Vito's Best Of 2010

Acme Novelty Library 20 - Life goes by quickly, and no one illustrates that better than Chris Ware in ANL 20. It's ostensibly the life story of Jordan "Jason" Lint, but it could easily be a year-by-year snapshot of the life of the everyman. The way Ware illustrates this story (the changing art style as Lint goes from birth to death) and the way he knows his characters so well...it's enviable, but at the same time, no one else could have ever done a story like this.
Love and Rockets New Stories 3 - If I were ranking this list, putting them in order of importance, this would be number one. I hate to say it, but Browntown, Jaime Hernandez's story about Maggie Chascarillo's early early days, is hands down the story of the year. If that were all this book had to offer, that'd be more than enough, but both Gilbert and Jaime bring the best out of their respective characters. I reread the book a few days ago and it still haunts me. It's absolutely everything you could ever ask for in a comic that doesn't have a superhero in it.

Hawkeye & Mockingbird - Honestly, as much of a superhero fan as I am, this one was the one most likely to be ignored. I liked Hawkeye, didn't really care for Mockingbird...and besides, both were in one of the new Avengers books either together or individually, so did I really need to read this? YES! This book isn't even a guilty pleasure; it's top of the stack. I heard the series is getting canceled, but the Widowmaker mini just started and I think Hawkeye is getting his own series (at least a mini) out of this. If you put Jim McCann near Clint Barton or Bobbi Morse, I'm going to buy it. And I'm calling it now; I predict by 2011's end, there will be a new West Coast Avengers series.

Batman & Robin - It lives up to it's own hype. Looking past Return of Bruce Wayne (which had it's moments) and the other Bat-books, if you read just Morrison's B&R, you had a complete story...a complete mystery. If that was all this book was capable of, that'd be enough, but when you get down to it, characterization and the personalities Morrison injected into the principals are what make this book top notch. I'm aware that the book is in other hands now, so the verdict on the series will have to wait.

The Outfit - Darwyn Cooke does what Darwyn Cooke does best, and what he does best is make us cheer for whoever the lead is, whether it's a hero or a villain. While not as strong as The Hunter, The Outfit is still a tour de force. If you're not 100% invested in Parker, and his successes and failures, you must be reading the book upside down.

Honorable Mentions:

Amazing Spider-Man - No disrespect to any of the artists on the book prior to Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos' "Big Time" arc, but I love what these two bring to the book. And that is all out action/adventure. A monthly treat!

Nemesis - I call this a "dumb superhero comic," and that is in no way meant to be disrespectful. That's a praise! Lose yourself in the viscera and see why this was the most guilty pleasure of the year.

Brave and the Bold #33 - If you ever question why J. Michael Straczynski is in the top 10 list of any given list of writers, this issue right here will convince you. Emphatically.

Thunderbolts - One of the most fun books to come out of the post-Siege/Heroic Age Marvel Universe. Always top of the stack.

Tumor - Under the radar book that a lot of folks missed. It belongs up there with Criminal and Darwyn's Parker books. It's THAT good!

Thor: The Mighty Avenger - There's no way this book should have ever been canceled. It's one of the best all-ages books to come out in a long while, and by all-ages, I mean ALL ages. This book is for the young, the old and everyone in between.

FCHS Volume 1 - Well of course I'm going to mention my own book...we worked really hard on it and it almost didn't come out! I'm so proud of Rachel and how this book came out. And yes, we've started working on Volume 2!

-Vito Delsante