The thought process here may go all over the place, but I just wanted to express how I felt about the previous year in comics. I'm really not a TPB guy, and I don't buy that many hard-bound editions, so . . I'm sticking strictly to the comic medium. My first thoughts would be to pick my top 10. I know a lot of people probably won't agree with me, but, that's the beauty of this medium, I'm just expressing my opinion. First of all, I think the revamping of the big 2, with DC . . . Justice League, and Justice Society . . . turned them in to 2 of the best team books on the market right now. I think they're even better than some of the X-Men titles. Mainly because of the writing. Geoff Johns and Brad Meltzer have really brought a new quality to both of these books. So I'd have to say that they're #1 (JLA) and #2 (JSA) on my list. And, #3 on my
list is going to have to go to another DC "group" book . . . the Teen Titans. They've been doing a revamping over the last couple of years, and I really like what the teams been doing. It's a fantastic bunch of characters, and I just think they get more and more interesting with every issue. With #4, I think I'd rather go towards a theme, than necessarily an individual character. And that theme is the All*Star line with DC. Right now there's only 2 books . . I'm not sure why, there were hints of more to come . . . but, the characters and the talent producing them are all incredible. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on Superman, and Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman. They really are like 2 dream books. With #5 I'll have to go with the X-Men in general. There's such a plethora of characters and titles, that it's hard to single it down to just one. And I'm sure everybody has their own opinion and reason as to who they like the most. Personally, I think that the Exiles was one of their best titles. I've expounded on my reasoning for that numerous times, so if you're interested, take a look. #6 is going to have to go to a creator owned book. Yes it started out with WildStorm, but now it's an independent. And 
that book is The Boys. This book really pushes the boundaries of traditional super-hero lore. And it really opens up whole new areas of ideas and possibilities. Add to that, it's exceptionally written and drawn, and you truly have a fantastic book. I would have to give #7 to the Countdown series. And the reason I like this book so much is really divergent. First of all I have to respect the scope of the project they're attempting. They're putting out a weekly title, and have been
doing so for about a year and a half now. Add to that the variety of characters and stories that they're following here. It's just incredible. And finally, the fact that what's happening here will impact the DC Universe for years to come. This isn't just a story to tell a story. When all's said and done, things will change. Characters will be different, and really the whole DC Universe, as a whole, will be in a different place. Heck, they're even ending the Fourth world saga. The scope of the ambition they have for this book, and it's various story-lines, is truly incredible. #8 is just one of my personal favorites . . Wolverine. I really like what they've done with this character, and the series, this year. I'm really happy to see the Wolverine Origins book every month. And both titles have done a superb job as far as writing and the quality of the art. I still have to say that I'm a person with whom story quality goes a lot farther than flashy art. It's great when you can get the 2 together. But, if I had to pick, to me, 
the story is much more important. But, it's a visual medium, so . . what am I gonna' do? Another personal favorite of mine is #9 . . . Ultimate Spider-man. I really enjoy the whole Ultimate line of comics. I think they're some of the best titles out there. But, out of them, Spider-man is my favorite. Plus, it really is the best written one. We get to see Peter when he was a teen-ager, and all the angst and indecision that goes with it. This book really draws you in and makes you care about the character. And with #10 I'm gonna' have to go with the Batman title. And this is mainly because of Grant Morrison's writing. There have been some fantastic story-lines over the year, and he's drawn in an incredible stable of artists. This book, all around, has really been a rock this year. Now, that's not to say that there's not a whole lot of other good books out there. Marvel is really stepping up it's game, I think, with the talent on it's books. They seem to be getting a lot more aggressive about going after certain writers or artists. Of course DC is doing that too. And both of them are really doing an impressive job with their imprint lines. Dynamite Entertainment seems to be coming on strong. And Avatar, and Brian Pulido are 
putting out an awful lot of Lady Death books. I just hope they can survive the market. And as always, the market is faced with rising fuel costs, rising wages and lower disposable incomes. Personally, I think, they somehow need to get the consumer to think of the books as an investment. I know all of us collectors do. But not everyone who buys them does. And I think, the best way to do that, especially since I'm sure book prices will be going up, is to lower print runs. That's not to say you can't have a second or third printing. But, there should be a finite number of issues available. Say 50,000 or 75,000. Then maybe another 30,000 on reprints. They'll end up selling the same amount of books, but the initial print will be more collectible. But, that's just my opinion. To me, this is a fantastic medium. I love the books, I love the characters, and I love the rush of going to my local shop every Wednesday to find my new treasures. I also enjoy collecting from E-bay. But, in the end, that's still not as enjoyable as going in to the shop, talking to the guy behind the counter, looking at all the new books spread out before me, and smelling that smell of paper and plastic. I still remember, when I was a kid, they built this new mall in town. Before that, I had to go to local drive-thru and buy books off of the comic rack. You know. That round aluminum spindly thing that rotated and squeaked. We had no comic shops at that time. Anyways, in the mall they had a book-shop. Cigar and tobacco store actually. But that was just on one side. The whole rest of the store was magazine's and comics. So that became my new place to go to every week. But I usually ended up spending a couple of hours there because the comics came in with all the rest of their magazines and I had to wait for them to put them all out before I was allowed to start picking things up. So, in all that time I spent in that store, I began associating the smell of tobacco with my love for comics. I don't smoke. But, I do enjoy the smell of fresh tobacco. Not cigarette's, per se. But the smell of fresh tobacco, and chew, and cigars. And to this day, I still associate that smell with comics and that store. Anyways, my point is that I really do love this medium. And I feel that I've gone through a lot for that love week after week. Between finding them, finding the money for them, all the time reading and bagging and organizing, and, unfortunately all the peers and jeers of my friends. Well . . not all of them, but most of them. But you know what? It was always worth it. And right now I feel that the talent on these books is probably the best it's ever been. I'm not diminishing anybody from the past. Berni Wrightson, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Marshall Rogers . . . etc, etc, etc, . . . were all icons in their field. I just feel that the medium, as a whole, with the variety of talent it has to pick from, is probably at the best place it's ever been. And I would just loathe to see the factors of the world market ever bring that medium crashing down and diminished to obscurity. So we, as readers and collectors, have to do everything we can to support this medium. Heck, it's been around for about 70 years now. And it's weathered a lot of turmoil. But, I think, it's followers have been the ones to keep it alive. Year, after year, after year. So to me, with everything that's happened in this market in the last 5 to 10 years, and the fact that the quality of books being printed right now is so strong, it's a testament to the resiliency of this medium. But, as always, it's future is in your hands. 2007 was a really good year. It would be nice if they could all be this strong.
list is going to have to go to another DC "group" book . . . the Teen Titans. They've been doing a revamping over the last couple of years, and I really like what the teams been doing. It's a fantastic bunch of characters, and I just think they get more and more interesting with every issue. With #4, I think I'd rather go towards a theme, than necessarily an individual character. And that theme is the All*Star line with DC. Right now there's only 2 books . . I'm not sure why, there were hints of more to come . . . but, the characters and the talent producing them are all incredible. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on Superman, and Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman. They really are like 2 dream books. With #5 I'll have to go with the X-Men in general. There's such a plethora of characters and titles, that it's hard to single it down to just one. And I'm sure everybody has their own opinion and reason as to who they like the most. Personally, I think that the Exiles was one of their best titles. I've expounded on my reasoning for that numerous times, so if you're interested, take a look. #6 is going to have to go to a creator owned book. Yes it started out with WildStorm, but now it's an independent. And 
that book is The Boys. This book really pushes the boundaries of traditional super-hero lore. And it really opens up whole new areas of ideas and possibilities. Add to that, it's exceptionally written and drawn, and you truly have a fantastic book. I would have to give #7 to the Countdown series. And the reason I like this book so much is really divergent. First of all I have to respect the scope of the project they're attempting. They're putting out a weekly title, and have been
doing so for about a year and a half now. Add to that the variety of characters and stories that they're following here. It's just incredible. And finally, the fact that what's happening here will impact the DC Universe for years to come. This isn't just a story to tell a story. When all's said and done, things will change. Characters will be different, and really the whole DC Universe, as a whole, will be in a different place. Heck, they're even ending the Fourth world saga. The scope of the ambition they have for this book, and it's various story-lines, is truly incredible. #8 is just one of my personal favorites . . Wolverine. I really like what they've done with this character, and the series, this year. I'm really happy to see the Wolverine Origins book every month. And both titles have done a superb job as far as writing and the quality of the art. I still have to say that I'm a person with whom story quality goes a lot farther than flashy art. It's great when you can get the 2 together. But, if I had to pick, to me, 
the story is much more important. But, it's a visual medium, so . . what am I gonna' do? Another personal favorite of mine is #9 . . . Ultimate Spider-man. I really enjoy the whole Ultimate line of comics. I think they're some of the best titles out there. But, out of them, Spider-man is my favorite. Plus, it really is the best written one. We get to see Peter when he was a teen-ager, and all the angst and indecision that goes with it. This book really draws you in and makes you care about the character. And with #10 I'm gonna' have to go with the Batman title. And this is mainly because of Grant Morrison's writing. There have been some fantastic story-lines over the year, and he's drawn in an incredible stable of artists. This book, all around, has really been a rock this year. Now, that's not to say that there's not a whole lot of other good books out there. Marvel is really stepping up it's game, I think, with the talent on it's books. They seem to be getting a lot more aggressive about going after certain writers or artists. Of course DC is doing that too. And both of them are really doing an impressive job with their imprint lines. Dynamite Entertainment seems to be coming on strong. And Avatar, and Brian Pulido are 
putting out an awful lot of Lady Death books. I just hope they can survive the market. And as always, the market is faced with rising fuel costs, rising wages and lower disposable incomes. Personally, I think, they somehow need to get the consumer to think of the books as an investment. I know all of us collectors do. But not everyone who buys them does. And I think, the best way to do that, especially since I'm sure book prices will be going up, is to lower print runs. That's not to say you can't have a second or third printing. But, there should be a finite number of issues available. Say 50,000 or 75,000. Then maybe another 30,000 on reprints. They'll end up selling the same amount of books, but the initial print will be more collectible. But, that's just my opinion. To me, this is a fantastic medium. I love the books, I love the characters, and I love the rush of going to my local shop every Wednesday to find my new treasures. I also enjoy collecting from E-bay. But, in the end, that's still not as enjoyable as going in to the shop, talking to the guy behind the counter, looking at all the new books spread out before me, and smelling that smell of paper and plastic. I still remember, when I was a kid, they built this new mall in town. Before that, I had to go to local drive-thru and buy books off of the comic rack. You know. That round aluminum spindly thing that rotated and squeaked. We had no comic shops at that time. Anyways, in the mall they had a book-shop. Cigar and tobacco store actually. But that was just on one side. The whole rest of the store was magazine's and comics. So that became my new place to go to every week. But I usually ended up spending a couple of hours there because the comics came in with all the rest of their magazines and I had to wait for them to put them all out before I was allowed to start picking things up. So, in all that time I spent in that store, I began associating the smell of tobacco with my love for comics. I don't smoke. But, I do enjoy the smell of fresh tobacco. Not cigarette's, per se. But the smell of fresh tobacco, and chew, and cigars. And to this day, I still associate that smell with comics and that store. Anyways, my point is that I really do love this medium. And I feel that I've gone through a lot for that love week after week. Between finding them, finding the money for them, all the time reading and bagging and organizing, and, unfortunately all the peers and jeers of my friends. Well . . not all of them, but most of them. But you know what? It was always worth it. And right now I feel that the talent on these books is probably the best it's ever been. I'm not diminishing anybody from the past. Berni Wrightson, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Marshall Rogers . . . etc, etc, etc, . . . were all icons in their field. I just feel that the medium, as a whole, with the variety of talent it has to pick from, is probably at the best place it's ever been. And I would just loathe to see the factors of the world market ever bring that medium crashing down and diminished to obscurity. So we, as readers and collectors, have to do everything we can to support this medium. Heck, it's been around for about 70 years now. And it's weathered a lot of turmoil. But, I think, it's followers have been the ones to keep it alive. Year, after year, after year. So to me, with everything that's happened in this market in the last 5 to 10 years, and the fact that the quality of books being printed right now is so strong, it's a testament to the resiliency of this medium. But, as always, it's future is in your hands. 2007 was a really good year. It would be nice if they could all be this strong.
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