The Worst of 2012. Here's the one you've been waiting for or not, I don't know we didn't get a lot of comments on the best of. Maybe this one will light some fires as people disagree or let us know there own choices for the year. Again, this is a pretty long list that will be accompanied by a podcast episode that you will not want to miss this weekend. These are our opinions and while some of them are very serious we're not attacking anyone's work with the intent of harm so keep that in mind!
Great Cover, But the Issue Sucked
Fanboys vs Zombies (Boom)
FVZ has had some of the best nerd inspired comic book covers ever, but the story wasn't there. The interior art is still okay, but the colorist sucks for the book as well. Seriously though, great covers to the point where I only looked at this series for the covers and nothing more. - Dustin
Anything From Zenescope (Zenescope)
In all fairness there are some good titles, but these guys are classic case of cover hustlers. - Kevin
Halloween Eve (One-Shot) (Image Comics)
An interesting take on the notions of Halloween, The Wizard of OZ, and horror, yet the comic felt flat and uninspired with its trite story. - Carl
Spawn #221 (Image Comics)
I loved the 'Amazing Fantasy' Spidey parody cover but the issue inside just didn't do it for me. The artwork is great, as you'd expect given Spawn's history of artistic talent, but the story is forgettable. -Ed
Mini-Series That Was Supposed to Finish in 2012 That Will Make It To 2013
Loose Ends
We picked this as one of our best last year... still waiting for the series to end. Sure hope the creative team can pull themselves away from their corporate gigs to finish it because I'm not reading any more of their work until then. - Dustin
Orchid
I'm pretty sure this 12 issue maxi-series was supposed to have finished already but it's still rolling on after a few delays. That shouldn't detract from what has otherwise been a great comic and I'm certainly looking forward to its conclusion. - Ed
Worst Book(s) of the Year
Enormous (Image Comics)
I'll tell you one thing; it's not because of the art. This story was terrible. Not only did it recycle every post-apocalyptic storyline it could, but then it didn't even bother to create a character for you to like or root for. Sure the art was fantastic, but it was forced to illustrate some of the lamest scenes ever. I'm just glad that it was a one-shot. -Dustin
Think Tank (Top Cow Comics)
It's not a good sign when I hate everything the protagonist says. - Kevin
60% of IDW (IDW Publishing)
IDW has some great titles, but most of their licensed stuff makes me hurl. - Carl
Savage Hawkman / Legion of Superheroes (DC Comics)
We all know why. (Ed’s pick)
Worst Ongoing Series
Higher Earth (Boom Studios)
I wanted to like this series, but it gave me every reason it could no to. Unlikeable characters, a plot that felt it needed to be explained throughout the first four issues and art that became sloppier and sloppier with each passing issue. It's cancelled now, but I still can't forget how bad the experience of this comic was. - Dustin
Jennifer Blood (Dynamite Entertainment)
Now there's a spin off called, First Blood? Yeah okay I read it but I didn't like it. It just proves that this story was built for a mini and THAT IS ALL. - Kevin
Voltron (Dynamite Entertainment)
The first issue was so bad that I had to walk the plank from that comic. C'mon, this is Voltron. He deserves better. – Carl
Honorable Mention:
85-90% of All DC and Marvel
There’s a reason they don’t really appear on this list and that’s because we just flat out stopped reading them! Hard to pick one turd from the pile if you know what I mean. - Dustin
Worst Mini-Series of the Year
Black Kiss 2 (Image Comics)
I don't think that this book sucks just because it wasn't for me, it sucks because it failed to tell a story or have a plot. It was just sex scene one after another with a ton of racial slurs that were "acceptable" due to the era the book was set in. If Black Kiss 3 comes around count me out and frankly I wish I hadn't wasted my time with this series to begin with. – Dustin and Kevin
Worst Childhood Revival
He-Man: Masters of the Universe (DC Comics)
Holy shit this bad! With a world that massive and core characters with such potential it should be easy. The end product just shows that this was an afterthought that Geoff Johns dusted off. -Kevin
Ghostbusters (IDW Publishing)
Poorly executed humor. Lame stories. Good artwork. And now the four original Ghostbusters are gone? That's almost as bad as making Walter Peck the boss over the guys. It hurt to see a franchise with so much potential for great stories mismanaged and bungled. - Carl
Worst 90's Revival
Bloodstrike (Image Comics)
Image had a few successful 90's revivals, but this wasn't one of them in my opinion. Sure it's still going strong until Liefeld takes back over, but this comic was a hard book to read. It made me reflect on the comics of the 90's and wonder, what the fuck was going on. - Dustin
Cyber Force (Top Cow Comics)
I didn't get it. I never read it and them didn't seem to include me in the joke. - Kevin
Youngblood (Image Comics)
Requisite Rob Liefield jokes aside, this book has too many characters and not enough of a developed story. -Carl
I appreciate that the creative team are probably trying to spoof Liefeld's original series and I expect they're having an absolute blast making it but for readers I can't see much value in it beyond a brief ironic nostalgia trip. - Ed
Worst Comic Event/Crossover
AVX (Marvel Comics)
It sold a lot of issues, most of which I still see in my comic shop. Did it change anything? No. Did it lead into Marvel NOW? No. So what was the fucking purpose? To sell a lot of variants. Will anyone remember it in five years? I hope not. Also the title was also lame. - Dustin
Infestation 2 (IDW Publishing)
Does this count because, "whew", what is going on there. I get it the Transformers and G.I. one was cool but this is silly and desperate. - Kevin
Star Trek: TNG and Doctor Who (IDW Publishing)
There were no chances taken with this book. The art was substandard, and the story was as safe as a playpen. Who thought this book was a good idea for anything other than to rob fans of both franchises of an extra $4 every month. - Carl
Strangest Creative Team on Any Book
Kieron Gillen and Greg Land (Iron Man from Marvel Comics)
One has become renowned for writing emotionally sophisticated and character driven stories with positive representations of women; the other is best known for shamelessly tracing a lot of his artwork from porn photos, leading to some 'interesting' poses and hilariously inappropriate facial expressions. It's hard to imagine a creative team less suited to one another than Gillen and Land but somehow Marvel has kept them together after the closure of Uncanny X-Men into 2013 with their re-launched Iron Man. Bizarre. - Ed
Most Annoying Industry Habit of 2012
50 Variants and Counting
Some companies have this theory that if they continued to do something until people stop buying it, then it's okay to continue to do it. They don't look at the market damaged they're doing or checking with retailers to see if they're actually selling issues or just getting one guy to buy the fucking variant. Variants are great when done properly, but this year really showed that when they're out of control they hurt the industry more than anything and frankly it pushes long time readers and collectors away.
-Dustin
Twitter Drama
Oh my God somebody said something negative about my book and or something I like. Get over, we all have different opinions and twitters-- nothing will change. There's no news or story here. Okay?! Just let it go Rob. - Kevin
IDW and Continuity
If you have a creative team and an editing staff, please establish a timeline for your books so a coherent story can be told. And do this well before you get writers to pen issue one. - Carl
The Endless 'Event' Cycle
Round, round, round we go. Every damn year you can bet that most, if not all, of your favourite comics by 'certain publishers' will be roped in to whatever "this changes everything" ruckus they've got going on this year. There's nothing inherently wrong with crossovers or events but when they happen so often it devalues them and often spoils the ongoing stories of the comics involved; worse still is the fact that with the prelude and fallout included they often take up more than half of the storytelling year. In a funny way the fatigue these events create is probably a good thing though - nothing's been more effective at persuading fans like me to try out more of the amazing range of creator-owned or small-publisher comics instead. - Ed
Worst Movie/TV/Video Game Adaptation
Arrow Digital Comic (DC Comics)
I use the term "comic" and "adaptation" loosely when speaking of this pile of crap. I enjoy the TV show, but when I picked up this comic to continue that awesome experience it was like having someone rub poop on the screen of my digital reader. Terrible, terrible tie-in. - Dustin
Borderlands Origins (IDW Publishing)
Even for free this book still is out of its mind. It didn't even try to embody the feel and style of the game. - Kevin
Worst Comic Convention of 2012
Wonder Con
Where to begin with this one. The parking was fucked from day one and it didn't help that there was a huge Volleyball tournament happening at the same time along with a cheerleading convention or some shit as well. I don't like missing panels and events because I can park. Hopefully next year they'll figure out which one brought in more money and not schedule bullshit at the same time. - Dustin
Wizard World
Just get rid of that thing...er wait. - Kevin
San Diego Comic Con
They didn't ask me to be a guest of honor. Yet. - Carl
Thought Bubble (Leeds, UK)
Just kidding. Everyone I've spoken to about it said it was awesome but sadly I couldn't go - so it's not so much my 'worst convention' as 'the convention which made me feel the worst for missing out'. - Ed