Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Krisis’s Favorite Comic Series of 2019 – #75 – 51

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Welcome to Day 3 of counting down my 125 favorite [American digital] comic titles of 2019! Missed what came before? Head back to entries #125-101 and #100-76.

Before I dig into entries #75-51 on my list, I want to briefly share some of the data behind my reading and ranking.

In reading as much of the American digital floppy market as possible in 2019, Marvel + DC represented 56% of issues and 47% of the series with >2 issues (my ranking criteria). Image was another 9% of issues and 11% of series, respectively.

That means EVERYONE ELSE was 35% of issues and 42% of series.

My Top 125 is based on applying both algorithms and gut feeling to my >2500 single issue ratings from 2019, without any quotas on publisher representation. Despite that, publishers are represented in my Top 125 ALMOST EXACTLY in proportion to the amount of material they released.

There were 4 notable outliers:

  • Marvel slightly undershot its expected representation in the full Top 125, but slightly over-performed at the very top.
  • Aftershock was under-represented compared to its issue/series.
  • Image SLIGHTLY over-performed.
  • Valiant over-performed a LOT.

Enough about the data, let’s get to the comic books! Here are another 25 comic series that I absolutely loved in 2019, which occupy spots #75 through 51 on my countdown of my favorite [American digital] comic titles of 2019! (Or, if you prefer a Twitter countdown, start here.)

#75 – Fallen World (Valiant)

FALLEN WORLD (Valiant) was an engaging entry into the far future of Earth. Each development felt rooted in Valiant’s past, but that never distracted from a thrilling adventure on multiple fronts as the Geomancer and rebel AIs maneuvered against the deposed all-seeing Father. Even having skipped several years of Valiant comics, it all worked for me.

#74 – Batman Beyond (DC)

BATMAN BEYOND (DC) struck the perfect balance for a future book. While it plays with some familiar characters and reimagines expected elements, Dan Jurgens also tells a unique tale of family, tragedy, and superhero action with bold, clean art from a bevy of industry veterans.

[Read more…] about Krisis’s Favorite Comic Series of 2019 – #75 – 51

Krisis’s Favorite Comic Series of 2019 – #100 – 76

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It’s Day 2 of my Top 125 [American digital] comics of 2019! If you missed day one, head back to check out entries #101-125.

Let’s get right to it! (Or, if you prefer a Twitter countdown, start here.)

#100 – Batman Universe (DC)

BATMAN UNIVERSE (DC) is Brian Bendis’s first run on the bat, reprinted from its debut in the infamous Walmart-first comics. Bendis is at peak silly on this team-up-y tale, but still finds many true Batman moments amidst the cameos and guffaws. An entire run of Nick Derington & Dave Stewart art is an unreal treat.

#99 – Stronghold (Aftershock)

STRONGHOLD (Aftershock) places an incognito god at the center of an ancient conspiracy. Is it better to maintain world peace in order to contain his unbridled power or cause massive unrest to tempt him to unleash it? Phil Hester peels away layers of plot, and his creative partners Ryan Kelly, Dee Cuniffe, & Simon Bowland make this unmissable.

#98 – Breaklands (Comixology)

BREAKLANDS (Comixology) sees Justin Jordan create something greater than the sum of familiar themes (X-Men, Mad Max) in this desert world where everyone has a power, but not everyone is useful. Tyasseta’s bold, almost=semiotic artwork colored by Rachel Deering is a revelation – like action stamped directly only the page.

[Read more…] about Krisis’s Favorite Comic Series of 2019 – #100 – 76

Krisis’s Favorite Comic Series of 2019 – #125 – 101

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Welcome to the first post in a countdown of my Top 125 [American digital] comics of 2019!

I read >2500 comics released between November 2018 & November 2019 from more than 550 series and more than 30 publishers, because I wanted to be able to say that one year I made a definitive list of my favorite comics considering everything.

To arrive at this list, I sampled nearly every US digitally-available release from Marvel, DC, Image, Aftershock, Ahoy, Boom, Cave Pictures, Comixology, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Humanoids, IDW, Lion Forge, Mad Cave, Valiant, Vault, & Zenescope, plus many comics from other publishers.

(Why November to November? Even though I was still reading in December 2019, most best-of-year lists cut off in October or November, and I wanted to be roughly analogous. Why a Top 125? Because it felt like a cut-off where I could favorably recommend almost any title on the list.)

Even though this is a subjective list of favorites, there’s still some objectivity baked into it.

I rated every issue I read, totaled the ratings within the release window, applied two algorithms to rank their scores, and then took some liberties with ordering based on pure love.

(My 1st algorithm combats recency effects and gives more credit to longer-running series since it’s harder to maintain quality on a longer run. My 2nd algorithm is my “recommendation index,” a modified Net Promoter Score that weighs a series’ awesome issues against its dull ones)

Okay, that’s enough of a preamble – onto my Top 125 Comics of 2019!

Ready? (Or, if you prefer a Twitter countdown, start here!) [Read more…] about Krisis’s Favorite Comic Series of 2019 – #125 – 101

Haul Around the World: Infinity War Omnibus, Sgt. Fury, Daredevil, & my most-requested collection!

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We’ve finally graduated to videos shot in my new space but we still have months of boxes to unpack! This was my order from April 2019, left boxed until the big move was over in October.

In this haul:

Haul Around the World: Iron Fist, Black Panther, closing X-gaps, & my favorite indie comic of 2018!

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It’s another Classic Collection version of Haul Around the World, shot BEFORE my big move! This was my order from March 2019, shot and shelved in the old comics studio before my house move in September.

Listen as I explain Iron Fists epic Non-Epic, how we’re so close to total X-Men and Cable coverage, and go deep on my favorite indie comic of 2018 – Euthanauts from Black Crown!

In this haul: