Gef Fox's Top 5 comics of 2013

My Fave Five Comic Books of 2013

Gef Fox

Wag The Fox

Ever since Katie and Sharon invited me to review comic books for I Smell Sheep, I've been having a blast doing something that I just never had the chance to do when I was a boy: read comic books!

It's like I'm making up for lost time. And it's nice to live in a century where a thirty-something fella can read a comic book without having scorn heaped upon him. I get enough of that for reading horror novels, anyway.

Okay, so to be clear, the vast majority of comics I have read this year were published by Image and Dark Horse, though I have had the chance to read some promising titles from publishers like Valiant, Top Cow, Zenescope, and others, so please don't take this as any kind of definitive list or anything. It's just me cheer-leading the books I managed to read. So, here we go.

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#5 Kiss Me, Satan by Victor Gischler (Dark Horse) - This series was custom-made for me, it feels like, because it is an amped-up urban fantasy that makes no apologies for how entrenched in the genre it is. I can only imagine the fiendish glee Victor Gischler and Juan Ferreyra take with putting the story on the page. It's only three issues into the five-part series as I write this, but it's already a standout for me.
Gef's reviews of Kiss Me, Satan

#4 Fatale by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image) - I'm late to this series, but what I've read has been a delight to a devilish degree. The overtly melodramatic noir is so well-suited to the medium, I'm surprised. I would go bonkers if there was a TV or film adaptation of this series, but I have to wonder how a general audience would react when the allusions to supernatural elements rear up at certain points. Bah, screw adaptations--the comic book is superb.
Gef's reviews: Fatale

#3 X by Duane Swierczynski and Erin Nguyen (Dark Horse) - I'm already a fan of Swierczynski's novels, so when I caught word he also wrote for comic books and he had a new series coming out, I just had to check it out. I'm glad I did, too. The hyper-violent revenge thriller is at times so over the top, I feel like I should be repulsed, but there is just enough humanity injected into the story that I am simply captivated.
Gef's reviews: X

#2 Skullkickers by Jim Zub and Edwin Huang (Image) - I think it was Skullkickers #19 that first introduced me to the irreverent humor of Jim Zub. This series has been one of the most genuinely hilarious comic book series I've ever read. Heck, one of the funniest book series, period. If you enjoy fantasy adventure with drunken dwarves, you're gonna love this series.
Gef's reviews: Skullkickers

#1 Ten Grand by J. Michael Straczynski, Ben Templesmith, & C.P. Smith (Image) - I like my urban fantasy gritty, and Ten Grand might be the grittiest. Up until very recently, it was illustrated by the incomparable Ben Templesmith, whose artwork such a bleak and mesmerizing portrayal of this universe. Now, the helm has been passed to C.P. Smith, just as the main character ventures into Hell to save his lady love, which has been a bit of serendipity, offering a refreshing twist on the visual tone of the story. Straczynski's writing remains unchanged, meaning brilliant. I am hard-pressed to imagine a series that could impress me more.
Gef's reviews of Ten Grand

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And there you have it. I'm sure other lists of this sort look entirely different, but I'm going with my gut and basically putting my personal tastes in comics on display here. Aside from Batman and the occasional X-Men comic, I don't get wrapped up in the superhero genres. I have been far more drawn towards the books that work to tell stories a little more grounded, yet just as fantastical.

So, what are your favorite comic books from this past year? What have I been missing out on and need to hunt down once it's out in trade form?

Comic Review: X #4

X #4 (of 4)
By: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: Eric Nguyen
Dark Horse Comics 
Publication Date: August 14, 2013

It’s a bloody showdown on Arcadia’s rooftops as X is assaulted by the pig-faced Berkshire, a maniac who can no longer feel physical pain! As Leigh fends off a swarm of the city’s thugs, Berkshire shatters the lock around X’s neck . . . and the mask finally comes off!

Duane Swierczynski and Eric Nguyen have thrown just about everything but the kitchen sink into the first few issues of X, so wasn't quite sure what to expect from the penultimate showdown between the X Killer and the corrupt mayor, Berkshire. I just knew there'd be a lot of blood. Well, even with that in mind, X #4 exceeded expectations.

"Eye Without a Face" starts on the top of a high-rise, with X and Berkshre throwing down, and the pig-faced mayor gettiing the upper hand, since he's spent even more time doing his homework on the masked vigilante than he has been sliced and diced by the crusading psychopath. Meanwhile, Leigh, the activist reporter who helped bring these two warring parties together, is left to fend for herself against the rabid henchmen who want a piece of the action.

There was a metric ton of action in the four issues I read prior to this one (four, since there was a zero issue to kick things off), but it all pales compared to the visceral hatred and violence that has been boiled down to its two key ingredients: X and Berkshire. The history of X's motivations come to bear, though enough is left in the shadows to keep readers coming back for more.With this chapter coming to a close, it will be hard to imagine how Swierczynski and Gnuyen will scoop up what's left of their characters to carry on into the next issue, but I'm keen to find out. X might be the violent--and vital--action comic going in 2013.

review: X #0

review: X #1

review: X #2

review: X #3

5 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: Den for Dark Fiction

Comic Review: X issue #3 by Duane Swierczynski

X #3
Writer: Duane Swierczynski

Artist: Eric Nguyen

Colorist: Michelle Madsen

Cover Artist: Dave Wilkins
Genre: Superhero, Crime
Dark Horse

Publication Date: July 10, 2013

Format: FC, 32 pages; Miniseries

Price: $2.99

UPC:7 61568 22527 3 00311

Preview

The vermin of Arcadia’s underworld chase Leigh into a literal urban maze . . . and what’s waiting at the end ain’t cheese! A revived Berkshire’s got a beautiful new face and an appetite for revenge, mobilizing the entire police force against X.

“Very gritty story here, and that goes for the artwork as well! Bullets flying and blood splattering is on the menu, so if that’s your thing, don’t miss out!”–Comic Attack

Leigh wants answers, but it looks like all X has is a huge chip on his shoulder. In the beginning of this issue, it seems like Leigh is on the X Killer's shit list, already served a photograph with one red slash across her face. A warning, since two red slashes make an X--and an X means you're in the X Killer's crosshairs.

The cat-and-mouse antics between the X Killer and the corrupt mayor and his minions has gone up another notch in this issue, too. That's pretty remarkable considering how absolutely insane the violence has gotten in this series so far. The switch in this issue is that it looks like X is on the run, and the convalescing mayor Berkshire is gradually penning the vigilante in as he focuses on finding Leigh to extract from her X's whereabouts.

I only just realized in reading the letters to the editor at the back of this issue that X had a previous run. I'm not sure what that original series looked like, but it's hard to imagine the original series could be as sharp as this incarnation. Like razor-wire sharp.

Swierczynski has such a keen focus on where the story needs to focus, I'd swear he uses a laser-sight. As for Nguyen's blood-soaked depictions of the action and gritty portraits of what pass for quieter moments in the story are like bear traps for your eyeballs.

There's another showdown brewing for the fourth issue and I have a hunch it's going to be the best one yet.

5 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: Den for Dark Fiction

Sheep Comic Review: X #2

X #2 by Duane Swierczynski
Writer: Duane Swierczynski

Artist: Eric Nguyen

Colorist: Michelle Madsen

Cover Artist:Dave Wilkins

Genre: Crime, Action/Adventure, Superhero
Dark Horse

Publication Date:June 12, 2013

Format:FC, 32 Pages

Price:$2.99

UPC:7 61568 22527 3 00211

Preview

X has a bone to pick with Arcadia’s political kingmaker Berkshire, and the two share some “face time.” Meanwhile, Leigh’s online exposé attracts some murderously angry readers.

Swierczynski and Nguyen take on Dark Horse’s classic vigilante!

I never read comic books as a kid. Did The Punisher get his ass kicked a lot? I only ask since there is a vague Punisher vibe coming from the X Killer. That whole killin' villains with hyper-violent pinache kind of vibe, you know. And when X does it, he tends to walk away with as much of his own blood on his hands as of his enemies. But the dude's tougher than Samsonite luggage wrapped in kevlar.

Still, underground reporter, Leigh Ferguson, finds the masked vigilante battered and bloodied in an alleyway and doing something she didn't expect: asking for her help. What's a girl to do?

Most gals would have high-tailed it out of there before the corrupt police force or the seemingly few surviving gangsters showed up to finish him off. Leigh ain't most girls and piles the masked sack of tenderized meat into her car. Getting blood out of the upholstery is a pain, but so is the police barricade they run into. What's a girl to do?

In Leigh's case, her sleuthing has drawn the ire of not just the sleazy mayor who wants the anonymous blogger spilling the goods on his schemes, but also the X Killer himself. At this point it's a small miracle she hasn't received a gift-wrapped bullet to the brain. But it's not like X can be all that mad at her, since she did pull the proverbial thorn from his paw at the start of this issue. That's gotta count for something, right?

Swierczynski's and Nguyen's X is a cross between a Gatling gun and a rampaging elephant. If he isn't putting a bullet in you, he's stomping a mud hole in you, with a mop and a bucket required at the end more than a body bag. Revenge thrillers don't come with much more carnage than this, unless maybe if you're watching Old Boy or Ichi the Killer. If the action is getting ramped up further in this series, I can't imagine how.

4 1/2 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: Den for Dark Fiction

Comic Review: X #1 by Duane Swierczynski

X #1 by Duane Swierczynski
Dark Horse
Writer: Duane Swierczynski

Artist: Eric Nguyen

Colorist: Michelle Madsen

Cover Artist: Dave Wilkins

Genre: Crime, Superhero
Publication Date: May 08, 2013

Format: FC, 32 Pages

Price: $2.99

UPC: 7 61568 22527 3 00111

Preview

The enigmatic vigilante X has shattered Arcadia’s criminal triumvirate, the Three Pigs, and fixed his eye on an even tougher target. But with the police department AND the crime establishment teamed up against him, muckraking blogger Leigh Ferguson may be X’s only ally! The brutal story of Dark Horse’s bloodiest hero begins anew!

* Swierczynski and Nguyen relaunch the classic Dark Horse vigilante!

* X is the letter of the law!

X #0 introduced the vigilante extraordinaire, X, through the eyes of the mob bosses he targeted for death. With X #1, Duane Swierczynski and Eric Nguyen continue the story by looking at the ramifications of the X Killer's actions through the eyes of Leigh Ferguson, a newspaper reporter turned blogger amid the city's corruption and crime.

In the wake of the bloodbath inside one of the gangsters' warehouses, the X Killer licks his wounds and gets ready for his next target, while Leigh tries to put the pieces together of who would hunt down the three biggest crime bosses in the city so ferociously--and why? And it looks like one of her first clues comes inside an envelope mailed by one of the gangsters before his untimely end.

Two issues into this series, it seems pretty evident that X is a homicidal maniac with a purpose. If he isn't shredding his enemies into bloody bits, he's maiming them with such intensity it would make a Bengal tiger blush.

I didn't exactly warm up to Leigh, but there hasn't been a whole lot of time yet to fully flesh her out as a character. I suspect Swierczynski and Nguyen will put a little more meat on her bones, X too for that matter, as their paths cross in the next issue.

read review of X #0

4 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: a den for dark fiction

Comic Reviews: X #0 (The Pigs) by Duane Swierczynski

X issue #0 (The Pigs)

Writer: Duane Swierczynski

Artist: Eric Nguyen

Colorist:Michelle Madsen

Cover Artist:Raymond Swanland
Genres:Superhero

Release date:04/10/2013

Dark Horse Digital

Three crime lords in the decaying city of Arcadia have received photographic death sentences from the mysterious “X Killer.” Their cunning defenses won’t stop Arcadia’s vigilante from making sure each one of them suffers.

From the pages of Dark Horse Presents.

Duane Swierczynski (Punisher, Godzilla) and Eric Nguyen brutally relaunch Dark Horse’s classic vigilante!
Super Violent!

I am already a fan of Duane Swierczynski's writing, thanks to the Charlie Hardie trilogy, but until now I hadn't read any of his work in comics. Now that have, I may be an even bigger fan of his writing.

X #0 is really a collection of a three-part story that originally appeared in issue of Dark Horse Presents. Waiting three months to get this whole story would have aggravating, so glad I got the chance to read it for the first time with this book.

Subtitled "The Pigs", this issue highlights a decayed and corrupt city called Arcadia, run by a trio of gluttonous, avarice, and wholly sadistic mobsters. Their cozy empire is being challenged, however, by a masked vigilante with a penchant for very bloody deaths, whether by sword or gun. X isn't fussy, though he shows exceptional prowess with shish-kabobing bad .

Eric Nguyen's artwork really brings out the ugliness of the personalities in this story, and he's given ample opportunity to show his proficiency with blood spatter. Oh my lord, the spatter.

As for X the vigilante, it's hard to get a read on him, as the story is essentially told through the eyes of the villains, as they try to lure X out of hiding and ambush him. X doesn't appear to have exploitable weaknesses, although if he has a superpower it would have to be the ability to withstand a metric ton of beatings and still drag himself to his feet.

This zero-issue left things off in such a way that I'm really keen on checking out X #1 when it's released. It feels a bit like Die Hard meets Punisher, and in all the right ways.

Sheep 4

Guest Reviewer: Gef Fox

Wag The Fox: a den for dark fiction