Well, that was a way to end 2017. Nick Gazin, comic book editor and critic for Vice, ended his year on December 29th with a top ten comic book list of 2017. With only eight titles to its name. A number of which were reprints. Oh, and no women creators either.

Here are the ten best…well, eight best comics of 2017. https://t.co/75OD7MdReh — VICE (@VICE) December 29, 2017

He justified the list of Simon Hanselmann's One More Year, Sammy Harkham's Crickets No. 6, Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez's Love and Rockets #2 and #4, Will Elder's The Million Year Picnic and Other Stories, The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 Omnibus by Stan Lee and John Romita, Johnny Ryan's Sex Crime #4, and Jay Disbrow's Monster Invasion, saying "Making a list of the top ten comics of 2017 was difficult since ten good comics didn't get published this year."

Now the point of such lists is generally to engender discussion and debate. And also, at this time of year, to fill space. So, one could say that it worked… though it also poses the question, what was so bad about Love And Rockets #3?

Here's a little of the discussion it provoked from comic book creators, commentators and critics.

Sorry kid. Fail-o. — Heidi MacDonald (@Comixace) December 31, 2017

Reluctant to tweet about Nick Gazin's best-of list, because it's a piece that anticipates–needs–the outrage cycle. But, hey: when someone declared their irrelevance that loudly, it's a gift. — Greg Hunter (@gregjhunter) December 30, 2017

https://twitter.com/Julia_Wertz/status/947174199466053633

This article is a joke. Vice is a joke. The writer (Nick Gazin) should be fired. https://t.co/XFsSmUgb6b — Aaron Meyers (@AaronMeyers) December 31, 2017

In a year filled with new voices, daring, passionate projects from all corners of the industry, @VICE should be able to do better than this. New readers often look to big sites to find ways into comics. Esp in tough times – this kind of incendiary move is just disappointing. pic.twitter.com/ryMm2Ieg5W — Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) December 30, 2017

Let's play a game called "I read more comic books than the guy @VICE hires to write about them/clickbait gimmicks are insulting bullshit." Tell me your top ten comics of the year. (And bc you have taste/read good comics this list will naturally include female and POC creators.) — Amanda Deibert🏳️‍🌈 (@amandadeibert) December 31, 2017

I utterly failed to only pick 10…there are too many goodies out there!https://t.co/Af0Sp7DosO — El Anderson (@FemmesinFridges) December 31, 2017

And for those of you upset about Nick Gazin's Vice article, don't worry. Your friends at PREVIEWSworld will always have your back. #SupportYourLCS https://t.co/dzf4ETMZgq — PREVIEWSworld (@PREVIEWSworld) December 31, 2017

Hey @VICE , I'd be happy to interview and provide submissions to cover the comics beat and be your comic book reviewer. I can start by getting you an actual #2017Top10 — Sean Patrick (@seanpboyle) December 31, 2017

Boring snot. Get fired already. — ⚡️Nicola Scott⚡️ (@NicolaScottArt) December 31, 2017

Crosswind, Clean Room, Red Sonja, Summit, Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, anything from Iron Spike, and this is just from women creators.

Vice… just do a search about their founder McInnes… — PoisonIvyLeague (@ivygirl851) December 31, 2017

Even After a Huge News Story About Their Systemic Sexism, #Vice Still Thought It'd Be Real Cute to Say the Only Good #Comics in 2017 Were Written by Dudes https://t.co/V7sYRl4sO4 pic.twitter.com/v1Dt4VvPqu — The Mary Sue (@TheMarySue) December 31, 2017

Hey, someone at VICE is a hipster snob! pic.twitter.com/e243E7snbS — 🍺MIKE NORTON🍺 (@themikenorton) December 30, 2017

Congrats to Nick Gazin on finally giving everyone in comics something to agree on this year. — David Harper (@slicedfriedgold) December 30, 2017

Vice didn't like 10 good comics this year? That's cool. I didn't like 10 things in Vice this year. They'll survive. We'll survive. — Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) December 29, 2017

https://twitter.com/MattBors/status/946867695147925504

I will fist fight nick gazin for this cowardly article on behalf of all the actual good comics that came this year — Rayne Klar (@smallsmallwitch) December 29, 2017

Basically, as far as that VICE #comics piece goes… pic.twitter.com/N1x97KtTBE — Orbital Space (@orbitalcomics) December 31, 2017

I doubt this guy from @VICE ever stepped foot into a comic shop, purchased or read any comic in this year. This has to be the laziest critique in the history of all critiques. If my job was only that easy. https://t.co/QCFfR4ZkxQ — Tony S Daniel (@TonyDanielx2) December 31, 2017

As a comics/entertainment journalist, I'm embarrassed by what Vice did. — Jon Arvedon (@JonArvedon) December 31, 2017

nick gazin's list was an old joke poorly told but I'm happy to find out there was new johnny ryan — Tom Spurgeon (@comicsreporter) December 30, 2017

And special thanks to Nick "Ozymandias" Gazin for managing to unite the entire comics industry just before the end of the year. — Rodrigo Baeza (@rodrigo__baeza) December 31, 2017

I worked through 2 miscarriages to design comics this year and friends battled depression, cancer and loss among other distressing circumstances to create incredible work. Go fuck yourself @VICE and your sensationalist bullshit. How dare you undermine so many people like this. pic.twitter.com/JnckAJU4FW — Emma Price (@TinyMaster) December 30, 2017

https://twitter.com/wastedwings/status/946876194351452160

It's kind of sad that so few publications recognize the art form of comics that people are getting really mad at a nick gazin column, not even realizing he's been doing the same shtick for a decade and this is the first time anyone even noticed. — vaupen (@zachhazard) December 29, 2017

…. … … …Someone take Nick's laptop and throw it into the nearest body of water, he's no longer allowed on the internet. https://t.co/zBcgR1ncDV — Steve C. (@Jjammerzs) December 30, 2017

Would anyone care to speculate on Nick Gazin's DJ name pic.twitter.com/YQlWXMPzcB — Kim O'Connor (@shallowbrigade) December 29, 2017

It's Nick Gazin. A DJ & sometimes artist. He's blocked me on Twitter cause I discussed his art. He drew this cover (no joke): pic.twitter.com/oOzkszG6IL — Sketch Card (@sketchcards) December 30, 2017

https://twitter.com/laura_hudson/status/946887056189423617

Nick Gazin's whole oeuvre is performatively hating comics. What if we stopped paying men who hate comics to write about them? Hmm. Hmmmmm. Anyway, I have to go write about some of the great comics by women, poc, and lgbtq people that were published this year. — megan (@themeganpurdy) December 29, 2017

https://twitter.com/djeljosevic/status/946903352780009473

I've had a conversation with this Nick Gazin guy, the writer. He's one of those hard to impress higher than thou nerds, and he's extremely rude, to boot. I take his words with a grain of salt ever since talking to him for the first time. — 🍄PAPA NATURE🍄 (@theghostboat) December 30, 2017

This guy once gave my book a bad review because I'm "probably ugly." His best list is all men. https://t.co/RHEWsCloD6 — Susie Cagle (@susie_c) December 29, 2017

And even Fantagraphics, the beneficiary of the list wasn't best pleased:

Nick, it's a lazy list. I love Johnny Ryan, but suggesting that a zine of Johnny's doodles and a few reprints by dead white men are better than anything done by a woman in 2017 just makes you and VICE look bad, because women in comics kicked ass in 2017. — Eric Reynolds (@earinc) December 31, 2017

As for Nick's reaction to the reaction?

I thought it was funny. Twitter mostly disagrees. — 𝕹𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖆𝖘 𝕲𝖆𝖟𝖎𝖓 (@NicholasGazin) December 30, 2017

I thought it would be funny. I didn't expect people to be this humorless or enraged but it's tough times we're in. Nobody ever reacted like this to the previous sarcastic comics criticism I've been doing for like 12 years now. — 𝕹𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖆𝖘 𝕲𝖆𝖟𝖎𝖓 (@NicholasGazin) December 30, 2017

I based my list on what I got sent over the course of the year. Leslie Stein got left off but that was a mistake due to rushing to finish it. I hire a lot of women to do comics for the site. You can see them here. https://t.co/X9Bcn6MUIS — 𝕹𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖆𝖘 𝕲𝖆𝖟𝖎𝖓 (@NicholasGazin) December 30, 2017

Why do I get the feeling he's already writing what he's going to say for 2018? Will this hullabaloo encourage more people to tell their stories about Nick? And what was so terrible about Love And Rockets #3 anyway? It was the Doctor Who parady looking at the replaceability of women on the show, wasn't it? Touched nerves?