Single Issue Comics

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers, and Soft Covers
American Vampire vol. 3 HC
Batman Gates of Gotham HC
Life and Times of Fritz the Cat HC
Lil Depressed Boy vol. 2 TP
Mighty Skullboy Army vol. 2 TP
Superman Reign of Doomsday HC

30 Days of Night Ongoing #4
All Star Western #5
Alpha Flight #8
American Vampire #23
Angel & Faith #6
Aquaman #5
Archie #629
Astonishing X-Men #46
Avengers Solo #4
Bart Simpsons Comics #67
Batman The Dark Knight #5
Blackhawks #5
BPRD Hell on Earth Russia #5
Bulletproof Coffin Disinterred #1
Captain America and Bucky #626
Creepy Comics #7
Daken Dark Wolverine #20
DC Universe Online Legends #22
Dead Rising Road to Fortune #3
Deadpool #49.1
Elephantmen #37
Epoch #4
Fantastic Four #602
FF #14
Flash #5
Fury of Firestorm #5
Game of Thrones #5
Garth Ennis Jennifer Blood #8
GFT Alice in Wonderland #1
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #11
Green Lantern New Guardians #5
Green Wake #9
I Vampire #5
Incorruptible #6
Infestation 2 #1
Justice League #5
Justice League Dark #5
Key of Z #4
King Conan Phoenix on the Sword #1
Kirby Genesis #5
Last Phantom #11
Legion of Secret Origin #4
Mice Templar vol. 3 #7
Mighty Thor #10
Nancy in Hell on Earth #1
Robocop Road Trip #2
Savage Hawkman #5
Secret Avengers #21.1
Sixth Gun #18
Spider-Man #22
Superman #5
Teen Titans #5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6
The Immortal in the Demon in the Blood #2
Transformers Robots in Disguise #1
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #6
Uncharted #3
Unwritten #33.5
Vampirella #13
Voodoo #5
Walking Dead #93
X-Men Legacy #261

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers and Soft Covers
ADD HC
Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine TP
Avatar the Last Airbender vol. 1 TP
Batman and Robin White Knight Dark Knight HC
Batman Industrial Revolution TP
Captain America by Ed Brubaker PREMIERE HC
Catwoman vol. 1 TP
Daredevil by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark Ultimate Collection Book 1 TP
Daredevil by Mark Waid PREMIERE HC
FF by Jonathan Hickman vol. 2 PREMIERE HC
Red Skull Incarnate TP
Resurrection Man vol. 1 TP
Sweet Tooth vol. 4 Endangered Species TP
Warren Ellis Atmospherics Color Ed GN
Wolverine Wolverine vs. X-Men TP
X-Men Aftermath TP

Blue Beetle #5
Captain Atom #5
Catwoman #5
Chew #23
Cobra Ongoing #9
Conan Road of Kings #12
Crossed Pscyhopath #7
Danger Girl Revolver #1
Daredevil #8
DC Universe Presents #5
Deadpool MAX 2 #4
Defenders Tournament of Heroes #1
Diablo #2
End of Nations #3
Fables #113
Fear Itself Fearless #7
Generation Hope #15
Ghost Rider #8
Ghostbusters Ongoing #5
Green Hornet #21
Green Lantern Corps #5
Hack Slash #12
Halo Fall of Reach Invasion #1
Hellblazer #287
Invincible Iron Man #512
John Carter A Princess of Mars #5
John Carter of Mars World of Mars #4
Kirby Genesis Dragonsbane #1
Knights of the Dinner Table #182
Legion of Monsters #4
Legion of Super Heroes #5
Mass Effect Invasion #4
Memorial #2
Moon Knight #9
Morning Glories #15
Near Death #5
New Mutants #36
Nightwing #5
Prophet #21
Red Hood and the Outlaws #5
Robert Jordan Wheel of Time #5
Simpsons Comics #186
Six Guns #4
Star Trek Ongoing #5
Steed and Mrs. Peel #1
Supergirl #5
Superior #7
Thunder Agents vol. 2 #3
Thunderbolts #169
Tiny Titans #48
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #6
Uncanny X-Force #20
Uncanny X-Men #5
Venom #12
Voltron #2
Wonder Woman #5
Xenoholics #4
Young Justice #12

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers, and Soft Covers
Daken X-23 Collision TP
Deadpool Classic vol. 6 TP
Marvel Point One II TP
Secret Six The Darkest House TP
Superman War of the Supermen TP
Twelve vol. 1 TP
Ultimate Comics Hawkeye Premiere HC
War of the Green Lanterns Aftermath HC
X-23 vol. 2 PREMIERE HC Chaos Theory
X-Factor vol. 12 Scar Tissue

Single Issue Comics

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers, and Soft Covers
Avengers Academy vol. 2 The Real World TP
Batman The Dark Knight vol. 1 HC
BPRD Hell on Earth vol. 2 Gods and Monsters TP
Ender’s Game Ultimate Collection TP
Fear Itself PREMIERE HC
Invincible Iron Man vol. 2 HC
Shaky Kane’s Monster Truck GN
Stand vol. 2 American Nightmares TP
Witchfinder vol.2 Lost and Gone Forever TP
X-Force vol. 2 HC

Alright, I realize that this is way overdue, but here’s my take on the split of the X-Men.  I completely agree with Mauricio in his earlier post that the strength of the current X-Men storylines comes from the conversation that they have created.  Both Cyclops and Wolverine have strong reasoning for their actions, and their fans are standing firmly by them.  I understand why each character made the choices they did and I don’t feel that either should be demonized.  However, when forced to choose a side I lean toward Wolverine, and here is why…

(And, yes, spoilers are up and running)

To begin, I can understand how Logan’s statement about teens fighting for the X-Men could look like he’s ignoring the years of their participation in combat.  In fact, I think it would have been very lazy on the part of Jason Aaron to write the character in such a way that he could pretend that it never happened.  Upon re-reading Schism I have come to interpret his words in a different manner.

Logan’s use of “we” implies the direct hand that both he and Scott had in using the kids as soldiers.  For the majority of their existence, Cyclops and Wolverine were not at the head of the X-Men.  In my opinion, this statement seems more an acknowledgment that when in a position to do so, the decision to use child soldiers should not have continued.  And yes, Logan had to have come to this conclusion through his recent unfortunate experiences, being manipulated into killing his own offspring, but does that make his choice any less valid?  The majority of Logan’s life has been filled with violence and loss.  That’s not to say that Scott’s hasn’t, but, having lived for over a century, Logan has seen a lot more of the atrocities that the world has to offer than Scott has.  I think it’s appropriate that his character should be compelled by any past traumas to make attempts to change things, and in so doing, evolve.

As for being accountable to his chosen stance and the safety of the child X-Men, I believe he has been.  Logan’s absence from the Mutant History Museum when it was attacked is not an indication of dodging responsibilities.  Firstly, Logan was never told of the event, let alone that he should be there.  And, the X-Men who were sent to the museum as a “peace delegation” were rightly recognized by Logan as being sent to intimidate and deter any would-be attackers.  Intimidation was really the only goal Scott had in sending them, as indicated by his disinterest in the event until he knew it would be televised.  Protection was never the goal for any X-Men veterans present.

Furthermore, Logan found out that the museum was under attack right after he learned the opening was occuring.  There is no way he could have gotten there in time with such a short notice.  If he had stayed on Utopia he would not have made it either, as indicated by Scott’s rushing from there with a jetpack.  And, where else would he have been?  That’s right; Scott had given Logan permission to hunt down Quentin Quire.  Had Quire not shown up at Utopia, who knows where Logan would have been.  Most likely, not at the museum.

Furthermore, the fact that Idie and the other children were in danger cannot be placed on Wolverine because Scott was the one that sent them there.  Why were they there?  Only adult X-Men were outside of Utopia fighting the rising threats against mutants.  The children never should have been allowed to leave the island in such a time of crisis.  So, Logan is right.  Idie and the others never should have been in danger in the first place.  For these reasons and more, I am more concerned with Scott’s decision making than with Logan’s.

Let us not forget why all of these events occurred.  The annoying, little brat that is Kade Kilgore was able to manipulate Cyclops’ every move.  Though he does not know who did it, Scott admits that this is the case.

The problem now is what this manipulation has pushed Scott to become.  Kilgore had used Quentin Quire to heighten mutant hysteria.  The leaders of the world had been duped into thinking the X-Men were a threat.  Of course, they had always misunderstood and hated the mutants, but their recent jump in hostility was manufactured.  Scott believes that the world is simply continuing to hate them because it always has.  It is here that I see his more pessimistic outlook on the world turning against him.  The recent events that saw a return in the popularity of sentinels were the last straw that led Cyclops to give up on mutants being accepted for anything but a threat.  Because of this he has resorted to a more militaristic approach for the X-Men that attempts to use the threat of their power to instill fear in order to discourage attacks on them.  His stance toward the rest of the world is as follows: “Traditionally, powers have demonstrated their weapons for others to understand their threat.  I trust that we are all wise enough not to require that.”  He goes even further in comparing the X-Men’s new world relations approach to that of North Korea and says of the world, “if they hate us we need to make sure they’re scared of us, too.”

REALLY?!  How is this progress toward Xavier’s dream?  The objective of the X-Men was to protect mutants from others and themselves and to provide them with an accepting environment that would one day include the entire world.  How does fear help meet this goal?  Acceptance through fear is not true acceptance.  In the words of Jane Addams, “Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men.”  If anything, Scott’s approach will only foster resentment instead of respect.  Minus the killing, Scott’s starting to seem more and more like the old Magneto, which worries me for the future of his team.  Don’t agree with me?  Well, Magneto does…

You don’t want to be a victim anymore.  I get that.  But attempting to scare the world into accepting you won’t win many of your opposition’s hearts and minds.

Half of Scott’s Extinction Team includes members that are more partial toward violence than negotiation (which isn’t exactly Colossus’ fault right now, but that’s a different story).  Scott even admits that this lineup does worry him, which is why, though they wanted to side with Logan, he had to guilt trip the more education oriented team members, being Storm and Emma Frost, into staying at Utopia.  After all, he does need someone to teach the kids a couple things when they’re not out in combat.  Maybe it’s my background in education, or maybe I’m crazy, but to dismiss a child’s education in favor of combat preparation seems foolish.  How will they deal with the world once they have strong-armed it into consenting to their existence?

And, of the four founding members of the X-Men that have chosen sides in this feud, three (Xavier, Beast, and Iceman) are on the side of Wolverine, which is a good indicator of who is staying more true to the team’s original goals.  Yes, the Jean Grey School is a potential target, but how are Scott’s child soldiers any safer than Wolverine’s students?  To say that they are safe in active duty because of a heavy training regimen does not change that they are intentionally being placed in the line of fire.  No matter how sound the reasoning, how can the use of child soldiers and the admitted denial of any attempt at a normal life for these children be the best option?  And, that the survival of the Jean Grey School is dependent on Scott’s followers at Utopia still remains to be seen.  Scott and his troops cannot be everywhere and be able to save all mutants in danger all the time.

Finally, at the end of Schism Scott lays it on pretty thick that Logan is weakening the X-Men by leaving with his group. But, I believe that if it weren’t for their split the X-Men might not have survived at all. This is because Kade Kilgore had successfully mapped out the progression and every contingency of his plan without fail, except for one thing. That was Logan’s restarting of the school in Westchester. Though we cannot say for sure, as that story will never be written, if the X-Men had remained together on Scott’s dictatorial approach Kilgore would have planned a means for their eventual disposal altogether. While his initial moves were so successful after months of planning, being caught off guard has now led him to have to act on his feet to remove this last threat to his plans of mutant extinction. Yes, this has made the school a target of his, but he would have targeted all the mutants at Utopia anyway, and without a wrench thrown into his spokes. The school being his priority indicates that he stands to lose more from its existence than from that of Utopia.

So, I’m not trying to say that Cyclops is evil for making the choices he has, but I feel that they are very misguided.  How can flexing muscle in the face of those who dislike you bring anything to the table except trouble?  It’s right that the X-Men should take a stand, but not at the cost of their humanity.  I am afraid that Scott’s focus on cold, hard decisions has left him in danger of that.  Logan may not be breathing down the neck of the world and demanding acceptance, but at least he is providing a home for his students that does not include an asking of their lives.  As I said in the beginning, I can’t completely fault either man.  Logan will not be able to make the world better simply by hoping for it to finally change, but I don’t see Scott’s militant approach as helping.  That is why, though I am enjoying both key titles of Regenesis very much, I look forward to the reuniting of all the X-Men.  Come on.  We all know it’s coming.

30 Days of Night Ongoing #3
All Star Western #4
Alpha Flight #7
American Vampire #22
Angel & Faith #5
Annihilators Earthfall #4
Aquaman #4
Archie #628
Artifacts #12
Astonishing X-Men #45
Avengers Children Crusade #8
Avengers Solo #3
Bart Simpsons Comics #66
Batman The Dark Knight #4
Black Panther The Most Dangerous Man Alive #527
Blackhawks #4
Brody’s Ghost One Shot
Captain America #5
Captain America #6
Captain America #625
Crossed Badlands Opening Salvo
DC Comics Presents Batman Blaze of Glory #1
DC Comics Presents Batman Urban Legends #1
DC Comics Presents Elseworlds 80 Page Giant #1
DC Comics Presents Legion of Super Heroes #2
DC Universe Online Legends #20
Deadpool #48
DMZ #72
Dorothy and Wizard in Oz #4
Dungeons and Dragons #14
FF #13
Flash #4
Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Men #4
Game of Thrones #4
Gears of War #21
Green Lantern New Guardians #4
Green Wake #8
Hack Slash #11
Haunt #20
I Vampire #4
Incorruptible #25
Iron Man 2.0 #12
Justice League Dark #4
Kick-Ass 2 #6
Kriby Genesis Captain Victory #2
Legion Secret Origin #3
Mice Templar vol. 3 #6
Mighty Thor #9
Muppets Presents Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson
Savage Hawkman #4
Secret Avengers #20
Simpsons Super Spectacular #14
Spaceman #3
Spider-Man #21
Star Trek Ongoing #4
Star Wars Crimson Empire III Empire Lost #3
Superman #4
Teen Titans #4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro Series #2 Michelangelo
The Guild Zaboo #1
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #5
Ultimate Comics X-Men #5
Uncanny X-Men #3
Uncharted #2
Unwritten #32.5
Vengeance #6
Voodoo #4
Witch Doctor Resuscitation One Shot
X-Men Legacy #260

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers, and Soft Covers
Chase TP
Generation Hope Schism TP
Hellblazer vol. 2 The Devil You Know TP NEW EDITION
Lobo Unbound TP
Secret Avengers vol. 2 Eyes of Dragon TP
X-Men Age of X TP
X-Men Schism HC

Top Ten Comics of 2011:

1. Journey Into Mystery
2. Punisher
3. (TIE) Daredevil/Aquaman
5. Justice League
6. Uncanny X-Men
7. Wolverine & The X-Men
8. FF
9. Batman
10. Incredible Hulk

Journey into Mystery for the win!  That ranking is a testament to how much Keiron Gillen has stepped up his game in the last year and how single-minded Mauricio can be.  We then turned our attention to our favorite writers and artists.

Top Ten Creators of 2011:

1. Geoff Johns
2. Scott Snyder
3. Jeff Lemire
4. (TIE) Kieron Gillen/Jason Aaron
6. Mark Waid
7. Jonathan Hickman
8. Greg Rucka
9. Travel Foreman
10. Greg Capullo

It seems that the DC relaunch really paid off for Geoff Johns, as he takes top creator spot after penning several quality titles a month.

How do you feel about our rankings?  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Activity #1
Amazing Spider-Man #676
Anita Blake Circus of the Damned Scoundrel #3
Avengers #20
Batman #4
Batman Incorporated Leviathan Strikes #1
Batman Odyssey vol. 2 #3
Blue Beetle #4
Boys Butcher Baker Candlestick Maker #6
BPRD Hell on Earth Russia #4
Captain Atom #4
Catwoman #4
Cobra Ongoing #8
Conan Road of Kings #11
Daken Dark Wolverine #18
Daredevil #7
Dark Horse Presents #7
Dark Shadows #2
DC Comics Presents The Kents #2
DC Universe Presents #4
Deadpool MAX 2 #3
Defenders Coming of Defenders #1
Defenders Strange Heroes
Dungenons & Dragons Drizzt #4
End of Nations #2
Fables #112
Fantastic Four #601
Fear Itself #5
Formic Wars Silent Strike #1
Generation Hope #14
Ghostbusters Ongoing #4
GI Joe A Real American Hero #173
Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #10
Green Hornet #20
Green Lantern Corps #4
Hellblazer #286
Hellraiser Masterpieces #4
Hulk #46
Incredible Hulk #3
Invincible #86
Invincible Iron Man #511
John Carter A Princess of Mars #4
Justice League #4
Kevin Smith Bionic Man #5
Key of Z #3
Lady Mechanika #3
Last Battle One Shot
Legion of Monsters #3
Legion of Superheroes #4
Mass Effect Invasion #3
Memorial #1
Near Death #4
New Mutants #35
Nightwing #4
Punisher MAX #20
Red Hood and the Outlaws #4
Savage Dragon #177
Sergio Aragones Funnies #4
Simpsons Comics #185
Star Wars Knight Errant Deluge #5
Supergirl #4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
The Immortal Demon in the Blood #1
Thunder Agents vol. 2 #2
Thunderbolts #167
Tiny Titans #47
Transformers The Death of Optimus Prime
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5
Uncanny X-Force #19
Venom #11
Vertigo Resurrected Sgt. Rock Hell and a Hard Place #2
Wolverine #20
Wolverine and the X-Men #3
Wonder Woman #4
X-23 #19
X-Factor #229
Xenoholics #3
Young Justice #11

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers and Soft Covers
Baltimore vol. 1 The Plague Ships TP
Captain America and Bucky Life of Bucky Barnes PREMIERE HC
Doctor Who Ongoing vol. 2 When Worlds Collide TP
Jubilee by Robert Kirkman TP
Lil Depressed Boy vol. 00 TP
Six Guns #3
Tiny Titans vol. 6 The Treehouse and Beyond TP
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man vol. 3 Death of Spider-Man Prelude
Wolfskin vol. 2 TP

Graphic Novels, Trade Paperbacks, Hard Covers, and Soft Covers
Deadpool MAX Nutjob TP
Fables vol. 16 Super Team TP
Hitman vol. 5 Tommys Heroes
Moon Knight by Bendis and Maleev vol. 1 PREMIERE HC
Red Wing TP
Rocketeer Adventures vol. 1 HC
Salt Water Taffy vol. 5 GN
Secret Warriors vol. 5 TP
Secret Wars TP NEW EDITION
Secret Wars II TP
Showcase presents Batman vol. 5 TP
Star Wars Episode I Adventure TP
Star Wars Phantom Menace TP
Wolverine and Jubilee Curse of the Mutants TP