io9: gabriel ba

10 Of The Decade's Best SF Comics

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:59 PST

It's been the decade where comic culture took over pop culture, and superheroes became movie stars. But what are some of our picks for the best comics from the last ten years? We're glad you - okay, we - asked.

If it's the end of a decade, then it's time for multiple Best Of The Decade lists. This isn't exactly one of them, though, despite what it looks like; for one thing, even if it was, you'd all disagree with it and complain that we left off something essential - although anyone arguing for the inclusion of Ultimatum, we believe that can be disproven through the use of science and charts - and for another, we've not read every single thing published in the last decade, so for all we know, there's something really obvious that we'll have somehow overlooked through accident instead of malice. Instead of The Ten Best, then, these are Ten Of The Best (Click on the titles for our explanations why and, in some cases, runners-up to the list that we couldn't help but sneak in):

100% by Paul Pope (DC/Vertigo)
All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)
Black Hole by Charles Burns (Pantheon)
Casanova by Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon (Image Comics)
Laika by Nick Abadzis (First Second Books)
Planetes by Makoto Yukimura (Tokyopop)
Pluto by Osamu Tazuka and Naoki Urasawa (Viz Media)
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press)
We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC/Vertigo)
Y The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and many more (DC/Vertigo)

(Thanks to Lauren, David Brothers, Jeff Lester and all who offered advice and good reasons why we were entirely wrong in some original choices.)

Casanova

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:12 PST

Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon's dimension-jumping, incestuous spy-fi series was a weird one: Self-conscious, self-referential and often self-mocking, there was nonetheless something about it than nonetheless worked and seemed curiously, wonderfully refreshing at a time when mainstream comics were more interested in gong through the motions and maintaining their own status quo. Equal parts stream of consciousness, ongoing mysteries and psychedelic head trip, Fraction's tale of a thief who replaces himself on a parallel Earth where his twin sister is (a) still alive and (b) not one of the good guys was given swagger and class from Moon and Ba, who kept things strong when the story seemed uncertain. By the end of the second volume, we'd met multi-armed time traveling goddesses, Cass had contributed to society's ongoing gender confusion in the most unexpected way, and three relative newcomers had shown that they were not only aware of comics' potential, but wanted to push and prod and see if they could take things further, Casanova is rumored to return next year. We can't wait.

Next: Laika

The Umbrella Academy to Assemble at a Theater Near You

Nisha Gopalan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:00:00 PDT

Comics writer/My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way recently let slip that Universal Pictures has optioned his Dark Horse Comics series, Umbrella Academy, for the big screen. The series is about a group of estranged misfit superheroes who reunite after their mentor's untimely demise and a global menace's dastardly ascent. Is this the hipper Justice League alternative we've been waiting for? We contacted a few folks associated with the Umbrella movie for more details.

A source close to the project, co-produced by Dark Horse Entertainment, insists that “there is a movie deal on the table… but the option hasn’t actually been signed." According to Way, Universal wants Juno scribe Diablo Cody for the unfilled scripting gig, and adds that Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) sits atop his wish list of directors—though, according to the source, there is no solid commitment yet from Cuarón. Meanwhile, not one to waste time, Way has already approached wardrobe consultant Colleen Atwood (Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd) about outfitting the still-uncast Umbrella characters. "I think the costume designer already said yes," says Umbrella artist Gabriel Bá (who previously drew Casanova). As for his role in the feature film? “Gerard said he would want me to get involved with the production art, approval, etc.… [But] they’re trying to get a director before going forward with this."

Gerard Way photo courtesy of CassieWay

Must Read: Casanova Vol. 1: Luxuria

grae — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:25:32 PDT

Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale.

Title: Casanova volume 1: Luxuria

Date: 2007 (reprints material from 2006 - 2007)

Vitals: Every science-fiction super-spy idea gets mixed up in this story that shows what happens when the black sheep of a spy family gets stolen into an alternate dimension where he's the white sheep for a change. Sexy robot girls! Floating heads that are scientific genuises! Incest! Catatonic mothers! It's all here, friends.

Famous names: Writer Matt Fraction was one of the founders of hip designhouse MK12 before the lure of comic books ruined his life. Artist Gabriel Ba draws purty.

Crunchy goodness: 4

Elevator pitch: "Repo Man meets Danger Man via Quentin Tarantino's popcultural headswim."

Life lesson: Loving your sister is one thing, but if she starts to grind herself against your crotch while simultaneously torturing you with power tools, it may be time to rethink that strategy.

Design breakthrough: The three-color format of the book originally came about as a cost-saving exercise, only for their choice of third color to be as expensive as full-color printing. But watch for a fourth color to appear as a plot point towards the end of the book.

Matt Fraction's Web site