Then, with a spark of creative holiday spirit (and the change of a single letter), he changed it to the more festive display:

Well done, Robb.  And “Happy Elfing Holidays” to you too.

Related posts:

1. Happy Holidays, from Bullseye
2. Top 10 Bullseye Blog Posts of 2009
3. Pumpkin Carving

#10. Frank Miller and Jim Lee: Batman and Robin

Frank Miller has always been a writer that I have enjoyed reading (and his artwork is just as dark and dramatic). The work he has been turning out with Jim Lee on the Batman and Robin title is some of his best.  Miller has visited this character many times in the past, and each time he has brought something special to the book. However, with the help of Lee, this title is some of the gruffest, roughest work I’ve seen featuring the Dark Knight.  The duo often lets many months lapse between titles (I suppose that’s the byproduct of Miller’s new career in film), but it’s always worth the wait.

#9: Damon Lindelof and Leinil Francis Yu: Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk

Speaking of “worth the wait,” the Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk book took years to deliver just a few short issues. But I (for one) didn’t mind.  The teaming of Lindelof (writer and co-creator of ABC’s Lost) and Yu (who seems to be just about everywhere right now) was simply perfect. Their take on the Hulk was funny, pointed and memorable.  And Wolvie has never been such a bad-ass.  The visual of The Hulk ripping Wolverine in two, then throwing half of him miles into the mountain was only topped by The Hulk eventually eating his adamantium-laced opponent.  Tasty!

#8: The Web Heads: The Amazing Spider-Man

The #8 Top Team-Up is comprised of the large group of  Web Heads at Marvel (Gale, Guggenheim, Kelly, Slott, Van Lente, Waid, and Wells).  Ever since Marvel drastically altered the direction of Spider-Man (with the One More Day / Brand New Day arc) they have been releasing the Amazing title three times a month (which is awesome for the fans, although a little challenging for the pocketbook). The rotating teams of artists and writers (each work on one to four issues at a time) have all been stellar. Paul Azaceta’s stylized artwork is great (almost like Sean Phillips), and he even made Electro scary/cool again.  Joe Kelly’s writing is extremely funny.  Mark Waid has crafted a creepy Vulture character that actually gave me nightmares.  And Mike McKone’s Black Cat reminded me what it was like to be a teenage boy. Thankfully, all of the writer/artist teams have been carefully overseen by the ever-watchful eyes of the Web Heads committee.  I also enjoy the witty, no-holds barred Letters Column from editor, Stephen Wacker (and occasionally, Assistant Editor, Tom Brennan).

#7: Mark Millar and Steve McNiven: Wolverine, Old Man Logan

Having previously teamed up for Marvel’s Civil War, and later on the Nemesis title, Millar and McNiven make one Hell of a creative team.  Mark Millar is a great writer, although many of his stories seem similar to me.  Steve McNiven is one of my favorite current artists (and a really nice guy too — I met him at the Emerald City ComiCon a couple of years ago), however sometimes his art can miss the mark.  However, with the Old Man Logan storyline, these two superstars nailed it from the very first page to the last.  Wolverine will never be the same (case in point: after this run, I canceled Wolverine from my pull-list).

#6: Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev: Spider-Woman

Bendis and Maleev have been teaming up for some time.  And, while my favorite work from this paid has to be the long run they turned in for Daredevil, I love the books they are currently delivering for Spider-Woman.  BMB’s writing is easy to read (he write  thought-bubble-dialog as well as Stan Lee did), and Maleev’s artwork is mesmerizing.  His photo reference for Jessica Drew (Jolyn Carpenter) must be a strong, sexy woman since his illustrations of the character are dependably depicted in that way.  This is one of those few books where I find myself reading it twice — once to enjoy the story, and a second time to savor the artwork.

#5: Brian K. Vaughn and Tony Harris: Ex Machina

I’ve been following this book from the beginning and I am constantly impressed with Vaughn’s writing and Harris’ illustration work.  The story is entertaining & engaging (at times violent & shocking) while fresh & exciting.  At last year’s EmeraldCityComiCon, I inadvertently told Tony Harris that he had been fired from the title when I informed him how disappointed I was he wasn’t working with Vaughn anymore (I thought that they were making a change in artist when he took a break and a guest artist stepped in).  I think I scared the Hell out of him for a moment, until I realized my mistake and corrected myself.  I guess I was just returning the favor by giving him a jolt, just like he and Vaughn give me each month.  (As a side note: Vaughn and Harris are almost ALWAYS on time with their title, I don’t think they’ve ever missed a month).

#4: Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting: The Marvels Project

Ed Brubaker is one of my favorite writers right now (see #1 below).  He is so much fun to read, and I love the work he and Steve Epting are doing together on The Marvels Project book.  They are re-telling the early stories of  key Avengers characters, and placing them deep in the pulp-inspired history that created comic books in the first place.  By weaving real-world historical figures and events into the story, they are making the supernatural seem real.  And the covers from my friend, Steve McNiven don’t hurt either.

#3: Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.: Kick-Ass

Mark Millar appears for a second time on the list, this time by teaming up with the unparalleled John Romita Jr.  They have combined their talents to bring us one of the coolest, craziest books on the shelves today.  Every month or so, I stop by The Comic Stop in Lynnwood to pick up the contents of my subscription box.  Without fail, the Kick-Ass title is always the first book I read.  Now that the story has been turned into a major Hollywood movie (as most great books do), I hope more people will discover the original material.  Kick-Ass is … well, pretty kick ass!

#2: Justin Grey and Jimmy Palmiotti: Jonah Hex

This team of co-writers made the list (toward the top, no less) because of their consistent ability to entertain in 22 short pages.  Grey and Palmiotti have such a natural style with their character dialog, and they can create a creative and compelling story that wraps up between covers (very few times have they carried a story for more than one issue — often times, they tell more than one tale in a single issue … and it’s always engrossing).  The stable of artists they work with are wildly different from each other, and a perfect fit for each story (I especially love the realism of Billy Tucci’s recent work).

#1: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips: Criminal, The Sinners

Sitting high  on the top of my Top Ten Team-Ups list are Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.  Having teamed up many times in the past, the duo gets better with each title they take on.  From Criminal, to Sleeper, to Incognito, and back to Criminal again, the creative crew is the best comic book team since Lee & Kirby (in my humble opinion — but that’s what this post is all about). Phillips’ artwork superbly frames up the noir tales that Brubaker creates.  His art is rough, and dark — just like the characters.  I am jealous of Sean’s ability to convey so much emotion with his mastery of negative space (and his painted works are always cool too).  A special mention must be made for the compelling colors of Val Staples.  Brubaker also shares his love for the medium by providing reviews of classic movies, books, or pulps (often through a guest essayist).   Brubaker and Phillips are so good, they really make you care about the bad guys in their winning work.

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1. For the Love of Drawing

One creative solution we often recommend to our clients is to feature a warning message to IE6 users and invite them to upgrade their browser.  We’ve seen some creative ways to present this warning, but our favorite has to be the blunt message displayed in the footer of Tyler Thompson’s newtoyork.com web blog.  With the frank honesty you can only find on a personal soapbox site, Tyler speaks on behalf of all web developers who wish they had the balls to be as direct:

“Hi, if you are coming to this site via Internet Explorer 6, you might not be getting the best experience possible. Honestly, I can’t even begin to think about what your entire experience on the internet must be like? (…probably like riding a bike on the highway while cars blow by you on their way to Costco to get gallons of mayonnaise and 60-inch plasma TV’s). How will you ever be able to use this website?????? You wont. You’re an asshole and your browser is an asshole. So look, I’m going to be honest: I kind of hate you. BUT we c-a-n make this work. Here is what I am going to need you to do: fire up your Toshiba ShitBook© that weighs about 45 pounds, wipe the Cheeto dust off the screen, download Safari, delete Internet Explorer from your computer, punch yourself in the face, and get me a pulled pork sandwich.”

Pulled pork? Perhaps. Pulled punches? Nope.

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1. Best Emerging Websites of 2010

#10: “Happy Holidays, from Bullseye” by Heather B. This one is ranked dead last simply because it makes my jawline look like Howdy Doody when I’m clearly more of a Charlie McCarthy type.

#9: “spacious thought” by Peter N. It just freaked me out. Who is this Tom Waits guy and why has he invaded my nightmares?

#8: “Office Art” by Jamie M. It doesn’t work. I’ve stared at this thing for hours now (I know, right?) and all I occasionally see is a slice of pie and a Twinkie. Maybe I shouldn’t be reading blogs on an empty stomach.

#7: “Pumpkin Carving” by Rick P. This one didn’t make me look too bad, but that’s only because it DIDN’T EVEN INCLUDE ME. Jeez! I swear, do I even work at this place? (sometimes I wonder).

#6: “iPhone Dragon Diction Review” by Travis K. I didn’t actually read this one. And based on the low number of comments, neither did anyone else.

#5 (tie): “Social Media Magic” by Jamie M. and “Customer Persona Development” by Travis K. These are both good stuff, but they are basically thinly veiled advertisements for Bullseye. So, to play “impartial judge” I placed both of these squarely in the middle of the pack.

#4: “iPhone Task Management App Review” by Travis K. A solid review, and most of the words are spelled correctly.

#3: “My Life in Technicolor, Photoshop Tutorial” by Rick P. It’s a long blog entry, so I haven’t read it. But I hear it’s good. [editor's note: this post was removed since it actually sucked. I finally read it and found it offensive and distasteful.]

#2: “Decade in Review: Zeitgeist Art” by Rick P. This is pretty amazing. Although, I was never sure what Rick was working on all of those hours, I now see it’s a really cool summary of the past decade, one which no one will actually read (I only made it to 2003 before I started to just scan the rest).

#1: “Top 10 Bullseye Blog Posts of 2009″ by Peter K. Pure brilliance. Total originality. When was the last time you read a Top 10 list on a blog? And at this time of year, no less.

Related posts:

1. Decade in Review: Zeitgeist Art
2. Pumpkin Carving
3. Happy Holidays, from Bullseye