
Best Comic Books of 2017 - #1
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #1 picks for Best of 2017.
Click here to read #2 on the list!
Click here to read #3 on the list!

Worst Comic Books of 2017 - #1
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #1 picks for Worst of 2017.
Click here to read #2 on the list!
Click here to read #3 on the list!

Best Comic Books of 2017 - #2
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #2 picks for Best of 2017.
Click here to read #3 on the list!

Worst Comic Books of 2017 - #2
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #2 picks for Worst of 2017.
Click here to read #3 on the list!

Best Comic Books of 2017 - #3
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #3 picks for Best of 2017.

Worst Comic Books of 2017 - #3
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #3 picks for Worst of 2017.

Best Comic Books of 2017 - #4
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #4 picks for Best of 2017.

Worst Comic Books of 2017 - #4
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #4 picks for Worst of 2017.

Best Comic Books of 2017 - #5
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #5 picks for Best of 2017.

Worst Comic Books of 2017 - #5
Welcome to the Comic Bastards end of the year list. Similar to our group reviews, each of the participating writers will be giving their picks for their best and also worst comics of 2017. Without further ado, here are our #5 picks for Worst of 2017.

Review: Retcon #4
By Jonathan Edwards
Retcon is shit. It’s always been shit. There was zero chance this finale was going to be anything but shit. But, that makes it no less of an infuriating endeavor to read. Frankly, even with only four issues, this book has no business being a monthly series. Waiting until the third issue to start touching upon the marketed premise is entirely too long in any scenario, but here, where that also amounts to over half of the series, that’s unacceptable. They might’ve been able to get away with it if this had been published as an OGN, but that still wouldn’t fix the bigger, more foundational problems. Namely, Retcon doesn’t do anything with its eponymous concept. Yes, it’s about a repeating timeline, but unlike, say, Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow, the “Mystery Spot” episode of Supernatural or pretty much any other story that also does that, we only get to see the events of a single repetition play out. As such, the already shallow characters get little to no genuine development, and we effectively can’t understand what makes the current repetition different, let alone the significance of that difference, if we don’t see at least some of the other repetitions as well. Sure, they kind of try to explain what’s changed, but there’s no satisfaction in that. Time loop narratives just don’t work when you don’t show the fucking time loops.

Review: Justice League of America #20
By Jonathan Edwards
Based on the first half of this issue, I was going to rate it a two out of five. Heck, I was even going to say that this wasn’t the worst way for “Precision Strike” to end. And then, I got to the second half. Suddenly, Justice League of America #20 changed from the flawed ending of a weak story arc to a nigh incoherent attempt to justify and explain away its bullshit premise. “All Prometheus needed to divide us was a video camera and a list of questions.” Yes, Ryan, but only because everyone he “interviewed” was written without the ability to detect his entirely obvious attempts to manipulate them. And, maybe it could’ve worked, at least a little bit if any of the previous issues put character development first instead of dedicating so much fucking time on superficial plots with one-note villains.

Review: Klaus and the Crisis in Xmasville #1
By Jonathan Edwards
On December 5th, 2016, I finally did what I’d spent the better part of the year thinking about doing; I applied to be a comic reviewer for ComicBastards.com. On December 12th, 2016, I received an email inviting me onto the team, and on December 21st, 2016, my reviews for Dept. H #9 and Klaus and the Witch of Winter were published on the site. And now, just barely a year after I sent in my application, here I am reviewing the next Klaus book, Klaus and the Crisis in Xmasville. And, maybe there would have been more ceremony in reviewing next week’s Dept. H #21. Especially since that was the actual first book I reviewed, and issue #21 comes out closer to the anniversary of when I actually reviewed issue #9. But, Klaus only comes one a year, so I think that makes it the more appropriate choice. Also, I could just do both, but I haven’t read an issue of Dept. H despite continuing to buy them with the intention of eventually sitting down and binging them. But until then, let’s focus on Grant Morrison’s superhero Santa Claus.

Review: DC Holiday Special 2017 #1
By Jonathan Edwards
It’s December, so that means ‘tis the season for holiday specials like this one, and ‘tis the season for starting reviews off with the phrase “’tis the season.” In the wake of Rebirth last year, I was looking forward to DC’s DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1. It seemed like a great way to celebrate the season and the overall success of the relaunch. Unfortunately, if my LCS had gotten any copies (I didn’t ask, but I’m sure they did), they’d sold out of them before I got there. This was also before I started reviewing for Comic Bastards (if only barely), so I didn’t have access to any review copies. Oh well, I told myself, and I figured it maybe wouldn’t have turned out to be that good of a read anyway. In retrospect, that seems like an unnecessarily sour attitude to take during the most wonderful time of the year. And, the best way I can think of to make up for that is to take an optimistic look at DC Holiday Special 2017 #1.

Review: Mystik U #1
By Jonathan Edwards
This book reminds me a lot of two other recent DC miniseries: Supergirl: Being Super and Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love. At least in terms of tone and writing style. As far as premise goes, it’s much closer to the former. Because, at its core, Mystik U is just a retcon of Zatanna Zatara’s origin. But, it’s one that attempts to justify it by introducing the “Malevolence,” a super-powered threat that has ravaged the magical world. So much so that the only way to stop it is to turn back the clock and beat it before it becomes too big. However, it’s not clear how they’re meant to do so, when it appears that no one has any more of an idea about said Malevolence then, presumably, the first time this all happened. And, if that didn’t already sound like pretense, the rest of the issue makes sure you know it is.

Review: Justice League of America Annual #1
By Jonathan Edwards
As of the writing of this review, I have read and reviewed every single issue of DC’s post-Rebirth Justice League of America. This includes the five one-shots released the first issue of the main series, which I liked. Justice League of America #1 and #2 were disappointing after that, but it wasn’t until about the third issue that I started being entirely outspoken about why the book and why it continues to suck. And in my review for JLA #12, I explained that having such consistently heavy criticism for it is why I don’t drop it.

Group Review: Batman: Creature of the Night #1
By the Comic Bastards
Welcome to the review. If you’re unfamiliar with Comic Bastards’ group review format, then allow me to get you up to speed. Each of the participating writers will give their thoughts, along with their own personal score for the issue. Each score stands on its own so don’t expect an average. Now, here’s a blurb about Batman: Creature of the Night #1.
Young Bruce Wainwright lost his parents in a violent crime…and in the real world; no superheroes exist to save the day. But as grief and rage builds inside Bruce until he feels he can’t keep it inside anymore, something strange starts taking wing in the Gotham night! Perhaps Bruce’s grief isn’t inside him after all?

Review: God Complex #2
By Jonathan Edwards
For about the first half of God Complex #2, I was finally getting into the story and enjoying myself while it happened. And then, right around the time Seneca visited the Fates, I started losing interest. It’s still a fine issue overall, and the last couple pages do present us with a decent enough cliffhanger. It just doesn't end up being as entertaining as the beginning was. And, I think I know why. Seneca’s character by itself isn’t all that interesting. Neither is his investigation into the deaths of the three Church of the Trinity acolytes. Yet, both work a lot better whenever we see the Rulers getting directly involved. Because they provide great foils for Seneca and vice versa. His moody, neo-noir detective shtick if offset by his fear of getting on their bad side and/or letting them down. And, their sense of superiority, inside information, and larger than life power struggle is offset by the legitimate need for his help, as he can perceive things in a way they can’t. As such, we get an interesting dynamic where, rather than condescend, the Rulers actually attempt to pick Seneca’s brain and enable him, and his both compelled and reluctant to go further and further down the rabbit hole that is his investigation.

Review: Justice League of America #19
By Jonathan Edwards
It’s ironic that a book as clumsy and heavy-handed as Justice League of America would title one of its story arcs “Precision Strike.” What’s more, I think Orlando himself might be realizing that and panicking. Because, in addition to more of Prometheus’s cliché “I planned for every possible scenario” speeches, we get two back to back panels where first the Atom and then Black Canary comment about the “precision” of the latter using her supersonic scream to overload the former’s bio-belt, defaulting it.

Review: Hollow Fields vol. 1
By Jonathan Edwards
As it turns out, Hollow Fields Vol. 1 was originally published in June of 2007 and black & white. Cut to roughly and a half years later, and Seven Seas Entertainment has opted to re-release this full-color version. I can’t say I’ve heard of that being a particularly common practice, at least in terms of the traditional manga publishing industry. However, Hollow Fields is not a part of the traditional industry. It’s an “original English-language” manga. And in this case, that means the writer and artist is Australian. I know some people have a huge issue with manga produced outside of Japan by people who aren’t Japanese, but I’m not really one of them. Sure, you’re inherently going to get some stylistic changes thanks to cultural differences, but if the general themes and tropes are congruent, then why should overseas works be excluded? Especially when there are people who dismiss any and all Japanese animation solely on the premise that they “don’t like anime.” This is despite the fact you might be trying to get them to watch Spirited Away, and all they’re familiar with is the likes of Bleach.
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