Matt Price’s top 10 comic-book series of 2011

DC Comics regained the public’s attention — and the lead in market share — with a publicized revamp of its superhero line, but not all of the year’s best comics involved capes and tights.

The following are 2011′s best 10 periodical comic books.

1. “Detective Comics 871-881,” Scott Snyder, Jock and Franco Francavilla.

The new Batman, Dick Grayson, is put to the test as a series of brutal murders puts him up against one of Gotham City’s oldest evils.

In the second story, “Hungry City,” the corpse of a killer whale is found in an upscale Gotham City bank, sparking a deadly new mystery.

Snyder’s opus, which includes the mystery of Commissioner Gordon’s son, is a candidate for best Batman tale of the current decade. DC was suitably impressed with Snyder, tabbing him as the writer of its relaunched “Batman” title.

2. “Criminal: The Last of the Innocent,” Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips.

Brubaker (“Captain America”) is one of comics’ finest writers, and this is among his best books, a mixture of noir and nostalgia that’s part twisted take on “Archie”-style characters, part dark secrets and murder. Artist Phillips creates compelling stories in two completely different styles for “Innocent.” Riley Richards seems as if he had it all, marrying the hottest girl in town and moving on to the big city. But now, he can’t forget his simpler life in Brookview. He’s willing to do anything to roll back the clock — including murder.

3. “The Red Wing,” Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra.

Hickman (“Fantastic Four”) writes a story of fighter pilots in the future who fight their battles not only in the air, but also through time. Art by Pitarra.

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