My Top Ten Favorite Comic Book Series of 2010

2010 was an ok year for comics. I quit buying some of the big guns like Spider-Man and Batman. But started reading some cool new series that maintained my interest over the entire year. I believe 2011 will be much improved. Anyway here is my top ten list of my favorite comic book series of 2010.

10. SPIDER-GIRL - After reading only one issue, Spider-Girl vaults into my top ten with a return to the fun that's been missing from comics. See my earlier post that describes in detail why I loved issue one of this new engaging series.

9. WITCHBLADE - I have read every single issue of Witchblade since it debut 15 years ago and it's still just as good when it first started. The adventures of New York City detective Sara Pezzini, who also is the bearer of the Witchblade, an ancient weapon that she wears on her hand like a gauntlet. It comes in handy when dealing with the scum of NY, but also attracts all kinds of supernatural attention. Co-created by the recently deceased Michael Turner, Witchblade is a great mix of cops and magic and demons and all that stuff. And Sara Pezzini is one of the best female characters ever created. Here's to another great 15 years.

8. THE SECRET SIX - This cool series focuses on a team of ex-villians who take on even worse villians. The team is probably the most dysfunctional bunch you will come across in comics today. There's leader Scandal, the lesbian daughter of DC baddie mainstay Vandal Savage. Scandal recently lost her lover and is constantly dealing with that, but she still kicks ass with the best of them. There's Catman, an old Batman foe that uses to be an overweight laughinstock back in the 60's but after intense training and losing some pounds, he can go toe to toe with Bats now. Also onboard is Deadshot, the ruthless mercenary who is all about the money and women. Ragdoll is a wacked out guy who is like a junior version of The Joker. Another old Batman villian is on the team as well: Bane. And recent addition Jeanette, a powerful sorceress, who can turn on the evil in a second. This is a very underrated series that more people need to be reading.

7. X-MEN - While nowhere as good as their glory days of Claremont/Byrne or Jim Lee, everyone's favorite mutants still deliver some of that old school action. The current team consists of leader Cyclops; his current squeeze- Emma Frost; Colossus; Wolverine; Rogue; and Magneto. Other members are present as well as the team have created their own sanctuary called Utopia, off the San Francisco Bay. Recent battles have included a mutant hating racist group and the son of Dracula. There are several X titles on the market and I read three of them and they are about equal.

6. SECRET WARRIORS - Exciting series that has former SHIELD director Nick Fury leading a clandestine group of young heroes to take down evil groups such as HYDRA. Fury was doing this sort of thing back in the 60's but the current stories have been modernized and the action amped up. Lots of fighting and explosions and political backroom dialogue make this one of my favorite series. And what's cool is that these guys are on their own...so you won't see The Avengers and the Fantastic Four, which makes the book stand on its own.

5. THE NEW AVENGERS - Brian Michael Bendis continues to work his magic with his take on The Avengers. This group operates out of Doctor Strange's mansion and includes Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Iron Fist, Mockingbird, The Thing and Wolverine (this guy gets around). They operate independently of the other Avenger team and I like it. They got all the drama and heroics you expect from being an Avenger plus the old witty banter Spider-Man, that's missing in Spidey's regular books.

4. BATGIRL - Surprisingly good book in the Batman canon with Stephanie Brown (Tim Drake's ex) taking over the  mantle of Batgirl from silent but deadly Cassandra Cain. And the charm of this series is watching Stephanie learn the hard way of being a hero. She makes mistakes and she's not perfect but with the help of Oracle, she is getting better and better. Very good book with awesome art by Dustin Nguyen.

3. GREEN LANTERN CORPS - The sister title to Green Lantern that focuses on the entire Green Lantern Corp and specifically on Earth Lanterns Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner. Outer space thrills and lots of humor from Guy makes GL Corps a great companion book to Hal Jordan's exploits in Green Lantern.

2. GREEN LANTERN - Writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke continue to crank this solid book that is still recovering from the events of Blackest Night as Hal has to team with Sinestro, Larfleeze (the Orange Lantern) and Atrocitus (the Red Lantern) to scour Earth for deities that can help the Lanterns cause. Oh did I also mention Parallax is back as well. Johns continues to be the most consistent writer in comics today as he keeps pushing Hal to his limit and sometimes beyond it.

1.  POWER GIRL - If anyone is not reading this great series, then you should. First off writer Judd Winick has taken the B list heroine Power Girl (Superman's cousin), who was always the butt of sex jokes and such and made her into a real character that readers are really intrigued by. Making her the CEO of a company ala Tony Stark was a brilliant move and it splits the time between boardrooms and throwdowns in metropolitan cities. And the art by Sami Basri is sensational. Fluid and jazzy. I started reading Power Girl with issue #1 and haven't regretted it. I love everything about the book and it is my favorite comic series currently out there. I hope Judd and Sami keep up the pace in 2011.