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TFG1Mike’s Top 10 Comics Of 2014

TFG1Mike’s Top 10 Comics of 2014

Here you will find TFG1Mike’s Top 10 Comics of 2014! Most of these are going to be overall series Mike enjoyed reading in 2014! From DC, IDW, and Image mostly. YES mike read a few Marvel titles, but they were few and far between. So let’s get to this Top List!

So here’s the thing, anyone who has listened to The Pull Bag in its second year online will know I’ve vastly broadened my comic reading horizons. At the same time I’ve also stuck with what I know I like. I have read the first 4 issues of Marvel’s Avengers & X-Men Axis, but I have not finished the series. I want to read Superior i9ron Man, but haven’t had the chance to yet. That’s one reason why no Marvel titles made my 2014 list. But expect more Marvel coverage in The Pull Bag this March and April. Because I’m doing overall BEST Series of 2014… some issues might have come out in 2013, but they will all be current releases from 2014. My list is based on WHAT I THINK are the top 10 choices. There will be a biases, but I’ve tried to be fair all the way through. First up a few honorable mentions!

The honorable mentions list will be quite short this year, mainly because series I’ve just started reading are brand new. However there are two on here that will shock people that they did not make the cut.

RID17 #1

TF MTMTE #17 Banner

The Comic formerly known as…. TF Robots in Disguise now just Transformers. Plus it’s companion TF More Than Meets The Eye. I really was into both the TF IDW titles, until the ending to Dark Cybertron. I haven’t much cared for the events AFTER THE DARK. Bitch Planet from Image Comics, a brand new series that started in December of 2014. So far it’s only had 1 issue, but it was an awesome issue. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe from DC Comics, this had a great ending run with the Blood of Grayskull storyline. However the entire run of the book wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped it would be. Batgirl from issue #35 to present. Ever since the “new direction” into “being more fun and lighter” I have really not enjoyed reading Batgirl from DC. I miss the psychology of superheroes that we got from Gail Simone. Well that’s about it for honorable mentions, now let us get to the countdown!

JOKER

10 Grayson (DC Comics)

Grayson Cover

OK sure I stopped reading this series after issue #3. However I do want to commend Tim Seeley and Tom King for trying. I do not blame them, I blame DC Editorial, and Dan Didio for killing the Nightwing persona and making Grayson the “Nick Fury” of the DC Universe. There was a glimmer of hope after reading the first issue, but then I continued reading, and still didn’t care for the story. Don’t even get me started on the Future’s End issue. You might be asking yourself then why am I even listing this on a Best of the year list? Well because it had more shining moments than Batgirl had. Even though I don’t care for the direction of the character, I can respect the writers for attempting to bring die-hard Grayson fans back into the character’s life.

9 Arkham Manor (DC Comics)

ARK_MANOR_1

This had so much potential, yet DC I believe labeled it wrong. By that I mean it should have been labeled as a 4,5,6,7 issue mini series… NOT a NEW ongoing. Because it’s friggin’ getting cancelled before the Convergence event. UGH!!!! WHY do they start comics…. just to cancel them before they get time to shine…? Isn’t that a waste of money? Duggan, Crystal, and McCaig all have done well with the writing and art. As this list is being made only three issues have been released. however I’ve enjoyed every bit of DC putting Arkham Asylum inside Wayne Manor! For more of my thoughts along with Jeremy Fein’s thoughts on this series… Check out TPB’s coverage of this and Gotham Academy #1. You can listen to that HERE!

8 Angry Birds Mini Comic (IDW Publishing)

Angry Birds #1 minicomic

For those of you who know me well…. You’ll have for the last several years I’ve been obsessed with Angry Birds. The games, and now IDW brings us Angry Birds Comics. When I first heard about this, I was so excited! Then come to find out what I was subscribed to was the mini comic. Do not misunderstand me it was awesome. I just thought it was the full fledged book. However Jeff Parker, and his team of artists on this for IDW nailed the birds and pigs so well. You’d think that characters that do nothing but make bird and pig noises could not have a comic…. You’d be DEAD wrong. Parker’s writing in the comic keys in on each of the characters personalities, and then takes it to the next level. By giving the birds and pigs voices, and dialogue…. it shows anything can be accomplished! Plus these issues are just PURELY AWESOME FUN!!!!!

7 TMNT/Ghostbusters Crossover 4 issue mini (IDW Publishing)

TMNT GB #3 SUB

So my fellow podcaster and writer Jeremy Fein wrote a review of the first issue of this crossover from IDW. You can read that HERE. Joe Reed and I have plans to cover it inside The Pull Bag sometime in 2015. As I’ve been reading this… I am liking the TMNT side as far as the art goes. However the Ghostbusters side is just weird when it comes to art. At least for me it is, I’m not saying it’s bad. However I can’t hear Ramis, Aykroyd, Hudson, or Murray in my head with these characters. I mean THEY ARE Peter, Ray, Winston, and Egon. But it just seems too weird to me as far as their designs. I guess I should get around to reading the IDW Ghostbusters series right? OK so as of this list we are 3 issues into the 4 issue mini here. I’m really digging it, but I had wanted a bit more explanation as far as the villain goes. Hopefully we’ll get that in issue 4. This is a fun read by Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz. With Waltz being on the writing guess what…… this actually happened in the current TMNT Continuity. It’s not just some side stepping story. So cool!!!!

6 Chew (Image Comics)

Chew TP Vol 01

OK so I’m cheating here a bit. Seeing as Chew started nearly 6 years ago. However I just found it last year. Guillory’s art is very cool looking, but strange to me. As I’m used to more traditional character designs. However for what he and John Layman are crafting with Chew…. I can go along with it. I thought I was not going to like this title, but it’s very fun. I think with all the Bullsnot I’ve put up with from DC Comics… I needed FUN comics to read in 2014. More Chew coverage will be coming inside The Pull Bag in 2015! To listen to JT and I talk Volumes 1 and 2 of Chew Click HERE!

5 TMNT Turtles in Time (IDW Publishing)

TMNT Sub

Yup that’s right! TMNT is ruling my countdown this year! So you take a concept like the old arcade and SNES ported TMNT IV: Turtles in Time, and then apply that concept to the comics. It’ll friggin work well! I’ll admit every mini series IDW announces for TMNT I get a little anxious. However I know that they will make it all tie in, and that it will be excellent. TMNT Turtles in Time is no different. Four issues, four different timelines. Issue #4 is my favorite here. Because we see what an old Donnie would be like, and how that affects the younger Donnie. Listen to Joe Reed and I talk up TMNT Turtles in Time HERE!

4 Batman Beyond 2.0 – Universe (DC Comics)

BatmanBeyondUni_16

Traveling 65 years into the future is tough stuff these days! Kyle Higgins and Thony Silas took the Bat Beyond book over after Adam Beechen and norm Breyfogle’s run ended. Kyle and Thony have killed it!!!!! They’ve done such a great job bringing even more Bat Beyond stories to us! Kyle in the writing advanced the story 1 year later after the events of “Joker Night”. Which was Adam’s first big arc in his 2012 series. That first big arc was entitled 10,000 Clowns! So everything has changed since then, terry and Bruce are not speaking at all…… Dick Grayson is Terry’s new “partner” or trainer. Terry is about to enter college and he still has to be the Best Batman he can. As Kyle Higgins and Thony Silas progressed through this series…. We have seen many interesting twists and turns. There are six total story arcs to the series. The opening one where Kyle introduced a new villain Rewire, the second arc deals with Man-Bat, the third arc is a huge crossover with Justice League Beyond entitled Justice Lords Beyond. That arc was damn good, and heart wrenching as well. Then we had the HUGE arc “Mark of the Phantasm” this was the arc that Kyle has said he pitched to DC Comics when he was offered to take the series. After Mark of the Phantasm we have the All In arc, and finally the Alternating Currents arc. 40 digital comics in one year’s time from 2013-2014. Kyle Higgins, Thony Silas, Eric Wight, Phil Hester, and the entire Bat Beyond team did a damn good job with Batman Beyond 2.0 also known as Batman Beyond Universe! So with all this praise you might be wondering why this isn’t my number one choice for the year…? Well that’s because the whole point in me expanding my comic reading in 2014….. Has led me to seeking out NEW and different comics. I’ve leaned more towards franchises and creator own books this year.

3 Sex Criminals (Image Comics)

Sex Criminals Vol 1

I can’t remember WHO suggested I check this series out, if it was anyone at all. Or I might have wanted to check it out on my own. I’m just not sure, but now that I have I’m hooked! Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction is just damn awesome!!!! The only other title by Fraction I had read was Hawkeye, and I just wasn’t into it. Moreso because of what Hawkeye deals with rather than Fraction’s writing. I’ve only read the first 5 issues of Sex Criminals, but getting Volume 1 in trade was some of the best cash I’ve ever spent on a comic series. It’s refreshing to read such great stories. The concept behind Sex Criminals shouldn’t work, but it does in every single way. As I turned each page of the trade, I never knew what to expect. That is a great thing when you can go into a series completely blind, with no expectations. I so can’t wait til I can get the Volume 2 trade and read more of this wonderful series! Chip Zdarsky’s art is immaculate in this, again an artist that was new to me. However everything he draws and colors is wonderfully done. Obviously this title IS NOT MEANT for KIDS! I’ll recommend it to any of my friends though if they want a laugh out loud fun ride. So you might be asking, why is it only number 3….. Well while I do love the series and would put it in the number 1 spot on any other list… I have two more series that are just as equally awesome to me. For more in depth thoughts check out the TPB Jeremy Fein and I did on Sex Criminals Volume 1 HERE!

2 C.O.W.L. (Image Comics)

COWL Volume 1

C.O.W.L. from Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel, and Rod Reis is yet another NEW title I’ve found out about. Pretty much since I follow Kyle on twitter and stuff. Plus I knew about his short film The League. Which is what C.O.W.L. is based on. A Superhero Labor Union in Chicago 1962 you say… well why the hell not? I’m not generally very much of a political person, and this book delves into politics quite a bit in the first story arc “Principles of Power”. That really doesn’t bother me at all though. Because Kyle and Alec are crafting a story where Superheroes seem more real than in other books. Kyle and Alec give us a look at each character in the series. The first 5 issues of it are all somewhat character driven. At the same time the story gives the overall jest as to what C.O.W.L. has to go up against! It’s not natural disasters or supervillains… it’s the City of Chicago itself! Check out Dane Lamont from Punisher Body Count and I as we talk about the first trade in TPB. You can listen to that HERE!

COWL Sessions Ad

Plus any comic that has its own SOUNDTRACK has to be an awesome read right? Go join C.O.W.L. today!!!!

1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Publishing)

TMNT #37

We were in the middle of the Northampton arc when 2014 started for the TMNT and IDW! When 2014 ended we were at the beginning of Attack on Technodrome in issue #41. Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, and Kevin Eastman have given us the BEST TMNT comic ever. They’ve done this consistently for 4 years now! This year in TMNT had us going through Hobb building his mutant army, Shredder Vs Krang, and plenty of character development for all the characters involved. If I had any complaint about the main series is that there’s no storyline dealing with April. I know we’ll get there, but it seems like April is just background. Sure there is the whole April Casey relationship. However I know this creative team will bring us stories with her in time. Everyone whether you are die-hard Mirage fans or not…. NEED to check this series out. Every issue is emotionally charged, whether that be emotional or high stakes action. The reason why TMNT is my number one series of 2014 is because I enjoy every single issue. We have a ton of TMNT Coverage you can Click HERE for the search results to hear Joe and I reviewing the series!

Final Thoughts:

There ya go folks. It has been an interesting year for comics for me. I believe I’ve really broadened my horizons on reading comics in 2014! I have so many different comics I’ll be covering in 2015, and I can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store for all the comics I love to read! Check out my cohort MovieRevolt Dan’s Top 10 Comics list from 2014, you can read that HERE! Remember to make your GREAT ESCAPE into Comics!

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TFG1Mike

TFG1Mike is a geek with many interests. He has been podcasting for over a decade, and sees no stopping point in sight. From Transformers, He-Man, Batman, Comics, movies, video games, cartoons, and so much more, Mike has a zeal for the things he loves, and he will bring the hammer down on the things that he has a disdain for. He's generally a postive person, but negativity can creep in there. Mike is all about the innuendos and innuendon'ts too. You'll hear him on many of The GCRN podcasts!

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