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BEST: Daredevil - Frank Miller & Klaus Johnson: Volume 1 (1979-1981)
Frank Miller ... before he was Frank Miller! Before he became famous for writing the stories behind summer blockbusters 300 and SIn City, Miller first became a break out success drawing for Daredevil in the late 70s. Slowly but surely he also assumed command of the books' writing with his superior ideas and stories. Through the years I've read one or two issues from this esteemed run, but I've never sat down to experience Miller's output in its entirety. Well, let me tell you: it's definitely worth all the praise it gets. It's no Watchmen - it doesn't revolutionize the industry. But Miller hits it out of the park with every single issue - these are quite possibly the finest superhero stories any 22-page magazine has ever contained.

                         

RUNNER-UP: Penny Arcade: Volume 3 - The Warsun Prophecies (2002)
I read the first three volumes of Penny Arcade which collected every comic published (and not published!) between 1998 and 2002. While all were interesting and humorous, it was this third volume that shined the brightest. This was about the time in Penny Arcade's life that I discovered the comic online. I read it for a couple of weeks and then forgot about it for something else (beer? girls? certainly not college schoolwork). However, reading through the entire collected year for the first time I truly see the ascension of an online phenomenon. The writer and artist team don't give a shit if you don't get their esoteric, hardcore video game humor (yes, even I don't understand every reference). This unapologetic rebelliousness and integrity absolutely pervade each strip. I can't wait to read the other volumes!

WORST: Ultimate Fantastic Four (2004)
Right around 2000 or 2001, Marvel must have started thinking they had a huge problem on their hands. Though they had enormously popular characters they felt a little weighted down with 40+ years of stories in these characters' pasts. They didn't want to just completey part with this history so they decided to create the "Ultimate" line of comics: remixed versions of their most mainstream superheroes. For example, Spider-Man was now the web designer for the Daily Bugle rather than a staff photographer. I never picked up a copy thinking they were just pure novelty but I decided to give them a try this year. Well, they were all shit! However, Ultimate Fantastic Four holds a special place in my ass. Not only is the story as bad as the other Ultimate books, but the writer for Ultimate Fantastic Four decides to write dialogue that is "realistic." So he'll have characters start sentences, stop themselves, and then say different sentences. FOR ALMOST EVERY SENTENCE THEY SAY. Ok, one or two would make it seem real. But having to do this start-stop with sentence just made me want to toss the book out a window and be done with it. Not surprisngly, I still haven't found someone to buy this from me on ebay.

                         

RUNNER-UP: Ultimate Spider-Man: Learning Curve (2001-2002)
Well, Ultimate Spider-Man wasn't as bad as Ultimate Fantastic Four but watching the complete butchering of my favorite character hurt on a more personal level. I don't know why but I decided to purchase both the first and second Ultimate Spider-Man collections together so, even though I loathed the first, I felt obligated to read it's sequel. Well, things take a turn for the worst, dear reader. The original idea back in the 60's of creating a teenaged superhero was revolutionary and even though some of the stories were corny, at least they were breaking ground. Here, everything just seems forced. It's like an old band from the 60's attempting to write a hit song for Kanye West today. It reeks of forced hipness and dumbed down. Turd!