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Welcome to 20-Sided Tardis where our opinions are bigger on the inside. I am The Ed - Thou Shalt Have No Strange Eds Before Me - yet another geek who thinks you care what I have to say.

While the Good Doctor continues his rant on FFX (seriously man, that thing will be ludicrously long if you´re gonna recap the entire game) I'm going to move on to a different Geek subject: Comic Books.

One note first: This is a list of Trades, or Trade Paperbacks as they are sometimes called; collections of complete story arcs or connected/related stories from the same book, character or creator. They are NOT Graphic Novels. There are no such things as Graphic Novels; that is just a term for Comic Books used by people to cowardly or embarrassed to admit that they read Comic Books. This is a list of Comic Books, plain and simple

With that little rant out of the way, lets get to the meat of this post.

The Ed´s Top 10 Comic Book Trades in no particular order

10. Grendel: Black White and Red/Grendel: Red White and Black by Matt Wagner. Grendel is by far one of my favorite characters in all of comics and Matt Wagner is one of the best and most under appreciated writers out there. These collections are made up of several short stories about Hunter Rose, the first character to take the persona of Grendel and the one who started a legacy that lasted over five centuries. Each story is drawn by a different artist hand picked by Wagner to fit the short story. Each artist fits the story pretty well, but the best part of the art, and where the name comes from, is the colors. Every single story is in black and white with the only other color being red, and that is reserved for dramatic moments and or splashes of blood. This style really lends itself to the noir-ish aspect of the character of Hunter Rose all the way from his first assassination to his control of the all crime on the East Coast to the centuries long legacy he inspired. If you´re interested in picking up this intelligent and interesting opus, these two books are a fine place to start.

9. Mage: The Hero Discovered/Mage the Hero Defined by Matt Wagner. Like I said, Wagner is one of my favorite authors out there and this list really shows it. While Grendel was Wagner's take on the Anti-Hero/Villain Protagonist and the concept of aggression, Mage was/is his take on the classic Hero´s Journey. Our main character is Kevin Matchstick, a character loosely based on the author, as he faces challenges out of classical mythology and comes to grips with the fact that he both has an effect on his life and the world in the first book, and his responsibilities to that world and his friends in the second. The characters in these books are, of course, their greatest strength. Matchstick himself is an interesting look at the Authors own view of himself and the world and how he has come to grips with his place in it. Every character has their own voice and personality that will have you rooting for all of them by the end. The character of Myrth, our titular Mage, takes the role of The Obi Wan/The Trickster Mentor and plays it perfectly, letting the reader feel all the frustration and humor in the half truths and riddles he uses to guide our hero. The second book gives us Kirby Hero: The Olympian, a wonderful examination of the Friendly Rival archetype with his relationship with Matchstick as well his interaction with the ongoing plot. The only major problem with these stories is the art. Wagner is the artist as well as the writer and while his art get progressively better once we reach the second book the first books art is lacking and can distract from the story, but at least the trade paper back got rid of the original air brushed coloring, which REALLY improves it. Side note, these are the first 2 parts of a 3 part story which has yet to be finished, but they stand strong by themselves.

8. Batman and the Monster Men/Batman and the Mad Monk by (you guessed it) Matt Wagner. I promise this is the last book by Wagner on the list. While it´s easy to say that Batman: Year One is the greatest Batman book ever, my vote goes to these two books. Set after the Year One story, Wagner's stories are actually retelling of old Golden Age stories, and I think this really shows Wagner's true strength in that he is able to take stories from the GOOFIEST time in comics and make the readers take them seriously. In them Bruce Wayne is still somewhat idealistic in his view of Batman's War on Crime tm, actually thinking that his efforts will lead to the redemption of Gotham City. This characterization is a really interesting take on the start of the Dark Knights career. My personal favorite aspect of the book is the fact that Wagner's art here has really started to shine. His work is still not Alex Ross level, but its crisp simplicity really lends itself to the story and helps pull off some of the horror aspects of the stories. Two really strong Batman stories by an under appreciated author that any Dark Knight fans should really go pick up.

7. Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek. Superman is a very hard character to write well. He´s massively powerful making it hard to create threats for him to overcome, he´s been around forever and a day thus saddling his writers with decades of baggage and his strict morality can get under a lot of peoples skin. So how does Busiek get around these problems? He sets his story on our Earth. The story centers around a young boy in the Mid West of America whose parents have the HORRIBLE taste to actually name him Clark Kent. Seriously, anyone who does that to their kid should be strongly considered for psychiatric evaluation. As luck would have it Clark develops super powers, in fact he gets the exact same power set as the the comic book character whose legacy haunts his high school life. What I really like about this book is that while it does place Superman in a lot of real life situation it doesn´t try to be like Watchmen and take a look at the effect of Superman on the world (at least not as a major aspect), nor does it deconstruct the character into a lump of psychosis. At its heart this is still a Superman story, just without the baggage that comes with The Big Blue Boy Scout. Busiek, an amazing author in his own right, really shines in this story as he shows us ways to utilize the Superman character that I can admit I never would have thought of myself. His relationship with Lois (not Lane) and their children, interactions with government agencies and the effects aging has on his powers are all gripping and beautifully done. The art is also fantastic, fitting the somewhat more realistic tone of the story. Really, the only bad part of this story is that it throws Superboy Primes (lack of)character into sharp relief. But really, that´s not that hard to do.

6. Watchmen. Seriously, if you don´t know why this comic book is on the list, go buy it now. Seriosly, right now. Go! I´ll wait... ... ... that´s better.

5. Rising Stars by J. Micheal Strasinsky. The first foray into super hero comics by the legendary writer of Babylon Five, Rising Stars is - much like Watchmen - an interesting look at the effect of super heroes on the world around them. Centering on a few of the 100+ super powered children born in Pederson, Illinois after a mysterious flash over the town, the story starts off with a murder mystery that turns normal super hero roles on their heads, the story eventually progresses to the Specials, as the Pederson kids (now adults of course) are known, facing off against those who wish to maintain the status quo of a broken and corrupt world. The art here is both a blessing and a curse. The story was horribly delayed at first because of legal issues between JMS and his publisher, Top Cow and during the delays the artist changed many times with the art swinging wildly from classic four colors super hero fare to dark realistic looking characters and while the artists are all top notch the lack of a consistent style hurts the narrative over all. Still the character designs, especially early in the story when things lean more to the classic super hero side, are really amazing. The two characters that stand out the most are Randy Fisk aka ¨Ravenshadow¨ an artist and the books requisite ¨darker and edgier¨ character and Jason Miller aka Patriot. Ravenshadow is literally The 90´s incarnate with a Jason Vorhese style mask, clawed gloves, a tattered cape and belts/straps everywhere... and it WORKS! The character may look like he´s meant to be fighting Spawn but the costume really serves to help emphasise how dark the character isn´t, he´s just an artistic guy with an odd aesthetic. Patriot, one of our books Flying Bricks, is instead a somewhat modern take on a classic design, draped in the American flag and smiling for all the world to see. Like any good book, the characters take the cake here. Even though the story is all a flash back and the reader knows the fate of all but one of the characters, JMS makes us care about all of the characters and their hopes and dreams as if they were real people. Twists, turns, an awesome story and amazing characters make this a must buy for any comic fan.

4. Ultimates/Ultimates 2 by Mark Millar. This a book people either love or hate, and I love it. The modern takes on the Avengers seem to split the fans right down the middle. Some think that Millar gave old characters solid and realistic new voices and personalities, while others feel that the loud and harsh characters where too over the top and thus insulting to the originals. That aside, this is my list and I love these books. Each character is interesting and three dimensional, especially Captain America; Millar really focuses on the idea that Cap is a man out of time, an idealised American Hero thrust into a grimy version of the present and being forced to deal with the fact that his ideals are entirely out of date and disrespected, but who refuses to give up the good fight. The plot is masterfully crafted (though it does feel a little off to have a Scotsman commenting so heavily on American culture/politics) with twists and turns that will keep your head on a swivel the entire time you´re reading it; the mysteries and reveals around Thor alone still rank as one of my favorite plots ever. The art it also fantastic; artist Bryan Hitch puts a level of detail into his art in this book that, in my opinion, has yet to be matched in modern comics. The only problem I ever had with this book were the delays. You´re average comic comes out monthly, and Ultimates was no exception. Its 25 isues should have taken just over two years to finish, but instead took five whole years, more than double what it should have been. The time between issues 9 and 10 of the second volume was enough to break a lesser fan. Thankfully this is a list of Trades so that´s not an issue. Oh, and if anyone tells you there was an Ultimates 3, they are telling you lies. Hateful, hateful lies.

3. The Sinestro Corps War by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons. Green Lantern has got to be seriously considered for break out hit of this past decade. In my lifetime the series has been revamped multiple times and canceled at least once. Until Geoff Johns relaunched the book at the start of the decade it looked like a dead franchise whose only legacy was a spot reserved on the Justice League. While the series got off to a mediocre start, this is the point where everyone knew that the new Green Lantern was one of the strongest horses in the comic book race. Along with Dave Gibbons, writer of the sister series Green Lantern Corps, Johns crafted an epic Space Opera about the war between the Green Lanterns and Sinestro´s new army of fear. This book is the perfect example of how to do big Event Comics right. Fairly self contained, with only one direct tie-in in the form of a single issue of Blue Beetle (which itself served more to advance BB´s story) and a few supplemental materials that weren´t required reading SCW didn´t spread itself to thin by trying to make the readers by a ton and a half of extra books. If you bought the two Green Lantern books, you had pretty much all you needed. The plotting and pace of the story was spot on, switching between the different fronts of the war at just the right time to give us answers while keeping up the suspense. The art is a little odd. In the main Green Lantern book Ivan Reis gives us a tour de force of sequential art, while the work of Patrik Gleeson in GLC is often muddy and just doesnt live up to the art in its big brother. The only issue I have with this book is its main character, Hal Jordan the Green Lantern of the Silver Age. Returned to life by Johns Hal retains the same problem that lead to the decission to remove him from the title in the first place, he is dull. Dull as dishwater. This story and Green lantern in general succeed not because of Hal, but in spite of him. And that is the best compliment I can give this book and Geoff Johns; this is a story about a character I have no interest in, but every time I pick it up I just can´ put it down.

2. The Immortal Iron Fist: The Last Iron Fist Story/The 7 Cities of Heaven by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. I can sell you Iron Fist in three words: KUNG FU BILLIONAIRE. Fraction and Brubaker take an old B-List hero and completely revitalize him. Danny Rand, the titular Iron Fist, goes from late 70´s joke to one of the most well written and well rounded characters in modern comics. His adventures as he discovers more and more about his legacy as an immortal warrior breath new life into him and his world. Another amazing facet of this story, sadly contained only in the first book is Orson Randall, the Iron Fist that came before Danny. This broken Old Soldier comes out of no where but fits solidly into the over all mythos of the book that, combined with his awesome personality and amazing sense of style (¨Like fire from heaven!¨), I would gladly pay full price for a book just about him. While we don´t get nearly enough of Orson we are treated to Danny´s fellow Immortal Weapons in the second arc (another new addition to the mythos) that all bound onto the scene with wonderful personalities and eccentricities. My personal favorite is the massive sumo Fat Cobra, a deceptively quick and quite jovial brawler with a gaggle of wenches for every occasion. The art in the book is solid, but nothing really to write home about. Like any good comic, its the writing that takes the cake here, and its hard to find better writing then Immortal Iron Fist.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier/Red Scare/The Death of Captain America (OMG SPOILERS) by Ed Brubaker. Our only other repeat winner on this list, Ed Brubaker is back with his (still ongoing at the time of writing) fantastic run on Captain America. There´s nothing I don´t love about this book. From putting new life into one of the oldest characters in comics, to the amazing art of Steve Epting to the way it handled resurrecting a long dead character (something most books do as ham-fistedly as possible; I´m looking at you, Jason Todd!) this book does everything right. Few other writers could have done everything Brubaker did in this book and do it as well as he did. And the best part, he´s still doing it! This list may be in no particular order, but Id be hard pressed not to say that this book isn´t the best on the list.

Well that´s my list. I hope you enjoyed it and I´m sorry if I strained your eyes with all the text, I tend to ramble.

This is The Ed, signing off.