The Best of 2003, Part Two Join Don MacPherson and Randy Lander as they share their picks for the Best of creative forces in 2003. Don: Well, Randy and I have already sounded off on the best comics of 2003 (click HERE to jump over to that feature), and now it's time for us to share our thoughts on who stood out as the best creators of the year. Randy: The longer I read comics, the more I shift to following creators over characters. Although I'll admit to having a preference for one set of characters or the other, it's the talent working on those characters that makes it worthwhile for me. It's also interesting to note the diversity of talent in the industry these days, from writers with a bent for noir to those who came up reading super-heroes and artists who run the gamut from realistic to almost impressionist. In part two of our Best Of 2003, we'll highlight some of the creators we think you should be paying attention to. Note the "some" in that sentence. Even with unlimited time and space, it would be difficult to name everyone who has caught our attention in comics in 2003. Best Writer Randy: As someone who writes but who couldn't draw his way out of a paper bag, I must admit that I tend to follow writers more than artists. Fortunately, there are a lot of great writers working in the industry these days, all of whose work is well worth following. The names on these lists tend to look familiar as years go on, and several of the usual suspects made my list this year. Brian Michael Bendis didn't deviate much from his successful 2002 work in 2003, but he continued to turn in entertaining work on Ultimate Spider-Man, Alias, Powers and Daredevil, as well as expanding his guidance of the Ultimate universe to include Ultimate Six and Ultimate X-Men. Greg Rucka also had a fantastic year, with consistently excellent work on Queen & Country and Gotham Central and intriguing new directions for Wolverine and Wonder Woman. If super-heroes are your thing, 2003 was a pretty great year. Kurt Busiek and Mark Waid, two of the names responsible for making super-heroes readable during the '90s, both had spectacular success in 2003. Busiek turned my head with JLA/Avengers, Astro City: Local Heroes, Arrowsmith and the quarter issue prelude to his Conan run, while Mark Waid became in my mind the definitive modern Fantastic Four writer and brought the long-delayed Empire to a conclusion with plenty of surprises and morally twisted characters. Then there's Geoff Johns, the go-to guy for modern super-heroes, who continued to shine on JSA and The Flash and also had a very strong launch in Teen Titans. Two names who have sort of been on the buzz list finally broke out big in 2003. Brian Vaughan built upon the success of Y: The Last Man with three entertaining new Marvel series, Mystique, Runaways and Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure. Meanwhile, Judd Winick worked the other side of the fence at DC, with a diversity of output that included super-heroes (Green Arrow, Outsiders), horror (Blood and Water) and crime (Caper). Don: Randy's listed a number of writers who made my list for the year as well, but he's left out a couple. I'm quite surprised Randy makes no mention of Sean McKeever. It's unfortunate both of his Marvel titles -- Sentinel and Inhumans -- have been cancelled by the publisher. That's bad news, but creatively, both books were quite strong. While 2003 was a quieter year for Warren Ellis, he nevertheless maintained the strong level of quality I've come to expect from him with such projects as Orbiter, Red, Two-Step and Mek. We'd also be remiss if we didn't make mention of Alan Moore. He wrapped up League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2 in 2003 and kept me dazzled with the always challenging and entertaining Promethea. Randy's Best Writer: Ed Brubaker Randy: But if you're talking about Best Writer of 2003, in my mind there's only one name, and that name is Ed Brubaker. In addition to writing one of the best noir comics I've ever read in Sleeper, Brubaker ruled the streets of Gotham with an intriguing mystery storyline in Detective Comics, some excellent work alongside Greg Rucka on Gotham Central and work with some of the best artists in the business on the stylish, sexy Catwoman. Don's Best Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Don: As we did throughout Part One of our Best of 2003, Randy and I are diverging in opinion yet again when it comes to our top picks in each category. Ed Brubaker had a great year, definitely, but there was another writer who was just as prolific in 2003 and had me smiling even more. Brian Michael Bendis's work on the titles Randy mentioned earlier as well as Alias and Ultimate Fantastic Four (the first issue was released the last week of December) earn him my nod for Best Writer of the year for the third year in a row. Best Artist/Art Team Don: When it comes to picking contenders for the Best Artist category, it's a little easier. The cream of the crop is easier to spot because the stronger writers tend to pop up on comic-shop shelves more often. Interior artists or art teams tend to be limited to one title during the year, so there's a greater field of talent. J.H. Williams and Mick Gray have been working together almost exclusively as an art team for the past few years, and they're doing the greatest work of their career on Promethea. Their layouts are unconventional, and Williams has begun employing collage as one of his techniques. Over on Ultimates, Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary never fail to instill awe in the level of power, detail and scope they convey in their art. Furthermore, there's no denying that Eduardo Risso is an artist whose dark style really captures the eye and stands out as unique. If his work on 100 Bullets wasn't reason enough to include him here, his unconventional and morbidly playful take on the Dark Knight in Batman cinched it. I must also make a guilty pleasure note here. I go wild for George Perez's work in general, and to see him ink his own meticulous pencils on Avengers/JLA is a dream come true for this longtime fan. One could describe his artwork as cluttered, but to me, it's rich and rife with imagination and energy. The reader is called upon to pour over every panel over and over again, discovering something new and fun every time. Another artist who really came into his own in the field in 2003 is Ted Naifeh. The darkness of his Courtney Crumrin comics and How Loathsome was impressive, and I hope his recent fill-in issue on Lucifer will bring his work to the attention of readers who tend not to stray from the output of the bigger comics publishers. Don's Best Artist: Scott Morse My pick for the best artist of 2003 was one who wrote some of his own projects and illustrated the scripts of others. Scott Morse really caught my attention, though, with his graphic novels -- The Barefoot Serpent, Southpaw and Visitations -- though his work on Image's Casefiles: Sam & Twitch, written by Marc Andreyko, was noteworthy as well. I saw Morse in action live at an art show held during the Comic-Con International in San Diego last summer, and seeing him at work was something to behold. Randy: As is traditional, some of our artist favorites cross over both lists. Scott Morse was definitely high on my list, and Eduardo Risso has blown me away as always with his work on 100 Bullets as well as his dark and unusual take on the world of Gotham in Batman. Other favorites for me in the DC Universe include Michael Lark's realistic, gritty work on Gotham Central and Phil Hester and Ande Parks's character-defining and action-packed artwork on Green Arrow. Randy's Best Artist: Cameron Stewart A lot of my favorite artwork was to be found on miniseries in 2003. The beautiful style of Steven Griffin on Hawaiian Dick has me anxiously awaiting the sequel (which will hopefully find its way onto my Best of 2004 list). Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino switched over from super-heroes to magical wartime adventure and found the genre very much suited to their style in Arrowsmith. And Cliff Chiang, probably best known for his work on the backup strip "Josie Mac" turned in beautiful work on the dark period mystery Beware the Creeper. In terms of ongoing series artwork, I have to give the nod to two guys working primarily at Dark Horse: Eric Powell's work on The Goon is gorgeous, and has just the right comedic timing and odd sensibilities to perfectly match the weird tone of the book, and Francisco Ruiz Velasco has been doing continually beautiful work on the post-apocalyptic, action-packed landscape of Lone Wolf 2100. When it comes to picking my choice for Best Artist of 2003, though, there's been one name in mind for months now, and though he's left the project which sealed the deal for me, I look forward to seeing where he winds up in 2004. That name is Cameron Stewart, a guy who's been in the industry for some time but who broke out huge in 2003 with his spectacular work on Catwoman. Best Colorist Randy: It used to be that comics were four-color at best, and judging best colorist was kind of like judging best printer. Who really knew? With today's coloring technology, though, this has become less a production task and as much a part of the art itself, and each year sees an increase in their role in the industry. 2003 saw a few more books switching over to digital color, a sort of faux-painted approach... who knows what the next innovation in coloring will be? Whatever it is, one of our nominees for Best Colorist will probably be bringing it to the page. In the "usual suspects" department here we have Matt Hollingsworth, whose blend of dark, moody and yet clear colors graced such books as Catwoman and Alias. Then there's Patricia Mulvihill, who also worked on several books but whose standouts in my mind were her work with Eduardo Risso on both 100 Bullets and Batman. These two colorists prove that you don't have to use a bright rainbow to create effective color, and that noir and shadows aren't just the province of black-and-white artists. Matt Hollingsworth had some competition in this category this year even on titles that he started out working on. Lee Loughridge had sort of a rough transition in my mind from his Batman Adventures work to the moodier pages of Catwoman and Gotham Central, but I wound up being very impressed. Meanwhile, Jeromy Cox continued his excellent work on the Image book Rex Mundi. Don: Actually, if one really wants to see what Jeromy Cox is capable of, one should check out his work on Promethea. I also thought Paul Mounts has a good year as well. His work on Ultimates and Superman: Red Son impressed, but where his work really shone -- literally -- was on Fantastic Four. It was easy to tell when Mounts was handling the colors on the book. The science-fiction elements leaped off the page when Mounts was working on the book. One also has to give the folks at Udon Studios credit for their in-house coloring work. Sentinel always looked great, but where their colors really grabbed the eye was on Street Fighter. Randy's Best Colorist: Dave Stewart Randy: As in previous years, though, I came into this category not the slightest bit divided on who would take the award for me. Dave Stewart was the go-to colorist this year. You almost could give him the award based on his work on the various Hellboy projects alone, but when you combine it with work like Devil's Footprints, The Goon, Captain America, Matt Wagner's Trinity or the first digitally-painted Conan, there can be no doubt that Dave Stewart was the Best Colorist of 2003. Don's Best Colorist: Patricia Mulvihill Don: Once again, I agree with Randy's choices in general, but we diverge when it comes to the ultimate selection. I'm always impressed when I see Patricia Mulvihill's colors slice through the darkness of Eduardo Risso's work on 100 Bullets and Batman. In some ways, her colors add another dimension to the darkness and shadow of Brian Azzarello's stories. They can achieve an unsettling, appropriately jarring effect to enhance the story, or they can blend into the dark, quiet tension that builds up to one of those moments. Best Cover Artist Don: There's no marketing tool more important to comic books than the cover. From online self-promotion to passing mentions on The Tonight Show, those methods pale in comparison to the impact that the right cover can have when it comes to attracting attention. Allow me to provide some examples. Andi Watson's minimalist approach to the overall look of Love Fights really helped that title grab the eye from among the throng of comics on shop shelves in 2003, and it also gave one an idea of what to expect from the book within. On the other end of the spectrum, Alex Ross's almost photo-realistic paintings -- which adorned the exteriors of Astro City: Local Heroes, JLA: Liberty and Justice and the various Paradise X books -- were always pleasing to the eye. I wish we'd seen more interior work from him in 2003, but John Cassaday certainly provided quite a few eye-catching covers. I loved his work on JSA: All-Stars -- the covers were the only aspect of the series that was consistenyly strong -- and his Ultimate Six covers conveyed an appropriate power and intensity. And then there are his Planetary covers, which are always a treasure to behold. Joshua Middleton also emerged as something of a cover powerhouse in 2003. His work -- which boasts a magical, airy tone -- on New Mutants and NYX really set those comics apart from other Marvel titles. Also worthy of note is the hugely talented Dave McKean. His cover for Sandman: Endless Nights was stunning, but so was his effort to redesign the entire line of Sandman trade paperbacks. Don's Best Cover Artist: David Mack Ultimately, I think I have to give the nod in this category to the heir apparent to McKean and his multimedia approach, and that's David Mack. His covers -- on such books as Alias and Daredevil -- combined intricate and haunting detail with simpler, even crude techniques to stand out as truly unique. The higher grade of paper of covers always made his textured look and collage approach to really shine. The folks at Beckett Comics knew that Mack could help them turns some heads; that's why they tapped him to illustrate the covers for their Ruule: Ganglords of Chinatown comics, no doubt. It was his work on Alias that I loved the most, though. Randy: As anyone who browsed my "Favorite Covers" feature last week knows, many of your choices are on my list as well, especially Andi Watson. Like Watson, many of my favorite cover artists were also working on the interiors of the book, including Cameron Stewart on Catwoman, Jock on Losers and Mike Wieringo on Fantastic Four. You'd be hard pressed to find a lot of similarity in the cover approach of those three artists, but one thing they did have in common are covers that popped off the stands and got attention. Mind you, I'm not one to argue that the interior artist and cover artist should always be the same. Carlos Pacheco did his own covers for Arrowsmith, but he also did some exceptional work on JSA. Dave Bullock's pulp-ish Action Comics covers were fantastic, and made me want to read Superman, which is impressive given how disappointed I've been in the Superman titles for what seems like years. J.G. Jones covered a variety of books, from Avengers to Captain Marvel to Catwoman to Y: The Last Man, and while not every cover he did tickled my fancy, there were certainly more than a few stunners in there. Randy's Best Cover Artist: Dustin Nguyen & Rian Hughes If I were a dirty cheater, I'd actually have three picks for Best Cover Artist of 2003, because making the decision was painful. Matt Wagner's beautiful and imaginative covers for Green Arrow have been as much a part of the book as the Hester/Parks interiors, and I'll miss them in the new year. Meanwhile, Tony Harris & Tom Feister have done beautiful inter-linking covers for The Legion that really draw attention to the book as well as interesting character portrait style covers for the most recent Fantastic Four arcs. However, in the end my pick for Best Cover Artist goes to a team that not only does beautiful and imaginative covers, but whose design sense is impeccable, and has a unique style unmatched in comics. That team is Dustin Nguyen & Rian Hughes, who hint at the unusual nature of Wildcats Version 3.0 every month with their covers. Best New Creative Team Randy: There's something great about a reliable team sticking with a book for a long time, letting you know you're getting a solid read each and every time an issue comes out. However, there's also something to be said for the shock of the new, whether it's a creative team launching a new book or replacing a creative team that came before them and either wasn't up to snuff or just wasn't as good as the new guys. That's what this category is all about. When you're talking about new creative teams replacing the old, I think there are three that really stand out. One is the change of artist on The Legion. I worried when Olivier Coipel went off to Avengers, but Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning were then joined by Chris Batista, doing the best work of his career with inks by Mark Farmer, and that creative team has so far turned in "Dream Crime" and "Foundations," two great Legion stories. Then there's the entire 100 Bullets team (writer Brian Azzarello, artist Eduardo Risso, even colorist Patricia Mulvihill, letterer Clem Robins and editor Will Dennis) moving over to Batman and delivering a noir kick to the stomach that can only be compared to Frank Miller's work on the book. Finally, definitive modern Green Arrow artists Phil Hester and Ande Parks were joined by writer Judd Winick for a run that has many (including me) saying "Kevin who?" Don: Given how often some titles change or tweak its creative lineup, there are plenty of contenders here, and Randy's on the mark with a number of his picks. One of the most consistently entertaining super-hero books of 2003 was Birds of Prey. Gail Simone, Ed Benes and Alex Lei rescued the book from a series of somewhat ho-hum fill-in stories and delivered what is arguably the most popular and well-received run on the title to date. Over at Marvel, Ultimate X-Men was always a book I enjoyed, but it was rarely one I was champing at the bit to read every month. And then Brian Michael Bendis joined David Finch and Art Thibert on the book a breathed new life into it with "Blockbuster" and "New Mutants." Speaking of new mutants, Joe Quesada, Joshua Middleton and colorist Beaulieu made the lives of some new faces in the Marvel Universe come to life vividly. These former two creators aren't exactly known for sticking with a title longterm these days, but I pray both do, as they're crafting a story that's not only riveting, entertaining and visually magical, but an important one about the harsh realities of urban life. Mixing magic and history under DC's Cliffhanger imprint were Kurt Busiek, Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino, the creative team behind Arrowsmith. Mind you, since they worked on Avengers Forever a few years back, they may not qualify as a "new" creative team. Randy: In a slightly different vein, since changing creative teams is part of the book's routine, I have to give a nod to Greg Rucka and Jason Alexander, in my mind the strongest team so far on Queen & Country, and that's saying something considering the impressive artists the book has had. And in terms of new creative teams, there's one that really stands out in my mind, and that is Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips on Sleeper. Sean Phillips did some great super-hero noir in Wildcats Version 2.0, but matching him up with Brubaker's morally complex, dark and sometimes quite funny scripts definitely agreed with him. These two were almost, almost my pick for Best New Creative Team this year. Randy and Don's Best New Creative Team: Andy Diggle & Jock But in the end, I think I have to agree with Entertainment Weekly (and let's face it, many others) in naming Andy Diggle and Jock the Best New Creative Team of 2003. Losers has been like a Michael Bay movie with more brains, plenty of style, action and laughs, and it's down to the chemistry between these two creators. Don: This is a first for our picks for 2003... Randy and I agree on our picks for a category. There's no denying the synergy that Diggle and Jock have going on this book. Losers is exciting, funny, clever and unpredictable. If you haven't been checking it out, be sure to pick up the forthcoming first collected edition. Best Ongoing Creative Team Don: There's nothing like a creative team that really clicks and continues to work together for lengthy stints, even going from one title to another. Though they're garnering some wider attention on Batman these days, Azzarello, Risso and Mulvihill's work on 100 Bullets from DC/Vertigo will always stand out as their strongest to me. Also in the Vertigo camp is Y: The Last Man. Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr.'s collaborative efforts on this challenging and entertaining title about gender continued to make it one of my favorite books every month. Brian Michael Bendis was my pick as the Best Writer of 2003, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that his name should pop up again. Bendis works with a wide array of talented artists, but more than any other, Mark Bagley just seems to click with him the best. They worked together not only on Ultimate Spider-Man, but on Alias, and they'll be together again this year on The Pulse. Also working away to build up the Ultimate universe and to entertain comic fans in 2003 were Mark Millar, Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary and Paul Mounts. Sure, Ultimates didn't maintain a regular schedule, but every issue was a "widescreen" delight. Don's Best Ongoing Creative Team: Moore, Williams, Gray, Cox & Klein My pick for the Best Ongoing Creative Team of 2003 is one that continued to push the limits of the medium to offer innovative, intellectual and informative storytelling. It wasn't just the writer and artists who grabbed readers' attention; the colorist and letterer both provided key elements that enhanced the magic and maturity of the book. I'm speaking, of course, of the creative team behind Promethea. Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III, Mick Gray, Jeromy Cox and Todd Klein offered mind-blowing and challenging storytelling every couple of months in those pages. It's easy to see why DC continues to release hardcover collections of Promethea. Randy: No one who's been reading my reviews will be very surprised by my picks in this category. Brian Bendis made my list as well, but I find his perfect artistic match to be artist Michael Avon Oeming and colorist Peter Pantazis on Powers, which made a sharp change of direction in 2003 that I loved. And while Bill Willingham's work on Fables was great no matter the artist, the team that really defines the book for me is the one that includes Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha as well. In addition, I'm very, very glad that Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo & Karl Kesel will indeed be carrying on with Fantastic Four in 2004, because they did excellent work together in 2003. Randy's Best Ongoing Creative Team: Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka & Michael Lark When it comes to choosing my favorites in 2003, though, it's another toss-up between two titles that have been jockeying for position in my estimation throughout the year (and throughout this year-end write-up). I almost have to give the nod to Ed Brubaker & Cameron Stewart, whose work on Catwoman was the very definition of writer-artist synergy, as it was the two of them together that really took the book to new heights for me. However, while I loved Brubaker's work on Catwoman, it's another title that gets my Best Ongoing Creative Team award, and that's the team of Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark on Gotham Central. Every month, these guys are turning in a police procedural with a Gotham twist, and you really can't tell where one writer's style ends and another one's begins, while it's hard to imagine anyone but Lark (OK, maybe Brian Hurtt) pulling off the look so convincingly. Best Publisher or Imprint Randy: With a number of self-publishers and small publishers, it's difficult to really name everyone who deserves this award. For instance, shouldn't Jeff Smith's Cartoon Books be called one of the best, despite the fact that its output is limited almost entirely to one sporadically-published title? But Don and I tend to focus here on publishers who consistently publish quality work and who have a good diversity, as well as those who a lot of folks are talking about. With that caveat in mind, some of the names start to look pretty familiar. Oni Press continues to be probably the most consistently great publisher in comics, and some of their highlights for me in 2003 included the successful rollout of OniGNs, the new ongoing Love Fights, the continuing ongoing Queen & Country and great new mini-series like Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics, Scooter Girl and Three Strikes. Top Shelf also continued to impress, and their highlights for me in 2003 can be named by naming a few creators: Craig Thompson (Blankets), Scott Morse (The Barefoot Serpent) and James Kochalka (Monkey vs. Robot and Sketchbook Diaries). Dark Horse Comics also really got my attention in 2003. Not all of their output spoke to me, but what did really hit the spot. Trades of old series like Xenozoic Tales let me experience books that I missed the first time around, Joss Whedon's Fray finally concluded in fine fashion, I discovered a true love for the goofy comic horror The Goon and goofy manga Club 9, and of course I was very happy with the Hellboy output this year, as well as the first hints of what they're going to be up to with the Conan license. Randy's Best Publisher or Imprint: DC Comics However, I will always remember 2003 as the year that DC just kicked Marvel's ass in San Diego, and they reaped the rewards throughout the latter half of the year. On top of signing much of the mainstream talent to exclusive contracts, the addition of Dan Didio to editorial and a general rejuvenation across the board saw the DC Universe begin to shine again. It's hard to name all the big successes, but you need only look at buzz books like Catwoman, Gotham Central, Green Arrow and The Legion or smash successes like Teen Titans, Outsiders or Batman to see that DC is really making a splash right now, and miraculously sometimes the sales are reflecting that success. Then there's the expansion of the main DC imprint beyond just the DC Universe (Empire) and even beyond just super-heroes (Caper). Even without including the impressive work this year of their imprints Wildstorm and Vertigo, DC is my Best Publisher of 2003. Don: DC kicked Marvel's ass? Well, maybe from a business perspective, but I don't think it's an entirely fair comment. Sure, Marvel had its fair share of stinkers, but DC's output isn't perfect either. Yes, they published a wide array of strong books, but so did Marvel. Everything Bendis touched of Marvel's continued to be pure gold, and say what you will about Marvel's stumblings in 2003, but at least they were trying new things on some level. Trouble turned out to be a flop, but publishing a non-super-hero title is a significant step. Tsunami yielded some good books, and Marvel even tried to reach out to young female readers with a novel (remember Mary Jane?). Also worthy of note in this category was AIT/Planet Lar. They continued to stand out as the home of great graphic novels, but Larry Young and company branched out into "floppies" as well... and quite successfully. They also offered innovative formats; Last of the Independents. was notable for its format, the brown-on-parchment approach as opposed to black-and-white and the surprising little "slipcase." And that stuff was just icing on the cake that was a great, cinematic story. LotI is one example of Ait/PlanetLar's strong efforts in 2003. Don's Best Publisher or Imprint: Oni Press My pick for the Best Publisher of 2003 was easy: Oni Press. Last year saw Oni dedicate resources to the original graphic novel. Whereas some "floppy" publishers would publish one or two here and there, Oni really went big with the OGN, delivering some of the best ones of the year. At the same time, they continued to publish a diverse and entertaining array of limited series and even doubled the number of ongoing titles (OK, they went from one to two, but it was a significant step... and Love Fights is wonderful). Still, it was the OGNs I loved the most. Maria's Wedding was my favorite "OniGN," but far from the only one worth gushing about. That wraps up our review of the Best of 2003. Just about everyone mentioned is still quite active in comics, so we expect great things from 2004 as well. Email Randy and Don comments about this review.