My "Best Of", Vol. 1

So I was reading a few "best of" lists, and seeing a few things I've quite enjoyed over the years pop up got me thinking about a few of my own personal "best ofs". So, assuming my tastes are as valued by an anonymous reader as they are by myself, here's a list of comic books that were I stranded on the deserted island and not driven to madness through a lack of nourishment and exposure to the sun, I'd be content re-reading until being rescued at some later date.

Deadpool (volume three) #1-25, by Joe Kelly, Ed McGuinness, Pete Woods, Walter McDaniel, and others

I'm thrilled that Marvel Comics has finally gotten around to collecting this run, since it's pretty much the gold standard of comic book serialized storytelling for me. Not only did writer Joe Kelly and artists Ed McGuinness, Pete Woods, and Walter McDaniel define Deadpool so effectively that the character has remained a headlining title character since this series began back in late 1996, but they told a story that rivals the best of TV's long-form storytelling back before it was the norm for TV or comics. And the best thing is they did without the slightest hint that it was the plan all along, or without compromising Deadpool's character, a feat all the more impressive when you realize the story ended with Deadpool saving the world from an other-worldly "menace" (curious what I mean, then read the books). The upswing in Deadpool's popularity thanks to his well-received current series and appearance in the Wolverine film has given Marvel a perfect opportunity to get around to reprinting the entire run (preferably in their popular omnibus format), especially since the last collection ended just shy of the acclaimed and as-yet unprinted eleventh issue that "inserted" Deadpool into an old issue of Spider-Man. Either way, it's great that folks are checking out these old issues through the reprints or original issues, since it's worthy of the attention.

X-Force (volume one) #116-129, by Peter Milligan, Mike Allred, and others

I've written about the Milligan-Allred X-Force before so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but these issues are so subversively brilliant that I can say enough good things about them. Sold as a media satire told through superheroes with Peter Milligan's razor-sharp wit and the old-school style of Mike Allred, the brilliance of this run for me was how strongly I felt toward the characters by the final issue. As their layers were peeled back during the highly enjoyable run, the fact that the characters that seemed shallow and self-involved were as fully realized as any character I've ever seen elevated the series to a special place, and made me kick myself for not following the run more regularly as it was first coming out (I stopped four issues in, only coming back to the series after seeing the cast profiled in Marvel's Handbook series). The run continued for an additional twenty-five issues as X-Statix, but these first fourteen are the cream of the crop for me (admittedly because of the death of one of the leads at the end of this series, a character whose absence was so keenly felt that the first year of X-Statix devoted two issues to the character, as though to admit the creative team was as aware of the void as the readership was).

Well, that's the first part of my "Best Of". I'll add the rest of my ramblings soon.

Things I Kind of Wish Were Still Around: Volume One

I can't remember how or why this popped into my head just now, but the more I remember Marvel Comics' X-Force/X-Statix, the more I wish they were still around in some capacity.

Honestly though, there's an appeal to something that ends after a good sized run of stories over a handful of years. X-Force/X-Statix ran regularly for three years and forty issues from 2001 through 2004, with an additional five issues in 2006; not a bad run by any stretch, and not unlike the brief runs of other things I've enjoyed (The Office, Arrested Development, Veronica Mars, Justice League Unlimited). That's not to say I enjoyed the run as it was coming out, not entirely -- while I followed the early issues of X-Force based on the previews of Mike Allred's artwork, I stopped following the series with #119. Not because of the quality of the titles, but mostly because I started my first year of college and kept mostly to series I'd been following for more than four issues in lieu of ridiculous expenses. Over the next few years I kept up with the series through the odd issue discovered in dollar bins, finding about five or six that way.

It wasn't until the release of the 2006 five issue limited series X-Statix: Deadgirl and the various character profiles in the monthly Marvel Handbooks out at the time, that my fondness for the series was stirred full-on. I started with the second volume of X-Force, figuring that since I'd read all but one of the issues in the first volume I was fine (I should add for folks curious, that the whole run started with issue #116 of X-Force, ending with issue #129, and then relaunching with #1 of X-Statix for another 26 issues). Thankfully once I'd finally tracked down a copy of the out-of-print first volume I found a nice twist at the end of the missing issue. From there I started buying up X-Statix volumes, finding all but the third which introduced a Princess Diana analogue intended to have been the real-deal until Marvel got squeamish (and, if allegations are true, it was this bit of business that upset the X-Statix boat and lead to the end of the run).

The bright side though to a run being cut short like that in mid-stream is that it doesn't run the risk of growing stale or repetitive, and because it was contained to a few years it usually hasn't gone off in different directions and tangents with new characters (usually at the expense of older characters) and reads or watches more like a novel. And because the run was so short it's easier to review the whole thing in one go over a few days or a week, the long-form equivalent of a single-sitting, I suppose.

(It's at this point I pause to caution that, while reviewing this posting before hitting the "publish" button, I noticed a few spoilers below, so if you haven't read the series or if it's been long enough that some of the story bits aren't widely known, I advise against continuing, at least until the last image.)

Peter Milligan and Mike Allred crafted a remarkable series that was set in Marvel Comics Universe but fit into it's own little corner, only touching lightly on events or situations happening concurrently (while similarly being seldom referred to during to during said events or situations outside of the rare group-shot or handbook). Sure the "high-concept" take on the book was superheroes-as-celebrities, but the big appeal was in the characters. The four leads -- the Orphan, the Anarchist, U-Go Girl (who, despite having died at the end of the first major arc, continued to factor heavily into the series), and Doop, quite possibly Marvel Comics most ingenious creation: A mutant potato with it's own language and power on-par with the Mighty Thor. It's understandable that X-Force/X-Statix has been pretty much kept to the side of things when one of it's leads bears that kind of character description, but come on -- that's bloody brilliant. One of my favorite call-backs to the series in Marvel's similarly clever but more successful series Runaways is the Doop doll owned by one of the leads. I could give or take the X-Men story by Milligan that brought back Doop because of how oblique the whole thing was though.

Sadly the whole X-Force/X-Statix series is out of print. I really wish they'd revisit it down the line since the run stands as one of my favorites and, like myself, I'm sure Marvel would find new fans for the series who missed out the first time. It's really an example of comic book perfection for me. Not to say it doesn't falter or that the quality is consistently top-notch, but it's emensly enjoyable and ultimately satisfying -- even the Deadgirl series, which is a nice coda for the run, wrapped up in a engaging bit of story in it's own right. If you, dear reader, are lucky enough to find either the issues are collected editions, I heartily recommend snapping them up, since you're in for a treat.

And that's the story of something I kind of wish was still around (but it'd be fine that it isn't, so long as the books were still in print).