Boy, these seem to get tougher as they go. But here's your winner: G.I.Joe: Cobra. Even though it was only a few issues long, it's left the largest impression of all the Joe books, and basically of any comic series this year. Now it is helped because it's smaller and can be a more focused story, but that's not enough to stop it from being quite amazing. The pacing of the book feels very plodding and thought out even though there seems to be action on every other page. I now know who Chuckles, Jinx, Tomax, and Xamot are. And that's a pretty tall order considering I have a hard time telling who any Joe is beyond Snake Eyes and Scarlett. The art is also nothing to sneeze at. Very much in the mood of the book, it looks dynamic when there are heads talking, and spectacular when shit hits the fan. I loved this series and I cannot wait for G.I.Joe: Cobra II coming out soon.

We've had a full year of thrice monthly Spider-Man and it continues to be one of more fun comics out there. It has one of the shortest trips to the top of my pile that any Spider book has ever had. Mary Jane is finally back in and we're learning a bit more about the repercussions of One More Day(yes, I still hate it too). But out of that we got great Spider-Man books again. Rotating artists and writers hasn't been a problem for this book yet and I've enjoyed every issue this year.

Only a book of this caliber can continue to be awesome well after the title character has met his end. Of course, now Steve is on his way back, but that hasn't hurt the momentum at all. Even though it's been spoiled in a millions books already, the Reborn series is going strong. (on a side note, I enjoy Hitch's art, but the man cannot do a monthly comic. They need to take that into account some more) I'm really excited about the Bucky vs. Steve issue to come back and see who holds the shield when it's all said and done.

G.I.Joe was relaunched through IDW and the best series to come out of that was the Cobra miniseries. Basically a Joe book in name only, the story infiltrating the Cobra organization and trying to break it from the inside is a gripping one. The art is spectacular and gritty which fits perfectly. Even though it was only 6 issues, it left a lasting impression and laid the groundwork for the new world of G.I.Joe.

In what continues to be one of the best super hero books around, Invincible had another strong year. Finally Mark has been hit hard with seemingly unbeatable odds as a lot of older plot lines have come to fruition. From the Invincible War to Omniman in space, each issue easily held my attention. The art is solid through each issue. I continue to enjoy this book and it stood as a great read once again this year.

Matt Fraction can almost do no wrong. It seems every book he has a hand in jumps out of the gate in spectacular fashion and runs hard through everything. Uncanny X-Men is no exception. With the new Nation X story and what is leading up to the culmination of the Hope storyline, the X Universe has been lead by Uncanny and I couldn't be happier. The X-Men are cool again, and it's not impossible to pick up a random issue and understand it. It's been a looong time since that was a truth.