• Batman
The Dark Knight has returned. With superstar talents Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee, Batman’s risen to the top of Diamond’s Top 100 list and doesn’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon. While Batman’s had amazing creative teams over the last few years such as writers Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, Loeb and Lee’s name value and amazing first storyarc “Hush” have catapulted the title right past the X-titles, the Ultimate line and even the ’80s titles that have dominated the Top 100 all year. Speaking of…

• The ’80s
If you’re a child of the ’80s, you probably remember He-Man, G.I. Joe, Battle of the Planets, Thunder Cats and Transformers—of course, even if you were born after 1989, you’re probably familiar with the titles, since they were some of the hottest comics out there in 2002. Whether the title stared Duke, Mark, Princess, Flint, Cobra Commander or Deceptacons and Man-at-Arms, anything from the ‘80s sold off shelves like hot cakes. Publishers such as Dreamwave and Devils Due all made their names off a handful of exciting titles and those titles don’t look like they’re slowing down at all in 2003.

• Oni Press
Sure, Oni’s been around awhile now but 2002 just proved how much punch the Portland, Oregon based publisher has in its left hook. With the British spy thriller Queen & Country, the psychological thriller Skinwalkers and the ultra-hip and edgy Pounded mini-series Oni’s really flexed its collective muscle this year. Month in and month out, Oni publishes some of the best comic books the country sees. If you’re tired of superheroes and world conquering evil doers, Oni’s the place to move up to real world, dramatic fiction in comic book form. Crisp, clean, black and white art and some of the most riveting tales in sequential storytelling, Oni’s the one publisher I don’t think I could live without.

• Spider-Man
You may not have heard but “Spider-Man” was a little bit of a hit in movie theaters this year. Staring a flawless ensemble cast of Tobey Maguire (Peter Paker/Spider-Man), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson) and (Green Goblin/Norman Osborn) Willem Dafoe “Spider-Man” was exactly what comic book fans wanted—a comic movie that blended long-standing insider continuity and current, hip culture into a perfectly exciting film and an even better ad for comic books. The mainstream exposure for comics didn’t hurt either. Marvel EiC Joe Quesada and Spider-Man editor Axel Alonso were all over the television news at night as ambassadors to the mainstream from comic book geekdom and the fans couldn’t ask for better spokesmen.

• HeroClix
I’ll be honest, I’m not a gamer. I never played Dungeons & Dragons, or Mage or Magic—but I love Marvel and DC’s new HeroClix lines. Based on simple collectable miniatures, the games simple to pick up and amazingly fun to play. With characters such as Wolverine, Batman, Superman, Thor, Cyclops and Darkseid fans can launch into an almost perfect JLA vs. Avengers scenario or just go one on one against their friends. Hardcore comic book fans and gamers agree—this is a great game. And sales are through the roof. This game’s a certified hit and with IndyClix just around the corner featuring Hellboy, a hot of CrossGen and Top Cow characters, this game will only get better as time goes on.

• Marvel Legends
Marvel’s finally catching on to what DC Direct has been doing for years—producing top notch, high-quality, kick ass action figures of comic fan’s favorite heroes and villains. From Captain America to the Hulk to the Thing the Marvel Legends line is one of the hottest properties in toys today. Need some proof? Try to find an Iron Man or Dr. Doom variant. Bet you can’t. And with more characters such as Thor and Wolverine planned for next year this line’s bound to be around for awhile.

So those are some of the hottest topics from 2002 but what’s in store for 2003? How about two new projects from Mike Turner, Wolverine by Greg Rucka and Darrick Robertson and many, many more amazing projects. Check back next week for a rundown of what you can look forward to in 2003.

WRITER’S BIO: Mike Cotton is a staff writer for Wizard: The Comics Magazine. For all the comic book news fit to print, check out Wizard on sale every month at comic book specialty shops and newsstands everywhere.