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TFG1Mike’s Top 10 Comics Of 2015

TFG1Mike’s Top 10 Comics of 2015

Here you will find TFG1Mike’s Top 10 Comics of 2015! Most of these are going to be overall series Mike enjoyed reading in 2015! From DC, IDW, and Zenescope 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 third year online will know I’ve vastly broadened my comic reading horizons… Even moreso than last year. At the same time I’ve also stuck with what I know I like. This year was more about discovering new interpretations on classic properties, and finding comics that were not just your regular superhero fanfare. Obviously I can’t get to everything ever released this year. Plus NOT everything will peak my interest. Because I’m doing overall BEST Series of 2015… some issues might have come out in 2014, but they will all be current releases from 2015. 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 just as it was last year, mainly because these are series I attempted to read, but never followed through in reading them. There are a number of GREAT Comics out there. Ones I started, but never continued with are as follows… Descender,(<–want to go back to it) Bitch Planet (<–doubt I’ll go back to it), Batman & Robin Eternal….  I read the first issue, and just never went back. Had too many comics to cover in The Pull Bag. Sex Criminals…. I loved this series in the beginning. The first 5 issues are golden. After reading and reviewing Volume 2… I just lost interest. Then there is Star Wars: Darth Vader. LOVED this series in the beginning. Again I cite time getting away from me and just not catching up. I will though. And there will be Marvel Star Wars coverage next year inside The Pull Bag! Well that’s about it for honorable mentions, now let us get to the countdown!

10 Bat-Mite (2015) (DC Comics)

So I finally finished reading Bat-Mite. I had dropped off at issue #3… only because life got in the way. However after finishing the series… I have to say that Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell have done an amazing job on this miniseries! Dan’s writing and Corin’s art are amazing all around. I love how Bat-Mite essentially talks like Adam West Batman. That is just such an awesome nod. While Bat-Mite made me laugh so hard every issue…. the reason why it’s at #10 is because there were nine other series that rocked me to the core from 2015. Bat-Mite did really give me lots of laughs though. Especially issue #3, when he had to help Damian Wayne. The series really came full circle in the final issue, and I just can’t wait to see when there is more of this series. Because at the end of issue #6 it says… definitely not the end….. So I’m hoping Jurgens and Howell will return!!

9 Batman Beyond (2015) (DC Comics)

Bringing Batman Beyond into the DC Universe…. I was VERY Skeptical. I read the Futures End Issue #0 and really loved the way they set up HOW Terry would be in the main DCU. However I just felt at the time the DCAU should have continued in comic form, past the end of Kyle Higgins’ run. However after reading the first 6 issues…. I’m very pleased with where Dan Jurgens has taken the series. The writing on this series so far is stellar. Anyone that has read Future’s End will know that Terry McGinnis died, and Tim Drake got sent into the future. I think that is the ONLY REASON why I’m OK with this new series. Because it isn’t Jurgens attempting to write NEW Terry stories outside of the DCAU… and inside the New 52 DCU. With Tim Drake under the mask now, and holding up the mantle. I really am digging this book! Bernard Chang on art is amazing. This was the first time I had seen anything that he had done. But he really gets the Bat Beyond Universe…. and creates amazing as well as Marcelo Maiolo on colors. I mean DAMN some of the BEST DC Colors out there right now are in this book! Will most definitely continue reading this series… as long as it runs!!

8 Knight Rider (Lion Forge Comics-IDW Publishing)

A SHADOWY FLIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF A MAN WHO DOESN’T EXIST!! This is more of a shadowy flight into the world of KNIGHT RIDER comics!!! I have yet to write-up my review of the first trade of Lion Forge’s KNIGHT RIDER, but after reading it… I can tell you that this series is amazing!!! Jesse Post over at Lion Forge Comics contacted me over the Holiday Season, because he saw I posted the Airwolf AirStrikes preview that IDW had. He then sent me the first Knight Rider trade, along with the Airwolf one. (I will write those reviews soon Jesse!!) These trades came in the mail that my old monitor died. So I had something to do other than just post blindly on Twitter. From the back of the trade the creative team on this is as follows…. Boldly written and illustrated by Geoffrey Thorne, Jason Johnson, Shannon Eric Denton, and Brian Denham. I have to say without getting in too deep that this is an amazing modern-day take on Knight Rider. The art is amazing, and the writing is very well done. They give you a spin on the Michael Knight and K.I.T.T. origin story, and then add so much more. Any fan of Knight Rider should grab this and read away!!!!! Because one comic book company can make a difference!

7 GFT 10th Anniversary Specials (2015) (Zenescope Entertainment)

I’ve found Zenescope Entertainment to be my NEW #1 publisher to go to these days. They are doing amazing things over there. One of the things that they did this year was celebrate their 10th Anniversary. Doing this gave us 6 10th Anniversary one shots. There was Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood, Death, Cinderella, and Van Helsing. I’ve read 5 of the 6 books. And so far I have loved them all. However Red Riding Hood is my number one overall favorite. With the Cinderella issue coming in as my number two favorite. There are multiple creators on these issues, and I have to say they each bring such excellence to the stories and art. As I said I have yet to read the Van Helsing one… but the other five are all very enjoyable. I hope they do more one shots like this. Especially the Jeff Massey written Red Riding Hood. I want more after the events of that issue!

6  He-Man The Eternity War (2015) (DC Comics)

The MOST POWERFUL MAN AND WOMAN IN THE UNIVERSE!!! He-Man The Eternity War features both He-Man and She-ra. It’s a continuation from the 2013 ongoing DC Comics did. Eternity War is the comic MOTU fans have wanted and deserved for years! Dan Abnett and Pop Mhan… with a few other guest artists along with Mark Roberts on colors are great. This is a He-Man story that brings us all kinds of cool aspects of the MOTU brand. It is coming in at number 5 on my list, because I feel that the current King Hissss storyline is being dragged out too long. I just am not a fan of the character. However everything else these creators have done with the book is epic.

5 Back to the Future (IDW Publishing)

DO YOU KNOW THAT THIS MEANS……? When this baby hits 88 miles per hour….. you’re gonna see some serious shit!!! IDW’s Back to the Future started off as a 4 issue miniseries, and now it has become a full blown ongoing. Admittedly I’ve only read the first issue, but that issue was just so damn good. I had to put it on my list. The first issue and the first four issues are Wild Tales and Alternate Timelines. In issue #1 we see how Marty and Doc first met. Then in the same issue we have a story of how Doc Brown got on The Manhattan Project. I can’t wait to dive into more issues within this series.

4 Robyn Hood (Ongoing) (Zenescope Entertainment)

Robyn Hood from Zenescope has been awesome!!! The ongoing launched last year, and Pat Shand has been kicking ass in it. What I’ve loved about the Robyn Hood title… which was my introduction to Zenescope Entertainment… is that it takes what we think we know of the Robyn Hood legend… and then turns it on its head! With the ongoing we get a really cool story from Pat Shand, and amazing art by Roberta Ingranata. Shand’s sharp wit along with the art and colors make this series so fun. If you haven’t checked it out yet… you need to do so. Why is RH so high on my list?? Well it is one of the 10 comics series that I can’t wait to read every time a new issue gets released. Pat Shand’s writing of Robyn, Marian, and the rest of the cast is just so damn good. I never know, and can’t guess what is coming next.

3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW)

Well 2015 started with the second part of Attack on Technodrome! After that IDW’s TMNT kicked into extremely high gear. We had the “DEATH OF DONATELLO”, and then the road to issue #50. TMNT didn’t get my top spot this year, because there were two series I wanted to put higher this year.  We have a ton of TMNT Coverage you can Click HERE for the post that has all the TMNT podcasts that Joe and I have done! TMNT has been going strong at IDW for 4 almost 5 years now. The creative team has really made this series a love letter to the entire TMNT franchise. With writing by Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman, and sometimes Bobby Curnow… and many many different artists… TMNT crafts a tale that you really wanna read. This year Waltz and company made me cry twice!!! This series is such an emotional rollercoaster… if you have ever been a TMNT fan you need to check this out.

2 Jem and the Holograms (IDW)

It hasn’t been quite a full year yet since Jem launched at IDW. However the series has won fans over. Well most of us. Kelly Thompson’s writing is insightful, emotionally charged, fun, and fuuny. Sophie Campbell’s art is intriguing, energetic, and also emotionally charged. If you are a fan of the classic animated series…. this comic takes it and gives us a 21st Century look at what Jem would be like today. Thompson’s writing is both funny and emotional. She has crafted all these classic characters into new, yet familiar versions of themselves. The first ten issues of the series, along with the annual, and Holiday Special….. are all stellar in my opinion. Sure there are minor nitpicks, and I’ve made a few. However the direction the story is being taken in gives us something we never had 30 years ago. So be truly outrageous and go get Jem and the Holograms!! Also you can hear all our in-depth reviews inside THE PULL BAG HERE!<–click to get to the podcasts!

1 Long Distance (IDW Publishing)

WE ALL KNOW long distance relationships generally do not work. Well Thom Zahler proves us wrong. That’s right coming in at my number one comic series of the year is Zahler and IDW’s Long Distance. I wrote an in depth review back in September which you can READ HERE! I say in that review that I was in a LDR a long time ago, and that’s why this series really struck a good nerve with me. The funny thing is now as I’m writing my Top 10 Comics of 2015… I’m in a NEW Long Distance Relationship, and again moreso then when I wrote the review… Zahler’s series here really hits home for me. All the characters from the main two… Carter and Lee… to their friends Stephanie, Tim, and Lisa…. to Gram….. even the Bat-Kid in the first issue. Zahler has crafted a love story for the ages! If you haven’t read this yet…… you can get the TRADE PAPERBACK NOW!!! Since this series has been out… I DARE say I’ve read it 15 to 20 times since the original release. I just find so much enjoyment out of it with every new reading of it. I even interviewed Thom Zahler. You can check that interview out HERE!

Final Thoughts:

There ya go folks. 2015 has been an explosive year for comics. I’m very happy with all the titles I’ve found this year! I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for all the comics I love to read! What are YOUR Top 10 Comics of 2015?  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!

3 Comments

  1. Long Distance is quite good. I would recommend going back to Bitch Planet and Descender both have been really good.

  2. Long Distance is quite good. I would recommend going back to Bitch Planet and Descender both have been really good.

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