Ultimate Badass

Yesterday on my way to Keene I stopped by the old comic store in Lebanon. My last 'apartment' was only half a mile from it, which was pretty convenient. I took that detour for two reasons: 1) I've been on the lookout for something for the last few weeks; 2) he's closing the store and this was one of my last opportunities to stop in. Yes, the comic store that's been a staple of my Wednesday afternoons since I first moved up here is going to close. Tom, the owner, told me that the same week that I moved out of Lebanon to Newport, and that seemed kind of significant to me at the time, even though I can't really explain it now.

Anyway, what I was looking for had finally arrived: the hardcover collection of the Ultimates, vol. 2. The Ultimates is part of Marvel's relatively new Ultimate Universe line, in which many of their classic characters are reimagined for a more contemporary world. The line is hit or miss, but the Ultimates, which takes the Avengers and updates them into a big widescreen smash-up is just incredible. The first volume is one of my favorite things ever, so getting the sequel was a no-brainer. There is a volume 3, which just started coming out, but as the creative team has changed, it isn't the same, and in fact it's complete garbage. Fortunately, the first two volumes are so great that they can't be tarnished.

I'm something of a connisseur of badass comic books. I read all different kinds, but the ones that always loom the largest in my imagination and have the most influence over my own work are the baddest of the badass, which is to say that they're more adult and more violent than most other comic books. Violence is just something that tends to attract me to things, from books and movies to tv shows and comic books.

Here's my list of the greatest Badass Comics you'll ever see:

-- Preacher by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
-- The Authority by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch
-- The Ultimates, vol. 1 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
-- The Ultimates, vol. 2 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
-- Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
-- Stray Bullets by David Lapham
-- Sin City by Frank Miller
-- The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
-- Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
-- The Golden Age by James Robinson and Paul Smith
-- Wanted by Mark Millar and JG Jones
-- Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben
-- Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja
-- Daughters of the Dragon by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Khari Evans
-- The Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday
-- Captain America by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
-- Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immomen

I'd also be remiss if I didn't list the excellent Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series, which were unfailingly badass all the way through.

You can't go wrong with any of this.