In theory, this list will get updated to actually stay "current."
It doesn't seriously need to be said that this is all just my opinion, does it?
In some particular order:
It's a shame about the slow schedule, because this really should have been the event comic for Marvel in 2011. It's the resolution to the Scarlet Witch along with Allan Heiberg and Jimmy Cheung's return to the Young Avengers. The quality of this series, barring that one lazy and crap oneshot tie-in, completely blows away Fear Itself and Schism.
This is Greg Rucka's return to Marvel. Of course I love it. I've been dying for a well written and serious Punisher set in the Marvel Universe. Rucka delivers on that. Not only that but the art by Marco Checchetto is freaking incredible. There is a hell of a supporting cast in the making here as well with Bolt, Clemons, Winters and Alves.
That's right. As of the New 52. this is my new favorite Bat-title. I'm loving the world-building Judd Winick is doing with Batwing in the relatively unexplored (as far as DC is concerned) continent of Africa. Batwing wouldn't have been my first choice of Batman, Incorporated characters to spin out into their own series, but I have been totally won over by this book. Now, I can't imagine my previous top choices being as good as this is. Sorry, Nightrunner. I still love you too, tough.
Here's the thing. I'm a Kyle Rayner fan. I understand the logic behind why he wouldn't have worked as the main Green Lantern in Geoff Johns' big renovation of the franchise, and I do like Hal Jordan more than I did before. But I remain a Kyle Rayner fan. With Tony Bedard, I feel like we have for the first time in quite a awhile a writer who is also a Kyle Rayner fan. That makes me happy and makes this my favorite title in the Green Lantern franchise. This is also the only Green Lantern title that feels like it is doing something new and exciting. Sorry, but Sinestro has always been the star of the main title. They're just admitting it now.
This book makes vampires cool again. It's not about sexy vampires and romance. It's about vampires. It's about vampires who exist in a variety of breeds depending on where they are from. I love how inventive that idea is, and it is used to great effect in this series. There are a lot of excellent creator owned series out there, but it's American Vampire that I wait for every month.
I have to admit... I like this better than the main Captain America title. After the split, I found that this is the book that kept most of the qualities that I had been enjoying about Ed Brubaker's run. We have Bucky Barnes, the war flashbacks and the gritty intrigue while the main title leaned more toward just superheroics, which is fine because I still like that book too. But Captain America and Bucky is the series I look forward to more.
When Ultimatum hit, I fell off of the Ultimate Universe. The Death of Spider-Man brought me back, and Miles Morales is basically everything DC's New 52 wishes it could have been. This is a new and well done relaunch that is rich with interesting possibilities. I really, really look forward to see how Miles develops in the Ultimate Universe moreso than anything going on with Spider-Man in the regular Marvel Universe. And I say this as someone who considers Spider-Man his favorite character.
As exciting as the potential for Schism and Regenesis was for the X-books, the results fell pretty flat overall, leaving me appreciating the one X-book that has been consistently great for a long time even more. X-Factor has made me a fan of characters I never thought I would get into. I'm still shocked that I actually like Longshot now.
Scott Snyder's Detective Comics was previously in my Top 9, so it's not surprise that his Batman ends up on it now. It's the same fantastic stuff by a writing who clearly gets Batman's world. The only reason this is lower on my list than Detective Comics was is because I have to admit to liking the art there a little better than Greg Capullo's art here.
