of the 90's columns I decided it would be fun to look back at a trend that was so prevalent of the 90's. I do admit that I got sucked into the madness of gimmick covers. There was a time where I picked up almost every gimmick cover there was. In the 90's EVERY comic had a gimmick cover at some point, even Quasar. I brought out my longboxes and dug through them to unearth my Top and the Bottom Gimmick covers that I admit I picked up because of the covers.



I am a little embarrassed to find that I own a lot of gimmick covers. Well, kinda embarrassed. Some gimmick covers I thought were pretty cool and I guess they did make me try new books. I absolutely loved the Avengers series of gimmick covers that celebrates their anniversary and it also made some sense as well. They had foil-embossed covers of bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The glow-in-the-dark Ghost Rider cover (Ghost Rider #15) was also cool. My son and I tested it and it still glows in the dark. Some gimmick covers were not as imaginative and were quite boring. All of these books I owned because of the covers, Darkhawk #25, Dr. Strange #25, Secret Defenders #1 and the list goes on and on. It seemed for a time in the 90's that stories were made just so they can plaster a gimmick cover on them. We'll see an example of a cool gimmick cover that came out with no importance at all, it was just an excuse to slap a gimmick cover on it. And yes, I bought it anyway even though I don't collect the series.

3) X-O Manowar #0
Sometimes a good gimmick cover will make me pick up a book. I was never into the Valiant universe and this was my first book into that universe. Joe Quesada's art really helped and the gimmick enhanced the art. The vibrant colors of the foil really made this book stand out. Luckily for me, the story inside was pretty good as well.








2) Silver Surfer #50 and #75
These gimmicks made sense and were cool looking. The foil-embossed gimmick is one of my favorite gimmicks and seeing the Silver Surfer all shiny and silver was cool. I also liked that it was only the Silver Surfer that was enhanced and not the whole cover. It made it stand out a little more. I prefer Silver Surfer #50 but I couldn't find a good scan of it.








1) Uncanny X-Men #304
When Marvel first tried the hologram gimmick covers with Spider-Man I was not impressed. The hologram was weak and grainy but I liked the idea. When the X-Men Fatal Attractions crossover came out celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the X-Men, they tried the holograms out again but this time they were successful. The holograms were smaller and much more detailed. All of the holograms were cool, but I especially liked the Magneto hologram on this issue.





MIDDLE PICK: Fantastic Four #317 In the 90's, any excuse was good enough to get a comic to have a gimmick cover and Marvel's Fantastic Four was one of the worst offenders. Fantastic Four #371 is a perfect example. It was a cool gimmick cover but it was not an anniversary issue and it was not an important issue or anything. The Human Torch accidentally burns down Empire Start University and that's it. The gimmick cover was so popular that they had a 2nd printing complete with the same gimmick cover, only is was all red instead of all white. While the gimmick cover was neat, the reasoning was not. But I bought it anyway. And they had another gimmick cover (shown below) just a few issues later.



3) Punisher War Zone #1
Die-cut covers can be cool if they are used right. Wolverine #50 was kinda neat with the claw marks which made sense and it was a special issue as it revealed a little of his origin. This Punisher die-cut cover made little sense. The bullet holes I get and it would have been cool if that is all they did but they had this large piece cut out to show the skull in the background. They didn't need that, the logo had a skull and the Punisher himself had a skull. They only needed bullet holes and the Punisher with guns blazing. Again, I was lucky that the insides were so good.




2) Fantastic Four #375
The Fantastic Four had a ton of ugly gimmick covers. They have a name for these covers, prism-something I think but I just don't see the appeal. The gimmick does not enhance the art, it does the opposite. It makes the art muddled and ugly.












1) Guardians of the Galaxy #25
I love Valentino's run on Guardians of the Galaxy, probably one of my favorite runs of all-time. But this cover was hideous. I cannot tell what Marvel was trying to get with this cover. The people looked flat and pasted on and the Galactus was too dark and grainy. The gimmick looks dirty and not as clean and crisp as the other gimmick covers. I think I have seen this gimmick only on this cover.

Do gimmick covers still have a place in our industry? I still like gimmick covers but feel they should be used sparingly and only for real special occasions. I also liked the option that Marvel had where you had a choice of getting the gimmick cover or just the regular cover. I am glad that they are not all over like they were in the 90's but I wouldn't mind seeing one or two pop up on occasion.
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From Top to Bottom #16: Marvel's Star Wars Greatest Hits

by Matt

Welcome to the 16th edition of the long running and Emmy winning "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last week, I looked at the Top and Bottom of Comic Book Comforts. Comics that acted like they were comfort foods. These were comic books (mini-series in particular) that do the same thing. They make me feel happy every time I read them and I can read them anytime. Which is why I named that column the way I did. This week's column, in celebration of Star Wars week (and to give Brandon a break from all the writing!) I decided to take a peek back to the past when I was a kid and I collected Star Wars comics from Marvel. For this column I am going to do something a little different. I am going to revisit my Top 3 Marvel Star Wars comics that I remember loving and then my Bottom 3 and we'll see how they held up.

I love Star Wars. I grew up with Star Wars, I was lucky enough to see all the films in the theatre and I was hooked. I collected the toys and would play Star Wars with my friends all the time. I remember when my dad came home from work and brought me a slurpee and a Star Wars comic! It was Star Wars #23 and this helped pave the way to my addiction to comic books in general. I collected the Star Wars religiously until Return of the Jedi and quit shortly after. I was so happy when Dark Horse collected the entire Marvel run in a series of trades. Some of the stories hold up, some others do not and some others are always going to be cheesy. Here are my Top 3 Marvel Star Wars stories along with what I consider to be Jar Jar Binks-like. Again, these picks were based on my favorites when I was a kid, we'll see after re-reading them if they still hold up. And those stories I hated as a kid? We'll see if I still hate them.

3) Star Wars #38
Riders in the Void
This issue was supposed to be the first part of the Empire Strikes Back adaptation but it was delayed and we got a dreaded fill-in issue only this became one of my favorites. Luke and Leia were on a mission when they were attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer. They barely escaped after being attacked and wound up beyond the galaxy and into the starless void. They were snagged by a strange, living ship and subjected to being tested. The ship then decides to help them go home but the Empire has found them. Michael Golden provided some terrific art on this, his rendition of the Star Destroyers blasting the alien ship was awesome. And I still find this story awesome, the art holds up and now I understand what is going on more. Still a great fill-in.

2) Star Wars #33-37
Saber Clash/Dark Lord's Gambit
Baron Tagge wanted to be more favored to the Emperor than Darth Vader and this story showed how cunning and evil Darth Vader is and how heroic Luke was. Tagge and Luke dueled in the first part of this story and Luke showed mercy and how good at dueling he was by destroying his cybervision and rendering him helpless. Like Darth Vader had done before him. The story leads to both the Empire and the Alliance courting the Tagge family for assistance, only this is just a trap to get Luke. Luke and Vader duel in a fantastic fight and in the end, Luke kills Vader but we find that it wasn't Vader, it was a Sith illusion, it was really Baron Tagge. I cannot explain it all, you just have to track down this story. It certainly holds up, in fact I get this story more now that I am older and I can understand it.


1) Star Wars #60-63
Screams in the Void/Pariah
Ah, Shira Brie. I loved this character when she was introduced. She made a perfect rival to Leia for the affections of Luke and she was tough as nails. In this storyline, the Rebels capture a bunch of TIE Fighters and Luke leads a team (including Shira Brie) in the TIE Fighters to destroy special Teezl, which was a communication beacon that allowed the Empire to communicate instantaneously. They attack the Imperial Fleet and during the battle the communication between the Rebels goes dead. Luke finds the Teezl but there is a TIE fighter there, he uses the Force to determine if it is friendly and it is not so he shoots down the TIE Fighter and destroys the Teezl. Luke then discovers that pilot of the TIE that Luke destroyed was Shira Brie. So he goes on a quest to find out who Shira Brie is and the answer shocked me! I loved this run because the art from Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer was absolutely fantastic and the stories were absolutely fun. I remember these Star Wars comics the most!

I liked those Star Wars stories as much as I remembered I enjoyed them. In fact, I enjoyed re-reading my #2 selection a lot more than I thought I would. They were as good as I remember. And now for the Bottom 3, the Star Wars comics that I really disliked when I was a kid. They were not as horrible as I remember but I still don't care for these stories.

3) Star Wars #46
The Dreams of Cody Sunn-Childe
Lando and Chewbacca are searching for Han when they traveled to another dimension that was home to the legendary Rebel warrior Cody Sunn-Childe. Sunn-Childe no longer wants to fight when he finds out that he has this mystical ability to create this dimension. The Empire finds them and Cody unleashes his powers and destroys Star Destroyers, he realizes that this is not the way and decides to be true to his beliefs and lets him and his followers and city be destroyed. Lando and Chewbacca escape and the Imperials are stuck in that dimension. Did I still dislike it? It was better than I remember but I still am not a fan of magic or mystical stuff like the monster that could destroy a Star Destroyer. I can tolerate the Force and some magical, mystic forces in Star Wars but as a kid I thought this was over the top.

2) Star Wars #67
The Darker
On the planet Arbram, R2-D2 gets lost and C3-P0, Plif and Chewbacca follow to see where he is. They find the Darker, an evil being. They fight the creature and Chewbacca lays a smackdown on the Darker and kills him. I still don't like this story. When I was a kid, I would play Star Wars and it was always the Rebellion versus the Empire. I never came up with stories like this and I couldn't tolerate this type of story. Just seemed stupid to me.





1) Star Wars Annual #2
Shadeshine
Luke, C3-P0 and Lando are escaping from Stormtroopers when they find a gold statue of Han Solo. I didn't get too far when I read this because I came across a panel that freaked me out and to this day I cannot look at it. Go ahead and call me chicken but I didn't re-read this annual because I was creeped out. Check out the panels below: BRRRRRR!



The Dark Horse series of trade paperbacks was well worth getting this nostalgic gems back in my hands and now I can read the full collection. Surprisingly, they all do hold up pretty well. I enjoy pulling these books off my bookshelf and reliving my childhood. What ones were your favorites?
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From Top to Bottom #15: Comic Book Comforts

by Matt

Welcome to the 15th edition of the weekly "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last week, I geeked out with more X-Men stuff by looking at the Top and Bottom of X-Men miniseries. I had a hoot pulling out some old X-Men miniseries and re-reading them and finding a few that I absolutely loved and could read anytime. Now you have heard of comfort foods, foods that make you feel happy and safe and bring back pleasant memories. Well, I have some comic books that do the same thing. They make me happy every time I read them and I can read them anytime, they are my Comic Book Comforts. Which is why I named the column the way I did. There are a lot of comics that qualify for this, but I am only going to look at miniseries. After looking at my Top 3 Comforts, I will then take a look at some miniseries that I have that leaves me scratching my head and wondering why.

This wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. While I did have a ton of choices, I immediately knew which ones were my absolute favorites the moment that I found them. I am sure that some will disagree with my picks, and that is fine, but you have to remember that I am picking out the books that act as a comfort food. These books go hand-in-hand with Mountain Dew: Livewire and Cadbury Creme Eggs for me. These are the guilty pleasures that I would want with me on a desert island (with LiveWire and Creme Eggs). Here are my Top 3 Comic Book Comforts.

3) Robocop versus Terminator
Like I have said before, I am a sucker for crossovers and I just couldn't pass up two of my favorite movie characters crossing over. Add to that a superb creative dream team of Frank Miller and Walt Simonson (that alone should convince you to pick this series up) and this project just screamed fun. And it certainly was fun! It had a lot of twists and turns and was very tongue-in-cheek at times and totally surpassed what I expected. I loved that the Terminator's mission was to save Robocop because the creation of Robocop led directly to the formation of SkyNet. And the last page was totally Walt Simonson.


2) JLA: The Nail
Written and drawn by Alan Davis. In this DC universe, Martha and Jonathan Kent never discover the spaceship that the baby Superman crashed to Earth in due to a nail that caused a flat tire on thier truck. So we get to see what the world would be like without Superman. Lots of appearences from almost everyone from the DC Universe and one of the more haunting Batman/Joker confrontations. The followup Another Nail was very entertaining but not as memorable and great as this first series.





1) The Human Target
I saw the cover to #1 in the Previews and it made me try out this series and I was so glad I did. This series was a wild ride that I was not prepared for it. Peter Milligan and the late Edvin Biukovic brought back Christopher Chance, the Human Target and took him to the 'Vertigo' universe for more suitable and mature stories could be told. The basic premise is Christopher Chance becomes an actual Human Target by disguising himself as someone marked for death, then he draws out the assassin and he tries to put a stop to them. But it goes much deeper than that, the Human Target didn't just look like the person he was protecting, he BECAME that person and at times couldn't separate who was who. This miniseries just keeps you guessing. Peter Milligan is at the top of his game with sharp writing and dialogue and the art by Biukovic just leaps off the page. This led to an original graphic novel (The Final Cut) and to a monthly series that sadly lasted only 21 issues.

And now for the Bottom 3, the miniseries that I had real high hopes for when they first came out but were major disappointments. And for some strange reason they remain in my collection only because I think they will suddenly get good. They remind me of one of my favorite movie reviews. It was for the new Highlander 2 Special Edition DVD and the reviewer said (and I am paraphrasing) "No matter how much you dress it up and spray perfume on it, poop will always remain poop." No matter how good I think these books will be, it will never change.

3) Extinction Event
Brett Booth's art was the biggest draw (pun totally intended) for this series but the idea behind it actually sounded a little cool. A Texas earthquake unearths evidence that man is not the most intelligent species on Earth. A team of specialists is dispatched to investigate and they find out that it was dinosaurs who were the most intelligent species on Earth, and some of them are still living. Now Brett Booth can draw the heck out of a dinosaur so I was intrigued. And I was left disappointed. I don't think this was meant to be a comedy.



2) Northstar
Ugh. This mini series was terrible. The art was muddled and drawn in the "Image" style and completely ignored the events in Alpha Flight #106 which featured the outing of Northstar. Alpha Flight was canceled with #130 and they announced a new Northstar mini-series that if it became popular would become an ongoing series. I was hoping that the series would examine Northstar's lifestyle a bit more but we got nothing more than a pointless story with pointless villains and "kewl" characters like Kane and Weapon P.R.I.M.E. You know what would make this series worse? If I really cared for Northstar. Which brings us to my #1 Bottom pick and I character I adore.

1) Excalibur
I love Captain Britain. A few years after the original Excalibur series was canceled, a new four-issue limited series titled Excalibur came out. And I was excited for this new Excalibur book because it would feature Cap more than the X-charcters that ruined the book in the last years. Remember Britannic? Ugh. It featured Captain Britain and Meggan and guest-starred Psylocke (whom for some reason paraded around in a bra) and the Black Knight (whom I thought would be a natural fit for Excalibur). The series dealt with Brian becoming King of Otherworld, the idea behind the series seemed natural but the series was extremely boring and the costume changes for Captain Britain were horrible. What was up with the flaming Union Jack on his face?

Now there were a lot of other miniseries that I really enjoyed. Daredevil: Man Without Fear, Earth X, Batman: The Long Halloween just to name a few. But for these books I have to be in the mood to read them again. I can't just grab those books off the shelf. What are your "Comic Book Comforts"?
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From Top to Bottom: X-Men Miniseries

by Matt

Welcome to the 14th edition of the weekly "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.

Last week, I celebrated the release of Uncanny X-Men #500 by looking at the Top and Bottom of Uncanny X-Men Anniversary Issues. Since I have X-Men on the brain, I figured I would do another X-column. Recently at the San Diego comic convention, Marvel made the announcement of the X-Men: Infernus miniseries, so I thought it would be fun to look at the Top and Bottom of X-Men mini-series.

There have been a TON of X-Men miniseries. When I first looked into this topic, I was shocked at the sheer amount of X-Men miniseries. Almost all of the X-Men themselves have had a miniseries at some point, some of them have had more than one (I would kill for a Jim Krueger written Banshee miniseries) and while some of them have been gems, most were rather plain to absolutely horrible. It is a who's who of the X-Men, Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Iceman, Colossus, Wolverine (shocking!), Storm, Phoenix (Rachel Summers), Gambit, Cable, Bishop, Nightcrawler, Magneto, Chamber, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, Archangel and Psylocke have all had a miniseries at some point and I am sure I am forgetting some. Some of the X-Men miniseries were large events or stemmed from a large event. And again, some of those were good, most were not. Here are my Top 3.


3) X-Men/Alpha Flight: The Gift
Written by Chris Claremont with art by Paul Smith. This was probably Smith's finest work on the X-Men. Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor are flying scientists to the Arctic Circle, when their plane is struck by something mysterious. Rachel Summers senses this and the X-Men believe it was an attack from Shaman of Alpha Flight. So the X-Men head to Canada to confront Alpha Flight. Only they find Cyclops and the crew safe and have been changed into powerful beings who vow to change the world. They heal various members of both Alpha Flight and the X-Men, proving how powerful they are. And who is behind it? Loki, the God of Lies. This was a fantastic miniseries, Claremont was at top of his game here. His stories with Loki were some of my all-time favorites.


2) Fantastic Four versus the X-Men
I LOVED this series. So much was happening at the time this came out. The X-Men had just barely survived the Mutant Massacre and they contacted Reed Richards because he had a machine that could save Kitty from fading away. During this time, Dr. Doom had planted a diary of Reed Richard's that told the story of how the Fantastic Four were really formed. Sue discovers the diary and finds out that Reed had done all of this on purpose. This shakes the FF to their core and Reed backs out from helping Shadowcat and Wolverine starts a fight (I loved seeing Wolverine go berserk on Reed). Dr. Doom comes in to save the day and offers his help to cure Shadowcat. Franklin dreams of the death of the X-Men and Fantastic Four and the diary is at the center of it all. If you haven't read this series, do yourself a favor and track this series down! This was written by Chris Claremont with Jon Bogdanove. Bogdanove's art was fantastic, laregly due to Terry Austin's inks.

1) Wolverine
My dad bought this series for me when it was first released as a trade paperback many years ago and Wolverine quickly became one of my favorite characters. This series made Wolverine more than just a guy with claws. One thing that I have noticed is that Wolverine does not get humbled in today's stories as he did back in the old days. Shingen totally humiliates him, not only does he beat him physically but he beats him mentally as well. The perfect example is when they first do battle, Shingen fights him with with wooden swords since he believes that Wolverine is not worthy. Shingen easily bests him. In the rematch, Wolverine proves that he is worthy. Chris Claremont wrote this series as well along with art by Frank Miller.

I wish all X-Men miniseries were like those. Interesting to note that all of my favorites were written by Chris Claremont. You'd think that all of his miniseries would have been as good but that is sadly not the case. He has written a few stinkers as well. Speaking of...


3) X-Men: Black Sun
Ugh. This miniseries was terrible. And what a horrible Banshee cover, it looks like he is belching. I don't remember much about this series but I know that I pawned it off on eBay pretty quickly. I never liked the whole N’Garai concept either. The only thing that I liked is that the return of Magik really turned out to be Amanda Sefton taking over as ruler of Limbo. Even though it made no sense that Kitty didn't figure that out early on. It also featured the return of Pilgrimm. Ugh, why is this not #1?




2) Kitty Pryde: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This is why. At least Black Sun had something interesting. This series was such a waste of time and money. Kitty Pryde takes an offer from SHIELD to have her work as a technician and she finds out that Ogun has possessed the systems of SHIELD. Wolverine joins the fray (as customary in 90's X-Men titles) and they together battle Ogun. I would go into more details but I just can't force myself to go on any further. You may not know this but I read all of these books again just for these columns and I still have the #1 Bottom book to go.




1) Magneto
Could it get any worse? Yes, it certainly can and this proves it. This was Magneto's first miniseries and I had some high hopes for it since Magneto was my favorite X-villain. This Magneto was really Joseph and the basis of the series was him learning who Magneto was. I expected him to go bad again and what I got was something bad. The art by Kelley Jones was just as out of place and ugly as Peter Milligan's writing. Part of my hatred for this series comes from the Acolytes themselves. I liked the Acolytes when they first appeared and when they died shortly after. The membership of the Acolytes never made sense to me, you had Acolytes that were dead who were actually alive, you had Acolytes like Cortez, who betrayed the team but then came back, and I was plain tired of who was what and why. I would've sold this series on eBay but no one wanted it.

Did I surprise anyone that I didn't list ClanDestine/X-Men on my Top list since Alan Davis is my favorite creator? Surprised that X-men: Deadly Genesis was not on my Bottom list because Banshee was killed in it? (Banshee was a Skrull anyway) For every good miniseries, we got a couple mediocre/bad ones. For the fun Clandestine/X-men miniseries we also got X-Men: Liberators and Archangel & Psylocke: Crimson Dawn. For the cool X-Men versus the Avengers miniseries, we got X-Men: Die by the Sword and X-Men: 198. Do I need to mention the X-Men Icons miniseries that came out around 2000-2001? They could have had their own Bottom entry.

Here is hoping that the new X-Men: Infernus miniseries is one of the good miniseries. Of course, I am such an X-Whore that I will buy them all anyway.
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