Top Ten Characters That Are Being Underutilized

What up muchachos. Another week and another top ten.  Earlier this week I was watching the X-Men Animated Series while cleaning and doing so chores and was wondering why isn't Morph or Gambit used more/better. They are two of my favorite characters and I have never read a Morph story.  As for Gambit, until this Deadpool v. Gambit there hasn't been anything worth reading with his as a main character. This got me thinking on what other characters are being misused or underutilized. Surprisingly I am ok with how Wolverine is being handled right now, they have Old Man Logan along with the New Wolverine and both are pretty good. I was tempted to put the whole X-Men team on here, but I think that may be better addressed in one of my conspiracy theory articles about how Marvel is killing off the X-Men universe and replacing it with Inhumans because they don't own the movie rights.

 

 

#10 The Question - According to Wikipedia The Question first appeared in Charlton Comics Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967). The character was acquired by DC Comics in the early 1980s and incorporated into the DC Universe. Following the events of the 2006–2007 miniseries 52, his protégé Renee Montoya took up his mantle and became his successor. Following the DC relaunch The New 52, Vic Sage is reintroduced as a government agent.

So I was excited for them to do something with this character when Convergence came out.  They gave The Question her own book, as it was Renee Montoya at the time, and I was hoping that something was going to spin out of there.  Unfortunately, they wasted it and The Question has not been seen in continuity since. This is a popular character that DC is letting waste away in storage. If DC continues to ignore him, people are going to think that The Question is a rip off of Rorschach. The series that got me interested in this character was the 2005 Mini series that came out by Rick Veitch and Tommy Lee Edwards.  It is defiantly a series worth reading with great art.

#9 Aqualad/Kaldur - It is a travesty that DC is not using this version of Aqualad.  In Young Justice, according to Wikipedia, Aqualad was first seen as the protege of Aquaman. He was later unanimously elected by the team to be their leader after their first mission together, as he was perceived as having good leadership skills. In the second season of the series he uncovered he was in fact the son of Black Manta. 

Kaldur being the son of Black Manta is a great twist to this character that is so intriguing and has so much potential that it blows my mind that DC is not using it. The fact that he works with Black Manta and sees that there are good, even great qualities in his father, would make the struggle to fight his father that more interesting.  He is a great leader and on even ground with Robin/Nightwing. He has enhanced strength and thick skin that grants him some protection as well as some magical fighting techniques. Anyone that has watched Young Justice will agree with me and if you have not Watched it, WHAT are you waiting for.  It is on Netflix, get watching.

#8. Dick Tracy - I actually loved this movie as a kid.  Yes I realize that it was terrible, but I still enjoyed it.  I loved the Tommy guns and the weird bad guys and the whole mob aspect.  This would be so easy to reboot and make a dark and gritty comic book.  Something like the Image book Fade-Out was.  This is a highly recognizable property and it is sitting collecting dust.  Tommy guns, the cool cars, the mob mixed in with a good mystery or investigation and you have a great book.  Imagine Ed Brubaker on this book. EPIC.

# 7 Hawk Girl - I love Hawk Girl especially the Bombshell version. Regardless, this is always a tough as nail character that flies around with a freaking Mace. Yeah I know she uses other weapons, but a Mace and a Warhammer are pretty awesome weapons.  In the New 52 they stranded her off in the Earth 2, but she should be part of the Justice League or at least make an appearance once every couple of arcs.  A lot of people love her, but she is not being used to her full potential right now.

#6 Morph - Wolverine pull back! Morph is awesome and hasn't appeared since 2009 in a comic book. I always enjoyed him in the X-Men cartoon series. This is a character that should get a comedic mini series.  Morph is not that powerful, but can change into any character that he wants and does in the show while making fun of them.  Pair this with Nick Spencer where he goes around and punks Cyclops, Bishop, Colossus and Deadpool and you would have a book that everyone is picking up.  A book in the same vein as the Superior Foes Of Spiderman

 
#5 Gambit - What can I say about Gambit that you guys already don't know.  Aside from the fact that they can not get him his own ongoing that is written well and compelling. This is a immensely popular character that Marvel, or Fox for that matter, cannot seem to get right.  Marvel did team him up with Deadpool in a fun book, but a darker ongoing is what we want from him.  I mean exploring the thief and assassin guilds would be a great start of an ongoing Gambit book. As for the movies the X-Men Wolverine Origins version was terrible, but they messed up Deadpool.  So here is hoping the rebooted version of Gambit will do as well as the Deadpool.

#4 Omega Red - I know there are a lot of X-Men related things on this list, but I am such a big X-Men fan and Marvel is doing such a bad job with them that it drives me nuts. Omega Red is super boss and hasn't really been used sine the Wolverine Anime back in 2009. Yes, I am not counting the X-Men 92 that recently came back and left a very poor taste in my mouth. Loved the art but the story was womp womp.  This is a powerful villain that they aren't using. Have him fight someone please.

#3 Bane - Bane is the most underrated villain in the DC Universe. He outsmarted the smartest hero that most people argue could beat anyone with enough planning and preparing.  Batman is the best DC tactician and lost in a war to Bane.  Bane beat him in everyway and is reduced to the muscle for Poison Ivy.  GRRR that really angers me.  Since Bane has defeated Batman there has not been a great Bane and Batman story. I think Detective Comics is going to tackle Bane next and I hope that it is amazing. However, based on the last Bane story I read in Detective Comics, I am not getting my hopes up.

#2 Fantastic Four - This is a little bit of a cheat, but the fact that they do not have their own book is baffling. Arguably they are the biggest team behind The Avengers and the Justice League.  For them not to have their own book, but there be 10 different team up books with different Marvel characters is so odd.  This falls into the conspiracy of since they don't own the movie rights, this is not a property they want to push.  This is one of their oldest and most well known properties and for them to languish in never never land is crazy.  This property is so well known that even non comic fans know who they are, yeah probably due to the kind of goofy and campy Fox movies and the terrible dark reboot that was completely botched.

#1 Martian Manhunter - The fact that Martian Manhunter was kicked off the Justice League for Cyborg really drives me nuts.  Martian Manhuter is way better than Cyborg and I have seen it argued that he may be the most powerful Justice League member.  He can shape shift, go invisible, and go through walls.  He also has super strength and has went punch for punch with Superman.  With all that he also can read minds and is highly intelligent.  Instead he was relegated to Justice League United and the likes.  He did have his own ongoing that was ok, but he seems to work best with the Justice League.  He is a fan favorite of what seems like a vast majority of Justice League fans, so the fact that he isn't on the team or was replaced by Cyborg is a little strange. 

Top Ten Ongoing Series That Should Be On Your Pull List 9/21/16

Welcome to the top ten where each week we find something about comics that we may know and love and rate them in a list.  This week we are talking about the top ten books that should be on every comic bookers pull list.  I am omitting books that either are limited series like Vision and Lady Killer 2 or books that were on the one of the top ten underrated independent lists. The ground rules for this list was that they had to have at least five issues out, which eliminated a lot of the DC books and the book had to be an ongoing series.

My goal is to do this list twice a year in order to help you guys trim your pull lists.  Before I started my blog, I liked to have about 20 books on my pull list, which was about $100 a month.  However, with limited series like The Wake, erratically produced books like Afterlife With Archie, weekly books like Future's End or event books like Secret Wars, it was usually closer to 30 books or about $150 a month.  If I did not trim twice a year then my list would balloon up to 40 or 50 books.

Trimming your list can create some hard choices, especially on books that you have been getting forever, but when you are reading a book and it feels like a chore or you can't even follow the story any more, it is time to drop the book.  This has happened to me a couple times with characters that I really liked. Sometimes I would jump off for an arc and it would be better other times I dropped the book completely. A couple of good examples would be X-Men. I love the X-men, but Uncanny X-Men has been really hard to follow.  I had high hopes for the All New X-Men, where they brought the original X-Men from the past to present and I was disappointed, but I continue to get excited for and try every X book that I can, Magneto, Storm, Cyclops, etc. Another example was during the Green Lantern crossover with the New Gods. I dropped that book, but continued with other related books like Sinestro or Green Lantern: The Lost Army until Rebirth started.

There are people who buy a book regardless of who is writing or drawing it just because it contains their favorite character. I do understand that impulse, but sometimes they change the character so much for an arc or multiple arcs where you are no longer enjoying the story and are just picking it up because you have to have a full run.  Same thing happens with writers and artists.  Listen, the writers at the big two and any of the independents have talent, but occasionally get stuck in a bad path, by their own fault or with an editor trying to shoehorn a story that doesn't belong in the book. A perfect example would be Robert Vendetti. The last couple arcs of the New 52 Green Lantern book were not very good, but the Rebirth and Hal Jordan And the Green Lanterns have been great. Sorry this turned into a mini rant, but bottom line is that we as the consumer need to vote with our wallet. If you think cross over events are a way for the big two to take your money instead of tell an interesting story, don't give into FOMO and don't buy them.  Same can be said about variant covers and tie in books.  Eventually they would stop putting annual events just to put them out, Convergence and Axis that means you and would put out events because they have a good story to tell that are actually good stories like Civil War and Flash Point.

Rant over.  Back to the top ten ongoing series that should be on your pull list.

W: Jeff Lemire A: Greg Smallwood

10. Moon Knight - "THE BOOK YOU'D BE INSANE TO MISS! Marc Spector (a.k.a. Moon Knight/Jake Lockley/Steven Grant) has been fighting criminals and keeping New York City safe for years… or has he? When he wakes up in an insane asylum with no powers and a lifetime's worth of medical records, his whole identity (indentities) are called into question. Something is wrong, but is that something Marc Spector himself? Jeff Lemire (EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN) and rising star Greg Smallwood are calling everything you know about Moon Knight into question."

This book is so intriguing that it deserves a read through.  Moon Knight has had a couple good runs lately, but this may be better.  This is a book that as soon as you think you know what is going on, they flip the script and you never saw it coming. Even when picking this up at number one, you may be a little lost, but that is by design, but is well worth a read.



W: Tom Taylor A: Jheremy Raapack

9. Injustice Gods Among Us - From the makers of Mortal Kombat comes the critically acclaimed prequel comic to the smash-hit fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us! In this new hardcover collecting issues #1-6 of the hit series, things in the DC Universe have changed after Superman is tricked into destroying the one thing he loves most. Now unwilling to let crime go unpunished, the heroes of our world must choose if they are with Superman or against him. But not every country will submit to his new world order-and neither will Batman!

MINOR SPOILER. In the first book Superman tells Batman that Lois is pregnant and everyone is as happy as can be. Next thing you know Joker and Harley show up infect Superman with Joker gad mixed with scarecrow fear toxin and the fun begins. The results of Joker's fun are that Batman and Superman are now on opposite sides and the super hero community has to take sides. This book mixes in great humor with some darker scenes. There is some banter between Harley and Green Arrow that is hilarious as shown above.  This book is so well written, fun and different from anything else you will read that it is a must get for any fan of DC books.

W: Benjamin Percy A: Otto Schmidt

8. Green Arrow - THE DEATH AND LIFE OF OLIVER QUEEN' chapter one As Oliver struggles with how he can fight 'the man' when his huge fortune makes him the man, he and Black Canary uncover a deadly new threat to Seattle that cuts the Archer to the bone. THEY SAID IT: 'My touchstones are [former GA writers] Dennis O'Neil and Mike Grell, while trying to make the series my own,' says writer Benjamin Percy. 'Green Arrow will be a politically and culturally relevant series. Expect stories that aim a broadhead into the zeitgeist, that are ripped from the headlines.'

This has been one of the bigger surprises of Rebirth.  Green Arrow's complicated family issues are well written and compelling, which is a great part of this story. Black Canary is back as well as Diggle, Shadow and Emiko as his sister and sidekick. Another plus about this book is that the B covers are done by Neal Adams, who has always drawn Green Arrow incredibly.

W: Jeff Lermire A: Andrea Sorrentino

7. Old Man Logan - Fifty years from now, Logan - the man who no longer calls himself Wolverine - will have endured many atrocities: The Marvel Universe's villains will have banded together and rid the world of its heroes. Logan's closest friend, Hawkeye, will have been murdered in cold blood right before his eyes. And driven mad by the same radiation that gave him his superhuman strength, Bruce Banner will have fathered a family of hillbilly Hulks... that eventually went on to slaughter Logan's wife and two children. But now, in the present, Old Man Logan wakes up to discover himself in a world before these atrocities, before the Wasteland. And he's going to seize this opportunity and change history to ensure that his future never comes to pass...

This book is by far the best book Marvel is putting out right now.  The art is amazing and perfectly paired with the dark tale that is being told.  It further elaborates on the back story from the original Old Man Logan and then continues to build.  This isn't one of those books that is out just to cash in on the name or nostalgia of the original. This is the type of story that will make you love Wolverine and long for the days of great X-Men stories.

W: Josh Williamson A: Carmine Di Giandomenico

6. Flash - LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE' chapter one A new storm brews over Central City and disproves the old adage about lightning never, well…you know. Just as Barry begins to feel overwhelmed fighting crime, a new speedster debuts-but just where did this amazing new friend come from? FLASH FACT: '2016 is the 60th anniversary of Barry Allen becoming The Flash and it's a privilege to be a part of it,' says writer Joshua Williamson. ''The Return of Barry Allen' in FLASH #79 [1993] is one of my favorite comics of all time. It's where I became a Flash fan for life.'

This book has a lot going on in it, but Williamson is handling it deftly. There are problems hanging around from The New 52 to he is addressing as well as the chaos with speedsters being created and the relationship with his partner. Williamson does a great job of keeping it light and fun and mixing in the perfect amount of darkness and intrigue.

W: Robert Kirkman A: Paul Azaceta

5. Outcast - NEW HORROR SERIES FROM THE WALKING DEAD CREATOR ROBERT KIRKMAN! Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and now he needs answers. Unfortunately, what he uncovers along the way could bring about the end of life on Earth as we know it.

This book takes a dark and twisted path that you can't wait to see what happens. The first issue was so good in fact that it was pretty much immediately optioned for a show on Cinemax. Sure it is no HBO, but from what I saw of the show, it was fantastic. As always, the book is better. Kirkman does a great job of making a multi layered and faulted character with a tragic background. Even if you are not a fan of horror, this is a book you should be reading.

W: Tom Waltz & Kevin Eastman A: Dave Wachter

4. TMNT - They're BACK! This summer, the original heroes in a half-shell make a triumphant return to comics! Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, and Raphael reunite to bring their ninja aptitude and teenage attitude to IDW Publishing in this all-new, action-packed series. Featuring a cast of familiar characters-Master Splinter, April O'Neill, Casey Jones, and more-and true to the spirit of the original comics created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES are bigger and badder than ever, and ready to rock old and new fans

This book is not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that you grew up with.  This is a more adult take on them. Kevin Eastman is involved and has really done something different.The family dynamic is well written and the shredder is compelling.  If you liked any form of Ninja Turtles  you should be reading this. One of the best things about this book is that the B cover is done by Kevin Eastman as seen above.

W: Kieron Gillen A: Salvador Larroca

3. Darth Vadar - One of the greatest antagonists in all of fiction stars in his first volume of villainy! Fresh from a stinging defeat at the hands of the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader must rise again to reassert the Empire's iron grip on the galaxy. But will his personal desire for vengeance against the young Jedi who destroyed the Death Star distract from Vader's duty to the Emperor? As a fateful quest begins, the Dark Lord of the Sith will face a fresh threat to his power. And as other villains old and new play their parts - from Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt to diabolical debutant Aphra, as well as the killer droids Triple Zero and BeeTee - how long until Vader's dangerous alliances blow up in his face? Join Darth Vader and feel the power of the dark side!

Yes I know this is a little bit of a cheat since this is ending and can be replace with Star Wars.  However, this is the best Star Wars related material that I have ever read and gives new depth to the movie and the character.  This series has added in a couple new driods and a really strong side character.  Additionally, the Vadar Down cross over event was one of the best I have read in recent memory. If you are a Star Wars fan and have not read this you are doing yourself a great disservice.

W: James Tynion IV A: Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira

2. Batman Detective Comics -RISE OF THE BATMEN' chapter one An unknown predator begins outdoing Batman, taking down dangerous threats with military precision. It's up to the Dark Knight and series costar Batwoman to rally and train the young heroes of Gotham City to end this mysterious threat! WHAT NOW: Batman and Batwoman begin training Spoiler, Red Robin and Cassandra Cain, but is the villainous Clayface ready for redemption?

This has been the best bat book of DC's Rebirth, in fact this is the best book that is DC is currently putting out. The team that was built for this book has endless potential especially with Clayface included. This book is complex and well written with a real sense of danger written in it where you may feel that nobody is safe. As you may or may not have read there was a big twist at the end of the first arc.  If you only are getting one DC book, this is the book that you should be getting.

Robert Kirkman A: Charlie Adlard

1. Walking Dead - Rick Grimes is not prepared for this. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never shot anyone and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family he must now sort through the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. All the while fighting for his survival. How did this happen? How did things get so bad so fast? How will things ever return to normal after everything he's seen? THE CONCEPT: How many hours are in a day when you don't spend half of them watching television? When is that last time any of us REALLY worked to get something that we wanted? How long has it been since any of us really NEEDED something that we WANTED? The world we knew is gone. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibility. An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled, no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start to live.

If you haven't heard of this book, you must be living under a rock.  I know a lot of people are like, meh I will just watch the show or I am too far behind and I don't want to catch up.  Well you know what, get the compendiums and catch up! Again, the book is way better than the show and makes you think what you would do if the world came to an end.  The characters are flawed and you hate some of them, but the story is so compelling that you have to keep reading.  The villains are deep and well written and could be the jerk you work with.  This is one of the few books that you feel like none of the characters are ever safe and can be killed at any moment.

Think I missed series or included something that I should have.  Feel free to give me a piece of your mind in the comments section.

Top Ten Underrated Independent Mini Series 9/16/16

Happy Friday guys. Instead of a Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, it is the second part of underrated independent books.  So in this article, I wanted to look at the top ten underrated mini-series. There were a lot of series that I did not include, mostly valiant books. I think that is mostly because my local guy makes me very aware of Valiant and it seemed like everyone loved Divinity. There were a couple crossovers that I thought about such as Archie v Predator, Star Trek/Green Lantern and Batman/Ninja Turtles but it seemed like they were pretty popular.

Again I did include the independent branches of both DC and Marvel.  Also, this is not in order of highest quality comic, but how underrated the comic is.  It seems like a lot of these once they finish you never hear about them again.  Here we go, Once upon a time not long ago, whoops sorry was listening to Blackstar's A Children's Story.

W: Michael Straczynski A: Ben Templesmith

10. Ten Grand - When this initially came out, I think this was meant to an ongoing story, but lacked the following to sustain such a format and was changed to a limited series. The premise as described by Image is  "As he lay dying, an angelic force (who may or may not be what she appears) pointed out that where she is going, he can't follow, and where he is going, he wouldn't want her to follow. But if he will agree to work for them as a different kind of enforcer, they will bring him to life and keep on bringing him to life every time he is killed in a righteous cause. The reward: for those five minutes of death, he will be with Laura again." It is a dark read and worth your time. 

W: Ed Brisson A:John Christmas

9. Sheltered - This book was a trip. This was my favorite covers of this series. The premise from Image on this one is "The men and women of Safe Haven have been preparing for any-and-all end of world scenarios for years. However, their bunkers, weapons and training can't save them from the one threat they never could have expected: Their own children." There are some twists and turns in here that I never saw coming.  Think a Lord Of The Flies with guns.

W: Frank Barbiere A: Victor Santos

8. Black Market - I think I am one of the few that read this book.  I have never seen it talked about and there were barely any copies in any stores. The premise is "Ray Willis is a broken man, a disgraced medical examiner making ends meet by preparing corpses at a funeral parlor. His scientific genius is being wasted...that is, until his estranged criminal brother Denny shows up on his doorstep, supposedly cleaned-up and proposing a once-in-a-lifetime partnership to cure not just cancer, but all disease. The catch? It exists within the DNA of superheroes."  It is an interesting twist on super hero comics with a twist you won't see coming.

W: Matt Kindt A: Matt Kindt

7. Dept. H - I almost passed on this book because I wasn't a fan of the art and it just didn't look like a book for me. I was wrong. My cousin made me read this and the art is perfect for this story.  The premise is Mia is a special investigator hired to uncover possible sabotage taking place at a deep-sea research station. What she finds is a mind-blowing crime scene filled with suspects with terrible secrets, strange deep-sea creatures, and an impending flood!" A locked room mystery with Matt Kindt at the helm and you got yourself a great read.

W: Matthew Rosenberg, Patrick Kindlon A: Josh Hood

6. We Can Never Go Home - This is a book that I never saw on the selves, but picked up in trade form on recommendation from the local comic book guy. The story and art were grade A.  I think this was the first Black Mask story that I read but not the last. The Premise "Teenage misfits Duncan and Madison discover they share two secrets in common: they both have super powers, and neither is very good at staying out of trouble." This book took me back to all the high school BS that I do not miss. 



W: Mark Miller A: Sean Murphy

5.  Chrononauts - It seems like people either love Mark Miller or hate him.  I thought this book was great and Sean Murphy's art was on point.  Also, the movie variant covers on these were awesome. The premise if you can't tell from the title is "Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly are two buddies who love to have fun. They're also scientific geniuses. When their research leads them to a time-traveling adventure, will they use their knowledge for the good of all mankind? Or use the space-time continuum for their own ends? This is the story of man's first, televised steps through the time-stream and everything going wrong in the process." For some reason this reminds me of a buddy cop movie without the cop part. 

W: Jason Aaron A: Ron Garney

4. Men of Wrath - This book was straight up hard core bad @$$. I had this almost as high as number 2. Jason Aaron does a great job telling this story where you don't know what is going to come next. Here is the premise "Ever since Great-Grandfather Isom killed a man over some sheep, a black cloud has hung over the Raths, an Alabama family caught in a generational cycle of violence. Now, a century later, aging hitman Ira Rath takes a job that will decide his family's fate once and for all. Are all Raths doomed to live and die by the sword, or can one of them finally break the chain?" If you like Southern Bastards you will like this story.  They could take place in the same town.

W: Joelle Jones, James S. Rich A: Joelle Jones

3. Lady Killer - So this story took me by surprise.  I bought this number one because I thought the first cover was awesome, but didn't read it. My sister finally convinced me to read it and it blew me away.  The premise for this book "Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother—but she’s also a ruthless, efficient killer for hire! A brand-new original comedy series that combines the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival." This book was so good they came out with a sequel Lady Killer 2. 

W: Ed Brubaker A: Sean Phillips, Elizabeth Breitweiser

2. Fade Out - Ed Brubaker is great and this book proves it.  This reminds me of the movie LA Confidential mostly the noir feel to it.  It is a great read crime read that you must check out.  The premise "Hollywood - 1948. A noir film stuck in endless reshoots. A writer plagued with nightmares from the war and a dangerous secret. An up-and-coming starlet's suspicious death. And a maniacal Studio Mogul and his Security Chief who will do anything to keep the cameras rolling before the Post-War boom days come crashing down." This is another book where the art is perfectly paired with the story to really make it come alive.

W: Scott Snyder A: Sean Murphy

1. The Wake - This is one of my favorite series of all time. This cover was my favorite of the series.  Sean Murphy did a fantastic job illustrating this book.  What is interesting about this book that is that it is almost two different stories with a time jump.  So one of the reasons that I enjoyed this book was because of the Mermaids. They were actually a little terrifying, which I never thought I would write. If you have not read this book, go read it right now! Unless this was the best selling comic book of the year, which sadly it was not, this book is still underrated.

Think I missed something or have something that shouldn't be on here.  Yell at me in the comments.

Top Ten Underrated Independent On-Going Books 9/15/16

What up Muchachos. I know that there are a ton of Independent books that I missed when I wasn't collecting, but I was talking to my cousin about Men of Wrath and Black Market and it came up that he missed both series completely. Side Note: I didn't realize that Men of Wrath was under the Marvel umbrella, but I am going to treat it as an independent because it would fit much better under the Image brand. Anyways, this got me thinking how many independent books that have been excellent and do not have the following that they should.

I am going to exclude tent poles for companies like Image's The Walking Dead and Outcast, Chew, Saga, Spawn IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Judge Dredd etc. I try and read most independents whether they catch my eye or not. There have been a couple that my local comic guy has recommended that were really good. As I was gathering information on my list, I realized that there are a ton of books that are underrated and deserved to be read. So I am going to break this into two sections, 1 - Ongoing Independents in this column and 2 - Independent Limited Series that are pretty easy to pick up in trade form that I will write up tomorrow.

Even when I separate the two categories, I am having a hard time whittling it down to ten. I think people are going to kill me for no having Manifest Destiny or Invincible on the list, but those books I read the first trade and they did not grab my attention as others had. The books that barely missed the cut off were Velvet, Postal, They Are Not Like Us, Thief of Thieves and Clone. The one issue that seems to be common throughout the all the independents are the irregular release schedule.

Please note that I don't necessarily think that the books are listed in the order of quality. I would compare it to the Vision story right now.  It is the best Marvel book being put out and I don't know how Civil War II is selling 2 to 3 times as many copies. I think these are all quality books, but the higher they are on the list, the more underrated I think they are.

W: Brian Michael Bendis A: Michael Avon Oeming

Honorable Mention/Cancelled Too Early - The United States of Murder Inc. - I know this book has only 4 issues, but Marvel still has it listed as active and on going. I really enjoyed this book.  The art was different from anything else and went perfectly with the story. Alternative history books always call my name. This one with the Mob owning part of the USA and basically having a treaty with the government is a great concept.  This had the potential to be a lot higher on the list.  I would say go read it now, but you will only be disappointed because it does not have a satisfying ending.

W: Scott Snyder A: Jock

10. Wytches - This book is a dark and twisted story.  I am not a big horror fan, but this book is incredible. It has a great premise with fantastic art work.  Snyder and Jock weave a story that is hard to put down.  This is a book that I cannot wait to start up again.  This is one of the books with an erratic schedule. While I was getting an autograph form Snyder at San Diego Comic Con I asked how this was coming along.  Thinking back about it he was very vague about the time table, but said that a new issue is coming out soon.

W: Jason Aaron A: Jason Latour

9. Southern Bastards - This is another fantastic book. It is described as "a southern fried crime series that's like the Dukes of Hazzard meets the Coen Brothers... on meth."  I would compare it more to a Walking Tall story. Either way the story is about a corrupt rural town and a long lost son coming back with a plan to leave as fast as possible. However, we all know that it is not that easy.

W: Josh Williamson A: Mike Henderson

8. Nailbiter - This is another horror book about a town that produces serial killers. Midway through the series it lost its way, but it started out incredibly strong  and has got back to being a strong suspense horror book.  A local cop and FBI agent try and figure out why this town, Buckaroo, is producing serial killers.  

W: Josh Williamson A: Andrea Bressan, Adiano Lucas

7. Birthright - Back to back Josh Williamson books. However, this one is totally different than any of his horror based books.  The premise from Image's website is "For the Rhodes family, losing their son was the most devastating thing that could have occurred...but it couldn’t prepare them for what happened when he returned." This book is a little dark with what happens to the family when the son goes missing, but when he returns it's like this big hulking dragon slayer is your long lost son and he is back. If you like fantasy type books this is a must read.

W: Jeremy Haun, James A. Hurley A: Jeremy Haun

6. Beauty - This is a book that I wasn't planning on picking up, but my local comic guy was pretty insistent that I should.  I am glad he was so insistent because this book is awesome.  Police are investigating basically an STD that makes you really really good looking, but at the same time may cause you to burst into flames.

W: Marjorie Liu A: Sana Takeda

5. Monstress - The first time I heard about this was at Wonder Con on an Image panel. Liu was talking about how the first issue was basically the size of a trade and that everyone one was telling Liu that she needed to split the book, but there was no place to split it.  Once this book came out the story and the art was amazing.  This is one of those books that you can not put down.  It is unlike anything else out there.

W: Roberto Aguirre Sacasa A: Francesco Francavilla

4. Archie Afterlife - This is a book that I thought was going to be incredibly stupid.  I was pleasantly surprised when my sister forced me to red this.  I was blown away.   I was never an Archie fan, but this was so different and I could actually .  Francavilla's art is fantastic and is paired perfectly with the story.  The story is compelling and actually easy to relate to.  This is another book with an erratic release schedule. If it did not, I think this would be a monster book with a huge following.

W: Nick Spencer A: Steve Lieber

3. The Fix - This book is hilarious. The first book reminded me of Training Day had it been made a comedy. The premise as solicited on Image's website is "crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run things—and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels." This is a book I almost missed because it was sold out everywhere. SPOILER: There is a part in the first book where they rob this old man with masks on and then they come back as cops to interview him. While they are interviewing him, wearing the same clothes as when the robbed him, one of the cops starts asking the victim to basically compare him to his partner regarding height weight build.  It had me busting up. 

W: Josh Williamson A: Goran Sudzuka

2. Ghosted - For not liking horror books, there are a lot on this list as well as Josh Williamson. I thought this book had ended, but I spoke to Josh Williamson when I was at San Diego Comic Con getting an autograph and brought up this series.  He said something to the effect that he has an idea for a new arc and thinks something might be coming in the near future.  Near future is relative especially with him writing as many books as he does, but if it is true I can't wait. The premise is that a man that can steal anything is hired to steal a ghost. 

W: Joshua Hale Fialkov A: Joe Infurnari

1. Bunker - This is one I missed initially, but the second print cover, pictured above, really grabbed my attention so I picked it up. The basic premise is that a group of friends find a bunker sent from the future from, wait for it, themselves in order to save the world.  I know that actually sounds a little cheesy, but it is executed very well. This one suffered from an erratic release schedule too, which I think plays a huge part in being underrated, people forget what happened and it is easy to drop. I really enjoy this book and never see it talked about and the sales numbers are not that great.

In addition to this list I think that these newer books have the potential to be powerhouse books.  Jump on now before it is too late:  4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, Eclipse, Briggsland, Glitterbomb, Generation Zero, Horizon, and Kill or Be Killed.  Also, I think that the Forevers could be added to this list, but I haven't read it yet.

Top Ten

Sup fellas. Happy Thursday. Since I wrote about Marvel last week. I will address the top ten DC Villians. I will use the same criteria as last week and will not count Doomsday and his omega beams or Parrallax. There have been a couple others that I have ignored like Mongul, or Brianiac, but meh they have never really captured my imagination.  I had a hard time not putting more Batman villians on here, but that may be my bias getting in the way.

 10. Gorilla Grodd - Gorilla Grodd is incredibly intelligent and strong, not only that, he has telekinetic powers and some telepathic mind control. I actually enjoyed the New 52 take on Gorilla Grodd, but it made me curious to go back and look at other story lines with him.  The idea of Gorilla City gives him a couple extra awesome points.

9.Mr. Freeze - My first exposure to Mr. Freeze was Batman The Animated Series.  He was one of my favorite villains, from voice to design to background story.  The modern age comics also built his background around this.  The New 52 did a little different, Batman Annual #1 written by Snyder and Tynion was a great read. Anytime Mr. Freeze is involved, it is something that I will read.

8. Amazo - Amazo has been under utilized, but in the recent arc the Amazo Virus, they did a great job using him in a new way. Amazo is very powerful and has beaten the Justice League a couple of times and can duplicate their powers.  The potential of a great villain is there, but has not been reached yet.

7. Sinestro - I used to hate Sinestro, especially the one from the Super friends waaaay back in the day.  However, he is a unique character that thinks he is doing the right thing and making the galaxy a better place. Geoff Johns Green Lantern run was amazing and Sinestro was so well written that he was turned into an awesome villain that you sometimes feel yourself rooting for.  Additionally, even though the Green Lantern movie was trash, I thought they did a great job of portraying Sinestro in that movie.

6. Black Manta - This is another character that I used to dislike, but that was due to the disrespect that I was showing to Aquaman. What made me take a closer look at Black Manta was the Brightest Day Story, wherein he is basically living a normal life, but once he finds out Aquaman is alive he kills everyone in his store and swears revenge on Aquaman again. I really like his helmet and suit design, which enhances his already enhanced strength and speed. Black Manta does not get the respect he deserves, but he should.

5. Bane - Bane is one of my favorite villains ever. Bane is incredibly intelligent and incredibly strong.  He broke Batman's back literally. Every version of him in cartoons or movies have been awful.  They always portray him as a strong guy with no brain, but the beauty of the character is that his brain is equal to his brawn.

4. Deathstroke - Deathstroke may not be the most powerful, but he is like an evil version of Batman.  He has a code, extremely skilled in hand to hand combat and every imaginable weapon.  He can hold his own against anyone of the super heroes except Superman. Deathstroke also inspired Deadpool, which is freaking awesome.

3. Black Adam - There have been a ton of iterations of Black Adam. It seems like him and Captain Marvel/Shazam and Superman all have about the same amount of power.  However, he is incredibly ruthless and always does what's best for Black Adam.  Black Adam the Dark Age is what turned me onto Black Adam. Thought it was a great story and showed depth and how much of a hard@$$ he is.

2. Parasite - Parasite is only as strong as the energy he can steal, but if he gets his hands on a super watch out.  The best part of Parasite, which I have only seen used in the Superman The Animated Series, is that not only does he steal strength he also steals knowledge. Image if he stole Superman's Powers and Batman's knowledge, he would be unstoppable.

1. Joker - There have been many iterations of the Joker that have been fantastic, The Killing Joke, A Death in the Family, both versions, Mark Hamil, Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson. He is crazy, smart and unpredictable. He truly installs fear in Batman and is the most dangerous villain of them all.  To further prove this point, the Joker tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane.  Superman was transformed into an insane killer, which led to Superman punching a hole into the Joker's chest.