A few days ago, I made a thread called “Worst Comic Book Ever?” I’ve seen a lot of replies, and I want to try the opposite now - What is the best comic book you’ve ever read?
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Im gonna add my opinion too because i’ve missed the opprotunity to add mine in the last thread
Worst Comic Book:
DC
-All star Batman and Robin
-Heroes in Crisis
Marvel
-Spider man one more day
-Marville
Best Comic Book:
DC
-Blackest night
-TDKR
-Watchmen
-Doomsday clock
Marvel
-Frank Miller’s daredevil
-Old Man Logan
-Punisher Year one
-Dark Phoenix saga
Other
-Spawn
-Umbrella Academy
-Hellboy
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Best mini series:Crisis on Infinite Earths
Best single issue: Flash 123 ( the origin of the multiverse) or Batman 232 (first Ra’s Al Gaul appearance and the issue where we got the first modern interpretation of the Batman, back to his worlds greatest detective roots)
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The best runs/stories of the absolute best? Classics and all? This is my opinion, these are too hard to compare against eachother imo. Its definitely modern age heavy, thats just my preference, sorry.
-On DC Side:
Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
The Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore
(Vertigo)The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
TDKR by Frank Miller
Watchmen by Alan Moore
The Coyote Gospel by Grant Morrison
Red Son by Mark Millar
The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
(Vertigo) American Vampire by Scott Snyder
Jack Kirbys Fourth World
JLA: Rock of Ages by Grant Morrison
Green Lantern Rebirth by Geoff Johns
All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison
Mister Miracle by Tom King
For the Man Who Has Everything by Alan Moore
Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee
(Vertigo)100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello
(Vertigo)Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn
The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder
Sinestro Corps War by Geoff Johns
-On the Marvel Side
Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin
Planet Hulk/World War Hulk by Greg Pak
The Eternals by Neil Gaiman
Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron
Captain America by Ed Brubaker
Ms. Marvel by Willow Wilson
Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller
Daredevil Yellow by Jeph Loeb
Thanos Wins by Donny Cates
Moon Knight by Warren Ellis
Black Bolt by Saladin Ahmed
Vision by Tom King
Runaways by Brian K. Vaughn
Invincible Iron Man by Matt Fraction
Hawkeye by Matt Fraction
Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen
Cosmic Ghost Rider by Donny Cates
Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing
Ultimate Spider-man by Brian Michael Bendis
Star Wars by Jason Aaron
-Best of other publishers:
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn
Chew by John Layman
East of West by Jonathan Hickmann
The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen
Irredeemable by Mark Waid
Criminal by Ed Brubaker
Descender by Jeff Lemire
Fables by Bill Willingham
Yeah thats a lot of comics…
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Justice League New Frontier
Golden Age
Planetary
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Best overall: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Full stop. No question. Batman: The Long Halloween is the only thing I can think of that comes even close.
Best full ongoing: Birds of Prey vol 1. (Honorable mentions to The Question vol 1 and Captain Atom vol 1)
Best run of an ongoing: Mark Waid’s Flash (honorable mentions to Paul Dini’s Detective Comics, George Perez’s Wonder Woman, and Chuck Dixon’s Nightwing)
Best single issue: Detective Comics #826. (Honorable mention to Detective Comics #572)
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Best western comic I’ve read: From Hell
Best bandes dessinee I’ve read : The Incal
Best manga I’ve read: Akira
I like to sort by the three big arenas of comics. America to Europe to Japan are all so vastly different, so thought I’d pick one of each.
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Multiple people have mentioned Crisis on Infinite Earths. Is it really that good? Sure, it’s big. It’s definitely historically important. But I don’t think the story is good.
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Gonna throw Mister Miracle into the mix, as well as Superior Foes of Spider-Man, and while I’m at it, Harrow County
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@StarofLyra Is Harrow County really that good? A friend of mine just picked up the omnibus and has been enjoying it. Was gonna borrow it eventually but may do it sooner than later if it’s that good.
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@Awesome_Squid: What don’t you like about the story? I’ll admit it’s on the popcorny end of things and the dialogue is a little clunky, but as a way to celebrate DC’s history and characters and close out the Pre-Crisis continuity, I’m not sure how they could’ve done it better. And I’m saying this as someone who thinks Marv Wolfman is overrated.
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@Awesome_Squid
I don’t know if you read it in the time it was released.
I did (yeah, I’m old) For me, for the time period and era, it was jaw dropping, a huge bold step into a new idea comics had never done. Even when the silver age started, it started with characters that weren’t being published.
By the second issue you realized, “OMG!!! They are really destroying universes. Nah!!! This is all gonna turn out like a dream sequence or something.” Because the idea has never even been touched on before. As it went by issue through issue you realized “Holy bleep!! They are really doing this. They are destroying the freakin multiverse.” So when Supergirl dies and Barry dies, it was a visceral experience. Heroes of that caliber don’t die!!! Well, they do now.
(Yeah, Ferro Lad died and a couple of other minor characters had. But Flash and Supergirl. Holy bleep!!!)
It’s not the best written story Marv ever did, but, given what they were doing, I’m not surprised. This was totally new territory and a superhero story we’d never experienced.
I think now with 6 other Crisis type events, it’s easy to look at it and say “yeah, it’s decent even pretty good, BUT…”
There is not a way for newer comics readers to “just forget everything that has come since”, to temporarily wipe all the post COIE comics history they know from their minds. I wish there was and they could take in what it was like in that moment.
As a real-time reader, for me, and some folks who I knew from the local comics shop, for a year, it was the major topic of conversation. Even for the Marvel fans. My brother was a Marvel only person around that time but I would buy 2 of every issue so I could send one to him (he was active duty military at the time) because it was such a mind blowing concept.
It might not be the best comic ever written, drawn and/or edited. But, it is the one, and only, comic “run/series/event” that, now 30+ years later, I still get the same visceral sensory memories about.
That feeling comes from truly great storytelling. Even if it isn’t the pinnacle of writing, art, etc.
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Scalped is my favorite series, however, as cliche as this answer is, Watchmen is just soooooo hard to beat. Kingdom Come comes close though
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@ DeSade-acolyte COIE was a 12 issue Maxi-Series and it is the best as far as I’m concerned.
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In my ever so humble opinion, it’s one of the best horror comics out there. Everything about it flows well; the art matches the story, the panels are easy to follow, the writing never comes off as talking down to the reader. It is a truly well crafted comic. My husband is very picky about comics, it’s rare for him to truly like one, and HC is one of his favorites (along with Injustice and Metal).
So yeah, it has my recommendation LOL
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@SquigglySquid I also love Scalped! Made me a huge Jason Aaron fan. Wish he had more time for Southern Bastards, however. Kind of fallen off his other brand stuff. Have you read Bastards yet? I may like it more than Scalped, but it seems forever stuck in hiatus halfway through. Like Scalped, it kind of seems more interested in making a great villain than hero. Red Crow is one of the most complete, rounded, living and breathing characters to inhabit a comics page.
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@StarofLyra Definitely on the reading list then!
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I think I have answered this question elsewhere on this app, but the single best comic book I have ever read has to be Superman Annual #11: “For The Man Who Has Everything”. And the best series–mini or maxi–for me: Batman: Year One".
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@baseballmaniac Batman: Year One isn’t a miniseries. Still agree with your choices
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I forgot an honorable mention: “Daredevil: Born Again”.
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