Bloody Disgusting | DC Comics

The Best of 2011

There’s still glitter on the streets. Fridges are filled with half-empty bottles of champagne and gyms are extra crowded due to people working on their resolutions. And while we celebrate the beginning of a new year, there’s no better way to ring in 2012 than to reflect on the successes of 2011.

The DC offices were closed all of last week, but that doesn’t mean that press didn’t continue to roll in. Below, take a look at some of the year-end “best of” lists that ran.

CNN’s GEEK OUT highlighted ANIMAL MAN, BATWOMAN, THE FLASH, I, VAMPIRE and JOE THE BARBARIAN in an article about the “unprecedented creativity” in comic books in 2011.

THE ONION’s A.V. CLUB’s list of the best comic books of 2011 included DETECTIVE COMICS, BATMAN, BATWOMAN and ANIMAL MAN. The article also gave individual honors to WONDER WOMAN, O.M.A.C. and JIMMY OLSEN.

GAWKER’s IO9 featured SPACEMAN, ANIMAL MAN, SWAMP THING, BATMAN and FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.HA.D.E. on their list of the best science fiction and fantasy comic books of 2011.

COMPLEX MAGAZINE’s list of top 25 comic books of 2011 included FLASHPOINT, JUSTICE LEAGUE, NORTHLANDERS, SWAMP THING, WONDER WOMAN, BATWOMAN, ACTION COMICS, DETECTIVE COMICS, BATMAN and ANIMAL MAN.

BLOODY DISGUSTING’s list of top 10 comic books of 2011 included SWEET TOOTH, DETECTIVE COMICS, BATWOMAN and ANIMAL MAN.

AFTER ELLEN highlighted BATWOMAN in their 2011 review of books.

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE named DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 the biggest comic book story of 2011.

POPDOSE included BATWOMAN, SCALPED and XOMBI on their list of favorite comics of 2011.

COMIC BOOK RESOURCES’ list of top 100 comics of 2011 included BATMAN INCORPORATED, HELLBLAZER, XOMBI, FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E., THE UNWRITTEN, SWEET TOOTH, THE SHADE, ALL-STAR WESTERN, JONAH HEX, AMERICAN VAMPIRE, FLASHPOINT: BATMAN KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE, O.M.A.C., FABLES, IZOMBIE, BATGIRL, BATMAN, AQUAMAN, ACTION COMICS, SWAMP THING, WONDER WOMAN, BATWOMAN, DETECTIVE COMICS, SCALPED and ANIMAL MAN.

IFANBOY declared DC Comics as their “Publisher of the Year.” Their list of best new books in 2011 included ANIMAL MAN, SPACEMAN, BATMAN and ACTION COMICS. Meanwhile, their list of the top 10 comic events of 2011 included DC: RETROACTIVE and the STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES crossover, while FLASHPOINT and DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 took the top two spots. And their list of 2011’s best comic book writers included Jeff Lemire (ANIMAL MAN/FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E./SWEET TOOTH), Brian Azzarello (WONDER WOMAN/100 BULLETS/SPACEMAN), and taking the #1 spot was Scott Snyder (BATMAN/SWAMP THING/DETECTIVE COMICS/AMERICAN VAMPIRE).

To be continued …

Previews of Wednesday’s DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 Releases

Tomorrow, the next batch of fourth issues from DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 hits stores. Previews of the various issues being released have been running for the past few days across the Internet and we’ve compiled them all here on THE SOURCE for your convenience.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY continued their previews of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 by debuting an action-packed sequence from GREEN LANTERN #4.

USA TODAY ran an exclusive preview of BATGIRL #4 and interviewed series writer Gail Simone. “Where Batgirl struggles to do good with her survival experience, Mirror goes the other way and inflicts his pain on the rest of the world," Simone said of this issue’s final showdown between Batgirl and Mirror. “It's about identity and what we do with the lives we are given. That's a theme that runs throughout Barbara's adventures. You're given your fondest wish — what do you do with that gift?”

Need a little more bat to help you get through your Tuesday? COMIC BOOK RESOURCES previewed BATMAN AND ROBIN #4 and IFANBOY previewed BATWOMAN #4.

Or maybe you want something with a little more edge (see what I did there)? IGN has the first four pages of DEATHSTROKE #4, GAWKER’s IO9 has your first look at SUICIDE SQUAD #4 and MTV GEEK previewed GRIFTER #4.

If you’re looking for something slightly more on the dark side, MAXIM has an exclusive preview of DEMON KNIGHTS #4, BLOODY DISGUSTING has a first look at RESURRECTION MAN #4 and PASTE MAGAZINE debuted an interior sequence from FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #4. “Issue #4 wraps up all the plotlines from the first three issues and sets the next arc in motion,” series writer Jeff Lemire told PASTE. “It’s a big fun science-fiction adventure with lots of monsters killing other monsters. At the end it sets up Frank’s team, the Creature Commandos, with S.H.A.D.E., and we go with that for a few issues.”

Over at UGO, there’s an exclusive preview of SUPERBOY #4. TOR.COM has a look at MISTER TERRIFIC #4 and NEWSARAMA has your first sneak peek at LEGION LOST #4.

And just in case you’re still craving more of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 after all of that, take a sneak peek at BATMAN #5 below with Chris Burnham’s a-maze-ing variant cover.

To be continued …

Everyone’s Talkin’ About DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, Wednesday Afternoon (ET) Edition

Before we depart the offices for a couple of days to stuff our faces with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, we thought we’d share some highlights of the various DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 coverage that’s run lately.

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE spoke with the creative team of THE FLASH. “"What makes him special is that he comes from a time when a hero was a hero because that was the right thing to do," series co-writer and artist Francis Manapul said about protagonist Barry Allen. "It's the kind of hero that I think a lot of us, when were kids, aspired to … I think (that heroism) is what the Flash represents to me. I think you'll see throughout the first year that we're constantly putting that in contrast both in terms of the thematic story as well as visually. He is the brightest thing that you'll see on the page, and that's not by accident."

NEWSARAMA interviewed THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN writer Gail Simone. “The DCU is a different place with Firestorms in it,” Simone revealed. “They have the power to reshape everything. They just don’t KNOW it, yet.”

And BLOODY DISGUSTING selected I, VAMPIRE #3 as their “Pick of the Week.” “This is a deeply emotional story that really pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the last page,” they wrote of the book.

To be continued …

Tags:

Bloody Disgusting, brian buccellato, DC Comics-The New 52, francis manapul, gail simone, I V ampire, Newsarama, scripps howard news service, the flash, The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men

(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC Comics-The New 52, Monday Evening (ET) Edition

On Wednesday, the first set of issue #2s from DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 will go on sale. There's a ton of exclusive previews out there to whet your appetite.

USA TODAY has your first look at ACTION COMICS #2. "He has his reasons and they almost kind of make sense," series writer Grant Morrison told USA TODAY of Lex Luthor. "But then you dig a little deeper and you find this very petty, jealous, envious man, and unfortunately that's what drives his brilliance. He's a very strong character and has to be a real balance with Superman."

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ran an exclusive preview of O.M.A.C. #2. "OMAC is a character I remember when it first came out. I enjoyed it immensely," said series writer Dan DiDio to THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS. "The idea that you think you're in control of things and you lose your sense of control and that even when you think you're doing things your own way, someone else may be leading you — it was really a fascinating core theme."

Along with their exclusive preview of GREEN ARROW #2, POPMATTERS wrote a terrific analytic post about the psychology of the series. “For nothing more than a ‘solid superhero story’, Krul and Jurgens evoke a richness that is seldom glimpsed at,” they wrote.

IGN has your exclusive first look at BATWING #2 and NEWSARAMA premiered a 5-page interior sequence from HAWK AND DOVE #2.

Just in time for the haunting month of October, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE ran their list of the 10 Best Horror Graphic Novels for Halloween. DC Entertainment secured 5 of the 10 spots, with titles including BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, SWAMP THING VOL. 1, BOOKS OF MAGIC, ARKHAM ASYLUM and HELLBLAZER.

And continuing the spooky theme this month brings, top ranking horror website BLOODY DISGUSTING talked horror/dark comics with I, VAMPIRE writer Joshua Hale Fialkov. “For me, I wanted to take the best parts of horror and romance fiction, and combine it with what makes DC Comics great,” Fialkov said of his series. “We have a huge canvas to paint on, we will we rub-up against other characters and books, which is a blast to write. I'm really being given the freedom to tell a huge story all on my own with all of these great toys to play with. You'll definitely see some huge DC characters in the book in the not too distant future.”

To be continued …

(Everybody’s Talkin’ About) DC Comics-The New 52, Wednesday Afternoon (ET) Edition

Today, the final batch of first issues from DC Comics-The New 52 went on sale. Among these books was AQUAMAN #1.

“Everybody around has at least heard of Aquaman, and they've probably heard all the jokes — the same jokes Aquaman's heard — and they have their opinion on Aquaman,” writer Geoff Johns told USA TODAY. “Whether it's good or bad, that's what the book's all about.”

“We tackle what people think Aquaman is already right off the bat,” Johns said to CNN’s GEEK OUT. “He is very much a character that is an underdog in the world of super heroes.”

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY has the exclusive preview of BATGIRL #2 by Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes featured on their homepage.

The second part of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES’ HERO COMPLEX interview with BATMAN writer Scott Snyder has gone live. “It really goes after his confidence as a protector and legend of Gotham,” Snyder said of The Dark Knight in his series. “Along with it, there’ll be a lot of revelations about the Wayne family, about the Grayson family too, and it will all tie into NIGHTWING. The epic storyline will be 11 issues long, really about a war for Gotham’s soul between the Bat and this other organization, with some shocking new enemies for him built out of this mythology we’re going to develop.”

With the first day of October being this weekend, Halloween is quickly approaching. To kick off our preparations, FEAR.NET interviewed writers Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire about their horror series, SWAMP THING, ANIMAL MAN and FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. “The Red and the Green are so closely linked,” teased Lemire about an upcoming crossover between ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING. “So in many ways, both of our stories, even though they're kind of separate for the first ten issues or so, are actually kind of part of a bigger story. That will come together at the end of the first year and then spin off into something new with both books linked again. We're super excited about that.”

And speaking of titles in the Dark family? BLOODY DISGUSTING has selected JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1 as their “Graphic Content Pick of the Week.”

To be continued …

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