Why So Blu?

The Best Comics of 2021

Here we are about to wrap a bow on 2021 and some things have certainly improved from twelve months ago while some of this all feels the same. One aspect which hasn’t changed is the unfaltering delivery of our shows, our films and our comic books to dodge and parry the current norm. We’ve all still managed to find our escapes through these various media, and not only that, but some have gone beyond just good entertainment or solid reads. Some, such as the comic books you’re about to become acquainted with, rose to that tier for one reason or another. We can agree, we can disagree, but we can all be entertained by them.

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Best Mini-Series – Haha (Image)

Where the mini-series category was a close race to the finish line last year, things were the complete opposite this year.  In short, Haha was no laughing matter and ran away with this year’s award.  A six-issue mini-series focused on clowns where each issue was separate from the next, this title was penned by W. Maxwell Prince (Marvel Zombie, Ice Cream Man) with a different artist each in each book.  With one story per issue, the tales ranged from desperation to reminiscence to friendship.  Prince outdid himself here, and consequently, every other author of a mini-series in 2021.

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Best New Series – Radiant Black (Image)

Perhaps not as much a runaway in this group as the mini-series genre experienced, Radiant Black initially drew me in for two reasons.  One, it was new.  Two, it had a really cool cover for its inaugural issue.  Despite the old adage, it turns out you can judge a book by its cover.  Unassuming Nathan Burnett gets struck with a cosmic black beam that bestows a suit of both sensational abilities and several unanswered questions within him. The catch?  He’s not the only one.  Kyle Higgins (Batman Eternal) takes on writing duties with different artists throughout.  Despite the slightly different styles in visual handiwork, the series has managed to maintain the same engaging feeling throughout.

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Best One-Shot or Single Issue – Detective Comics Annual #1 (DC)

This category has proven to be a tough nut to crack the last few years.  One-shots just don’t seem as common as they once were and it’s not easy pulling a single issue from an ongoing story arc and labelling that as the best.  Reinforcing that notion is the fact that this year’s winner didn’t get in on being an invigorating tale.  Instead, Detective Comics Annual for 2021 brought up a hotly debated issue in the criminal justice world of what to do with criminals.  Lock them away or attempt to rehabilitate them?  While Batman and Nightwing pair up to capture a murderer on the loose, the two bring the aforementioned argument to the forefront with Batman taking the imprisonment stance and Nightwing speaking for mental rehab.  Is it groundbreaking?  Somewhat, actually, as it explores a very unique topic not previously delved into throughout the realm of comics.   There is also a brief, separate story in this issue of Batgirls which serves to introduce the series of the same name.

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Best Graphic Novel –  Ballad for Sophie (Top Shelf Productions)

If I had to pick a single winner out of all of these, this would be it.  Taking Place in modern day France, a journalist interviews once famed pianist Julien Dubois.  As the pages pass by, we see Dubois’ story unfold before our eyes.  The dynamic that connects all of the book’s characters is a thing of beauty and the depth that expands them is pure literary brilliance.  Three hundred and ten pages have never flown through these hands so quickly.  Ballad for Sophie takes readers on an emotional journey and feels so absolutely complete by the time it’s done, a trait not many graphic novels can claim, at least not to the degree in which this title accomplishes it.  There are no capes here.  No swords.  No space battles.  Just a display of fiction that could have easily been someone’s biography. Ballad for Sophie is written by Felipe Melo (Dark Horse Presents) with art by Juan Cavia (The Incredible Adventures of Dog Medonca and PizzaBoy).

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Best Ongoing Series – Savage Avengers (Marvel)

Oh how I miss the days of Gideon Falls and X-O Manowar.  This year, in what is usually the easiest category to fill, became the most difficult.  Unfortunately it wasn’t because there was a plethora of greatness this year.  It was more so due to crowded field of mediocrity that no one seemed to want to run ahead of.  Nevertheless, we have a winner here and it is Savage Avengers, a series that truly started off far more adventurous than where it has wound down to.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad series by any stretch or else it wouldn’t have made it here.  It remains a solidly entertaining smash-em-up read with Conan the Barbarian as its star and the elusive and seemingly indestructible Kulan Gath as its villain.  It has taken its foot of the gas though and lived its best life through 27 issues.