Scores of cool mutants Xavier must wrangle
Blue skinned man’s junk before Supes it does dangle
Little Bird’s knife blade deep cuts as it swings
These are a few of my favorite things
Robotic doggies unleash devastation
Infected surfers witness maker’s creation
Shredding hot metal Murder Falcon he brings
These are a few of my favorite things
The Princess of Power’s world it does shatter
Green-skinned goliath pursues causes that matter
Horrific Black Barns the madness bell rings
These are a few of my favorite things
Diamond misships
Then my beer spills
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad
Slice of Heaven For the Year!
Happy holidays, Denizens! What a crazy year 2019 has been. It was markedly better than the awfulness that was 2018 for this here Donist, but it definitely had its stressors: selling a house, buying a new place, packing and moving, and dealing with a seemingly unending array of repairs both expected and unexpected. I had some grand expectations for myself with a new position I took at work and I am fairly happy with the way things are going on that front. I also got some vindication around some 2018 nonsense, but it’s best not to go into that. Amy the Intern (my wife) had some health setbacks, but she is on the mend and the coming year should hopefully be better for her. I work with an amazing group of people at my day job, my puppy executive team at Donist World is without compare, and I am thankful for all of the Denizens who continue to read Donist World. I wish the best for you all in 2020. I also have high hopes to see a certain Dotard and his co-conspirators behind bars where they all belong...fingers crossed.
***Probably NOT spoilers below***
If you have a moment, check out our past Slice of Heaven Year-End Roundups to see what’s stayed the same and what’s changed over the years. I had quite a few pleasant surprises this year, so let’s get to it!
Donist World Top 10 Favorite Comic Series of 2019 (In No Particular Order)
Ascender
(Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, published by Image Comics)
Murder Falcon
(Everythinged by Daniel Warren Johnson, colored by Mike Spicer, published by Image Comics)
Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
(Everythinged by Daniel Warren Johnson, colored by Mike Spicer, published by DC Comics on their Black Label)
I know, I know. “Only one issue of this four-issue limited series came out this year, so how the heck can you include it as one of your favorite comics for an entire year?!" Well, simple: my site, my rules, and I was honestly moved by this single comic. It was also another Johnson book that had some great monsters, battles, and backgrounds. Equal part mystery and post-apocalyptic nightmare, Wonder Woman awakens many years in the future to find the heroes of Earth are dead and/or gone and her powers are greatly diminished. Monsters roam the wastelands as the remnants of humanity continue their wicked ways and attempt to dominate one another as resources run scarce and hope dwindles. But with Diana’s return, humankind sees a sliver of light shining amidst the darkness as the Princess of Power encounters old friends/enemies as she attempts to understand how she became cryogenically frozen and what really happened to her world and its heroes. Not only does this oversized, double-length comic give you a form factor that allows you to see Johnson’s stunning art in all of its glory, but the story also pulls you in and won’t let you go until you reach its end. I’m fairly certain you will be seeing this comic featured in 2020’s Year-End Roundup this time next year.
Silver Surfer Black
(Written by Donny Cates, illustrated by Tradd Moore, colored by Dave Stewart, published by Marvel Comics)
Marvel is at their best when they take risks such as bringing us some non-standard comic book fare. Indeed, Silver Surfer Black is unlike any of Marvel’s other comics on the shelves thanks to the mind-bending beauty of Moore’s tripadelic art that is pushed to heavenly heights by Stewart’s gloriously flat and brilliantly vibrant colors. Even if the story was about something dumb like the Surfer delivering some lost mail across the galaxy, the art alone would make the five-issue miniseries a must-buy comic. Thankfully, the story is well worth the price of admission, too. Here, Cates has the Surfer confront Knull the God of the Symbiotes, travel back in time, weigh killing a destroyer of galaxies before he is even born, and teaming up with a young Ego the Living Planet all while the Surfer is slowly consumed by Knull’s darkness. This five-issue series was a wonderful surprise and one you should definitely pick up as the oversized Silver Surfer Black Treasury Edition which I am going to order later this afternoon so I can enjoy Moore’s art at an even larger scale. Dang, I hope hope hope these two join forces for a followup of some sort in 2020.
Little Bird
(Written by Darcy Van Poelgeest, illustrated by Ian Bertram, colored by Matt Hollingsworth, lettered by Aditya Bidikar, designed by Ben Didier, published by Image Comics)
Another jaw-dropping limited series was the five-issue Little Bird from Image that positively blew me away. I stupidly passed on this title when I first saw it sitting at my LCS, but after some hype around the web, I knew I had made a grand mistake letting this one pass me by. Thankfully, a couple of weeks later, my store had a copy and I learned what all of the fuss was about. Having somewhat of a European comic vibe that you would expect to see in the pages of Heavy Metal Magazine, Little Bird is set in a dystopic future where the United Nations of America (a theocratically ruled US of A that I find positively horrifying) has recently decimated a village, killing all but a hidden child known as “Little Bird.” Seeking revenge, Little Bird looks to free a Canadian hero with enhanced abilities known as The Axe from a UNA prison so she can settle the score once and for all. Oh so gorgeously rendered by Bertram (and prompting me to seek out any and all things this man has illustrated) and expertly told by Van Poelgeest, Little Bird was a true surprise and one that had me rushing to my LCS to be sure I didn’t miss a single issue. The hardcover collection is definitely the way to go with this series, and I cannot wait to see the follow up that Van Poeleest mentioned he and Bertram were working on for release in 2020. Oh, my stars and garters, that one week that saw an issue of both Little Bird and Silver Surfer Black drop made for one helluva comic book brain bender of an evening.
The Immortal Hulk
(Written by Al Ewing, illustrated by Joe Bennett, published by Marvel Comics)
Once again, I have to commend Marvel for taking a chance by taking one of their most well-known characters and completely turning expectations on their head by making The Immortal Hulk a horror comic. Since the beginning of this award-winning series, The Hulk hunts the problems facing the Earth and confronts them in the harshest of ways. A human kills another human in a horrific manner? The Hulk deals with them. A gamma-irradiated monster lurks in the countryside? The Hulk deals with him. A multi-national company with a sociopathic CEO (who is also a minotaur) who devastates the climate in the name of profits? Oh, yeah, the Hulk deals with him, too. The thing is, the Hulk doesn’t seek to put the offensive parties in prison. No. He does what he does best: he smashes, he destroys, he obliterates. And it is all spectacular thanks to Bennett’s beautiful-yet-unnerving line work. You haven’t seen disturbing until you’ve seen the Hulk caught mid-transformation or the Abomination spitting acid on one of his victims and Ewing‘s story presses all of the right Donist buttons especially when the Hulk takes on corporate juggernauts. At 28 issues as of this writing, The Immortal Hulk only gets better and better and I hope to be reading Ewing and Bennett’s powerhouse comic for years to come.
House of X/Powers of X
(Written by Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by Pepe Laraz and R.B. Silva, published by Marvel Comics)
At the beginning of 2019, if you had told me that I would be not just enjoying but enthusiastically rushing to the comic book store for 12 weeks straight to buy an X-Men comic—an event no less!—I would have surely thought you were mad. Well, I was mad for not trusting in Hickman to bring me back to the mutants I used to love so much so many decades ago. In this event, House of X told the main story at a single point in time while Powers of X jumped back and forward (year one, year ten, year one hundred, and year one thousand). In this series, newly-revealed-to-be-a-mutant Moira MacTaggert attempts to help Charles Xavier and Magneto to ensure mutantkind is not eradicated by humanity. To do this, the trio develope some creative ways to help mutants thrive and never die out: they establish their own nation on Krakoa island, they develope pharmaceuticals to provide all of the money they will ever need, and they unite mutants by giving some of the X-Men’s past enemies a seat at the decision table. Hox/PoX wrapped near the beginning of October, and I still cannot stop thinking about Moira’s revealed power, or the revelations of keeping mutants alive and well (hint: It involves Goldballs), or the details of Xavier’s plans. This was a wholly satisfying event (something you almost never hear me say) and one that was expertly plotted and executed and ultimately did the impossible: it brought me back to the X-Men fold. The recently released collection is the way to go for this one, but I will say that I hope to see more of the “X2: Year One Hundred (The War)” mutants at some point in the future.
X-Men
(Written by Jonathan Hickman, illustrated by Leinel Francis Yu, published by Marvel Comics)
It makes sense that the event that brought me back to the X-Men, also kept me glued for the inevitable release of the new X-Men comic. Only three issues of this ongoing series have been released thus far, but Hickman’s carefully plotted and expertly paced story have pulled me in while introducing me to newer characters and potential villains. I love that a sentient island is a prominent character and that Cyclops is no longer the punching bag he has been for the past decade or two. Along with this book came fiver or six other titles that I have not yet read, but I intend to look into at some point in the future, but for the time being, I intend to stay with X-Men for as long as Hickman is attached to the book. If you were as thrilled as I was by House of X/Powers of X as I was, then picking up the continuing story is an easy decision to make. I’m sure a trade or two will drop over the course of 2020.
Gideon Falls
(Written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino, published by Image Comics)
Doomsday Clock
(Written by Geoff Johns, illustrated by Gary Frank, published by DC Comics)
But wait, I’m sure there's more...
