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Me and comic books didn’t spend a lot of time together in 2006. It wasn’t for lack of interest. I flipped through a lot of books, tried a lot of books and quit a lot of books. These are the comics that I made sure I would pick up on the day they came out:

1. Fell
Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith were just trying to do something new and they created a burst media phenomenon. Comics are usually four bucks, Fell is two. They are usually 34 pages long, Fell is 22. Comics usually have long story arcs that cross several issues, Fell is self contained and episodic. Last time I checked, Fell #1 went back to the printers six times, it might be more by now.

On top of this, Fell is also a great comic. Check it out, there’s a lot worse things you can spend two dollars on than a comic book.




2. Y The Last Man
The story of the last man on Earth continues to keep me enthralled year after year. Yorick Brown is the only male survivor of a unidendified global event that kills every man on earth. Yorick is a simple guy with a habit of getting into trouble. As he takes his entourage of secret agents, doctors and pirates on his trip around the world, we get to see Brian K. Vaughan’s speculation on what a world without men really means.

Interesting side note: most people I know who read Y don’t read comics. And they all really love Y.

3. Planetary
Warren Ellis’ commentary on pulp and pop media comes to a rivetting close as the pieces all fall together. Another ‘Ellis Experiment’, each issue of Planetary has it’s own logo and each issue re-interprets pulp/pop icons for the Planetary universe. Dracula, Tarzan, Godzilla, Hong Kong Action films, The Fantastic Four and many more get the Ellis treatment. Like Fell, Planetary is largely episodic, but the overall story arc plays a larger role.

4. The Ultimates
The only true super hero comic on my list. Mark Millar writes men in capes better than anyone else in comics today and Bryan Hitch is the master of wide screen comic art. A modern day rendition of Marvel’s Avengers, The Ultimates ups the ante with stunning visuals, biting dialogue and a comic reading experience that takes me back to when I was 6 years old, holding a flash light under the covers.

5. DMZ
My favorite Brian Wood book since Channel Zero, DMZ envisions a second American civil war in the near future. The hooks set in early as Wood goes to work on one of his favorite subjects – the American Media. How would the media spin a homegrown civil war? Who are the insurgents and who are the civilians? Wood drops an eager cameraman into the fold, and armed only with his press pass and a camera, he begins pirate broadcasting from the front. Despite the political bend, the book succeeds in telling very personal stories.