Year in Review: 2010

In 2010, I was still in college, still slowly beginning my comics reading career by picking up the occasional trade paperback. I was aware of the big events like Blackest Night and Flash: Rebirth, but I wasn't reading them at the time.

In the world of film, Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland were the big winners, each grossing over a billion dollars worldwide. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was close behind in third place. The world of superheroes was represented only by Iron Man 2, which pulled in a respectable $624 million and was nominated for an Academy Award for best visual effects (but it lost to Inception). There was also a Jonah Hex movie, loosely based on DC's cowboy hero. The movie was a colossal flop, earning less than $11 million against a budget of $47 million. The big winner at the Academy Awards was The King's Speech, earning Oscars for best picture, best director, best actor and best original screenplay.

Bart Allen had a rather interesting 2010. He actually made quite a few appearances thanks to Flash: Rebirth and Blackest Night. But Bart was little more than a background character in all those comics. And even when he finally rejoined the Teen Titans, Bart still wasn't given that much to do. Geoff Johns only seemed to use Bart out of pure obligation, never attempting to delve deeper than the surface levels of the character. Felicia D. Henderson couldn't get out of her own way with her nonsensical, sprawling story. And J.T. Krul pretty much just followed Johns' lead. Even more frustrating was how so many artists chose to draw Bart just like a young Wally West, complete with red hair and freckles. So yes, Bart technically has been brought back to life, but it doesn't really feel like he's alive. We still can't answer some of the most basic questions about him, such as where he lives and goes to school. And that makes handing out these awards a difficult chore for me.

Best Issue: Blackest Night #8

I had a lot of problems with Blackest Night, but at the end of the day, it was a good story. And by far the most excitement we had in 2010. So I'm giving this award to the final issue, the culmination of this event. True, it was a hectic comic with Johns frantically trying to cram in every last idea he had. But it still held an incredible amount of significance in the DC Universe. And Bart was right there in the thick of things. He was turned into a Black Lantern and then, very briefly, a White Lantern that held the key to winning the day once and for all. Of course, this award wasn't so much won by Blackest Night, as it was lost by Flash: Rebirth. What should have been a beautiful celebration of the Flash family let me down in far too many ways.

Best Writer: Geoff Johns

Johns pulled off his second three-peat on this blog, further distancing himself from the other award winners. And, as is often the case for Johns, he mostly wins this award through quantity and not necessarily quality. Although Henderson did have a shot at this award, or at least she would have, had her writing been of a much higher quality. I also suppose I should give credit for what Johns did do, instead of constantly berating him for what he didn't do. As begrudgingly as it may have felt, Johns did include Bart in his stories and the little bit he gave us was better than nothing.

Best Artist: Ivan Reis

Blackest Night would not have been the smash hit it was without the incredible pencils by Reis. The story may have been flawed, but the art wasn't. Reis perfectly represented all of the hundreds of characters he had to draw, while also mastering both the horror and action elements of the story. Yeah, he didn't draw much of Bart, but I always liked his work better than Scott Kolins', José Luís' and definitely Ethan Van Sciver's. This award really should have been Van Sciver's, but I felt his work actually has grown worse through the years. It's amazing to think that the artist that thrilled me so much during his run on Impulse would repulse me as much as he did on Flash: Rebirth. And that's not even taking into account his inexcusable tardiness on the book.

Best Supporting Character: Superboy

Since Bart has been relegated to a supporting character himself, this award essentially is the Best Friend award. And in any case, this is Superboy's second time winning the award. The two were resurrected together and joined Teen Titans together, where Bart became Conner's main confidant to help him with girl troubles. And although Henderson's story was largely incomprehensible, she did do a good job of establishing Kid Flash and Superboy as experienced superheroes. Sadly, Superboy mainly wins this award because of the failures of everybody else in Bart's life. Max Mercury came back, but promptly disappeared and was never mentioned again. Wally basically did nothing. And Barry never really bonded with his grandson, even after helping free him from the Black Lantern ring. And tragically, good old Tim Drake has insisted on keeping his distance from all his old friends. At least Bart has Kon to talk to.

Best Villain: Nekron

The driving force behind Blackest Night was hands-down the biggest threat Bart faced this year. Yeah, Eobard Thawne was a menace in Flash: Rebirth, but the biggest obstacle of that story was mainly getting Barry to stop whining. And, when you really think about it, the only reason Eobard was even there to begin with was because of Nekron's interference. I don't know if turning Bart into a Black Lantern technically counts as killing him, but it's the next best thing. And any villain who gets that close to killing our guy deserves this award.

Well, that's it for comics with the publication date in the year 2010. In 2011, we'll have a lot more Teen Titans, a little Superboy, a return to the Flash (shocking, right?), another Smallville episode and the largest reality-altering event in DC history — Flashpoint. It all begins with Teen Titans #89.