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Welcome to our final installment of Friendly Ghosts to Gamma Rays until the first week of January 2011. I’m going on a little winter break here, heading down to Florida and away from snowy Buffalo until next year. Its been a busy year in retrospect with youth-titles, and so to end out this year I leave you with the Top 10 Kids Comics of 2010! Now, 2010 was a year where very few new kids’ material was introduced into the market place. However, there was some new stuff, and what went on was fantastic! Even so, much that went on were re-hashings of classic characters or reprints of classic material, but there was enough to generate a quality year! Let’s get down to it! Note: If you click on the “reported here” tabs, they’ll take you to the original article which will have these items reviewed in far greater detail.

10.) MILT GROSS given proper props! Yoe Books started producing awesome reprint collections this year; from Jetta to Frankenstein they delighted us with a ton. However, the nicest was a complete collection of Milt Gross Funnies and other back-up stories by the genius of Gross, the man who created the first graphic novel in the United States, and wore many different hats from comics to film to radio, etc. Milt Gross Funnies laid the groundwork for numerous people from cartoons by Tex Avery to Ren and Stimpy. They were comical, colorful, and always enjoyable. This was worth every dollar this year. (Originally reported here)

9.) WIZARDS OF MICKEY zaps away! BOOM! Kids has produced an endless amount of great titles this past year. The Wizards of Mickey story line moved into its own title in 2010, and now is collected in three trade paperbacks. Wizards of Mickey was a fantastic Mickey Mouse adventure that hit all the right high notes. It was epic, it was fun, it was very Disney. It’s easy to see why this title was so popular in its original run in Europe. The whole wizard competition felt very much at home with any RPG fan, and was just as good. Hopefully someday we’ll see more with this story, but for now, as mentioned, all the issues are collected and reprinted in three wonderful trades for us. (Originally reported here)

8.) SPIDER-HAM we love you! Seems like Marvel has been tinkering around with the idea of bringing back everyone’s favorite oinker, Peter Porker, better known as Spider-Ham, and honestly Marvel, we couldn’t be happier if you did. Marvel has been feeling its way through the mist trying to gain a hold on its kids’ market, and Spider-Ham from the ’80s remains fresh and fun to this day. The world he lives in, and the humor in these stories, he was the greatest thing ever rolled out in-house (kid-wise) from mighty Marvel! This year, Marvel celebrated Spider-Ham’s birthday with a brand new one-shot, rolled out a reprint collection collecting the first handful of issues from his original ’80s run, and even gave him a cameo at the end of the brand new Spider-Man video game. Keep it going guys, you can make mine Marvel in 2011 if you pump up more Peter Porker. (Originally reported here, and reported here)

7.) NOBODY’S BOY REMI sees light of day Stateside! There wasn’t a whole ton of animated properties screaming at us this year for us to fall in love with. Oddly the only TV show or movie to make it into my Top 10 list for this year was one not even made here in the U.S. In fact, it is a little title from Japan made in 1977. Its taken years to get here, but thanks to a handful of sites providing us with unseen anime for free, we have been able to stream titles we may have not been able to ever see otherwise. This is partially due to the gamble of production costs when bringing a foreign product to subtitle/dub and release in the American market. Nobody’s Boy Remi is just one of those TV shows that keeps tugging at your heart every second it finds the ability to, and finally it was given a release here this year. It’s about a boy, Remi, forced to wander as a traveling performer across France in the late 1800s, loved by practically no one, dreaming of the day he will find happiness and discover his real parents. Check it out here guys! (Originally reported here)
6.) DONALD DUCK as Tekka-Don!!!! I wasn’t crazy about the long running serial from BOOM! about Donald Duck as a secret agent. So a few months back when they changed the story line finally, I decided to give Donald Duck a second chance, and boy was I glad I did. The Tekka-Don saga, featuring Donald Duck and friends in ancient Japan, rocks! It’s fun and makes some of the best use of traditional Disney gags in comics we have seen in awhile. So if you have passed up some of these BOOM! titles, then the new Donald Duck story line gives you a fantastic place to jump back in! (Originally reported here)

5.) We went back down to FRAGGLE ROCK! Archaia Entertainment gave us a good time and pumped up the volume by taking us on ride with brand new Fraggle Rock comics. Sometimes the right teams just happen on projects, and that’s what happened in this case. Archaia had a number of duos team up and bring us several different Fraggle-stories with each issue, all capturing the magic and fun of the TV show. Aside from that, there were the puzzles and games and the unique book cuts; everything presented was a return to kids’ comics, but at the same time was enjoyable for anyone of any age to pick up and read. Honestly it’s one of the few series that I have re-read this year, as there was only brilliant work done on this title. (Originally reported here)

4.) The Duck-Knight returned with DARKWING DUCK! Yes, thanks to the kids power house at BOOM! (they were busy in 2010!) we were able to get dangerous again with Darkwing Duck. The series, which was critically acclaimed by a large chunk of fans and the comic community, just pretty much rocked hard for everyone and continues to every month. Can you believe first prints of issues #1 and #2 were selling online for as high as $25?! Its success also prompted the recent relaunch of Chip ‘N’ Dale Rescue Rangers (I’m hoping Tailspin is on the way). (Originally reported here)

3.) MARVELMAN cries Kimota! Now given the amount of attention it has received in this column, some of you may be surprised Marvelman isn’t our number one. Honestly I was tempted to, these top three were hard to really rank for me, but Marvel didn’t give us anything brand new with Marvelman. However, what they did was open up to America these long forgotten British comics of glory with the reprint mini-series Marvelman: Family’s Finest, and reprints from the first issues of Marvelman with hardcover collections, Marvelman Classic. Marvelman was the coolest rediscovery of a character in 2010 and has been nothing but fun to read, share with others, and talk about. I’m looking forward to more reprints in the Marvelman Classic line next year from Marvel, and in my heart of hearts I hope Marvel will take a shot with at least one brand new Marvelman mini. Think about it guys. (Originally reported here, and reported here, and also here)

2.) ARCHIE COMICS strikes back with LIFE WITH ARCHIE!!! Talk about a total face lift. Archie Comics really struck back this year, making a name for themselves once again. Archie was quietly picking up steam throughout the year and then suddenly they released the comic magazine Life With Archie, and that’s when heads began to turn. Archie wasn’t just back, Archie Comics was cool again! And they haven’t stopped since. They made a huge announcement, and in 2011 we can look forward to seeing more Life With Archie, which will feature a new story, Jinx (that will be the teenage version of classic Archie character Lil Jinx), a second comic magazine Betty or Veronica, new twists and turns in the other titles, and a brand new Mega Man ongoing series based off of the video game! Don’t stop rocking Archie, and if you haven’t picked it up, start reading Life With Archie! (Originally reported here and also here)
And the #1 title this year is….

1.) MUPPET SHERLOCK HOLMES! Muppet Sherlock Holmes is the number one kids’ book of the year. Take a look around and you will not have found a more perfectly constructed mini-series in 2010 than the brilliance that has lain in these four issues. These guys hit everything: the artwork is great, the writing is excellent, and in every shape and way the creators breathed life into these characters, causing Jim Henson’s creations to practically jump off the page and come to life in front of us. This is a must read. Your kids will love it. You will love it. Maybe even your grandmother will love it. This was the crazy good surprise of the year, and deserves everyone to pick it up and give it a look. A guaranteed win for any reader. (Originally reported here and also here)
And that is our Top 10 list of 2010! Yes, there were a ton of other titles this year, but I think this list covers the spectrum of the best. Now, you may take note that some of you are probably saying that DC doesn’t appear on the list above, and that is because in this reviewer’s opinion, the DC kids’ line is dying fast and hard. Their titles have become blander as time has gone on. Although they teamed up with Archie Comics to give us a Little Archie/Tiny Titans cross over, they canceled and never realized the potential of the comic Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!, and as mentioned their other youth themed titles are losing steam fast. DC, you guys need a face lift for your ailing kids’ line.
With that I bid you farewell and good health in the year 2011! Have a fantastic Holiday readers, and we here at From Friendly Ghosts To Gamma Rays will be back full force in a few weeks, starting the first Friday of January 2011!
Drew McCabe
drew@comicattack.net