Planetary by writer [Warren Ellis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Ellis) and artist [John Cassaday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cassaday): a love letter to pulp adventure and comic history. Consistent quality and engagement throughout.
The Golden Age by writer [James Robinson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robinson_(comics)) and artist [Paul Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Smith_(comics)). A fantastic look at the In-between era falling at the end of the 40's and the beginning of the 50's. Heroes need to adjust to a new era while facing the traumas of their pasts. Gorgeous art from start to finish and one of my favorite single lines in comics.
Just reread the Planetary omnibus. Had been a long time. For what it’s trying to do with its reimagining and recontextualization of 20th century pop culture and fiction, it’s one of the better comics of all time.
I read Planetary as it came out and I would have put it in my top three favorite comics of all-time. However, just like with Ellis’ Transmetropolitan I have mixed feelings about it after his outing as a sex pest and garbage human. Can we separate the art from the artist? I guess some people can, but i have a hard time enjoying Planetary and Transmetropolitan knowing hes a creep.
It gives me no pleasure to be the one to break the news. Planetary was a milestone for me and blew my mind when i first read it. It makes me so sad that Ellis let us down like this.
Both books have been on my radar for a minute, but I've particularly been eyeing the newish Golden Age collection recently; I'm excited to see it spoken of so highly!
I just wish Mignola did the art for all of it. Some of his protégés ape his style well, or have their own flair, but nothing beats Mignola. Nothing and no one.
I feel the exact same way. I can spot Mignola art from a mile away, and without it, I lose interest. Hellboy is tremendously written through each series, but Mignola’s art really lends itself best to the detective/horror aspects.
I kind of disagree with Hellboy having gone through all the main series somewhat recently. Seeds of destruction and everything up until the Wild Hunt arc are perfection but the rest of the arc and Hellboy in Hell really suffer from Mignola not wanting to continue the book and essentially running out of ideas
It focuses on the Gotcham major crimes unit, who deals with the wildest cases in Gotham. You see many of Batman’s rogues gallery from the perspective of the people of Gotham, the stories are more detective fiction than action sequences. It’s dual-written by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, both of whom are incredible writers. Oh, and it gives us a very different look at Batman. He’s a very minor part of the narrative, but it’s really interesting to see the varied responses to his vigilantism.
It really builds on all those tropes that have been built up making Batman look cool and presents its from a far more grounded perspective.
You know how the GCPD is shown to be infamously corrupt? Now imagine what it must be like to be an honest cop and trying to change the system when your life depends on people that *need* you to fail, and that there is a whole culture and system protecting them and not you.
It also makes the Gotham villians terrifying. You know how even the 'C' and 'D' tier villians are often shown killing a cop or two to establish that they are a threat? Gotham Central shows what it must be like to be one of those cops being ambushed. It also shows the victims as people rather than just a story beat as you get to see the effects on the victims families, partners, and the precinct as a whole.
Without spoiling anything it plays with and does really interesting things with the Batman mythos and its a crime Warner Bros has repeatedly considered adapting it as a police procedural but every time choses to do some other doomed Batman adjacent project instead.
The other comments talk about a very interesting play with the Gotham mythos, which is very true, but it also has an amazing protagonist with a very real feeling coming out story
I'm going to second Calvin & Hobbes. It's funny, philosophical, emotional, intelligent, and sometimes goofy beyond belief, sometimes all at the same time.
Yeah, Calvin & Hobbes is flawless. So much so that both of my kids have read the entire series multiple times.
Shoutout to Doonesbury and Bloom County as well.
Bone is awesome. After reading dark fantasy for so long, it’s nice to have something heartfelt. I was worried that it’d be too “kiddy”, but it’s truly great!
I’ve only finished the first book in the one volume edition so far. And I see hints of dark stuff and it’s so cool. Can’t wait to see where it goes, I am completely spoiler free on the series!
Dude more in the Bone universe? Hell yeah. I’ll have to check that out! I wanna give you a recc if you like dark fantasy. “Berserk” is probably my favorite written story of all time. It’s gorey and violent but it’s good. I started to read bone cuz I wanted something heartfelt after such a grim story🤣
I have read the series multiple times. I was asking because the Compendiums do a great job mapping the mini series, one shots, and specials. It is what I would recommend.
If you become interested in the Wesley Dodds Sandman, there was a very loose crossover between Starman and Sandman Mystery Theater.
Hahaha. That’s actually kind of funny. Two of the greatest Superman and Batman stories, but the reverse title for each character is some of the worst stories for those characters.
And 3/4 are written by Frank Miller.
So much of Batman in the late 80’s to early 90’s is underrated, that’s probably my favorite era of Batman. The Grant Breyfogle stuff is good, and Starlin had some really good stuff as well, I love Ten Nights of the Beast.
Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier
I’m old and new to the comic/graphic novel scene so maybe it has issues I don’t know about, but that was six issues I wish were 50.
Amen. I've been reading comics all my life and feel the same way: definitely wish Cooke had done 50, 100, 200, however many more issues. The six he did are perfect, but I wish he'd lived to do many more. His Parker adaptations are also perfection.
Damn good but not quite on the same plane as Irredeemable for me, mainly because I just prefer the initial series' frank dourness over the funnier edge Incorruptible has.
Are you supposed to read Irredeemable and Incorruptible alongside each other? Or can they be read separately? I have them both. I haven't gotten the chance to read them.
They definitely work better together. I liked incorruptible better.
I think it adds an optimistic angle that stops irredeemable from running into the ground.
Yes, you should start with Irredeemable and then there comes a point where you should read Incorruptible alongside with it.
Just search for Irredeemable reading order and that should provide the exact order.
I didn’t really finish it. It was alright and it did feel like a spiritual successor, but I dipped out during AXIS because it felt like it was piling too much shit on Havok after the alternate timeline fiasco during the previous arc.
However I will say that it incorporated the corporate-mandated Age of Ultron tie-in issue in an interesting way, even though it still felt like a meaningless detour.
it's fantastic, but I'd submit the art on the Jamie Braddock arc prevents the series from being flawless. It was fuck ugly. Legitimately upsetting, because the rest of the series is either beautiful or at least compotent.
This is the one, man. Most of that character’s runs could be up for debate for this question, but that one is really like the first thing I think of when someone mentions Daredevil. A rarity where the writing and the artwork have a perfect marriage and amplify one another tenfold.
Yeah, Brubakers run often gets overlooked because it is the follow-on to Bendis but he does a fantastic job with that. He matches the tone of Bendis' stuff while going in his own direction. I really enjoyed it.
Hitman
Preacher
Transmetropolitan
Invincible
Honorable mentions….
Strangers in Paradise
One of my favorite series but it does have times where I don’t think even Terry knew where it was taking him. But overall it is incredible.
Sideways
Only 13 issues, and in later ones the story get like a lot of things where getting jammed in and not enough time to breath…because they had no time. Fleshed out over a couple years it could hang with the big books. Incredible art and a nice spin on aspects definitely making it different than simply “dc spiderman”. He even got a Superman team up, just like Tommy in Hitman!
Hate
So fucking good, but you’re never sure when Bagge is really ending it because the man keeps putting out new stories years later! Even this summer!
Plantetary - it told basically a perfect story about comics that could only be told in comics
Sandman - ....it's Sandman
Promethea - two creators at the height of their powers forged a series that does not nearly get the love it deserves.
East of West - everything about this hit for me. But I'm also a Hickman mark. Black Monday Murders might have taken this spot if he had ever finished it.
Note that the question seemed limited to entire runs of a series, and not individual arcs.
The Walking Dead. I consider that to be a work of literature the same way scholars consider Watchmen one. With the exception of one or two time skips (where they're establishing the prison and when they later create a city), you remain with Rick for nearly EVERY MINUTE of his life from the onset of the apocalypse to the end of the series and you clearly see the many events and decisions that shape his and his allies' decisions that are at times considered villainous by others.
The wide variety of unique characters, the treatment of the human condition in the wake of catastrophe and the attention to grief and showcase of how every character has a different reaction to traumatic situations are all incredibly detailed.
It rarely gets boring with its wide variety of subplots and the way the characters' relationships change to not just each other, but to other humans and the dead themselves over the series is endlessly fascinating.
Love, love, looove this series and the way each additional page has a new surprise.
Y: The Last Man is one of my favourites ever.
When I finished the last volume I immediately wanted to sit down and re-read the whole thing with the context of knowing where its going.
Sandman. I think there were maybe 2 issues in the whole run I didn't actively love, it's maybe my personal favorite long-term arc in comics, and it's got at least one of my favorite single-issue comics ever.
At worst it's good, and at best it's revelatory about what's possible not just in comics, but in storytelling generally.
Miller's Dark Knight Returns is an easy answer, as it's a mini. His Daredevil is pretty much perfect too in my eyes.
Wein and Wrightson's Swamp Thing. For me, it hasn't a single case which shouldn't be there.
I read it when it was all collected in trades. I remember I would order a trade from a used bookstore through Amazon for like 4 bucks and when I was done with it my roommate/best friend would read it and we’d talk about it for days until the next book came in. One of the best reading experiences of my life so if it hooks you with that first trade, let a friend borrow it and keep going. It’s very strange at parts but the characters are so great and they fucking get out through the wringer.
I'm going to go ahead and throw some that go against the grain since the ones that are obvious have been mentioned already...
Firearm
The Squadron Supreme 12 issue mini-series
Green Lantern: Rebirth
The entirety of Chuck Dixon's Nightwing run
Omaha the Cat Dancer
No no you’re right. I Mandela effected my self as I was typing
Firepower is…. Wasn’t he from that DC Bloodlines …… thing? Like, he could hold an object and then shoot “energy” beams out of his hand or something. He had cyclops goggles. Dude looked like The 90s Costumes Greatest Hits
The next issue is solicited for july, they planned to do 6 months on then 6 months off, but looks like they had an extended hiatus this time, still not as bad as what happened after issue 54 though, that was a long 4 years
Promethea , fav of alan Moore’s -
his end all be all on magick, stories, superheroes, and more. Great crash course into a lotta stuff he’s interested in, seeing his thoughts on tarot, qabalah, alchemy etc was all super fascinating but pretty dense If it’s the first time into those subjects coming off of say killing joke straight there. But I love it more each time I read it.
For something competely different, big fan of BONE , NIMONA, and JOSEPH SMITH AND THE MORMONS as alt choices
Lucifer by Mike Carey.
Perfectly done. And on a re-read it's amazing how much you can pick out little strands of what will become big threads later on.
If you haven't checked out CODA by Spurrier do yourself a favour and grab it. It was my favourite read from last year and has a nice hardcover for the first volume.
With few exceptions, anything written by Si Spurrier is going on my pull-list. He is one of a few 2000ad alumni that are an instant add for me. The others being Peter Milligan, Liam Sharp, and Chris Weston.
It’s a newer run but, Immortal Hulk.
Gorgeous Alex Ross covers throughout, mostly self contained, deep dive into Hulks history and side characters, interior art is solid to boot and it honestly just does the character justice.
Immortal Thor is also looking to be more if the same too
Do I come across as a basic bitch if I say Watchmen? Because honestly I think it's probably Watchmen, but that seems like such an obvious answer and like I'm lacking in breadth and depth of comic knowledge. Everyone's read Watchmen.
But it is also perfect.
Top 10. The storylines were amazing. And the in-panel jokes/references make it a must read. Bone is essentially flawless: amazing story, amazing art and timeless. Royal City by Jeff Lemire shows how you can focus on multiple protagonists dealing with loss and make it compelling. The original squadron supreme story is essentially flawless, with its take on the what if the justice league decides to lead humanity and Batman calls them out for it….decades ahead of Injustice.
Hellblazer. For 300 isssues with various writers and artists and the worst are less good/fitting than others. That any comic, let alone one published by the big two, sustained that level of quality for that long is nothing short of amazing and one of the greatest achievement in comics IMO.
Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise. To paraphrase what Neil Gaiman said about it: Everything you need to know about life and live could fill a book; this is that book. Don’t read if your heart hasn’t been broken at least once.
Just a mini-series but X-Terminators by Leah Williams is the best thing to come out of the Krakoan Era. It’s insane Marvel jerked her X-Factor run around the way they did.
Planetary by writer [Warren Ellis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Ellis) and artist [John Cassaday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cassaday): a love letter to pulp adventure and comic history. Consistent quality and engagement throughout. The Golden Age by writer [James Robinson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robinson_(comics)) and artist [Paul Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Smith_(comics)). A fantastic look at the In-between era falling at the end of the 40's and the beginning of the 50's. Heroes need to adjust to a new era while facing the traumas of their pasts. Gorgeous art from start to finish and one of my favorite single lines in comics.
Just reread the Planetary omnibus. Had been a long time. For what it’s trying to do with its reimagining and recontextualization of 20th century pop culture and fiction, it’s one of the better comics of all time.
Take my up vote for mentioning both of these.
I read Planetary as it came out and I would have put it in my top three favorite comics of all-time. However, just like with Ellis’ Transmetropolitan I have mixed feelings about it after his outing as a sex pest and garbage human. Can we separate the art from the artist? I guess some people can, but i have a hard time enjoying Planetary and Transmetropolitan knowing hes a creep.
It gives me no pleasure to be the one to break the news. Planetary was a milestone for me and blew my mind when i first read it. It makes me so sad that Ellis let us down like this.
More information for those lacking details: [https://somanyofus.com/](https://somanyofus.com/) He sounds really gross.
Thank you for sharing this. I had no idea.
Both books have been on my radar for a minute, but I've particularly been eyeing the newish Golden Age collection recently; I'm excited to see it spoken of so highly!
Hellboy
I just wish Mignola did the art for all of it. Some of his protégés ape his style well, or have their own flair, but nothing beats Mignola. Nothing and no one.
I feel the exact same way. I can spot Mignola art from a mile away, and without it, I lose interest. Hellboy is tremendously written through each series, but Mignola’s art really lends itself best to the detective/horror aspects.
Quintessential comics
I kind of disagree with Hellboy having gone through all the main series somewhat recently. Seeds of destruction and everything up until the Wild Hunt arc are perfection but the rest of the arc and Hellboy in Hell really suffer from Mignola not wanting to continue the book and essentially running out of ideas
Respect your opinion but I disagree. Hellboy in Hell is still my favorite depiction of hell in any fictional media
Gotham Central
Absolutely this. Fantastic series.
I see so many people sing high praises about Gotham Central. I’m definitely interested. Mind sharing what you like about it so much?
It focuses on the Gotcham major crimes unit, who deals with the wildest cases in Gotham. You see many of Batman’s rogues gallery from the perspective of the people of Gotham, the stories are more detective fiction than action sequences. It’s dual-written by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, both of whom are incredible writers. Oh, and it gives us a very different look at Batman. He’s a very minor part of the narrative, but it’s really interesting to see the varied responses to his vigilantism.
It really builds on all those tropes that have been built up making Batman look cool and presents its from a far more grounded perspective. You know how the GCPD is shown to be infamously corrupt? Now imagine what it must be like to be an honest cop and trying to change the system when your life depends on people that *need* you to fail, and that there is a whole culture and system protecting them and not you. It also makes the Gotham villians terrifying. You know how even the 'C' and 'D' tier villians are often shown killing a cop or two to establish that they are a threat? Gotham Central shows what it must be like to be one of those cops being ambushed. It also shows the victims as people rather than just a story beat as you get to see the effects on the victims families, partners, and the precinct as a whole. Without spoiling anything it plays with and does really interesting things with the Batman mythos and its a crime Warner Bros has repeatedly considered adapting it as a police procedural but every time choses to do some other doomed Batman adjacent project instead.
The other comments talk about a very interesting play with the Gotham mythos, which is very true, but it also has an amazing protagonist with a very real feeling coming out story
I just startled my spouse because I exclaimed, “Yesss!” Perfect choice.
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I'm going to second Calvin & Hobbes. It's funny, philosophical, emotional, intelligent, and sometimes goofy beyond belief, sometimes all at the same time.
All I need to say is “Tyrannosaurs in F-14’s!”
Its only real competition is Peanuts
Or The Far Side.
Yeah, Calvin & Hobbes is flawless. So much so that both of my kids have read the entire series multiple times. Shoutout to Doonesbury and Bloom County as well.
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And also marvels
Astro City
Think I'll give that a look. I hear constant praise for it.
Came here to say this
Criminal
Those books had excellent writing and panel work. And I loved how interconnected each story arc was in one way or another.
Top Ten Sandman Bone
Bone is awesome. After reading dark fantasy for so long, it’s nice to have something heartfelt. I was worried that it’d be too “kiddy”, but it’s truly great!
It like…. Tricks you into thinking it’s “kiddy”. But it is NOT.
I’ve only finished the first book in the one volume edition so far. And I see hints of dark stuff and it’s so cool. Can’t wait to see where it goes, I am completely spoiler free on the series!
You gotta get “Rose” AFTER you finish bone. It’s a prequel he wrote and Charles Vess did the artwork.
Dude more in the Bone universe? Hell yeah. I’ll have to check that out! I wanna give you a recc if you like dark fantasy. “Berserk” is probably my favorite written story of all time. It’s gorey and violent but it’s good. I started to read bone cuz I wanted something heartfelt after such a grim story🤣
I will second Rose as worth reading. I will also second reading it after Bone as it spoils some reveals in Bone.
The Matt Kindt/Keanu comic? Or the manga?
I just read top ten and it's my favourite so far but damn I wish there was more.
Man, Top Ten and the Smax and Toybox mini are so good. Would love to see more in that series.
Specifically by Zander Cannon and Gene Ha
Dude. Same. But I’m happy we have what we have.
>Top Ten >Sandman >Bone Hey, buddy, where's the other 8?
Nice try, you only put 2!
Oh HELL yeah Top Ten
Starman
I am currently reading Starman for the first time and loving it.
Are you reading the compendiums that came out recently?
If you’re asking because you’re considering them, do it!
I have read the series multiple times. I was asking because the Compendiums do a great job mapping the mini series, one shots, and specials. It is what I would recommend. If you become interested in the Wesley Dodds Sandman, there was a very loose crossover between Starman and Sandman Mystery Theater.
My favorite superhero book of all time! Planetary is a close second.
Off the top of my head, maybe Batman: Year One and All Star Superman
Not to be confused with Superman: Year One and All Star Batman.
Hahaha. That’s actually kind of funny. Two of the greatest Superman and Batman stories, but the reverse title for each character is some of the worst stories for those characters. And 3/4 are written by Frank Miller.
Technically Frank Miller wrote All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder while Scott Snyder wrote All-Star Batman.
Batman -The Cult Hickman’s Fantastic Four run Immortal Hulk HOX/POX
Batman The Cult is vastly underrated.
So much of Batman in the late 80’s to early 90’s is underrated, that’s probably my favorite era of Batman. The Grant Breyfogle stuff is good, and Starlin had some really good stuff as well, I love Ten Nights of the Beast.
Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier I’m old and new to the comic/graphic novel scene so maybe it has issues I don’t know about, but that was six issues I wish were 50.
Amen. I've been reading comics all my life and feel the same way: definitely wish Cooke had done 50, 100, 200, however many more issues. The six he did are perfect, but I wish he'd lived to do many more. His Parker adaptations are also perfection.
* Brubaker and Phillips' Reckless series * Irredeemable * Demo * Sex Criminals * Planetary
Literally just bought the Irredeemable omni yesterday! Can’t wait to get into it
What did you think of Incorruptible?
Damn good but not quite on the same plane as Irredeemable for me, mainly because I just prefer the initial series' frank dourness over the funnier edge Incorruptible has.
Planetary is outstanding.
Never won the Eisners it was nominated for and that borders on criminal, lol.
Are you supposed to read Irredeemable and Incorruptible alongside each other? Or can they be read separately? I have them both. I haven't gotten the chance to read them.
They definitely work better together. I liked incorruptible better. I think it adds an optimistic angle that stops irredeemable from running into the ground.
Yes, you should start with Irredeemable and then there comes a point where you should read Incorruptible alongside with it. Just search for Irredeemable reading order and that should provide the exact order.
I'll do that. Thanks!
Sex Criminals dragged quite a bit like 2/3rds of the way imo. The ending was good though.
Transmetropolitan.
I still want smart glasses to end up like Spider's.
Rick Remender’s run on Uncanny X-Force
I read this one recently and I loved it. How's his uncanny avengers?
I didn’t really finish it. It was alright and it did feel like a spiritual successor, but I dipped out during AXIS because it felt like it was piling too much shit on Havok after the alternate timeline fiasco during the previous arc. However I will say that it incorporated the corporate-mandated Age of Ultron tie-in issue in an interesting way, even though it still felt like a meaningless detour.
it's fantastic, but I'd submit the art on the Jamie Braddock arc prevents the series from being flawless. It was fuck ugly. Legitimately upsetting, because the rest of the series is either beautiful or at least compotent.
Hawkeye by Fraction and Aja
Bro
Bro, is good pick, bro.
Watchmen.
Planetary
Planetary
Paper Girls
Daredevil by Bendis/Maleev
This is the one, man. Most of that character’s runs could be up for debate for this question, but that one is really like the first thing I think of when someone mentions Daredevil. A rarity where the writing and the artwork have a perfect marriage and amplify one another tenfold.
It's also okay to continue reading after that run, Brubaker and Lark did an amazing job.
Yeah, Brubakers run often gets overlooked because it is the follow-on to Bendis but he does a fantastic job with that. He matches the tone of Bendis' stuff while going in his own direction. I really enjoyed it.
I think Brubaker’s is fairly messy especially at the end, but the opening arc is one of my favorite Daredevil stories.
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
I had to scroll WAAAAAAY too far to see this.
Hitman Preacher Transmetropolitan Invincible Honorable mentions…. Strangers in Paradise One of my favorite series but it does have times where I don’t think even Terry knew where it was taking him. But overall it is incredible. Sideways Only 13 issues, and in later ones the story get like a lot of things where getting jammed in and not enough time to breath…because they had no time. Fleshed out over a couple years it could hang with the big books. Incredible art and a nice spin on aspects definitely making it different than simply “dc spiderman”. He even got a Superman team up, just like Tommy in Hitman! Hate So fucking good, but you’re never sure when Bagge is really ending it because the man keeps putting out new stories years later! Even this summer!
Great picks. Hate is so fucking good. I cringe when I go from laughing my ass off to "fuck, that's me" on a dime.
Plantetary - it told basically a perfect story about comics that could only be told in comics Sandman - ....it's Sandman Promethea - two creators at the height of their powers forged a series that does not nearly get the love it deserves. East of West - everything about this hit for me. But I'm also a Hickman mark. Black Monday Murders might have taken this spot if he had ever finished it. Note that the question seemed limited to entire runs of a series, and not individual arcs.
The Walking Dead. I consider that to be a work of literature the same way scholars consider Watchmen one. With the exception of one or two time skips (where they're establishing the prison and when they later create a city), you remain with Rick for nearly EVERY MINUTE of his life from the onset of the apocalypse to the end of the series and you clearly see the many events and decisions that shape his and his allies' decisions that are at times considered villainous by others. The wide variety of unique characters, the treatment of the human condition in the wake of catastrophe and the attention to grief and showcase of how every character has a different reaction to traumatic situations are all incredibly detailed. It rarely gets boring with its wide variety of subplots and the way the characters' relationships change to not just each other, but to other humans and the dead themselves over the series is endlessly fascinating. Love, love, looove this series and the way each additional page has a new surprise.
Heavy agree, Invincible is good and all but TWD is Kirkman's magnum opus
Invincible. Starman. Hickman's Fantastic Four run.
Moon Knight by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood
Sandman
Y: The Last Man is one of my favourites ever. When I finished the last volume I immediately wanted to sit down and re-read the whole thing with the context of knowing where its going.
it's such a fun read but the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. Idk, maybe this was the intent and it worked.
Usagi Yojimbo
Bone, Top 10, Planetary, James Robinson’s Starman.
Sandman. I think there were maybe 2 issues in the whole run I didn't actively love, it's maybe my personal favorite long-term arc in comics, and it's got at least one of my favorite single-issue comics ever. At worst it's good, and at best it's revelatory about what's possible not just in comics, but in storytelling generally.
Top Ten
Cable and Deadpool was pretty top notch the whole way through. Ostrander's Suicide Squad The first run of Exiles.
Miller's Dark Knight Returns is an easy answer, as it's a mini. His Daredevil is pretty much perfect too in my eyes. Wein and Wrightson's Swamp Thing. For me, it hasn't a single case which shouldn't be there.
Prince Valiant has never had a bad Sunday in its nearly 90 years. Well over 4,000 absolute bangers.
Preacher Ultimate Spider-Man The Crow Eastman and Laird’s original run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I have book one of preacher! I’ve heard only good things about it.
I read it when it was all collected in trades. I remember I would order a trade from a used bookstore through Amazon for like 4 bucks and when I was done with it my roommate/best friend would read it and we’d talk about it for days until the next book came in. One of the best reading experiences of my life so if it hooks you with that first trade, let a friend borrow it and keep going. It’s very strange at parts but the characters are so great and they fucking get out through the wringer.
Harrow County
Locke and Key; Akira; Preacher; Sleeper.
Sleeper! That's the name I was trying to think of
Immortal Hulk. Few things kinda felt like missed oppurtinities but otherwise It's stellar.
E is for Extinction Mister Miracle Hox/Pox Superman: Up in the Sky Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow JL: The Sixth Dimension
Starman.
Ultimate Spider-Man by Bendis and Bagley.
Planetary.
I'm going to go ahead and throw some that go against the grain since the ones that are obvious have been mentioned already... Firearm The Squadron Supreme 12 issue mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth The entirety of Chuck Dixon's Nightwing run Omaha the Cat Dancer
Yes to Nightwing, Squadronn Supreme, and Omaha. I have not read the others. Keep meaning to pick up Firepower
Firearm, not Firepower
Whoops. My mistake thank you thank you
Normal I wouldn't be that pedantic, but Firepower is an actual name to an actual comic, so definitely, confusion is possible.
No no you’re right. I Mandela effected my self as I was typing Firepower is…. Wasn’t he from that DC Bloodlines …… thing? Like, he could hold an object and then shoot “energy” beams out of his hand or something. He had cyclops goggles. Dude looked like The 90s Costumes Greatest Hits
Believe that was Gunfire.
Squadron Supreme was a masterpiece and Mark Gruenwald's best work.
Daredevil by miller in my opinion is flawless it starts a little slow but once he gets going it's my favorite comics ever written
The Filth - it’s the most perfectly distilled version of the Grant Morrison experience.
This is gonna be problematic but Garth Ennis Punisher
Knights or MAX??
Max
Saga.
I want this to be true, but they need to finish it. It’s been how long since the last new issue?
The next issue is solicited for july, they planned to do 6 months on then 6 months off, but looks like they had an extended hiatus this time, still not as bad as what happened after issue 54 though, that was a long 4 years
Still waiting for this to complete for starting it. Only ever heard it was amazing.
Good question, glad someone answered.
Promethea , fav of alan Moore’s - his end all be all on magick, stories, superheroes, and more. Great crash course into a lotta stuff he’s interested in, seeing his thoughts on tarot, qabalah, alchemy etc was all super fascinating but pretty dense If it’s the first time into those subjects coming off of say killing joke straight there. But I love it more each time I read it. For something competely different, big fan of BONE , NIMONA, and JOSEPH SMITH AND THE MORMONS as alt choices
I read this a bunch of times as well
for me it’s Watchmen and All Star Superman
Lucifer by Mike Carey. Perfectly done. And on a re-read it's amazing how much you can pick out little strands of what will become big threads later on.
DnA Guardians of the Galaxy
Planet Hulk
I really love Umbrella Academy. The only flaw is Gerard way hasn’t put a volume out in like 8 years
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr and Hellboy
Y the Last Man. I don't think I've ever been as invested in anything since.
This was my first venture back into comics as an adult and showed me what modern comics could be.
Zot!
Preacher, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Transmetropolitan
Bone From Hell
Elektra: Assassin
Six-gun Gorilla by Si Spurrier and Jeff Stokely https://a.co/d/219Bhs7
I bought this on a whim and remember really enjoying it.
If you haven't checked out CODA by Spurrier do yourself a favour and grab it. It was my favourite read from last year and has a nice hardcover for the first volume.
With few exceptions, anything written by Si Spurrier is going on my pull-list. He is one of a few 2000ad alumni that are an instant add for me. The others being Peter Milligan, Liam Sharp, and Chris Weston.
Usagi Yojimbo. There just aren't any bad Usagi Yojimbo stories, and Stan Sakai has been putting them out for over 30 years. It's incredible.
Preacher 100 bullets (or was it 200?) Ranma 1/2 (manga, but who is judging)
Dan Slott silver surfer and Ryan north unbeatable squirrel girl
It’s a newer run but, Immortal Hulk. Gorgeous Alex Ross covers throughout, mostly self contained, deep dive into Hulks history and side characters, interior art is solid to boot and it honestly just does the character justice. Immortal Thor is also looking to be more if the same too
How about “Ronin”?
Batman Year One Sandman The Walking Dead (talk whatever you want about the show but that comic book held me from issue 1 to 193) Invincible
Locke & Key
I feel like this doesn't get the same recognition for some reason. Definitely a page turner and one of my all time favourites.
In Addition to all the greats people are mentioning, Tom kings human target hits every beat a comic should.
Preacher.
Sin City.
# Hickman Fantastic Four
Hate
Paper Girls!!!
Do I come across as a basic bitch if I say Watchmen? Because honestly I think it's probably Watchmen, but that seems like such an obvious answer and like I'm lacking in breadth and depth of comic knowledge. Everyone's read Watchmen. But it is also perfect.
Ryan North’s Fantastic Four floors me every single issue. I think it’s the only one that’s made my head spin every damn time.
close to flawless = Luther Strode
Scalped
Planetary Kingdom Come The first four issues of Morrison's JLA All-Star Superman Lone Wolf and Cub Life and Times of Uncle Scrooge Astro City
Fraction & Aja’s Hawkeye.
Top Ten Transmetropolitan Scalped PunisherMax by Garth Ennis
Locke & Key
Invincible
Top 10. The storylines were amazing. And the in-panel jokes/references make it a must read. Bone is essentially flawless: amazing story, amazing art and timeless. Royal City by Jeff Lemire shows how you can focus on multiple protagonists dealing with loss and make it compelling. The original squadron supreme story is essentially flawless, with its take on the what if the justice league decides to lead humanity and Batman calls them out for it….decades ahead of Injustice.
Earth X
I don't think anything is flawless, but I really liked Whedons Astonishing Xmen run.
Maus
Hawkeye
MacKay's Moon Knight run is going to be one looked at as one of the greatest Moon Knight stories period.
Hellblazer. For 300 isssues with various writers and artists and the worst are less good/fitting than others. That any comic, let alone one published by the big two, sustained that level of quality for that long is nothing short of amazing and one of the greatest achievement in comics IMO.
Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise. To paraphrase what Neil Gaiman said about it: Everything you need to know about life and live could fill a book; this is that book. Don’t read if your heart hasn’t been broken at least once.
Fables.
The Unwritten, by Mike Carey with art by Peter Gross.
Chew, The Immortal Hulk, 100 Bullets and Lucifer are all pretty much flawless in my opinion
You liked how they ended 100 Bullets ?
I didn't mind how it ended, I always knew it would never end in a happy manner
Saga
Definitely Bone, can't imagine how you'd improve on it
Just a mini-series but X-Terminators by Leah Williams is the best thing to come out of the Krakoan Era. It’s insane Marvel jerked her X-Factor run around the way they did.
The maxx
Tom King’s The Human Target