Vito's Best Comics of 2009

by Vito Delsante



Best Biographical Comic - Che by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon (Hill & Wang): And this coming from a guy who WROTE a biographical comic! Che Guevara is so much more than a hipster's t-shirt icon.

Best Anthology - Noir (Dark Horse Comics): You get Stray Bullets, Criminal, Mister X, a non-DC Batman story, and so much more for your buck.

Book of the Year - Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke (IDW Publishing): Seriously. Best book of the year. Beautiful, true to its source material (truer than any other adaptation), and Darwyn Cooke's first non superhero story in a long while.

Event of the Year - Blackest Night (DC Comics): Geoff Johns wrote an event book (Day of Judgment) early on in his career. It's no mystery that 10 years later, he can still do it. Green Lantern, as a result, is one of the characters of the year.

Best New Comic - Incognito by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel/Icon): Judging by what I have above, this should surprise no one. I'll read anything by Brubaker and Phillips.

Comic of the Year - That distinction belongs to Detective Comics due to the Batwoman lead story. I love the Question, and I love Rucka and Hamner's take on her, but what Rucka and JH Williams II do in the Batwoman lead is nothing short of magical. If you've ever wanted to see a superhero comic done the way a superhero comic is done in your mind, this is the book to read. Apparently, this will all lead into a new Batwoman ongoing, and if these two are doing it (and they are) then look no further for the best book of NEXT year.