The Best of 2004, Part One Join Don MacPherson and Randy Lander as they take a look at their picks for the Best of 2004, starting with notable series and issues. Randy: It's that time again... time for everyone who loves making lists to serve up their best of what came in the year before, and since Don and I run a comic-book review website, that means a list of the Best Of Comics in 2004. To be honest, this was in some ways a depressing year for me in comics, as both of the big two (and some of the smaller publishers) took steps that conflicted strongly with my own tastes and just seemed in general to be heading for a return to the industry of the mid-1990s, which was for my money the worst the industry has been. However, it's good to remember that such things move in cycles, and also well worth noting that even with as many disappointments as this year had to offer, I still couldn't fit everything I loved into the space of this column. Clearly, the comics industry still has plenty of gems to offer, even if you have to dig a little deeper (and usually beyond the Diamond Top 20) to find them. Don: I'm not quite as disenfranchised with the industry as Randy seems to be; though I don't have any great love for the Kewl mode of the 1990s that we're reliving at the moment, I feel there's always a minority of offerings each year that are really great. Bear in mind that we're only human. Some of the stronger offerings of 2004 are bound to have slipped our minds, and there's no way for anyone to have read everything that was published over the course of a year. So don't consider these lists to be all-encompassing. Best First Issue Randy: The increasing hostility of the market to new books means that first issues really have to knock a reader's socks off these days. It's not an easy trick to pull off, but it's heartening for this reviewer to go through and realize that even using a pretty stringent standard for favorite first issue, I had over a dozen potential candidates for this category. Not all of them made the final cut, but there were some damn good first issues this year. DC: The New Frontier #1 was a promising and gorgeous introduction to Darwyn Cooke's weird retro-meets-realistic miniseries with some very memorable visuals. Then there was Adam Strange #1 by Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry, setting the fun-filled adventurous tone that continues to define that miniseries, and JLA: Classified #1 by Grant Morrison, Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines, which was a terrific antidote to so many of DC's grim and gritty Identity Crisis-fueled superhero comics this year. On the other side of the big two aisle, District X #1 by David Hine, David Hardin & Alejandro Sicat was a pleasant surprise, a fascinating new take on a smaller subsection of the X-book subsection of the Marvel Universe, and New Thunderbolts #1 by Fabian Nicieza, Tom Grummett & Gary Erskine was another one, restoring my interest in a series that I had thought long since dead in my eyes. Strolling into the less mainstream section, we have first issues of a number of completed, cancelled or unfinished comics. Deep Sleeper #1 was another home run from Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston (first at Oni Press, then at Image), and the series unfolded as well as it started out. Abadazad #1 by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog had a less happy ending when Crossgen went under, but is getting a second chance as a series of Disney children's books in 2005. Meanwhile, Hawaiian Dick: The Last Resort #1 by B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin finally made it onto the shelves, and though the delays continue on the series, the strength of that first issue proved that the series is worth the wait. Then there was Conan #1 from Kurt Busiek, Cary Nord and Thomas Yeates, which followed up on all the potential of 2003's Conan #0 and gave me an interest in Robert E. Howard's Barbarian that I didn't even know I had. Don: We agree on a few points. Abadazad's debut took me completely by surprise, and had it been release by a publisher with a little more stability behind, it could very well have turned out to the most praised book of 2004. Randy and I were both wild for Brian K. Vaughan's new series, Ex Machina. Vaughan set up the premise incredibly succinctly and successfully with only one issue, hooking his readers for the long haul. He's expanded the cast of characters a bit since that first issue, but everything you need to know about the title is right there. And if the strength of the rest of the issue wasn't enough to impress the reader, the final splash page and the ideas and possibilities it suggests were. Randy's Best First Issue: Ex Machina #1 A dizzying array of super-hero titles launched from the big two publishers in 2004... too many, really. But a number of them boasted some great first issues. The first issue of the new Punisher series made it clear Garth Ennis was tossing the comedic tone out and embracing a grittier and more tense atmosphere. Warren Ellis's debut on Iron Man late last year blew me away. The tech and corporate speak and updated origin for the title character made for a great read in and of itself, even though it was just the first chapter in a six-part story arc. Though it's failed to live up to the promise of its first issue, Marvel's The Pulse started off on an incredibly strong note. As a journalist, I found it easy to relate to the characters and the world in which they live. And like Ex Machina #1, Mark Waid and Barry Kitson's Legion of Super-Heroes #1 -- released the final week of the year -- summed up the new premise for the classic property incredibly well. The novel new incarnation of the Legion as a youth movement, a rebellion philosophy, is rife with potential and quite sophisticated, while maintaining the classic super-hero color of the Silver Age Legion. Don's Best First Issue: Hard Time #1 Randy: When it comes to first issue of the year, though, there was really no competition in my mind. The one guy in comics who I can always count on for delivering a jaw-dropping cliffhanger that has the reader needing to read that second issue is Brian K. Vaughan, and working with Tony Harris & Tom Feister, he delivered the must-have first issue of the year, Ex Machina #1. Don: As noted above, Ex Machina #1 made my list of the best first issues of the year, but thinking back, a different comic book stands out as the most intelligent, most surprising launch of 2004. The DC Focus line as a whole didn't hold up too well as an experiment in publishing for DC, but its flagship title, Hard Time, is still going strong. The first issue of the series set up the premise, but it actually differentiated quite a bit from the themes and conflicts to come. What made the first issue of Hard Time great was the scathing criticism of the U.S. justice system, the brutal social structure in which teens are expected to thrive and a bloodthirsty, manipulative media. Best New Series Don: Obviously, there's going to be some overlap between this category and the previous one. The best new titles of the year are bound to have some of the best first issues after all, aren't they? Case in point: Ex Machina. The writer of Y: The Last Man teams with the original penciller from James Robinson's Starman -- what's not to like? The mix of politics with a realistic depiction of what a super-hero might be like in the real world made Ex Machina a must-read every time an issue came out. It always found its way to the top of my reading pile. Joss Whedon took a while to win me over with his work on Astonishing X-Men, but he's managed to achieve an excellent balance among a number of elements, such as action, humor, characterization, social themes and the politics of espionage. It doesn't hurt that he's got pencilling powerhouse John (Planetary) Cassaday along for the ride. Whedon embraces more traditional super-hero storytelling while maintaining a more modern sense of sophistication. Dan Slott, Juan Bobillo and Paul Pelletier wowed readers with their work on She-Hulk. I think everyone -- including myself -- wrote She-Hulk off as one of those Marvel relaunches that would disappear after just a few issues, but Slott managed to do something different with the character. The title character's inner conflict and the humorous pairing of surreal super-hero elements and the straight-laced world of big law firms make for a great read, month after month. It's a shame Marvel plans to muck with its publishing schedule this year. Randy: Every book you just listed is on my picks as well. and I'd especially like to single out Astonishing X-Men, as it took a few issues for me to really get onboard as well, but it has definitely lived up to the hype. Of course, given that it's a 12-issue run by busy creators already running late, maybe it would be better in the best mini-series category. One of my other picks for Best New Series also comes out of the bloated X-book line, and that's the police procedural/mutant book District X by David Hine, David Yardin and Lan Medina. Though it hasn't connected with me as solidly since the first few issues, it provides something different from the many other X-books out there. A lot of my choices in this category, however, come not from DC and Marvel but further afield. Kurt Busiek, Cary Nord and Thomas Yeates have done amazing work on Dark Horse's Conan books, not only giving me a new appreciation for the character but also winning over those who already loved and missed the barbarian after his long absence from the comic pages. I was also quite fond of Street Angel by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca, a quirky, bizarre and hilarious book that featured beautiful black and white art and one of the strangest premises you're likely to find in comics. And though it ended only a couple issues into its run, Abadazad by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog was fantastic, and I look forward to its return as a children's book series in 2005. Don's Best New Series: Hard Time Don: Remember my comment about overlap? Well, brace yourself for a little bit of deja vu as I select Steve Gerber and Brian Hurtt's Hard Time as my pick for the Best New Series of 2004. Hurtt's cartoony and soft figures work surprisingly well when it comes to bringing a prison drama to life. And I might be in the minority on this one, but I rather enjoyed the monochromatic color scheme that dominated the book for the first several issues. Gerber's first issue was about social commentary, but the subsequent issues were all about characterization. The storytelling was complex, with subplots ending and beginning all the time, and the cast growing more diverse. Randy's Best New Series: Ex Machina Randy: And speaking of deja vu... my pick for Best New Series of 2004 is also the same as my pick for Best First Issue of 2004. Ex Machina started off strong and just kept on going, hitting its ship dates while maintaining the same strong creative team and telling a story that centered on an unusual political development but which had a lot more suspense and fun than you'd expect from a book about the fictional mayor of New York. Best Story Arc Randy: Boy, were there a lot of good story arcs this year. Given the preponderance of trade collections, arc structure has become more formally part of the writing process, and a lot of writers have really taken to this style, delivering stories that read well on a single issue basis but which gain a new strength when viewed all together. The lion's share of my picks come from DC Comics this year, including my pick for the winner of the category. Geoff Johns, Rags Morales, Don Kramer and the rest proved that the crossover wasn't an entirely useless prospect by telling the best JSA story in years, "Black Reign," which crossed over between JSA #56-58 and Hawkman #23-25. Gail Simone, Ed Benes and Alex Lei truly got their feet under them and started running on Birds of Prey #62-67, "Sensei & Student," which teamed up Black Canary with Cheshire and Lady Shiva and made all three of them as cool as could be. Meanwhile, Ed Brubaker & Michael Lark turned in the best Gotham Central story yet with "Unresolved" in Gotham Central #19-22, tying together an unsolved high school mass murder, the Mad Hatter and disgraced ex-cop Harvey Bullock. Oh, and "State of Emergency" in Ex Machina #2-5 by Brian Vaughan, Tony Harris & Tom Feister delivered on all the potential glmipsed in the first issue of that series. Don: I can't fault you on those choices at all, but allow me to add a couple of DC story arcs to that list. Judd Winick, Phil Hester and Ande Parks made some headlines with the revelation that Mia has HIV in "New Blood" in Green Arrow late last year, but it was the crime drama of Brick's takeover of Star City's underworld that really grabbed my attention. Geoff Johns, Mike McKone and Marlo Alquiza offered up a fun but dark super-hero story in "Titans Tomorrow" in Teen Titans, taking the title characters from the present to face the tyrants they could become in the future. Randy: Which is not to say that only DC Comics were good this year. "Gifted," the first arc from Joss Whedon and John Cassaday on Astonishing X-Men #1-6, certainly deserves a mention, as does the short but exceptionally fun prison break story "The Big Picture" in She-Hulk #5-6 by Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier. Randy's Best Story Arc: Fallen Angel #15-18 ("Hurlyburly") Of course, my favorite story arc of the year actually is another DC comic, and one that is not selling anywhere near as well as it should be, a common theme in all of my picks this year. "Hurlyburly" by Peter David, Fernando Blanco and David Lopez on Fallen Angel #15-18 really served as an excellent "coulda been" ending for the title as well as an exceptional showcase for exactly why so many of us love the series in the first place. DC needs to get more of this book out in trade, and readers really need to give the book a shot when the book returns with #19 in February. Don's Best Story Arc: Y: The Last Man #18-20 ("Safeword") Don: "Hurlyburly" made my list as well. Peter David's mix of crime drama with the mythic clashes of mythic figures stands out as some of the smartest writing he's ever offered us, and that's saying something, given how smart his stuff is in general. But it was Shadow Boxer's origin story, told in flashback, and how it connects the present-day plotlines, that really won me over. But my pick for the very best story arc of 2004 was found in another strong, intelligent and thought-provoking series. "Safeword," with its raw sexuality, mind-bending revelations and completely unexpected twists, was my favorite story arc from Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr.'s Y: The Last Man. Best Single Issue Don: This one's a real toughie. How many great single comic books did I read last year? Too many to list. Too many to remember. As I look back, the single issues that stand out the most for me are some published by the small press. Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's Demo was an outstanding limited series, but one of the things that set it apart was that there wasn't an ongoing plotline, no shared characters. Just about any issue from the series deserves inclusion among picks in this category. One that stands out for me is Demo #10, "Damaged." A yuppie finds a sense of contentment and growth when he connects with his own personal angel, who guides him toward a better life and a better state of mind, only to see it all crumble apart when his beliefs are shattered. Also meriting inclusion are the second and third issues of Damon Hurd and Pedro Camello's A Sort of Homecoming. Their honest story of friendship, coming of age, disappointments and happy memories real well in single installments and as a whole as well. Randy: You're right, almost any given issue of Demo deserves a mention in this category. However, most of my favorite single issues weren't one shots, but one shot stories in the midst of larger tales. "Cinderella Libertine" in Fables #22 told the story of one of Bigby's secret agents, mixing intrigue and sex of a more modern, espionage nature into the fantastic base concept of the Fables storyline. "Five Days Grace," by Peter Milligan and Cliff Chiang in Human Target #10, was an unusually light-hearted offering from the usually downbeat series, and it also featured a clever twist ending. And though I named it my favorite story arc of the year, Fallen Angel also had some very strong standalone issues, notably the "Tiffany" story in Fallen Angel #13, which explored the nature of drug trafficking and put the spotlight on one of Peter David's more intriguing supporting characters from the series. Dark Horse's Conan series makes my list twice in this category, once for the note-perfect recreation of "The Frost Giant's Daughter" in Conan #2 and again for the Busiek/Greg Ruth look at Conan's early life in "Born on the Battlefield" in Conan #8. Also, given my general ambivalence toward the Punisher, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Punisher: The End from Garth Ennis and Richard Corben, although given the talent of both creators I suppose I shouldn't have been that surprised. Don's Best Single Issue: True Story Swear to God #8 ("Discoveries") Don: There's one series that always blows me away with every issue, that always resonates with its universal ideas about relationships. But the highlight of Tom Beland's True Story Swear to God in 2004 had to be issue #8, but it stood out to me on a very personal note. I'm in the middle of a wonderful long-distance relationship, and that issue explored the pitfalls of such a romantic connection. I connected with the characters on a deep level, and I'm sure anyone else who has been through the same sort of relationship would agree just how well Beland brings it to life. Randy's Best Single Issue: She-Hulk #4 ("Web of Lies") Randy: I always love Tom Beland's work as well, but my choice for Best Single Issue of 2004 is along a slightly different line. While Dan Slott brought the funny to many issues of She-Hulk, probably the most notable was his deconstruction of the Spider-Man/J. Jonah Jameson rivalry in the courtroom in "Web of Lies" in She-Hulk #4. With wonderful artwork by Juan Bobillo and great comic timing and neat ideas from Slott, this was the issue where I finally saw exactly how good the new She-Hulk book was. Best Limited Series Randy: The limited series category was pretty, uh, limited for me in 2004. I didn't have much trouble narrowing down my selections, and that includes counting a couple series that could arguably be called ongoings and two more that haven't actually finished yet. However, the series that made the cut certainly deserve the accolades. My Faith in Frankie #1-4 allowed Lucifer writer Mike Carey to show off his humor writing chops a little more fully, and was an artistic treat from newcomer Sonny Liew and veteran Marc Hempel. Deep Sleeper #1-4 by Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston was just as creepy, strange and beautiful as their previous collaboration on The Coffin. Technically a limited series but really more of a dozen self-contained stories was Demo by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan, which saw 11 of its 12 issues published in 2004. Also in the "might actually be considered ongoings" category, we have B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs #1-5, establishing the new B.P.R.D. creative team of Mike Mignola and Guy Davis, with a series every bit as good as the original Hellboy stories. Don: Demo made my list as well, obviously, and while it was a series of unconnected short stories in terms of plot and characters, there were connected through themes. Each story explored youth, and the trials and tribulations that come with it, and each featured some sort of superhuman or supernatural element. I was quite surprised DC: The New Frontier wasn't more warmly received and talked about in the industry in the way that Kingdom Come was in the mid 1990s. Darwyn Cooke's pop noir super-hero saga was a real treat. And while the first issue didn't blow me away, subsequent chapters in Superman: Secret Identity and their examination of a real-world Superman really impressed, standing out as the finest Superman project DC has released in years. As noted earlier, Damon Hurd and Pedro Camello brought their A Sort of Homecoming to a close in 2004, and each issue carried my Best of the Week label upon its release. If a collection of the series is forthcoming in 2005, you should be sure to check it out. Another lesser known but well worthwhile limited series that stands out in my mind was Steve Niles and Breehn Burns's Aleister Arcane, an odd mix of horror, humor and children's fantasy. Randy's Best Limited Series: Superman: Secret Identity Randy: In the "unfinished but great so far" category we have Madrox #1-4 by Peter David & Pablo Raimondi, an X-Book that really should have been an ongoing, and I say that as a diehard advocate of trimming the X-line down to more manageable numbers. There's also Adam Strange #1-4, half of a star-spanning, adventurous and gorgeous miniseries by Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry. In the end, however, my favorite miniseries this year was one that I predicted while reading would earn such accolades from me. Superman: Secret Identity #1-4 by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen was a beautiful look at Superman through a more real-life, aging filter that was nonetheless more true to the character than any stories to come out of the Superman editorial office in years. Don's Best Limited Series: We3 Don: My pick for the best finite series of the year is another one of those "unfinished" titles. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely proved they were a great team on JLA: Earth 2 and New X-Men, and I can't wait to check out their take on Superman in 2005. But the best thing I've seen from these two talented creators, the best by far, is the quirky, grisly and oddly touching We3. This high-tech, high-caliber spin on Homeward Bound boasts inventive visuals from Quitely and chilling but cute animal characters. I'm eagerly awaiting the third and final issue's release, due in the coming weeks. Best Ongoing Series Don: My picks in this category are going to be familiar, as they've all been mentioned under other headings so far, but that's not surprising. Y: The Last Man remains as strong going into its third year of publication as it was when it debuted. Vaughan explore both big-picture issues and personal dilemmas in this series. Yes, it featured super-spies and a female milita of white supremacists, but it also keeps its feet firmly planted on the ground thanks to the strong characterization of the main character, Yorick. Guerra and Marzan's straightforward line art conveys a strong sense of realism, and their character designs present real figures, not idealized visions of the human form. When it debuted in 2003, Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka's police procedural series, Gotham Central, was a safe bet for a great read, given the writers' established reputations for crime dramas. The series always stays fresh because the focus keeps shifting to different members of the cast. Last year saw some other artists joining regular penciller Michael Lark on the book, but the title maintained its trademark dark, urban look. Peter David and David Lopez's Fallen Angel finally found an audience in 2004, and deservedly so. I'm relieved it also earned a reprieve from potential cancellation. Buzz began to spread last year about this bizarre series, that's part fable, part super-hero story, part P.I. mystery genre and part Clash of the Titans. One never knows what to expect from the book. The writer mixes down-to-earth characterization with a larger-than-life sense of mythology to achieve a truly unique and riveting property. Randy: All of those series are on my list as well, and I could go on and on about them, but I'd also like to spotlight a few others. Though I have my quibbles with the art from time to time, it can't be denied that Birds of Prey really hit its stride this year from Gail Simone, Ed Benes and Alex Lei, even leaping over the storytelling hurdles placed in its way by "Wargames" to reach even higher heights. Then there was The Walking Dead, which picked up a new artist in the form of Charlie Adlard (albeit with the same tone artist Cliff Rathburn) but continued in the same strong suspense/character-driven vein thanks to writer Robert Kirkman, and Queen & Country, which featured a number of different artists but was always gripping thanks to the writing of Greg Rucka. The rest of my picks are books that are better than most of the books that regularly outsell them, which is to say that all of them deserve a wider recognition. Runaways is getting it, as Brian Vaughan, Adrian Alphona and Craig Yeung brought the book to a close very well in 2004 but will pick it up again with a "season two" in 2005. Eric Powell's hilariously twisted The Goon and Stan Sakai's imaginative and fun Usagi Yojimbo are both well-known amongst the indy crowd, but would go over well with a larger audience too. Also in the underrated category is Eric Shanower's Age of Bronze from Image, an amazingly painstaking rendition of the Trojan War that has found favor with the academic community but which deserves wider readership in comicdom at large. Oh, and The Losers (by Andy Diggle and Jock) and Human Target (by Peter Milligan, Javier Pulido and Cliff Chiang) both bring a much-appreciated jolt of modern action and adrenaline to DC's Vertigo line. I'll stop there, as I can almost feel Don giving me a death-stare for going on too long, but suffice to say, there were a lot of series in 2004 that I continued to love. Don's Best Ongoing Series: True Story Swear to God Don: Don't let it get around, but deep down inside, I'm really a big softie. That's why I think the best ongoing series of the year was Tom Beland's True Story Swear to God. Beland's scripts for the series are so refreshingly honest. The creator shares so much of himself and the people in his life, and it's easy to recognize oneself in those experiences. Beland's able to laugh at himself, and despite the somewhat sad moments that are explored, the series ultimately boasts a delightfully optimistic message. Beland celebrates love and life, and I'm so pleased that he's decided to share that celebration with the rest of us. Beland sent out an email in 2004, announcing with glee that his title was in the top 300. If people were willing to give independent, black-and-white comics a chance, it would rightfully be found in the top 10. Randy's Best Ongoing Series: Y: The Last Man Randy: I agree, and True Story Swear to God makes my list as well. However, my favorite series is one that you mentioned early on, and that is the science-fiction road trip story Y: The Last Man. 2004 saw the strange and sexually-charged "Safeword," the run-in with Arizona militia women in "Widow's Pass," a glimpse at the fate of Yorick's girlfriend in "Tongues of Flame," more information on what's going on with Yorick's sister in "Hero's Journey" and the beginning of some of the really big revelations in "Ring of Truth." There wasn't a single story in the bunch that wasn't edge-of-your-seat reading. Best Original Graphic Novel Randy: Always the longest category for me, both because this is my preferred format and because so many publishers have taken to creating material in this format. My picks in this category include both the self-contained graphic novels and those that are part of a series, which is arguably comparing apples and oranges, but there's certainly enough love to go around for both styles. The increasing popularity of manga has increased the number of graphic novel series from American publishers as well, and there were any number of great graphic novel series started this year. Once in a Blue Moon Volume 1 (Oni Press), by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir and Jennifer Quick, started off a manga-style "girl from real world discovers she's a heroine in a fantasy world" tale that I'm anxious to see more of. The same goes for Love As A Foreign Language Volume 1 (Oni Press), a tale of love at first sight and conflicting homesickness from J. Torres and Eric Kim. Less in the manga tradition, but just as much the beginning of a series, was the almost unbearably cute and sweet Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer from Andy Runton (Top Shelf) and Flight Volume 1 (Image) from a variety of creators, many of whom came out of animation. Of course, the standalone stories were nothing to sneeze at either. In a year that was ripe for it, Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly's Giant Robot Warriors (AIT/Planet Lar) and Kyle Baker, Reginald Hudlin and Keith Knight's Birth of a Nation (NBM Publishing) served up political humor using speculative fiction. J. Torres and Scott Chantler explored political parallels as well in their "Red Scare" era graphic novel Scandalous (Oni Press). Then there were those who eschewed the serious subject matter for wacky fun, such as Benito Cereno and Graeme MacDonald on Tales From The Bully Pulpit (Image), Glenn Dakin on Temptation (Active Images) and Wayne Chinsang and Dave Crosland on Heaven, LLC (Image). There were haunting ghost stories, such as Spooked by Antony Johnston and Ross Campbell (Oni Press) and Angelfire by Chris Blythe and Steve Parkhouse (Shattered Frames). Scott Morse delivered another masterpiece with his modern-day sepia-toned bank robbery tale Spaghetti Western (Oni Press). Jay Faerber showed a previously unseen predilection for crime fiction with James Francis and James McKee on Dodge's Bullets (Image), Todd Livingstone, Robert Tinnell and Neil Vokes told a fun World War I/monster tale in The Black Forest (Image) and Adam Beechen and Manny Bello explored the downside of working for supervillains in the funny yet poignant Hench (AIT/Planet Lar). Don: Geez, Randy, couldn't you come up with more candidates for this category? Well, your long list is merited, I suppose, given the rise in prominence and acceptance of the original graphic novel format. It still has a way to go, though, given how stories that are really meant for that format are still being presented in episodic form and then collected later on. Oni Press stands out as my favorite publisher of original graphic novels. Torres and Chantler's Scandalous made for a sharp contrast with their previous collaboration in 2003, Days Like This. The new project takes a dimmer view of America's past, exploring an ugly side of its history, unlike Days, which was far more hopeful and nostalgic in tone. Love as a Foreign Language should be required reading for anyone considering a job teaching English as a second language on the other side of the world. Torres's story of culture shock and a 20-something's personal and professional ennui is amusing yet on point all at once. Randy's Best Original Graphic Novel: Carnet De Voyage Randy: When it comes to my favorite of the year, though, it was a toss-up between two projects of a more slice-of-life nature. Neil Kleid had a strong showing with his Xeric-winning Ninety Candles (Rant Comics), a semi-autobiographical tale of a cartoonist going from birth to death doing what he loved. However, much as I loved it, my favorite comic of the year once again goes to Craig Thompson, who came off the exceptional Blankets to tell another autobiographical tale, this time one of European travel to promote his newly successful graphic novel. One gets the impression that Top Shelf had to convince Craig Thompson to publish Carnet De Voyage, his beautifully-illustrated travel journal, and that he worried it might let down fans looking for "what comes after Blankets." It certainly didn't let me down, and I'm glad that Thompson and Top Shelf published it to become my favorite original graphic novel of 2004. Don's Best New Series: The White Elephant Don: Kleid's Ninety Candles was a fascinating and successful storytelling experiment, taking a single moment from each year of a life to tell a family's story. It was genuine in tone, and it was a close second to my pick for the best OGN of 2004. Ultimately, my choice was a simple one. The White Elephant, Damon Hurd and Christopher Steininger's story of a family's struggle to deal with the fallout of an ugly revelation, really spoke to me, and I'll admit, it did so because I've witnessed similar stories about sexual abuse in real life through my job as a court reporter for a daily newspaper. The White Elephant was also an interesting experiment in storytelling technique, as Hurd's presents the story in the form of a stage play. The scenes are made up of one man's flashbacks during a counselling session. The sketchy, surreal art and the unusual lettering motif are unconventional as well, and they reinforce the main character's confusion and frustration incredibly well. That takes care of the first part of our 2004 retrospective. You'll find Part Two RIGHT HERE. Email Randy and Don comments about this review.