The Top Ten Best DC Comics of 2014

Ah 2014, a beautiful year wasn't it?

Several things have passed during this period in particular that could make many people think otherwise though. Disasters have ocurred and we have lost brilliant people who will be heavily missed by either everyone in the world or only by a few of us.

Still, is necessary to remember that there's always something positive to get from even the simplest things in your everyday life and that couldn't be more true for comic books.

Yes, as I promised in The Top Ten Worst DC Comics of 2014 list, I'm finishing this year by reminding how something as common as this medium is able to bring great moments.

And boy, does this year delivered some moments. There have been a huge variety of wonderful titles, even more than in 2013 I believe. Some of them already started last year, some of them are barely starting while some of them already have ended sadly.

The rules are the same as last year. Only titles that lasted for at least most of 2014, only titles that I've been reading (sorry, no Swamp Thing) and finally mentioning the whole creative team together if necessary since both writers and artists can contribute to the whole quality of a title.

But before we continue, let's give some honorary mentions:

• Van Jensen's Green Lantern Corps: One of the best characterizations for John Stewart in years and it was very close to fit into the list if it wasn't for the other excellent series.
• Charles Soule's Superman/Wonder Woman: I have to tell you that this was pretty damn close to get into the list at the beginning of this year but the goddamned Doomed crossover affected its possibilities.
• Greg Pak/Aaron Kuder's Action Comics: A great title from both writing and art perspectives that unfortunately also suffered from the flaws of the title above.
• Sterling Gates' Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S.: Probably one of the best (if not the best) things that came out of Forever Evil. Gates created the perfect set-up for an upcoming series based on this property thanks to his wonderful worldbuilding but since it was only a miniseries and consisted of merely a few issues this year, is not able to get into the Top Ten.
• Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis/Howard Porter's Justice League 3000: Excellent read that gets better with every storyarc.
• Grant Morrison's The Multiversity: Everyone is praising it (including me) but it only had a few issues this year and one of them wasn't that good, is still one of the best events recently though.
• Becky Cloonan/Brenden Fletcher/Karl Kerschl's Gotham Academy: Already a fan favorite but it only had a few issues so that interferes with its possibilities, it will probably have a better chance next year.
• Cameron Stewart/Brenden Fletcher/Babs Tarr's Batgirl: Ditto as the last one but I must admit that this is my favorite of the two so far.
• Genevieve Valentine's Catwoman: One of the smartest takes on the character that I hope continues for a long time.
• Jeff Lemire's Justice League United: Incredibly solid team book that while is not mindblowing, it does a lot of things right.
• Jeff Lemire's Animal Man: Fantastic book but sadly only lasted three issues this year, don't worry though, you will still Lemire on this list.
• J.M. DeMatteis' Justice League Dark: A great example of worldbuilding.
• Will Pfeifer's Teen Titans: An excellent relaunch so far.

Whew! That was a bunch and I'm probably forgetting some (told you it was a good year!) so if you think that there's any title that at least deserves as mention I would appreciate if you tell me.

Anyway, let's count down and celebrate!

10. Ray Fawkes' Constantine.

It's funny how an author can appear in both the worst and the best lists from this year and in the same spot.

Since the beginning of this series, Ray Fawkes (accompanied by Jeff Lemire in the early issues) has developed the universe around John Constantine with fanstactic reinvention of myths, great characterization and excellent worldbuilding and he did all of those aspects in a way that they could fit into the whole DCU.

In fact you could say that a lot of the developments of the supernatural side of the DCU are thanks to this series where we not only explored the motivations of the protagonists but also the interesting characters that inhabit this world as well as how magic works in it.

Unfortunately, the title suffered a bit from the Forever Evil: Blight forced crossover and that's why is not higher in this list. However, once that it was free from it, the author created a lot of wonderful one-and-done stories that also worked perfectly for an overaching plot that is still going (the title is currently taking place in Earth 2 actually and I would say that is the best thing that is coming out from that franchise these days).

Succeeding at both long-term planning and construction of mythos, Constantine definitely deserves the recognition.

9. Robert Venditti's Green Lantern.

And here is where I hear some people disagreeing with me but this is my list so I don't care and I can't help it, I just love this run.

Venditti's work on Green Lantern took its time to rise admitedly. At the beginning it received a lot of criticism due to the characterization of Hal Jordan as a less than ideal leader, I personally considered that understandable since some this actually happens in real life when someone is put in a role he's not accustomed to but that didn't stop the fans from raging.

Nonetheless, it was pretty obvious that Venditti was going somewhere with all this. Planification and character development are things I really love and the author certainly demonstrated it this year with how every plot-point and sub-plot ended-up receiving huge paid-offs, especially in Hal's portrayal since he became the kind of leader that the Green Lantern Corps needed.

From Uprising to the current Godhead arc, Green Lantern has maintained a quite solid route while taking every other book from the franchise to tell stories that are not focused on the Rainbow Corps that defined so much of Geoff Johns' run but instead build other places and figures from the universe and does it in a pretty logical and precise way.

Green Lantern is a series that took its time but is finally delivering the goods.

8. Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo's Batman.

I can hear some of you saying that right now: "How dare you to put this in any spot other than the Top 5?!".

There's a reason believe me.

To be honest, I was planning to put this in the Top 5 at the beginning of this year. Despite of a not so successful middle arc, the conclusion of Zero Year was  something that I really loved and recreated some compelling points about Bruce Wayne and how his psyche motivates him to continue fighting crime. It was a pretty memorable story.

But then, Endgame came around.

I'm not a fan of this arc so far. I really dislike the whole obsession that Scott Snyder is currently taking with the Joker for the exact same reasons I disliked it in Death of the Family, he takes the villain way too seriously and it wasn't really necessary to elevate him more than he actually is considering he's already the most popular villain in comics.

Then again, there are points that I do appreciate, there's a certain twist that happened in this storyarc that the author has been working on since Batman Annual #2 and it was pretty surprising to see it being touched here. As I mentioned before, I love Snyder's planification and despite of how overblown the Joker is, I can't blame him for having ambition about the character.

Greg Capullo is an important factor of course since I don't think this run would be half as good without him. With an ability to create bombastic scenes and precise storytelling techniques, Capullo elevates Snyder's work to its best despite of having some flaws.

Scope and organization certainly triumph at the end for me.

7. Tim Seeley/Tom King/Mikel Janin's Grayson.

Forever Evil was... a difficult series.

Not really because it was a bad one (despite of some issues that barely progressed the plot I would say is overall a good event), but because it had several editorial changes along the road and none of those was as fluctuating as Dick Grayson's fate.

Some people said he was supposed to die (because we haven't heard that before), others said that he was supposed to have a completely different ending than what he actually got. Nevertheless, what we got was a complete new direction where Dick abandoned his identity as Nightwing and became a secret agent for the organization named Spyral.

And I'm glad that's what we got because the series handled by Tim Seeley and Tom King would become one of the most distinctive books that DC has been publishing lately. While some of the efforts might have been a bit flawed in terms of execution, I just love the writers' ability to create entertaining and compelling one-and-done stories that work perfectly for the whole tapestry they're currently developing.

Not to mention that I also adore these little tales that not only perfectly demonstrate the kind of character that Dick Grayson is but also utilize concepts that are rarely exploited in the DCU. All of these ideas are definitely going somewhere and is a fantastic journey to take.

Mikel Janin is responsible for a lot of this title's quality since I feel like its best aspects are thanks to his beautiful characters, creativity and pitch perfect storytelling skills that defined the look of the series.

I would call Grayson an experiment and is certainly one enjoyable to experience.

6. Brian Azzarello/Cliff Chiang's Wonder Woman.

The author and the artist who defined the Amazing Amazon for the New 52 and I'm completely glad they did.

This series also appeared in the list last year but I would put it in lower spot in comparison since I thought that the tone that the kind of writing that Azzarello was implementing started to get old after a while and also progressed pretty slowly in terms of story.

However, this year was much better thanks to a faster pacing and huge and I mean, HUGE paid-offs from previous storylines that came back from even the beginning of the series. The writer knew that the end for his tenure on the title was coming to an end and he did his best to close the door on his work on the character by giving her all the resolutions she needed.

Cliff Chiang is the kind of artist that deserve a lot of recognition due that he cemented Wonder Woman's look for this book, so much in fact that even replacement artists needed to follow the same tone and fortunately did it successfully.

The bad news are that this run has already ended (and the replacement was not so good), the good news though, are that we had three years worth of stories to appreciate what I consider the best Wonder Woman run of all time. It was truly a good time to be a fan.

5. Jimmy Palmiotti/Amanda Conner's Harley Quinn.

Sorry, I just love that image so much.

Ask me which series makes me laugh every month and you will understand why I put this so high. Entertainment is a pretty important part of this medium for me and in terms of enjoyment, Harley Quinn delivers that in spades.

A completely hysterical and sometimes bizarre comedic story focusing on the now independent Clown Princess of Crime (that might or might not take place in the New 52) and her adventures to survive in an environment that could seem normal at first but ultimately proves to be as crazy as her.

Harley Quinn goes in different little stories where she injects her unique personality and sense of humour to make everything less seriously than it actually is. This is not a lighthearted series though since it can become pretty brutal at times with lots of gore and violence but all of those aspects serve for the same hilarious purpose.

Despite of what you might believe, the characterization is also a strong factor and while Harley is still insane as hell, she's a pretty likable and compelling character that always appear to have the right solution for the people she cares about.

For its ability to bring a smile to my face everytime I read it, Harley Quinn has earned her place here.

4. Geoff Johns' Justice League.

What do you think about a title that keeps expanding the scale of the DCU while delivering the kind of blockbuster event feel that the book needs?

Well, you got your answer already.

Johns' Justice League also appeared on the list last year and deservedly so since it was a complete improvement over its first year worth of stories. The third year was equally as good I would say due that for many months it was one of the best, if not the best, things that came out of Forever Evil and also managed to progress the story in a way that the main event couldn't.

The positives didn't stop there though since Johns exploited the opportunity to create really remarkable worldbuilding concerning the Crime Syndicate as well as the universe of Earth 3 and even reintroducing the Metal Men. Later, it focused on Prime Earth once again by introducing the Doom Patrol to the New 52 and creating one of the best characterizations of Lex Luthor that I've seen.

The team dynamics are really well-developed and all is thanks to the new additions to the group that allow the cast to react in different ways and takes the plot to a whole new direction.

Some of the issues might be a bit slow in the current Amazo Virus storyarc but there's no doubt that Johns has finally found something that works for Justice League.

3. Charles Soule's Red Lanterns.

A title that I really regret not putting on the list last year but it was impossible considering that there were other great titles that deserved such recognition.

Nonetheless, Soule's work on the book is finally receiving a spot that it rightfully earned.

Charles Soule arrived to the title in issue 21 replacing Peter Milligan. While Milligan's run was something that I would recommend to check out since it was at least interesting, Soule brought the aspect that the book always needed and that's simply fun.

Instead of exploring the concept of rage that so much defined the previous run, Soule concentrated on developing the camaraderie between all the members of the cast by putting Guy Gardner on the front and turning the group into a kind of biker gang where every being started to show a distinctive personality that was lacking in the past.

At this point of the work you feel as you like every character who has appeared on this book and all of it is due to the excellent portrayals that have been carefully progressing since the beginning and created fan-favorites on its road.

With natural dialogue, solid story and outstanding relationships, Red Lanterns is a book that is going to be severely missed after its cancellation.

2. Justin Jordan's Green Lantern: New Guardians.

You know, halfway of this year I was seriously debating which title deserved second place better, Red Lanters or New Guardians but what cemented my decision was the background.

Despite of the flaws that Peter Milligan's Red Lanterns had, it at least was something compelling to read. You simply can't say the same about Tony Bedard's Green Lantern: New Guardians due that it was completely forgettable and had no distinctive factors whatsoever.

So, while the improvement once that Soule arrived in Red Lanterns was something worth noticing, it was nothing compared to the enormous jump in quality that New Guardians suffered once that Jordan started working on it.

From the beginning with issue 21 there was obviously much more charisma thanks to the dialogue and characterization but once that the book hit issue 25, it immediately became the best of the Green Lantern line.

There are simply so many things that I love and I have been able to find in Jordan's run that always makes me excited for a new issue and even makes me go back for more. Worldbuilding, creative concepts, character development, long-term planning, witty dialogue among other things that made me happy to read about.

I would say that it even improves the best points of the best series from the line. You get the worldbuilding and long-term planning from Venditti's Green Lantern as well as the characterization and dialogue from Soule's Red Lanterns, just better. All works pretty nicely by focusing on little stories that start building corners of the universe that are barely explored while at the same time constructing a main plot that is not really obvious at first but later it becomes pretty clear and finally developing the main cast and their relationship.

It has everything and while it admitedly suffers when it has to tie-in to other events, the book is definitely one that you should watch and one that I'm really sad to see being gone next year.

Once again this brings me to this point, what is the best title from 2014 for me?

There's a common theme that you will see in all the titles previously listed, they all are pretty good but they had some flaws at the end which is understandable considering that there's no perfect title and every series has its average or even bad issues.

There's only one that defied that mentality during its whole run though.

1. Jeff Lemire/Andrea Sorrentino's Green Arrow.

Yes, the best DC title in a consecutive year but you can't blame me for that, blame Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino since this has quickly risen to become a legendary run.

Issue 17 was the beginning and Jeff Lemire didn't stop until he would destroy Green Arrow's world just to make it bigger than ever. This year was just as great as the previous one due that it started with the excellent The Outsiders War arc which explored several of the plot-points and concepts that the author created since his arrival and did it in a pretty satisfying way by delivering surprise after surprise with each new issue.

Andrea Sorrentino contributed immensily with a lot of its quality thanks to his creative, innovative and overall beautiful artwork that always experimented with its storytelling skills and created magnificent layouts that should be present in any best examples of artstyles list. It's also necessario to mention that he never, ever, missed an issue, that's the kind of consistency that you don't get from artists these days.

The run has sadly concluded in Futures End Month and although I'm sad to see it go, I'm also glad that it ended in such a high note and never managed to drop its quality during its existence. This work has delivered a lot of memorable concepts and characters that absolutely deserve to stand the test of time.

Let me clarify about that, it would be a complete crime to ignore these concepts and characters (which is unfortunately what we're seeing in the current run). Any competent writer who is able to do a bit of investigation about Green Arrow's history can not only implement these ideas correctly but also expanding them if they make the connection between the different eras of the Emerald Archer.

The potential is here and it definitely needs to be exploited, authors shouldn't let this opportunity be wasted.

This was a great era to be a Green Arrow fan and I will never forget how these guys made my favorite character into the best DC title for a time.

Well guys, this was my Top Ten Best DC Comics of 2014 list. If you agree or disagree feel free to comment and I will definitely appreciate your suggestions. This has been a beautiful year anyway and I'm glad that I was able to experience it.

Now onto 2015 and what it will bring us!