Forget Marvel & DC; Here's My "Big 2"
OK, don’t get me wrong. I love Batman and Superman, Spider-Man and the X-Men, just like every other comic fan (c’mon, you know you do). I just don’t read their comics regularly anymore. I can’t afford to. My comic money is little, so I have to be picky. That said, there are two current companies that I will happily give money to.
1: Dynamite Entertainment. The Lone Ranger brought me back to comics after more than a decade. Project Superpowers is an exciting (re)introduction to great Golden Age characters. Zorro is just about the best written comic I’ve read. The first issues of The Man With No Name and Brothers In Arms are very promising. Buck Rogers is coming down the road. Dynamite is growing quickly and producing some of the best comics I’ve read in years. Not all of their titles are my cup of tea – sorry, not a Red Sonja fan – but I enjoy enough of them to make them my #1 comic company.
2: Red 5 Comics. My introduction to Red 5 Comics was the Atomic Robo/Neozoic Free Comic Book Day issue. Atomic Robo was simply awesome. Since then I have been able to check out Atomic Robo (again, simply awesome), Abyss (great new take on villains and the heroes who fight them), and Midknight (every bit as entertaining as Abyss – where’s the animated series?). So far, I’ve enjoyed every Red 5 title I’ve read. Of course, Robo is my favorite. Neozoic is next on my ‘to read’ list.
Honorable Mention – Platinum Studios. I also recently checked out Hero by Night – both the mini and the ongoing. Another great series outside the big companies. Cowboys & Aliens and Unique are also sitting on my ‘to read’ list.
This excellent variety of material is a way better use of money than the ‘Infinite Final Invasion War Crises of the Year.’ In my humble opinion, at least. And a lot fewer fanboys gripe about this stuff…
can’t comment on Dynamite too much but good call on Red 5. They’ve really done their homeworks and what they’ve put out has been outstanding stuff.
Having just discovered Jay Faerber and his own unvierse I’m really warming up to him, and the whole Image Comics superhero universe: Dynamo5, the Noble family of Noble Cause, Gemini (all three Faerber titles) and the Invincible line from Kirkman and finally Savage Dragon from Erik Larsen.
I’ve actually only read some Dynamo 5 but the annual had appearances from Invincible and Savage Dragon and I got the first Noble Causes archives trade and plan on ordering the first Invincible hardcover soon. I like how they seem to act in a closed universe that is much smaller than either of DC or Marvel…