Summing Up 2011 in Comics & Film
by Brant W. Fowler
2011 has been quite the year for comics and comic related media. From relaunches to big events to major motion pictures, this has been a year of firsts, revelations and new standards being set. And as such, on this final night of 2011, I wanted to share my thoughts on the passing year in the world of comics and film. So many milestones and cool happenings to talk about.
What this is not going to be is another 'top ten list' or 'best of' kind of article. There are plenty of those across the net already, and all probably done a bit more comprehensively than I could do given the late hour at which I am writing this piece. So instead I'm simply going to talk about some highlights of the year and give my thoughts on those highlights as it were. So let's get started.
COMICS
In January, Axel Alonso was named the new Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, replacing Joe Quesada. I remember the buzz about this as people thought change was destined to happen now with the changing of the guard. Many had grown tired of Marvel under Quesada, though not all. Turns out it wasn't much of a change after all, though. Quesada simply got a new position of Chief Creative Officer. So the two, being Alonso and Quesada, would more or less share leadership of Marvel going forward, and thus we got the same kind of stories in 2011 we had been getting since Avengers: Disassembled.
The two big events of the year were of course Fear Itself and Flashpoint. A while back I did an article pitting the two events against each other. Growing up a Marvel guy, I found myself once again surprised at how invested I was in DC's Flashpoint and not so much in Marvel's Fear Itself. While both were just one more universe-altering event as we had had so many times in recent years, it just felt like Flashpoint was fresher and more entertaining. Well, at least until that final issue anyway.
Fear Itself never grabbed me, not one bit. And I tried, believe me. I wanted to read about my favorite characters, but there was just nothing appealing about that series to me for whatever reason. I couldn't get into any of the smaller events either, like X-Men: Regenesis or Spider-Island. All the ideas Marvel seemed to be throwing at us in 2011, to me, just felt very out there and not very... good.
Flashpoint, of course, would lead into the biggest comic news story of the year by far, being the DC Relaunch (or whatever they prefer to call it). Announced early in the year much to the surprise of everyone, DC would cancel all its titles and relaunch or debut 52 comic series at issue #1 beginning the last week of August with Justice League #1. We would see for the first time in decades a brand new Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #1, and of course 49 other books throughout September. It was supposed to be a fresh start, kind of rewriting history and telling new stories from the beginning of these nearly 100 year old characters. How they got to that point, however, was confusing.
The purpose and end of Flashpoint did not fluidly go into the relaunched DC Universe. It almost seemed forced and shoe-horned in fact. The only remnants of the Flashpoint event being felt is some offhand reference made by the Legion of Superheroes in Legion Lost, and this mysterious hooded woman that appeared in the background of every new #1 issue. What DC's larger plans are and how it all ties together - if it does - are anybody's guess. They've been pretty tight-lipped about it, and that has kept the intrigue up. After all, for the first time in recent memory DC has dominated sales charts since September.
Of all the relaunched books, Aquaman and Batman have been the strongest books to date in my opinion. In fact, most of the Bat books have been pretty good, and the Green Lantern books have been solid. Oddly enough, both of those corners of DC kept a lot of the previous continuity in check whereas in some books things have been entirely re-written. Superman, for example, does not read like any Superman we've known. Much more quick to act and vicious, this version of Supes doesn't seem to have quite the moral code previous incarnations have had.
But DC didn't hold the monopoly on books being relaunched with new #1s. In 2011, Marvel relaunched a few of their key titles, including Incredible Hulk, Uncanny X-Men, Daredevil and Captain America. Most notably of those is Daredevil. For the past few years, Daredevil has been put through the paces. He had become a much darker character, having had his secret identity revealed, losing everything, dying, and coming back as some ruthless evil dictator. So a relaunch was much needed.
Along came Mark Waid and a new number one, and for the first time in many years, new life was breathed into The Man Without Fear. Surprising anyone who read the title, Waid's Daredevil revitalized the character. The past few years weren't re-written, but simply only referenced as the past. This was a new day for Matt Murdock, a much brighter and fun one at that. Waid's run on the series to date has made the character not just relevant, but fun to read once again.
In Incredible Hulk - which I admit I have not read yet - apparently, under writer Jason Aaron's guidance, the Hulk and Banner are separate entities, and Banner is a deranged scientist now. I'm not typically a fan of Aaron's work as it just falls outside my preferences quite honestly, and this doesn't sound overly appealing either.
Ed Brubaker deserves much kudos for all his work on Captain America both in the titular comic as well as Secret Avengers. The man just gets Cap and makes him far more entertaining than any other writer in recent memory.
Through Marvel's Crossgen imprint we got the wonderful Ruse mini-series, which I review in depth on the next episode of Transmissions from Zone 4.
Outside of Marvel and DC, there have been some very good books published this year as well. From Morning Glories at Image (which of course debuted in 2010), to The Strain at Dark Horse, to Abstract's Rachel Rising and much more, there have been some great series either debuting or continuing from the other publishers. That said, I can't personally think of any significant events taking place from those other publishers, but to be fair my comic buying was pretty limited this year. I only made it through what I did by borrowing and what little I could do on my own. So I'm sure there are a ton of great comics I missed.
Notable mentions across the board, though, go out to Heroes for Hire, Invincible, The Walking Dead, G.I. Joe, Locke & Key, Darkwing Duck, PvP, and The Sixth Gun.
FILMS
This was also an incredible year for the cinema, and one I actually got to get out and experience in a theater for the first time in a couple of years. There were some great films that came out this year, many of which I've caught via Netflix or Redbox.
Number one on my list has to be one I got for Christmas, which was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. My good friend and fellow CR contributor Bill Gladman called this one the movie of the year, and I have to agree with him. That said, the other movie I got for Christmas, the final Harry Potter film, I've not watched yet. I still think this one will hold its spot though. The film was just so far beyond what I thought it would be. There was so much drama and emotion from start to finish. And the action, once we got to it, was intense and impressive. It was a very realistic movie given its unrealistic premise. The directing in this movie was top notch, because the quiet moments were even better than the action ones. And this was an action movie, or was classified as such. This movie, being the kick-off in the reboot of the franchise, gives great hopes for the sequels to come.
If Rise of the Planet of the Apes was number one, Captain America: The First Avenger has to be a close second. I thought this movie was phenomenal. We talked about it in depth on a recent episode of Zone 4, and my sentiments for this film remain intact. It's a period piece by a director who knows how to do period pieces. The acting and action was reminiscent of films shot back in that period, but with a modern flare that, combined, made for a spectacular movie. Not just a spectacular comic book movie, which it indeed was, but a spectacular movie.
X-Men: First Class was another top notch film for me. I think upon watching this one a second time I really enjoyed this one more than Thor. When I saw Thor, I thought it was a great movie, and I still do. But X-Men: First Class was an awesome movie. I know not everyone agrees with that, but for me it was probably the best X-Men movie despite what continuity flaws there were. The relationship between Xavier and Magneto alone was well worth the price of admission. And while I thought Captain America was better, I probably enjoyed watching this one in the theatre more than any other movie I saw in that manner this year (those being Cap, Thor and Green Lantern).
Other notable films this year include Thor, Fast Five and Super 8. I enjoyed all three of these films in that order. They were all great in their own way, and ones I would certainly own and watch again.
There were more films I enjoyed this year that were good, but not quite up to the level of those already mentioned. Those include Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (just saw this one recently and it was pretty good), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (far better than Revenge of the Fallen), Sucker Punch (not for everyone, I know, but visually and thematically a masterpiece), The Smurfs (believe it or not, I had fun with this film - much better than I feared), Red Riding Hood (fun take on the classic fairytale), I Am Number Four (pretty solid despite some flaws - much like Jumper, I'd love to see sequels but probably never will), and Conan the Barbarian (which I enjoyed quite a bit - far better than its predecessor in my opinion).
I've yet to see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Cowboys & Aliens, The Muppets, Immortals, The Three Musketeers, Columbiana or the aforementioned Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, so I'll reserve judgment on those. And I won't go into films that were disappointing because they far outnumber the ones I liked.
And that wraps up my highlights for the year. For TV highlights, tune into the first episode of Zone 4 in 2012, episode #147 next Friday, January 6th!
Thanks for the memories, 2011. Here's hoping 2012 in comics and film will be even better!
Contributor Bio
Brant W. Fowler / Writer, Letterer, Reviewer, Columnist, Podcaster, Co-Owner/COO/Site Manager of Comic Related
Brant W. Fowler has been a professional comic book writer, editor, flatter, letterer and logo designer for several years, and has been a freelance editor for the past five years or so. He is one of the cast members and host of the Zone 4 podcast here at Comic Related, and he letters some of the webcomics on the site. You can see samples of his works and how to hire him at Gonzogoose
Design and Just-Flats.net. And catch up with him on his forums right here at CR. Brant is also a member of the core
operations team at Comic Related.
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