I should have included a few more honorable mentions. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, Gideon Falls, and Thor were all pretty interesting.
My god, almost all of these sound fascinating. Just one question. I could only find the first 3 issues of The Scumbag. Are there only 3 issues, because I kinda prefer to read either trades, or a trades worth of stuff. I wanna read the scumbag either way, but I wanna know if I should wait a few months.
Gideon Falls is my favorite but I haven't read a lot of the books you've mentioned so I'm adding them to my pull list. You've helped me find a lot of cool series already
My faves for 2020: - King size Conan #1 (only that issue) - Icecream Man - Immortal Hulk - The Green Lantern - Brooklyn Gladiator - Year Zero vol. 2 Honarable Mentions - Dceased Dead Planet (only til issue 3) - DK Death Metal (a couple side books were good) I'm only going to be only getting 1 book each of dc and marvel, I'm moving to more Heavy Metal, 2000AD, Image and BOOM
i havent been truly moved, emotionally, by a mainstream superhero comic in a looooong time. dead earth moved me. so glad you did your piece on the creator. and so glad i read it. ive gone in and out of reading comics since 1968, when i was 7 or so. "shall man survive" is my earliest comics memory. graduated a long time ago to grown up comics/comix. big believer in the medium (they should teach reading in elementary school with comics, no question in my mind). i will try to get many of your picks in the next year. youve got that eye for the whole field, which i appreciate a lot, as i cannot just read superheros any longer.
Agree with everything you said. I been reading a lo of indies and old classics as I just can't stand recent superhero stuff. And like yourself I get some tips here in the channel as well. Good stuff Chris does here, really hope it takes off for him :)
@Irish Jester I did and I truly enjoyed, it is very good. The only thing is it seems to not have an ending, does it…? Sometimes I find myself checking online to see if I can find something new on either Jupiter Circle or Jupiter Legacy… Another one that I also found to be very interesting was Manifest Destiny and likewise it left a sense that there was no ending. The ones I been reading lately are Descender, Ascender, Saga and Once & Future. And some I got from Chris' recommendations on the channel. And most recently I went back to some old Marvel classics from the 80s - which is what I grew up reading so I decided to re-visit :)
I just love to see people talking about something they are really passionate about. The joy of Chris in this video is palpable. Thank you for sharing your love for comics.
I've been with this channel since the day of rob liefeld comic tropes, i'm so glad for the growth you have achieved. Happy new year dude, looking forward to what's next
The book is 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner' 1959, by Alan Sillitoe, which was also made into a movie in 1962. Thanks for your awesome channel Chris, keep up the excellent work. Happy New Year
@@BigPapaJoshy some are luckily still open. Just need to hit up DC, Marvel and whatever other sites to find them. We still have 4 in Miami, more if you go north to Broward county
Please keep making videos. Your quite positivity has helped me through this year, and it was very rough year. So thank you and I hope to see your channel grow and I wish you the best life can give.
I didn't think I've read any comics that was released this year but I did start reading more comics in 2020 because of this channel and the amazing comics that were featured
i adore comics but time and money mean i tend to read about one book a year but this channel keeps me plugged in and i occasionally pick up one of your recommendations so thanks!
Kent State just wrecked me. The way he sets up and paces the storytelling, building to its tragic conclusion was brilliant. The most emotionally gripping comics reading experience of the year, easily.
@@jaebee81 havent read in a while as well. I like something that's a small short series like Keepers of the Maser or Saga or something really artsy like Blood by Kent Willams. Can you suggest something for me?
@@MammothBehemoth nice. Honestly I don't read much outside of Marvel and DC. I thought Saga went for a few years. As Chris mentioned, Cross Over has potential but I don't think it will have licensing to get there. Daredevil, Thor, Hulk, Venom. Marvel Comics Presents has been cool. Oh and Hickmans X Men has been wild.
Hi Chris! I'm from Brazil. The best comic I've read this year was "Grass", the manwha written and illustrated by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim. It was recently published in here. A true punch in the stomach. It is in the same level as "Maus", in my opinion.
Chris, i just wanted to tell you how good your content is, i've used your vids to fall asleep to (not a joke or an insult, i find them very calming) and you've seemingly dissapeared from my sub box for some reason around half a year ago. Today i stumbled upon you once more and saw that you have a new intro animated by none other than the great Harry Partridge! Good on you mate!
Really good list. I have read almost all of these but the Brubaker and Scumbag. 2020 brought me back to comics after 5 years away. I've loved it. Great list. Subbed.
You made this year bearable. I figured I'd countdown my top 5 comics I read because of your channel. 5. Bitch planet 4. Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips comics(can't narrow it down to just 1) 3.Immortal Hulk 2. Brat pack 1. Cerebus.
Loved your list. Not the usual list by any stretch and plenty to investigate. Brubaker and Phillips have been on fire but I think my fave of last year is Ice Cream Man
I was always curious about basket ful of heads, I LOVED Joe hills work on lock and key and your recommendation inspired me to check it out and I was VERY impressed, great story great artwork and overall a lot of fun.
@@warpartyattheoutpost4987Presumably, The Punisher is a favourite character with 'War Party' at 'The Outpost' :) Not much of a fan of the character myself but don't ever like to see people calling for 'cancellation' on 'offended' grounds for anything. However, I don't know the context for this so can't make a judgement yet. 'CommieTropes' and 'Soycialist' is all a bit teenage though so I'm guessing you're quite young? I wouldn't worry too much if I was you, I remember the calls for The Punisher to be cancelled during the last wave of 'political correctness gone mad' - back in the late 80's...it passes.
@@warpartyattheoutpost4987 My apologies. I don't know if it was the just 'the Christians' trying to ban stuff back in the 80's - they were in the mix (certainly over here in the UK, we had 'Mary Whitehouse' and her 'viewers and listeners association' in the newspapers every other week and she, ostensibly at least, had our best interests in mind on behalf of 'The Lord') but I think it was mostly the same then as now - the self-righteous on a power trip, staking out whatever the currently approved 'moral high ground' seems to be in order to get their authoritarian rocks off. I don't get that sense with this guy ('Chris'?) or 'Comic Tropes' though at all (whatever 'The Punisher' issue may be, I can't imagine it's a 'control' thing. Maybe misguided concern that the character might have influenced a bogey man that has been constructed by the press/Twitter over the last few years....?). The current wave of political correctness gone mad (ermm...'differently sane' probably. 'Mad' is undoubtedly offensive :) ) does come more from the left than the right but - sorry to disappoint you, so do I (fine that you don't, I'm not somebody who thinks that anybody who has a different view than me is a fascist. That would be fascistic :) and yet I absolutely can't stand it at all. The whole 'post-structuralism' aspects of it are from the faaaar left, which is just as bad as the far right but doesn't have anything like the same degree of bad press (but should). I have no issue with being an adult who enjoys comic books by the way - Comics are a medium of communication but the writer/artist only has partial control of what gets communicated, we bring our own depths to comics because of what a character might mean to us personally (particularly if we've been reading stuff on that character for decades). I almost certainly got more out of 'Avengers: The Korvac Saga' than 'War and Peace'. I suppose, in a way, it's the fear of this that motivated the 'ban the Punisher' thing (whatever it was/is - I will look it up), a fear that the simple-minded might misread the character and be inspired to do 'X'. That's usually what it is. That's why they wanted to ban video's cassettes in the 80's here in the UK (and, ironically, comics back in the 50's!). This is just the latest moral panic and, 5 years from now, will seem as ridiculously repressive as the calls to ban Elvis 'the Pelvis'.
Okay, I just saw what this thing was about. It's another tea cup storm that we're all supposed to think is the most important thing in the world: Somebody in the Capitol building was wearing a Punisher T shirt and 'the Comics world' felt it had to get in on the urgent social media requirement to 'give an opinion'. In this case, individuals distancing themselves from something they found awful, repellent and scary (as opposed to finding ways to justify it if it accorded with their own political/social beliefs). I can understand people feeling that. Honestly though, I'd prefer if comics just kept out of it. Somebody wore a comicbook related t shirt and all of a sudden we have an 'expert' opinion to give? To be honest, this person could also have been wearing a Captain America t-shirt - and so could anybody who is absolutely in opposition to his presumed worldview. People bring their own baggage to a character. Sorry, I know you like the character but to me 'The Punisher' has always been mentally ill (traumatised by violence) and I certainly wouldn't want to 'be' Frank Castle (ergo, 'emulate' him). Don't get me wrong, I believe you can tell great stories with that character (and though I'm not a fan and so haven't read them, I'm sure writers like Garth Ennis have) so I don't think the character should be 'banned' at all! If readers find the milieu of that character accords most with their personal feelings and opinions about the society they live in, and, the actions of that character provide catharsis, well, shit, we need to do something about 'society' for them, not ban the character so they have to find that somewhere else and in something else (personally, I'd rather be Captain America though. Idealist, see? Which is probably why I loathe 'post-structuralism' too. The nihilists on the extremes actually have a lot in common...).
not gonna lie, i loved *DEATH METAL* the amount of content that characters like Wally West, Nightwing, the JSA, and Superboy Prime got was amazing after the rollercoaster that the 2010s were for them. It was extremely satisfying to see Roy Harper forgive Wally for Heroes In Crisis, Dick finally leading the Justice League, and all the dead JSA members coming out for the final battle were just what I'd been waiting for since DC Rebirth #1.
I really enjoyed the death metal run from its very beginning to its completion. It was very meta like what Morrison or Moore would do, but without being either overly pretentious (Moore) or requiring a 50 year historical degree in comic history (Morrison). Throughout the course of the Run he cleans up a lot of bad story ideas, such as making Superboy Prime a stand-in for "whiny fans". He explains why there were multiple crisis, and he finds a way to knit everything together in a very enjoyable fashion. If I had any complaint, I would say that the almost pathological obsession with Batman that has been evidenced throughout Snyder's run can sometimes get a little creepy. Batmanium? The constant stream of evil Batmen? Its stalker level. But it says something to the quality of the story and the setting that that's not a killer for me. I really wish she would have toned it down a little bit but I think death metal has been a phenomenal run and a most appropriate bookend For What appears to be the end of the DC Universe
PULP was phenomenal. Such a great single sit and read in one book. Netflix or Amazon or HBO should make a deal with Brubaker and Phillips to make all their stories into movies or series. And get Josh Brolin to play the tough Lawless brother. Can't remember his first name at the moment, but I'm sure you know who I mean. Their body of work could make some compelling series. If they only ever made Kill or Be Killed into a series, I would be ecstatic. I loved the little story twist at the end of Pulp.
The badass brother you're thinking of from the "criminal" series is named Tracy Lawless. I loved "criminal", as well as "kill or be killed" by Brubaker and Phillips, I still need to read "Pulp" though.
That’s 1 I forgot about! I read the first 2 I think and somehow put it down til you just reminded me of it. . Wow. I was looking for something by him to read. Thanks !!
Happy New Year Chris! Ty for an amazing year of comic videos. The positivity and passion you bring to your videos is amazing. I love the wide range of topics you cover too, especially terrible comic runs and artist careers From Marvel, my favourite comic this year was Immortal Hulk. The horror twist brought Hulk back to his roots as a monster, but the way they explore his mind makes him the most sympathetic hes ever been, I feel so bad for the childlike Green Hulk who's constantly being used. It also tackles Bruce Banners failings as a person which is good. I think it is a great love letter to every piece of Hulk lore and media and would make for a fantastic conclusion to the Hulk. If he were to die or end his journey after this comic it would be the best time to do it imo Going by manga, Chainsaw Man has been pretty revolutionary for Shounen Jump titles. It's silly and fun but has a mature and dark tone too, and switches between the two a lot. The beginning chapters are like reading the manga version of a grindhouse horror movie. The main characters Denji and Pochita are some of my favourite manga characters in years. The story was an interesting take on shounen tropes as Denji struggles to find a "dream" that can keep him going and it actually had a proper ending unlike most SJ manga
@@TheMightySilverback_ lost in space it's part 2 of the movie, and is really good, better then the movie x-files would be a good one x-files 30 doays of night is fantastic read
Happy New Year & Hafa adai(Guam aloha) Chris? My apologies if I got your name wrong. It is so awesome to be a Comic Book fan now that I cannot keep my favorites to just top 10. I have my TOP 12: Thor, Something is Killing the Children, Strange Academy, Fantastic 4(my all-time Favorite Comic), Immortal Hulk, CrossOver, Star Wars: Darth Vader, Stillwater, Daredevil, E-Ratic, Picture of Everything Else, & The Last Ronin! Enjoy The Chase in 2021 and Beyond! IslandJ
Witch Hat Atelier is definitlty one of the best mangas i´ve read lately, the story is great so far and the artwork is one of the best i´ve seen. And i´ll check on Pulp and Bowie, great vid. And this year i´m mainly reading manga like: Kinghts of Sidonia, Dr. Stone, Sword of the Immortal, Innocent, Bakemonogatari, Berserk released some new chapters this year, so lots of manga this year, and i have a lot in my "to read" list, also comics ;) Cheers and Happy New Year!!
Was hoping for a 2020 recap. Thank you for a great year of talking comics, Chris! Zdarsky's run on Daredevil has been my favorite for the year (DD is my #1 hero, so I'm a bit biased). Looking forward to what Zdarsky does on Stillwater, too.
I’ve been reading Immortal Hulk as trades and continue to love it for the body horror aspect. Waiting for Crossover and Stillwater to come out as trades, Cates and Zdarsky are two of my favourite creators. Ever since I checked out Murder Falcon after your DWJ video I’ve wanted to check out Wonder Woman. Thanks for the video Chris! Happy new year.
Adventureman by Matt Fraction, Terry and Rachel Dodson, and Clayton Cowles was the best thing I read this year. Absolutely fun and bright adventure. Compelling characters and gorgeous artwork and storytelling.
Started reading it as well! Really enjoying it. At times it has felt a little formulaic but that's kind of impossible to avoid given the subject matter and I think it has the potential to go into really cool directions as more issues come out.
I thought Dial H for Hero was one of the best this year. A love letter to the medium of comics, and honouring the artists/writers within. Very fun, and underrated. Also the new Hellblazer in the Sandman Universe imprint was fantastic. Really well written, touching on serious topics alongside very dark and twisted gorgeous art
Was already really looking forward to reading that Wonder Woman book on your recommendation but now I have a few more to add to the list. Thanks, Chris!
I loved both of those! Dragin hoops was surprisingly compelling, and Yang did one of the best superman stories I've read in ages. Previous writers have touched on the immigrant aspect of of the superman mythos but Yang found a really great way to lend that element greater authenticity. I hope he gets another shot at writing superman again soon.
Literally anything but Marvel and DC, as they are so woke, it'sno longer funny anymore, just cringe worthy. Their masters, Disney and AT&T/Warner are trying to desperately destroy their own heroes.
About 21:20: "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"(1962) is a movie based on a 1959 short story by one of the British "Angry Young Men", Alan Sillitoe(1928-2010).
Was very glad to see Immortal Hulk on this list, it's consistently been one of my favorite Hulk series and I'm very fond of how the horror elements are blended with the superhero elements to make something unique.
This is a great list! I’ll definitely have to check some of these out, especially The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist! My favorites this year have included a lot of great stuff from small publishers, Once and Future from Boom! is my favorite book coming out right now. Also really excited to see what else AWA Upshot is going to be putting out, Year Zero might be the best zombie comic since The Walking Dead. Also extremely excited to see where Home Sick Pilots goes, it’s only been one issue so far but boy was it a killer first issue.
Great List, and some new stuff for me to check, so thanks. Tomine's book title is a parody / homage to Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe. Amazing socio-realist book turned into an Ace film. All the best for 2021 x
Great show Chris- I’m one of those guys who haven’t read any new comics in years, but still pick up hard covers and an occasional omnibus from time to time. A few items on your list has piqued my interest. PS: Love the new animation on your intro!
Like you I'm a huge fan of david bowie and I was a bit reluctant to buy the comic at first but I'm so glad I did,it was so good,no pretentious or over blowing the story,tastefully done and a gr8 read p.s.also loved the dceased follow up titles and the dc metal titles,they were so much fun
I'm glad I started reading Savage Dragon again in 2020. Now I'm going to try to pick up trades to fill in the gap from when I stopped reading it. It's nice to be back in Erik Larsen's world again.
I don't know. I've been reading it from issue 1, I have the 10 archive collections. And I'm picking up the next one out of morbid curiosity but it really seems to have gone off the rails heavily. Most of the story in the last collection was about how his son is banging his girlfriend and his adopted sister, and then they decide they want to make it a poly relationship, and most of what was written was in that vein. I miss a lot of the Bonkers ideas and the World building that Larson put in the comic, and I guess I'll see where things go with the newest collection
I should have included a few more honorable mentions. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, Gideon Falls, and Thor were all pretty interesting.
Sorry to be that guy, but wasn't it called "the loneliness of the long distance runner" ?
My god, almost all of these sound fascinating. Just one question. I could only find the first 3 issues of The Scumbag. Are there only 3 issues, because I kinda prefer to read either trades, or a trades worth of stuff. I wanna read the scumbag either way, but I wanna know if I should wait a few months.
@@Fallout2Forever There is only 3 issues, just started in October.
Gideon Falls is my favorite but I haven't read a lot of the books you've mentioned so I'm adding them to my pull list. You've helped me find a lot of cool series already
My faves for 2020:
- King size Conan #1 (only that issue)
- Icecream Man
- Immortal Hulk
- The Green Lantern
- Brooklyn Gladiator
- Year Zero vol. 2
Honarable Mentions
- Dceased Dead Planet (only til issue 3)
- DK Death Metal (a couple side books were good)
I'm only going to be only getting 1 book each of dc and marvel, I'm moving to more Heavy Metal, 2000AD, Image and BOOM
i havent been truly moved, emotionally, by a mainstream superhero comic in a looooong time. dead earth moved me. so glad you did your piece on the creator. and so glad i read it. ive gone in and out of reading comics since 1968, when i was 7 or so. "shall man survive" is my earliest comics memory. graduated a long time ago to grown up comics/comix. big believer in the medium (they should teach reading in elementary school with comics, no question in my mind). i will try to get many of your picks in the next year. youve got that eye for the whole field, which i appreciate a lot, as i cannot just read superheros any longer.
Agree with everything you said. I been reading a lo of indies and old classics as I just can't stand recent superhero stuff.
And like yourself I get some tips here in the channel as well. Good stuff Chris does here, really hope it takes off for him :)
@Irish Jester I did and I truly enjoyed, it is very good.
The only thing is it seems to not have an ending, does it…? Sometimes I find myself checking online to see if I can find something new on either Jupiter Circle or Jupiter Legacy…
Another one that I also found to be very interesting was Manifest Destiny and likewise it left a sense that there was no ending.
The ones I been reading lately are Descender, Ascender, Saga and Once & Future. And some I got from Chris' recommendations on the channel.
And most recently I went back to some old Marvel classics from the 80s - which is what I grew up reading so I decided to re-visit :)
I just love to see people talking about something they are really passionate about. The joy of Chris in this video is palpable.
Thank you for sharing your love for comics.
I've been with this channel since the day of rob liefeld comic tropes, i'm so glad for the growth you have achieved. Happy new year dude, looking forward to what's next
I still kind of miss the old “ Comb-ic” Tropes intro.
For me, Marauders was the highlight of the year. The fact that Kate's fate was in the air for the entire shutdown months actually helped the hype.
The book is 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner' 1959, by Alan Sillitoe, which was also made into a movie in 1962. Thanks for your awesome channel Chris, keep up the excellent work. Happy New Year
About to step into the comic shop with your recommendations like a grocery store
Those still exist?
@@BigPapaJoshy some are luckily still open. Just need to hit up DC, Marvel and whatever other sites to find them. We still have 4 in Miami, more if you go north to Broward county
👆🏻Well that was a pointless comment. 👆🏻 Good lord.
Agreed
@@ScuubaSteefe Superheros Unlimited was cool
BOOM's been putting out some great stuff lately
Please keep making videos. Your quite positivity has helped me through this year, and it was very rough year. So thank you and I hope to see your channel grow and I wish you the best life can give.
I didn't think I've read any comics that was released this year but I did start reading more comics in 2020 because of this channel and the amazing comics that were featured
Chip Zdarsky's Daredevil was at the top of my list for 2020. Awesome series.
Thank you for being such a positive figure for comics and youtube throughout 2020. May 2021 be generous to you.
i adore comics but time and money mean i tend to read about one book a year but this channel keeps me plugged in and i occasionally pick up one of your recommendations so thanks!
Kent State just wrecked me. The way he sets up and paces the storytelling, building to its tragic conclusion was brilliant. The most emotionally gripping comics reading experience of the year, easily.
Haven't read new comics in 15 years but happy to contribute to the comments section.
Well moniker match, what's your flavor?
Lol
@@jaebee81 No clue.
@@jaebee81 havent read in a while as well.
I like something that's a small short series like Keepers of the Maser or Saga or something really artsy like Blood by Kent Willams. Can you suggest something for me?
@@MammothBehemoth nice. Honestly I don't read much outside of Marvel and DC. I thought Saga went for a few years. As Chris mentioned, Cross Over has potential but I don't think it will have licensing to get there. Daredevil, Thor, Hulk, Venom. Marvel Comics Presents has been cool. Oh and Hickmans X Men has been wild.
Hi Chris! I'm from Brazil. The best comic I've read this year was "Grass", the manwha written and illustrated by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim. It was recently published in here. A true punch in the stomach. It is in the same level as "Maus", in my opinion.
Wow, what a wonderful animated intro. This is the first episode I've watched in many months, so the new intro was a shock. Well done.
Killing it lately, Chris. Happy New Year.
Hey! I recognize this profile. Lol 😝
@@cyberpunkholiday Happy New Year, bud
@@captainnegativity9269 Happy New Year, man
The most recent issue of Snotgirl from image comics was great. Hope the series continues into 2021. Great list! Can’t wait for more videos
Chris, i just wanted to tell you how good your content is, i've used your vids to fall asleep to (not a joke or an insult, i find them very calming) and you've seemingly dissapeared from my sub box for some reason around half a year ago. Today i stumbled upon you once more and saw that you have a new intro animated by none other than the great Harry Partridge! Good on you mate!
Really good list. I have read almost all of these but the Brubaker and Scumbag. 2020 brought me back to comics after 5 years away. I've loved it. Great list. Subbed.
For sure gonna check out that Long Distance Cartoonist book, sounds great!
"Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner"
When he said "bicyclist" I thought, "What? A sequel?"
@@indiecomicsjones It's a pacier take. Faster third act. lol
Thank you, guessed i could not be the only one to catch that.
@@shin0b1ken0b1 I guess it just rolled off his tongue.
Sad to see Thor by Donny Cates wasn’t on here, but I’m glad there’s a lot of spotlight on the indie scene. Keep up the great work, man!
It was great but the end of the black winter was super flat in my opinion, kinda brought the rest of it down.
Thor #6 was ffreaking fantastic.
Thor got a p.s. honorary spot here in the comments 😼
You made this year bearable. I figured I'd countdown my top 5 comics I read because of your channel. 5. Bitch planet 4. Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips comics(can't narrow it down to just 1) 3.Immortal Hulk 2. Brat pack 1. Cerebus.
Great channel, Chris! Love what you do.
Loved your list. Not the usual list by any stretch and plenty to investigate. Brubaker and Phillips have been on fire but I think my fave of last year is Ice Cream Man
Woah, was not expecting the Harry Partridge animation at the beginning! Very cool!
The David Bowie comic looks really good and the one I'm most likely to purchase (with Kent State being a close second). Thanks for the tips!
I was always curious about basket ful of heads, I LOVED Joe hills work on lock and key and your recommendation inspired me to check it out and I was VERY impressed, great story great artwork and overall a lot of fun.
Amazing haven't been able to read any comics for 2020 so excited to spend some $ on some of these. Thank you so much for this video
any new* comics
I checked out and read “Basketful of Heads” on your recommendation and I really enjoyed it!
Octobriana! Good on you, supporting Rugg!
No snark, no bitterness, no axe to grind, just a genuine love of the medium of comics. Love this channel.
@@warpartyattheoutpost4987Presumably, The Punisher is a favourite character with 'War Party' at 'The Outpost' :) Not much of a fan of the character myself but don't ever like to see people calling for 'cancellation' on 'offended' grounds for anything. However, I don't know the context for this so can't make a judgement yet. 'CommieTropes' and 'Soycialist' is all a bit teenage though so I'm guessing you're quite young? I wouldn't worry too much if I was you, I remember the calls for The Punisher to be cancelled during the last wave of 'political correctness gone mad' - back in the late 80's...it passes.
@@warpartyattheoutpost4987 My apologies. I don't know if it was the just 'the Christians' trying to ban stuff back in the 80's - they were in the mix (certainly over here in the UK, we had 'Mary Whitehouse' and her 'viewers and listeners association' in the newspapers every other week and she, ostensibly at least, had our best interests in mind on behalf of 'The Lord') but I think it was mostly the same then as now - the self-righteous on a power trip, staking out whatever the currently approved 'moral high ground' seems to be in order to get their authoritarian rocks off. I don't get that sense with this guy ('Chris'?) or 'Comic Tropes' though at all (whatever 'The Punisher' issue may be, I can't imagine it's a 'control' thing. Maybe misguided concern that the character might have influenced a bogey man that has been constructed by the press/Twitter over the last few years....?). The current wave of political correctness gone mad (ermm...'differently sane' probably. 'Mad' is undoubtedly offensive :) ) does come more from the left than the right but - sorry to disappoint you, so do I (fine that you don't, I'm not somebody who thinks that anybody who has a different view than me is a fascist. That would be fascistic :) and yet I absolutely can't stand it at all. The whole 'post-structuralism' aspects of it are from the faaaar left, which is just as bad as the far right but doesn't have anything like the same degree of bad press (but should). I have no issue with being an adult who enjoys comic books by the way - Comics are a medium of communication but the writer/artist only has partial control of what gets communicated, we bring our own depths to comics because of what a character might mean to us personally (particularly if we've been reading stuff on that character for decades). I almost certainly got more out of 'Avengers: The Korvac Saga' than 'War and Peace'. I suppose, in a way, it's the fear of this that motivated the 'ban the Punisher' thing (whatever it was/is - I will look it up), a fear that the simple-minded might misread the character and be inspired to do 'X'. That's usually what it is. That's why they wanted to ban video's cassettes in the 80's here in the UK (and, ironically, comics back in the 50's!). This is just the latest moral panic and, 5 years from now, will seem as ridiculously repressive as the calls to ban Elvis 'the Pelvis'.
Okay, I just saw what this thing was about. It's another tea cup storm that we're all supposed to think is the most important thing in the world: Somebody in the Capitol building was wearing a Punisher T shirt and 'the Comics world' felt it had to get in on the urgent social media requirement to 'give an opinion'. In this case, individuals distancing themselves from something they found awful, repellent and scary (as opposed to finding ways to justify it if it accorded with their own political/social beliefs). I can understand people feeling that. Honestly though, I'd prefer if comics just kept out of it. Somebody wore a comicbook related t shirt and all of a sudden we have an 'expert' opinion to give? To be honest, this person could also have been wearing a Captain America t-shirt - and so could anybody who is absolutely in opposition to his presumed worldview. People bring their own baggage to a character. Sorry, I know you like the character but to me 'The Punisher' has always been mentally ill (traumatised by violence) and I certainly wouldn't want to 'be' Frank Castle (ergo, 'emulate' him). Don't get me wrong, I believe you can tell great stories with that character (and though I'm not a fan and so haven't read them, I'm sure writers like Garth Ennis have) so I don't think the character should be 'banned' at all! If readers find the milieu of that character accords most with their personal feelings and opinions about the society they live in, and, the actions of that character provide catharsis, well, shit, we need to do something about 'society' for them, not ban the character so they have to find that somewhere else and in something else (personally, I'd rather be Captain America though. Idealist, see? Which is probably why I loathe 'post-structuralism' too. The nihilists on the extremes actually have a lot in common...).
dude the new intro is AMAZING!
not gonna lie, i loved *DEATH METAL*
the amount of content that characters like Wally West, Nightwing, the JSA, and Superboy Prime got was amazing after the rollercoaster that the 2010s were for them. It was extremely satisfying to see Roy Harper forgive Wally for Heroes In Crisis, Dick finally leading the Justice League, and all the dead JSA members coming out for the final battle were just what I'd been waiting for since DC Rebirth #1.
I really enjoyed the death metal run from its very beginning to its completion. It was very meta like what Morrison or Moore would do, but without being either overly pretentious (Moore) or requiring a 50 year historical degree in comic history (Morrison).
Throughout the course of the Run he cleans up a lot of bad story ideas, such as making Superboy Prime a stand-in for "whiny fans". He explains why there were multiple crisis, and he finds a way to knit everything together in a very enjoyable fashion.
If I had any complaint, I would say that the almost pathological obsession with Batman that has been evidenced throughout Snyder's run can sometimes get a little creepy. Batmanium? The constant stream of evil Batmen? Its stalker level.
But it says something to the quality of the story and the setting that that's not a killer for me. I really wish she would have toned it down a little bit but I think death metal has been a phenomenal run and a most appropriate bookend For What appears to be the end of the DC Universe
PULP was phenomenal. Such a great single sit and read in one book. Netflix or Amazon or HBO should make a deal with Brubaker and Phillips to make all their stories into movies or series. And get Josh Brolin to play the tough Lawless brother. Can't remember his first name at the moment, but I'm sure you know who I mean. Their body of work could make some compelling series. If they only ever made Kill or Be Killed into a series, I would be ecstatic. I loved the little story twist at the end of Pulp.
The badass brother you're thinking of from the "criminal" series is named Tracy Lawless. I loved "criminal", as well as "kill or be killed" by Brubaker and Phillips, I still need to read "Pulp" though.
They use colors, art and comics well. I don’t think they need to adapt it but if they wanted to do it I probably give it a try.
Punisher: Soviet should be on the list.
That’s 1 I forgot about! I read the first 2 I think and somehow put it down til you just reminded me of it. . Wow. I was looking for something by him to read.
Thanks !!
@@terskatti4994 can I cancel you?
@@terskatti4994 I got something on my pants you can try to cancel.... with your lips!
Sorry Comic Tropes. I know this is below u. Not me tho.
this guy needs to get a visit from the Punisher
@@DenerWitt Ever read that guy “ Kev” ? He’s another one I don’t think you’d want popping over.
Finding this channel was a highlight for me in our now previous, sub-par year. Thanks for inspiring me to get even more into comics than I already was
Thanks for the recommends Chris. Saved a couple of these on my wantlist
Love that you included basketful of heads... definitely on my top ten list this year
Happy New Year Chris!
Ty for an amazing year of comic videos. The positivity and passion you bring to your videos is amazing. I love the wide range of topics you cover too, especially terrible comic runs and artist careers
From Marvel, my favourite comic this year was Immortal Hulk. The horror twist brought Hulk back to his roots as a monster, but the way they explore his mind makes him the most sympathetic hes ever been, I feel so bad for the childlike Green Hulk who's constantly being used. It also tackles Bruce Banners failings as a person which is good. I think it is a great love letter to every piece of Hulk lore and media and would make for a fantastic conclusion to the Hulk. If he were to die or end his journey after this comic it would be the best time to do it imo
Going by manga, Chainsaw Man has been pretty revolutionary for Shounen Jump titles. It's silly and fun but has a mature and dark tone too, and switches between the two a lot. The beginning chapters are like reading the manga version of a grindhouse horror movie. The main characters Denji and Pochita are some of my favourite manga characters in years. The story was an interesting take on shounen tropes as Denji struggles to find a "dream" that can keep him going and it actually had a proper ending unlike most SJ manga
Look at the artist representation of David Bowie, it's not hard to believe how they cast him as the man who fell to Earth.
Yoshikage kira
Know I’m a few weeks late but the new intro is awesome, congrats!
REALLY loved your recommendations Chris can't wait to check the rest of them out!
I love your new intro! Skipped back several times to watch it. Now onto the rest of the video...
Love the new intro! So proud of you Chris, good job.
Happy new year. You made me reading comics and supporting local comicbook stores again after a long time off. Thanks for that.
Dude love the new opening
Thanks, Chris! I'll check these out. I spent this episode scribbling notes.
Glad you’re back
You should do an episode on comics based on movies, tv shows, etc.
The Alien and Predator comics immediately come to mind. Archie Sonic too.
@@TheMightySilverback_ lost in space it's part 2 of the movie, and is really good, better then the movie
x-files would be a good one
x-files 30 doays of night is fantastic read
Happy New Year & Hafa adai(Guam aloha) Chris? My apologies if I got your name wrong. It is so awesome to be a Comic Book fan now that I cannot keep my favorites to just top 10. I have my TOP 12: Thor, Something is Killing the Children, Strange Academy, Fantastic 4(my all-time Favorite Comic), Immortal Hulk, CrossOver, Star Wars: Darth Vader, Stillwater, Daredevil, E-Ratic, Picture of Everything Else, & The Last Ronin! Enjoy The Chase in 2021 and Beyond! IslandJ
Plus, I enjoyed your Top 10 Comics of 2020 segment. Looking forward to seeing more of your Videos. IslandJ
Witch Hat Atelier is definitlty one of the best mangas i´ve read lately, the story is great so far and the artwork is one of the best i´ve seen. And i´ll check on Pulp and Bowie, great vid.
And this year i´m mainly reading manga like: Kinghts of Sidonia, Dr. Stone, Sword of the Immortal, Innocent, Bakemonogatari, Berserk released some new chapters this year, so lots of manga this year, and i have a lot in my "to read" list, also comics ;) Cheers and Happy New Year!!
Thank you for the recs!
Happy new year Chris. Thanks for all your work.
Haven’t been here in a while digging the new intro
You channel is amazing Chris!
Was hoping for a 2020 recap. Thank you for a great year of talking comics, Chris! Zdarsky's run on Daredevil has been my favorite for the year (DD is my #1 hero, so I'm a bit biased). Looking forward to what Zdarsky does on Stillwater, too.
So many of your picks are already on my list, I can't think of anything else to add. Thanks for the tip on Excellence I will check that out.
Fascinating comics in your list. Plan to order many of them. Thanks, Chris
Thanks for these recommendations, these all sound great.
I haven’t had a chance to read any new comics, but I’ll have to look into these. Thanks for the recommendations Chris.
I would have added: Green Lantern season 2, A Kindness of Ravens, Strange Adventures, and Lonely Receiver. Great video as always thank you!!
I was blown away by Aftershock's publication, We Live. Best of 2020 in my opinion
I’ve been reading Immortal Hulk as trades and continue to love it for the body horror aspect. Waiting for Crossover and Stillwater to come out as trades, Cates and Zdarsky are two of my favourite creators. Ever since I checked out Murder Falcon after your DWJ video I’ve wanted to check out Wonder Woman. Thanks for the video Chris! Happy new year.
Awesome. Adding to my 'to buy' list.
Adventureman by Matt Fraction, Terry and Rachel Dodson, and Clayton Cowles was the best thing I read this year. Absolutely fun and bright adventure. Compelling characters and gorgeous artwork and storytelling.
Started reading it as well! Really enjoying it. At times it has felt a little formulaic but that's kind of impossible to avoid given the subject matter and I think it has the potential to go into really cool directions as more issues come out.
I don't own any comics and haven't read a comic in over 20 years, but I watch this channel religiously.
So you must be doing something right 💪
I've stopped reading comics a lifetime ago. I use this channel and three others to stay somewhat abreast
I’ve been on a break but still love hearing people talk comics
I thought Dial H for Hero was one of the best this year. A love letter to the medium of comics, and honouring the artists/writers within. Very fun, and underrated. Also the new Hellblazer in the Sandman Universe imprint was fantastic. Really well written, touching on serious topics alongside very dark and twisted gorgeous art
I really enjoyed Simon Spurrier's Hellblazer. Just wonderful storytelling that nails John Constantine!
Was already really looking forward to reading that Wonder Woman book on your recommendation but now I have a few more to add to the list. Thanks, Chris!
I'm absolutely loving Department of Truth. The story is fantastic and timely.
Yes, my surprise of the year
Great Opening! Congrats!
nice to see you again, to you and all the Fans and Creators of Coimcs, GN and sequential Art a Happy New Year, cheers.
Happy New Year, Chris. Great picks. I'll have to get that Bowie book. I love the Allreds. Best wishes for 2021!
Nice list and Happy New Year!
I haven’t read many 2020 comics in 2020, but I loved Gene Luen Yang’s Dragon Hoops and Superman Smashes The Klan.
I loved both of those! Dragin hoops was surprisingly compelling, and Yang did one of the best superman stories I've read in ages. Previous writers have touched on the immigrant aspect of of the superman mythos but Yang found a really great way to lend that element greater authenticity. I hope he gets another shot at writing superman again soon.
I just started reading comics again last month after a 25 year hiatus. I’ll be taking notes on what the go back and read.
Avatar; BOOM; Dark Horse; IDW; Image; and Valiant.
Literally anything but Marvel and DC, as they are so woke, it'sno longer funny anymore, just cringe worthy.
Their masters, Disney and AT&T/Warner are trying to desperately destroy their own heroes.
About 21:20: "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"(1962) is a movie based on a 1959 short story by one of the British "Angry Young Men", Alan Sillitoe(1928-2010).
Was very glad to see Immortal Hulk on this list, it's consistently been one of my favorite Hulk series and I'm very fond of how the horror elements are blended with the superhero elements to make something unique.
Great list. Thanks for sharing.
This is a great list! I’ll definitely have to check some of these out, especially The Loneliness of the Long Distance Cartoonist!
My favorites this year have included a lot of great stuff from small publishers, Once and Future from Boom! is my favorite book coming out right now. Also really excited to see what else AWA Upshot is going to be putting out, Year Zero might be the best zombie comic since The Walking Dead.
Also extremely excited to see where Home Sick Pilots goes, it’s only been one issue so far but boy was it a killer first issue.
Awesome list...Dept. of Truth and Stillwater have both been great so far
Great List, and some new stuff for me to check, so thanks. Tomine's book title is a parody / homage to Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe. Amazing socio-realist book turned into an Ace film. All the best for 2021 x
Great video, I've been looking for new titles to read
Thank you for not being so negative was really a good and informative video to watch
Those look like some amazing selections, I'll have to check a few of those out! Great way to end the year!
Thanks for your content this year Chris and thanks for making this list- I appreciate your focus on the GOOD stuff from 2020!
It'll probably be on your list (just started listening) but my comic of the year was for sure Wonder Woman: Dead Earth.
Great show Chris- I’m one of those guys who haven’t read any new comics in years, but still pick up hard covers and an occasional omnibus from time to time. A few items on your list has piqued my interest. PS: Love the new animation on your intro!
Derf Backderf's work is amazing. My favorite of his is "punk rock and trailer parks".
I bought Wonder Woman Dead Earth hardcover based on your previous recommendation. It was a lot of fun.
Like you I'm a huge fan of david bowie and I was a bit reluctant to buy the comic at first but I'm so glad I did,it was so good,no pretentious or over blowing the story,tastefully done and a gr8 read p.s.also loved the dceased follow up titles and the dc metal titles,they were so much fun
I'm shocked that Daniel Kibblesmith's _New Warriors_ isn't on this list.
It perfectly epitomizes, in comic book form, the year 2020 like no other.
Not in any good way.
Immortal Hulk without doubt. It's a masterpiece.
I'm glad I started reading Savage Dragon again in 2020. Now I'm going to try to pick up trades to fill in the gap from when I stopped reading it. It's nice to be back in Erik Larsen's world again.
Are you in the modern Savage Dragon era?
I don't know. I've been reading it from issue 1, I have the 10 archive collections. And I'm picking up the next one out of morbid curiosity but it really seems to have gone off the rails heavily. Most of the story in the last collection was about how his son is banging his girlfriend and his adopted sister, and then they decide they want to make it a poly relationship, and most of what was written was in that vein.
I miss a lot of the Bonkers ideas and the World building that Larson put in the comic, and I guess I'll see where things go with the newest collection
@@cthulhupthagn5771 Savage Dragon has become outright porn.
Great content sir!
Loved this video. Thank you.