Looking back at 2017: 10 best graphic novels

Much like my list for the five best novels, the ten best graphic novels list covers any graphic novels I've read in 2017, whether they were published this year or not.

Scott McDaniel rocked Daredevil during his
great run with D.G. Chichester.

1. Howling Commandos of SHIELD
   
   A great monsters meets adventure yarn quickly derailed by Marvel's obsession with publishing twenty too many titles.
   
   
2. Karnak: The Flaw in All Things
   
   Warren Ellis' entry into the Inhumans line of comics was easily the best, though a change in artists at the beginning derailed it from the beginning and made this the first and only collection.
   
   
3. The Nameless City
   
   Faith Erin Hicks' all ages fantasy tale was incredibly well put together and left me excited for more.
   
   
4. Dark Knight: The Master Race
   
   Brian Azzarello teamed with Frank Miller for an epic sequel to The Dark Knight. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but as a personal fan of this future DC, it was an epic continuance as Batman took on a team of Kryptonian psychopaths.
   
   
5. Throwaways
   
   I loved Caitlin Kittredge's excellent Coffin Hill. Her Image Comics follow up with a story mixing superheroes with super spies. It's one of my favorite books to come out of nowhere in a long time.
   
   
6. Secret Empire
   
   Though it in no way was about a secret empire, the limited series offered an interesting new tale of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, the lead up to it was such a disaster, I doubt this final book will ever get much credit as Marvel fights to keep from faltering in 2018.
   
   
7. Red Wolf: Man Out of Time
   
   The only collection of the post-Secret War series was a lot of fun and seemed to be the start of a truly fascinating new corner of the Marvel Universe. But like Howling Commandoes, it had no chance to get off the ground at all.
   
   
8. Daredevil: Fall From Grace
   
   The classic D.G. Chichester and Scott McDaniel swan song to Daredevil was a great series that could have set up an intriguing new future for the character. Instead, it was quickly thrown away for a return to a lighter funner look at Daredevil.
   
   
9. Bandette: Stealers Keepers
   
   The second volume of the Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin series is every bit as good as the first. This book needs more issues desperately. I am hard pressed to find a comic as fun as it.
   
   
10. Deathstroke: The Professional and The Gospel of Slade
    
    The first twelve issues of Christopher J. Priest's run on the character have defined Deathstroke for a new generation. I strongly respect DC for making Deathstroke an important character in the DCU again. With his future in the DC movie universe, here's hoping this series continues for several more years.

Deathstroke Rebirth & Deathstroke: The Professional cover art by ACO.

Missed the Boat 1: Red Wolf

Missed the Boat is a new series where I focus on criminally under-appreciated works, series canceled too soon or subjects otherwise outside the normal grain of typical superheroes.

I have a tendency when it comes to big two super-books to seek out the smaller books. Sometimes this means I get a trade of a complete "ongoing" series that only lasted six issues. And sometimes these are some of the best books Marvel or DC can offer.

Red Wolf by Nathan Edmondson and Dalibor Talijic is just such a book. Featuring a time (and dimension) lost Native American sheriff first introduced in Marvel 1872 (himself a reboot of both an old western character and a modern hero dating back to the 70s.) But this new Red Wolf is dropped into a modern city of Santa Rosa.

This great Dale Keown cover probably shouldn't
have been a variant. Regular cover artist Jeffrey
Veregge probably did little to help the book's chances.

The story could have been a traditional fish-out-of-water time travel tale, but the creators do an excellent job of building a mythology around the town and the character in the six issues they have. Edmondson clearly hoped for a much longer run with the character, but the swift cancellation of several post-Secret Wars titles took Red Wolf with it.

It's a shame too, as for the first time Marvel seemed to have a credible Native American hero.

Red Wolf: Man Out of Time comes cheap on Amazon, so don't pass up a chance to read this strange single trade of a great series and wonder with me what could have been.

What's Up for September 8, 2017

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the books, comics, movies, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

Indigo | Red Wolf | Guardians of the Galaxy by Abnett & Lanning |  Shin Godzilla | DJ Khaled: Grateful