Comic Books

AiPT! Comic Power Rankings: September 2015

AIPT

October 12, 2015

A Dark Lord of the Sith falls. Can anyone from the Star Wars universe take his place?

And are you sure this is 2015? The number four and five slots of the Comic Book Rankings should bring a nostalgic smile to the faces of comic book vets and newbies alike. AiPT!’s 2015 Power Rankings for the month of September are in. Let’s get it:

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Comic Books

Current 1 Previous 1		Batman Batman’s still holding it down Robo-style thanks to Commissioner Gordon in the Scott Snyder penned main title. Over in Justice League though, Bruce Wayne is a literal god after obtaining the Mobius Chair, which grants him near omniscience and the ability to deliver sick burns like this one on Green Lantern. Ouch.
Current 2 Previous 3		Spider-Man Peter Parker’s gone from his “dirt-poor kid struggling to get by but is also a superhero” archetype to Spider-powered billionaire thanks to writer Dan Slott’s new direction in Amazing Spider-Man #1.
Current 3 Previous —		Lando Smooth talking, space suave, mustachioed Lando slinks his way into Darth Vader’s usual spot as the Star Wars representative on the AiPT! Power Rankings thanks to him not only being the most interesting character of the Star Wars comics, but “the most interesting [one] in comic books today.”
Current 4 Previous —		Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga! Too cliche? Not if IDW has anything to say about it. The publisher trotted out their milestone 50th issue and a big part of that is writers Tom Waltz and TMNT creator Kevin Eastman’s ability to keep fans on their toes and shake up the status quo that has been sacred for decades.
Current 5 Previous —		Archie Archie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the top five? In the year 2015? Believe it. The revitalized Archie and crew (Jughead saw his #1 recently hit the stands on October 7th) have been tearing it up thanks to “endearing art, compelling characters and a modernization of characters that keeps their charm but upgrades them for the 21st century.”

Writers

Current 1 Previous —		Charles Soule The Soule-man stays on top of the Power Rankings for the second month in a row due to his stellar work on Lando and the recent announcement that he’ll be the man writing the forthcoming Obi-Wan & Anakin series. Civil War ain’t half bad either.
Current 2 Previous 2		Scott Snyder Scott Snyder is writing a story in the Attack on Titan anthology. Scott Snyder is writing a story in the Attack on Titan anthology!!!! Oh and he did one of the most powerful Batman stories we’ve read in ages with Jock on art and a focus on guns. You should read that. We did and loved it.
Current 3 Previous 4		Mark Waid Archie continues to kill it every single month and we’re starting to wonder if it will ever lose its luster. On top of this it was announced Waid will be writing a Black Widow title with the same artist, Chris Samnee, that won a ton of awards with creating Daredevil and you can see why he’s near the top of our list.
Current 4 Previous 3		Brain K. Vaughan Brian drops a bit due to Saga being on hiatus but We Stand on Guard continues to be the best war comic on the stands. Though Paper Girls didn’t hit till October (expect him to rise up a bit from this title next month) Saga Vol. 5 is the highest selling graphic novel on the stands for September.
Current 5 Previous 5		Kieron Gillen Darth Vader may not be doing it for us lately, but there’s no denying the guy is burning it up all over the place with titles at Avatar and Image Comics blowing up left and right.

Artists

Current 1 Previous 5		Stuart Immonen Excuse us while we gush over the amazing Stuart Immonen. Stop for a second and go buy the last two issues of Star Wars with #9 and #10. Hell, look at the reviews we posted featuring some of his art. The guy knows how to not only capture the actors’ faces, but the cinematic nature of the classic films. He’s made us question if we need new films at all and frankly if he drew the series forever who needs moving pictures! Oh, and it was recently revealed his talents will be gracing Uncanny X-Men #600. Swoon.
Current 2 Previous 2		Fiona Staples No offense to Staples because honestly she continues to do fantastic work on Archie and hasn’t missed a beat. If we could put two artists at #1 she would surely be up there this month. In the latest issue Veronica was established and without Staples I doubt anyone would care (okay sorry no offense Mr. Waid!).
Current 3 Previous —		David Marquez Rising artist David Marquez was given a big opportunity with the recently released Invincible Iron-Man #1 and he knocked it out of the park in a big way.
Current 4 Previous 4		Leinil Francis Yu Yu continues to impress us on his work in Civil War making this title feel like an event. Actually, can we just pretend this is the Marvel summer event and forget Secret Wars isn’t happening? All respect to this series but the delays are killing it and so is Yu on art.
Current 5 Previous —		Angel Hernandez If you told us a year ago we’d be digging on a Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover we’d call you crazy. Well, first we’d call your mom to ask if you’re feeling alright, but then definitely call you crazy. One of the biggest reason the Spectrum War event has blown us away is this man’s work. The guy crafts some truly epic splash pages that make the event feel big and important. Plus he’s got a way with details and captures all the Star Trek actors likenesses perfectly.

Based on recurring comic book sales, the rankings that our site gives the book as a composite score (that is, not just one person’s opinion) and overall talent/rising popularity taken into consideration.