Mother Panic Gotham AD (DC Comics/Young Animal)

Runners Up: Doomsday Clock #4 (DC Comics), X-O Manowar #13 (Valiant Comics)

Though Milk Wars had its ups and downs, the Young Animal line has begun to thrive since its end. In this relaunch, Violet finds herself in an unfamiliar Gotham and missing quite a few of the advantages she originally had as Mother Panic. Though created by Gerard Way and Tommy Lee Edwards, Jody Houser is clearly leading the charge with the character. Even in early interviews, the writer seemed more interested in what the hero would evolve into than where she came from. Ibrahim Moustafa provides the art for this issue and his style is quite suited for its Punk aesthetic. As mentioned, this issue throws the character into an unfamiliar Gotham, though the team does a wonderful job of making the city feel like an evolution of its classic state. I recently praised Eternity Girl‘s as the new flag bearer for the line, but I’m now a bit torn. Mother Panic Gotham AD may well develop into just that; Way truly has some special books under the Young Animal banner.

Quick note, DO NOT read the solicitations for this issue. They ruin one of the cooler moments and I was lucky to have only seen it after.

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank return with the biggest issue of Doomsday Clock to date, not only fleshing out the origin of the new Rorschach but adding some major plot points into this post-Watchmen world. Though Johns has been one of my favorite writers for many years, it’s really nice to see him do something uncharacteristically moody. Not that Johns hasn’t had weighty stories in the past, but he is doing a wonderful job of capturing the grim feel of Watchmen while heading in brand new directions. Gary Frank provides even more beautiful pages here. This veteran artist seems to grow in skill with the passage of time.

X-O Manowar may be heading to Earth for Harbinger Wars 2, but there is still some unfinished space business in the final issue of Visigoth. Matt Kindt and Ryan Bodenheim wrap up a year of galactic adventures and even find the time to add some background into how Aric’s life spun out of control. This book has really thrived on isolation from the other Valiant heroes and though I am certainly looking forward to the future, I will miss the Conan-esque style that it took on.