Five Worst Comics of 2007
2007 was another great year in comics. That being said, there were some pretty terrible books to rear their heads this year. Now, I haven't subjected myself to a lot of stuff that's potentially worse than those listed below, but these are the worst comics that I read this year...
1. Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time
Tohko Mizuno
The first volume hasn't even hit stands yet, but this watered-down Fushugi Yugi: The Mysterious Play wannabe title has set roots in Shojo Beat, destroying our souls one chapter at a time. An excerpt of my review of chapter one: "It's impossible to follow what's going on: things happen too quickly and the panel arrangements don't give you any sense of what's happening or where the characters are. The only saving grace is that the dialogue fills in a lot of the gaps, so you're not completely lost. But it's not really fun to read the comic when I have to constantly read about what the action is supposed to be conveying. It would be something else if the plot was somewhat original, but since I feel like I've already read this story, there's nothing here to hold my interest whatsoever."
2. X-Men: Messiah Complex #1
Ed Brubaker & Marc Silvestri
The X-Men crossover event of the year began weak and...kind of kept staggering from there. There was a time when I was an X-Men fanatic. While I still follow a few X-books, the fact that there are three X-titles to make this list is probably an indicator of poor quality across the board, wouldn't you say? This kick-off to the big crossover had terrible dialogue (with most of the issue consisting of said dialogue unfortunately) and was dreadfully boring with poor action. Quote from my review: "I think I got my hopes up a bit for the event, with Brubaker at the helm, hopes that were slightly diminished by the Marc Silvestri interior art (I'm not a fan), and were completely dashed by the end of this one-shot."
3. New X-Men: Quest For Magik
Craig Kyle, Chris Yost & Skottie Young
A review that begins "Oh, boy, do I have problems with this book" isn't a good sign. And it just keeps going: "As the story unfolds, we're treated to the students suddenly being teleported into a hell dimension with Belasco demanding their cooperation. Oh, but we don't get to see that part. We see some students outside see the school disappear. Once we actually get to hell, everything's pretty much over and the kids are mentioning events that took place when they were teleported that were cooler than anything we actually see in the comic. It's just lazy writing that works around that sort of thing. One student recalls "I was asleep, and then I heard screaming. The cuckoos. Those...those things were putting them inside those helmets...they haven't moved since." I know I would have liked to see that, but instead we're treated to Belasco yelling at the students."
4. Mystic Arcana: Magik
Louise Simonson & Steve Scott
From the review: "Writer Louise Simonson constructs a story bogged down with a mythology nobody cares about, spouting out names of demons and goddesses that have nothing to do with the story at hand, but are meant to sound impressive and "magicky," but ultimately bog down an already boring plot."
5. Strongarm #1
Steve Horton & David Ahn
"The characters are bland, the situations and look are generic, and the action isn't exactly engrossing by any means. It's just kind of there, trying to catch the attention of an audience that's already seen too many stories exactly like this one." Full review here.
1. Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time
Tohko Mizuno
The first volume hasn't even hit stands yet, but this watered-down Fushugi Yugi: The Mysterious Play wannabe title has set roots in Shojo Beat, destroying our souls one chapter at a time. An excerpt of my review of chapter one: "It's impossible to follow what's going on: things happen too quickly and the panel arrangements don't give you any sense of what's happening or where the characters are. The only saving grace is that the dialogue fills in a lot of the gaps, so you're not completely lost. But it's not really fun to read the comic when I have to constantly read about what the action is supposed to be conveying. It would be something else if the plot was somewhat original, but since I feel like I've already read this story, there's nothing here to hold my interest whatsoever."2. X-Men: Messiah Complex #1
Ed Brubaker & Marc Silvestri
The X-Men crossover event of the year began weak and...kind of kept staggering from there. There was a time when I was an X-Men fanatic. While I still follow a few X-books, the fact that there are three X-titles to make this list is probably an indicator of poor quality across the board, wouldn't you say? This kick-off to the big crossover had terrible dialogue (with most of the issue consisting of said dialogue unfortunately) and was dreadfully boring with poor action. Quote from my review: "I think I got my hopes up a bit for the event, with Brubaker at the helm, hopes that were slightly diminished by the Marc Silvestri interior art (I'm not a fan), and were completely dashed by the end of this one-shot."
3. New X-Men: Quest For Magik
Craig Kyle, Chris Yost & Skottie Young
A review that begins "Oh, boy, do I have problems with this book" isn't a good sign. And it just keeps going: "As the story unfolds, we're treated to the students suddenly being teleported into a hell dimension with Belasco demanding their cooperation. Oh, but we don't get to see that part. We see some students outside see the school disappear. Once we actually get to hell, everything's pretty much over and the kids are mentioning events that took place when they were teleported that were cooler than anything we actually see in the comic. It's just lazy writing that works around that sort of thing. One student recalls "I was asleep, and then I heard screaming. The cuckoos. Those...those things were putting them inside those helmets...they haven't moved since." I know I would have liked to see that, but instead we're treated to Belasco yelling at the students."
4. Mystic Arcana: Magik
Louise Simonson & Steve Scott
From the review: "Writer Louise Simonson constructs a story bogged down with a mythology nobody cares about, spouting out names of demons and goddesses that have nothing to do with the story at hand, but are meant to sound impressive and "magicky," but ultimately bog down an already boring plot."
5. Strongarm #1
Steve Horton & David Ahn
"The characters are bland, the situations and look are generic, and the action isn't exactly engrossing by any means. It's just kind of there, trying to catch the attention of an audience that's already seen too many stories exactly like this one." Full review here.
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