As mentioned on our last episode, it’s teaching season again and I’m back at Southern New Hampshire University teaching animation and visual effects. The good news is I’m hard at work preparing the next generation of animators and mond-blowing special effects creators to bring you a lifetime of comic book properties on the big and small screen. The bad news is it’s left me with little time to produce a quality column each week. So rather than stress about it, and produce a sporadic column that’s not up to snuff, I’ve decided to suspend the Hit (& Miss) List for the time being in the hopes of a return to form this summer.

But just because the Hit List is hibernating, doesn’t mean there’s any less happening at nearmintcomicshow.com – far from it. We have our next NEAR MINTerview lined up for next week, when we’ll be talking with Matt Kindt and there loads of other stuff on the way form your favorite comics podcast. As time allows, we’ll bring you some written content here on the website but to stay current on all things Near Mint, be sure to like our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter!

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Happy New Year! It’s the first show of 2012, but this episode is all about 2011. Join us as we honor the best comics, creators, characters and more in the 4th Annual Minty Awards! Hear what Ben, Josh and you the listener picked as the best of 2011. Find out who the biggest winners were. Listen as a favorite title is raised to the rafters of the Minty Hall of Fame. Gaze into the crystal ball with bold predictions for the year ahead.

All this, plus Ben schooling Thomas Vokoun, Josh’s week of movies, the New DC Logo discussed, and the films of P.J. Huot. It’s a fitting send-off for the year that was, and the perfect start to 2012.

Music in this episode by: Mac Miller, Gashammer, The Beatles, Cee Lo, Timbuk 3, Harold Faltermeyer & Steve Stevens, Michael Bublé, Fred Rogers

These Cover-of-the-Year Winners were one of several honors bestowed upon Amazing Spider-Man and Venom in the 2011 Minty Awards.

The Weekly Hit (and Miss) List is a rundown of the best and worst things I read this week regardless of their original publication date. It doesn’t have to be new – just new to me.

Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to the Hit List!  Thanks for letting me take some time off to recharge, record a new episode and read some comics.  It was much-needed, and now I’m back with a vengeance like Johnny Blaze – let’s get to it!

THE HITS

Invincible #86 | Image | Robert Kirkman (w) Cory Walker (a)

If you had to wipe out all of Germany to prevent the Holocaust, could you do it? That’s the ethical dilema facing the newly-appointed leader of the Coalition of Planets, Allen the Alien in Invincible #86. “What would you do” scenarios like this are the makings of great comicbooks and this issue dishes it up in typical Kirkman fashion – with tons of face-punching and loads of gratuitous bloodshed. Original series artist, Cory Walker is pinch-hitting for Ryan Ottley and looking great doing it while Invincible – which could have taken a backseat to all the Walking Dead hoopla – is kicking ass heading into 2012.

Uncanny X-Force #19  | Marvel | Rick Remender (w) Robbi Rodriguez (a)

I know I’m in the minority here, but I’m one of the few people who didn’t love the ending of the 8-part Dark Angel Saga. I think it was a brilliant concept and had some great moments, but the ending was a little too “crushing-your-head-with-mind-bending-science-fiction” for my tastes. That said, issue #19 was an epilogue of sorts that did a nice job of both grounding the story and giving it some context within the rest of the X-Men universe. And if you’re going to follow up Jerome Opeña on art, you better come correct. Robbie Rodriguez is more than up to the the task, and Dean White’s colors kept a consistent feel despite the change in pencils. If I had any qualms about continuing with Uncanny X-Force, this issue put them aside.

Superior #1-6  | Icon | Mark Millar (w) Leinil Yu (a)

If you didn’t listen to the last episode, shame on you. If you did, let me just say “Josh was right” and leave it at that. Can’t wait to see how this Millarworld mini-series wraps up next month!

THE MISSES

Voltron #1 | Dynamite | Brandon Thomas (w) Ariel Padilla (a)

THE GOOD: within the first 2 pages, we get Voltron throwing down against a giant kaiju monster.
THE BAD: pretty much everything else.
There’s a decent amount of action in this first issue but the corporate/political espionage backstory is a total snooze. Artist, Ariel Padilla has clearly attended the Chris Bachalo school of bizarre and confusing camera angles but his lines lack any of the style and soul of Bachalo’s work. The colors are bland and full of overly rendered airbrush effects. Everything looks shiny for no reason and in a lot of cases the work looks unfinished. Overall, this book did nothing to excite me, leaning too heavily on nostalgia to establish the characters which are otherwise sterile and generic. As a final nitpick, some genius decided to match the uniform colors of the “drivers” (they don’t actually “drive” – Voltron now seems to be a remote controlled drone of some sort … I know, don’t get me started) to the colors of the lions, robbing Voltron of the bizarre black-lion-driver-is-red-red-is-blue-and-blue-is-pink-for-some-reason charm that made it one of the most beloved poorly-translated wacky Japanese imports of our childhood.

Agree? Disagree? Read something we all need to know about? Post your comments below or join us on our Facebook Page

PLUS, we’ll select one response at random and that person will win a comics prize pack containing autographed comics, packing peanuts and more.  So not only will you contribute to the show and give props to your favorite comics, but you could score yourself some cool swag in the process – what are you waiting for?!

Click Here to cast your ballot for the 2011 Minty Awards … you can also cast your vote (and be a part of the episode) by leaving us a voicemail at 815-31-SNIKT (76458). Make sure we know who you are so you can be eligible for prizes and we’ll play your message during the show.

This year’s categories are:

The Industry
Comic Movie of the Year
Comic TV Show of the Year
Publisher of the Year
Biggest Disappointment of the Year
*Oh-Shit Moment of the Year
*Pleasant Surprise of the Year
*Bold Prediction for 2012

The Characters
Hero of the Year
Villain of the Year
Team of the Year
Non-Superhero Character of the Year

The Creators
Best Artist (or Art Team)
Best Writer

The Books
Best Cover
Best Marvel Title
Best DC Title
Best Creator-Owned Title
Best Graphic Novel and/or Collected Edition
Best Single Issue
Best New Series (Rookie of the Year)
Best Mini-Series
Best Ongoing Series

* new category this year

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It’s Christmas in the Comic Cave. After tensions ran high last episode, Ben and Josh are back with a new episode overflowing with peace, love and good will towards men, mutants and monsters alike.  We open things up with talk of holiday plans and canceling cable before diving into some spirited comics talk.

Josh, reaffirms his love for Moon Knight and fills us in on the all-new, all-different but slightly-the-same Dark Avengers. Ben talks Legion of Monsters, Hellboy and Atomic Robo. We debate the merits of the Hulks and Josh goes space bananas for Mark Millar’s Superior.

Later we preview the upcoming 2011 Minty Awards and open the Near Mint mailbag and answer a laundry list of listener questions.  It’s the last episode of 2012, so thanks to everyone for listening and enjoy the show – yule love it!

Music in this episode by: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Dr. Elmo, the Decemberists, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Barenaked Ladies, the Whirling Dervishes

Well folks, the holidays are upon us, as is one of my semi-annual attempts to read a book without pictures. As a result I haven’t read many comics this week, so I’m going to take a week off from the Weekly Hit (and Miss) List. But rather than leave you with nothing to read this week, I dug into the archives and pulled up this article from 2008 (the first year of the Near Mint Comic Show). Enjoy this trip in the not-so-way-back machine, which hopefully (with the help of some fresh updates) will help you find the perfect something for the comics fan on your holiday gift list!

As we discussed on our [December 2008] episode, Christmas and comics aren’t an easy fit.  Your friends and family are unlikely to go anywhere near the sordid shopping ghetto we know as the local comic shop, so you can’t expect to get comics.  And unless you have a comics lover on your gift list or you’re willing to shamelessly pimp your hobby on your loved ones, there’s rarely an opportunity to give comics.

So you can imagine my excitement when we drew names for our annual Christmas pollyanna (that’s ‘Secret Santa’ for those of you who don’t live in Pennsylvania) and I pulled my cousin Scott, the only true and devout comics reader in our family.  Last year, I had Scott’s brother Nick who I love dearly, but Nick wanted a winter coat for Christmas and let’s face it – that’s not a very fun shopping trip.

This year when I opened the envelope and saw Scott’s name, I could think only one thing: “Oh yeah, baby, he’s gettin’ comics!” Now Scott is a regular listener of the show, but for the sake of our readers, I’m going to assume that he won’t be visiting the site in the next couple days.  But Scott, if I’m wrong and you are reading this…well…SPOILERS AHEAD! It was tough to come up with something that a) I didn’t think he’d read and b) were worthy of this rare opportunity for comic gift-giving.  But after much debate, I settled on three hardcovers which should look pretty nice on Scott’s very impressive bookshelf.  Here’s what I picked:

Joker (DC, 2008)
Written by Brian Azzarello
Pencils by Lee Bermejo

Scott is a HUGE Batman fan, so I’d be surprised if this wasn’t on his radar. But he’s also a poor college student so given its recent release, I’m hopeful that this passes the “hasn’t already read it” test.  If you listened to Episode 007, you’ve already heard me gush about Joker.  This 128-page original graphic novel absolutely blew my doors off.  Azzarello gives us a chilling vision of the Joker as seen through the eyes of henchman Johnny Frost while Bermejo hits it out of the park on art, using two different art styles to spotlight moments when Johnny sees the world through Joker-colored glasses.  This is, for my money, the single best Batman story of the last decade and a must-have for any fan of the clown prince of crime.

If you liked this in 2008, try this in 2011:
Batman: Noel | DC | Lee Bermejo (w/a): Lee Bermejo is back (this time as writer and artist) bringing you another beautifully-rendered tale from the gritty, quasi-in-continuity world of the Gotham that we saw in Joker. 

Ex Machina - Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 (Wildstorm, 2008)

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Pencils by Tony Harris

My man-love for Brian K. Vaughn knows no bounds and since I think that Scott has already read Y: The Last Man, I decided to go with my other BKV favorite, Ex Machina. This is the story of Mitchell Hundred, a former superhero with the power to talk to and control machines, who has hung up his tights to become mayor of New York City.  While there’s a healthy dose of supernatural intrigue and super-heroics in this book, it’s really a story of civil politics, full of all the plot-twists, cliffhangers and rich character development that Vaughn does so well.  Tony Harris (probably most famous for his work on Starman with James Robinson) has a very distinctive style that gives this book a unique look.  The 272-page Deluxe Edition hardcover collects the first 11 issues (originally published from August 2004 – July 2005) of the series which just reached issue #40.

If you liked this in 2008, try this in 2011:
The Nightly News | Image | Jonathan Hickman (w/a): Not as charachter-driven as Ex Machina, but just as engaging. Hickman takes on some politically-charged commentary of the role of media in our society, ripe with info-graphics in his unique graphic style.

Pride of Bagdad (Vertigo, 2006)
written by Brian K. Vaughan
pencils by  Niko Henrichon

Assuming Scott will latch on to BKV the same way I have, I decided to push my luck and go with Pride of Bagdad, another original graphic novel, which tells the story of a pride of lions emancipated from the Baghdad zoo during the first salvo of US bombing in 2003.  The story is wrought with symbolism and satire as Vaughn serves up his own cleverly-disguised commentary on the Iraq conflict, but it works on a surface level too.  Niko Henrichson’s art turns lions Zill, Nafa, Noor and Ali into completely believable characters that you’ll quickly latch onto.  And even if anthropomorphism isn’t your thing, Pride of Baghdad delivers a story that The Lion King could only dream of.

If you liked this in 2008, try this in 2011:
We3 | Vertigo | Grant Morrisson (w) Frank Quitely (a): Recently re-released in a deluxe hardcover edition with all-new material, Morrisson and Quitely show how animals can react in all-too-human ways when faced with fight or flight situations – a modern classic!

So there you have it.  Merry Christmas, listeners.  Merry Christmas Scott (again) and thanks for letting me give the gift of comics.

The Weekly Hit (and Miss) List is a rundown of the best and worst things I read this week regardless of their original publication date. It doesn’t have to be new – just new to me.

THE HITS

The King | Top Shelf | Rich Koslowski (w/a)

Top Shelf Productions is one of my favorite small publishers. They have a knack for finding great talent and getting behind unique projects and I’ve already sung their praises in the March ’11 edition of Comic Book Club when I talked about Rich Koslowski’s B.B. Wolf and the Three LPs. This week I picked up another O.G.N. from Top Shelf and Koslowski called The King. It’s a story of a freelance reporter sent to uncover the truth behind the Vegas phenomenon known as The King. Claiming to be the spirit of Elvis Presley reborn as a God on earth, The King has amassed a huge following of believers. The King is a heartfelt story of faith, skepticism and the power of mystery, beautifully complimented by the art.  A cartoonist in the purist sense of the world, Koslowski’s sparse panel layouts and expressive figures, are a perfect fit for this story that tells us how suggestion can be far more powerful that that which we believe to be true. BUY IT

Legion of Monsters #2 | Marvel | Dennis Hopeless (w), Juan Doe (a)

When you read as many comics as I do it’s easy for an issue to get lost in the shuffle. A read at the wrong time or among too many others can kill the experience.  Such was the case for me with Legion of Monsters #1. I remember reading it and I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t have a huge impact on me. But with a light week this week, I decided to pick up #2 anyway – boy am I glad I did! This book is fantastic. The 4-issue mini teams all the classic Marvel monsters (Morbuis, Manphibian, Werewolf by Night, etc.) with monster hunter, Elsa Bloodstone (of Nextwave fame) for an ass-kicking, wisecracking, Ghostbusters-homage-paying ROMP. All-too-rare interior art by Juan Doe is worth the price alone and he’s evolved his collage-like style for pencils that are somehow loose fluid, but wonderfully clean at the same time.  If you’re not reading this book, you must hate fun. BUY IT

Atomic Robo Vol 5  | Red 5 | Brian Clevenger (w), Scott Wegner (a)

Despite having met series artist and New Hampshire native, Scott Wegner on several occassions, I’ve read shamefully little Atomic Robo. But thanks to the folks at Red 5 offering low-priced digital trades through Comixology (which no one else does), I decided to fix that.  One of the beauties of Atomic Robo is that each volume is self-contained so you can grab any trade paperback and dive right in.  Volume 5, entitled The Deadly art of Science turned out to be a great place to start because it tells the origin of Robo – a sentient robot designed by Nikola Tesla and trained as gun-toting an adventurer by prohibition era outlaw, Jack Tarrot. Atomic Robo is fast-paced, funny, heartfelt and oozing fun on every page.  In the little experience I had with the character already, I knew I’d enjoy it but after this emersion, I’ll definitely be back for more. BUY IT

THE MISSES

Mud Man #1 | Image | Paul Grist (w/a)

I listen to a lot of podcasts and read a lot of comicbook criticism and when the Internet speaks loudly about a book or creator it’s easy to get caught regurgitating the same opinion. Having already heard great things about this book and miles of praise for Paul Grist, I had this book penciled in as a hit.  But when I read the debut issue for myself, I just couldn’t get into it. Grist’s art is terrific and it’s clear he’s a great storyteller but I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters and I didn’t get enough story in this first issue to really grab me. Comparisons were made between Mud Man and early Spider-Man but comparing the two, this presented a rather confusing origin and gave me little sense of what Mud powers are and why they might be cool.  I had high hopes for this series, but it looks like I’ll have to take Dan Larson’s suggestion and dig up some Jack Staff to really get my Grist on.

Agree? Disagree? Read something we all need to know about? Post your comments below or join us on our Facebook Page

Freshly-stuffed following the Thanksgiving holiday, the boys are back with an all-ornery new episode. In the first half of the show, Greg Giorgio joins us in studio to talk about the first half-season of The Walking Dead (all TV talk, no comic spoilers). Conflict takes center stage and opinions differ on the season’s success rate to date.

In the second hour, the comic talk flows like bacon-wrapped scallops. There’s jeers for Fear Itself, waves of praise for Spider-Island, and all things in-between. Both Ben and Josh part ways with FF but have good things to say about Moon Knight, Orchid and Ultimate Spider-Man.

All this, plus comics Josh can’t bring himself to read, congrats for Ben’s new comic-fan-to-be and how a pumpkin spoiled 30+ years of monogamy for Greg. It’s more fun than a barn full o’ walkers.

Music in this episode by: Reid Genauer, Al Butron, Alan Thicke &
Gloria Long, Neil Sedaka, Tom Morello

The Weekly Hit (and Miss) List is a rundown of the best and worst things I read this week regardless of their original publication date. It doesn’t have to be new – just new to me.

THE HITS

Fear Agent Vol. 3 | Dark Horse | Rick Remender (w), Tony Moore (a)

There are a lot of comics out there.  In fact, there are a lot of very good comics out there. And yet amidst the vast sea of opinions that is the internet, there are only a handful of comics talked about as being the best. Scalped, Fables, The Walking Dead, I’ll even include mainstream books like Batwoman and Amazing Spider-Man – these are titles worthy of discussion when the words “best book on the shelves” come out. With the release last week of it’s 32nd and final issue, we say goodbye to one of these titles in Rick Remender’s Fear Agent. Though plagued by delays late in it’s run, Fear Agent – the story of hard-drinkin’ down-on-his-luck space ranger, Heath Huston – remained one of the most critically-acclaimed books of the last decade. Remender packs each issue with rich world-building, complex characters and an action-packed narrative that never lets you catch your breath. Tony Moore and Jerome Opeña, who trade off art duties with each volume, are two of the best storytellers working today–period. In reading the 3rd volume, which flashes back to tell the story of the Earth’s fall to alien invaders, I was struck by the complexity of the story and how tightly woven the plot points are. Events, which we saw in a previous volume are revealed to have taken place right on the heels of world-altering moments shown now for the first time, making them all the more heart-rending. Sometimes I’ll meet people who have just started watching Lost or havent read up to date in The Walking Dead, and I’m always so jealous of what they still have in store. With 3 volumes yet to explore, I will cherish every page of Fear Agent that I have left.  BUY IT

Morning Glories Vol. 2 | Image | Nick Spencer (w), Joe Eisma (a)

We discussed the first volume of Morning Glories at length on our March 2011 edition of Comic Book Club, and my opinion of the series hasn’t changed much since then. Morning Glories is supernatural mystery/thriller set at an elite boarding school. The writing by Nick Spencer is strong and the story has enough twists and turns to keep me coming back for more. The sequential art, on the other hand, is about as average as it gets and keeps this extranormal story planted firmly in the mundane. Still, it’s a page-turner that reads great in trade, and the covers by Rodin Esquejo more than make up for the shortcomings of Joe Eisma’s interiors. BUY IT

THE MISSES

Avenging Spider-Man #1 | Marvel | Zeb Wells (w), Joe Madureira (a)

Problem: Spider-Man is on 3 different teams and appears in about 8 titles every month.  Solution: put out one more Spidey title that tries to make sense of it all. That’s the logic behind Avenging Spider-Man. The debut issue, which teamed Spidey with Red Hulk in a battle against giant robots, subterranean monsters and swarms of moloids, wasn’t terrible. If they set up Avenging Spider-Man as a done-in-one Marvel Team-Up-style book, I could probably get on board with it. But a last page cliffhanger, makes this look like yet another ongoing Spidey title in an already-saturated market and I just can’t see it having much significance. The book isn’t without an upside though, namely the awesome art of Joe Madureira which is kinetic and exciting, but could have benefited from the services of an inker. That, plus the free digital copy included with this issue, probably makes it worth checking out even if it did land at the bottom of this week’s stack.

Agree? Disagree? Read something we all need to know about? Post your comments below or join us on our Facebook Page

The Weekly Hit (and Miss) List is a rundown of the best and worst things I read this week regardless of their original publication date. It doesn’t have to be new – just new to me.

THE HITS

Xombi #1-6 | DC | John Rozum (w), Frazer Irving (a)

This is one of the easiest selections to the Hit List yet, and yet one of the hardest books for me to talk about. The short-lived relaunch of the mid-90′s property, Xombi packed more big concepts and stunning artwork into six issues than some series do in a decade. Xombi is the story of David Kim, who through a lethal combination of science and the supernatural, became an immortal creature created by artificial means … a Xombi. Kim has a Wolverine-like healing factor facilitated by nanomachines that inhabit his body and can transubstantiate matter into any form – hand him a banana and he’ll give you back a padlock. If you think that’s crazy, wait until you meet the superpowered posse of nuns he’s teamed up with. David’s powers make him a “magnet for weirdness” and John Rozum delivers one fantastic fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural element after the next. But while the story is anything but grounded, the storytelling really is. The same grandiose ideas in the hands of, say, Grant Morrisson would likely drift into the existential and get lost in poetic meandering. Rozum sticks to a tight narrative forcing you not to dwell on how or why a being that is rage-incarnate could inhabit the empty half of a schizophrenic who’d killed his other self, but instead grips you with the immediacy of when and where our heroes will defeat it! Superhero comics condition us to stories where the heroes are always one step ahead of the villians. But Xombie is a true adventure tale, where events unfold faster than the protagonists or the reader can keep up with like they might for Indiana Jones or Adèle Blanc-Sec. The story is a fun-filled cosmic thrill ride perfectly packaged in the amazing art of Frazer Irving, whose painterly style and strategic color work marries the whimsy of fantasy to the realism of science fiction. Xombi is one of the unfortunate casulties, thrown out with the bathwater to make room for the New 52, but if you track down these 6 issues you won’t be disappointed. BUY IT

Crécy | Avatar | Warren Ellis (w), Raulo Caceres (a)

If you’re like me, you probably have a soft spot for medieval warfare. You had plastic knights growing up. You’ve likely built a Lego castle or two in your day. And you probably checked out books with detailed illustrations of crossbows from your elementary school library.  If so, Crécy is right in your wheelhouse. Crécy tells the story of the medieval Battle of Crécy in which an overmatched English army invades France and where modern warfare was reportedly changed forever. This History Channel-like retelling of events is packed with factoids about medieval combat, humorously narrated by a foul-mouthed-fourth-wall-breaking English soldier.  Beautifly illustrated in B&W, almost woodcut-like inks, Crécy is the perfect blend of humor, edutainment and hating the French.  BUY IT

THE MISSES

FF #11 | Marvel | Jonathan Hickman (w), Barry Kitson (a)

I’m not an unintelligent person. I’m not an inexperienced comic reader. And as evidenced by my first selection, I’m not opposed to big concept sci-fi-type stories. But I’m absolutely baffled and bamboozled by Jonathan Hickman’s run on FF.  Now admittedly, I haven’t read Hickman’s run from the beginning but I (like many others, I’d imagine) jumped on with the countdown to “3″ and read right through the “death” of Johnny Storm and the first 11 issues of FF.  You’d think in 16 issues of reading, I’d have a pretty good grasp on the story and yet in this latest issue, I was met with characters I didn’t recognize, concepts I didn’t understand and conflicts I couldn’t explain.  There’ve been moments in this series that I’ve really enjoyed but lately it’s just felt like work to read … and there’s no room for that on my pull-list. I’m out.

Agree? Disagree? Read something we all need to know about? Post your comments below or join us on our Facebook Page