“One moment, sirrah,” I hear the newcomers amongst you protest, “what is this Classic Christmas affair of which you speak?” (They apparently took a wrong turn on their way to a Jane Austen novel.) Fair question! TDCCC is an annual celebration of the tastes, opinions and quirks of our happy little community of classic comics fans. I began it back in 2005 and, to my eternal shock and pleasure, it has become a tradition, one I wouldn't dream of futzing with. I know I say that every year but every year I mean it.




For our purposes here, I'm defining a “guilty pleasure” as any comic book, comic strip, or graphic novel generally held in low esteem by the critics, the fans, or both that you acknowledge is deeply flawed but love despite (or because of) those flaws. You may cite an entire series, a particular run of that series, an individual issue, or a specific story. Your choices may appear in comics of any genre, any format, any era, any nation of origin, as well as in other publications [e.g., National Lampoon, Playboy, etc] with a single restriction. Because it's the Classic Comics Forum, your selection must have appeared in print (or online, in the case of web comics) prior to January 1, 2015.*

Keep in mind that these are your personal favorites, not what you or anyone else considers “the best,” and remember: you must explain your choice. You are not required to include pictures for your selections but if you do, please post no more than two images per entry. Also—and I must insist on this—if you quote someone else's posts, please edit out the images.

The survey will work just as it has in previous years. Each participating poster will draw up a list of their favorite guilty pleasures, ranked 12 (lowest) through 1 (highest). On December 13, I will post my #12 choice, on the 14th, #11, and so on until our #1 choices on Christmas Eve. You must post each selection on the appropriate day's thread, though not necessarily on that day. Late entries (up through, say, the 31st) are welcome. At the end of the survey, the results and a brief statistical overview will be posted with links to the original 12 threads.

Rules are subject to tweaking based on participant input for the next week (until midnight on December 6), after which they’re locked in. Any questions, suggestions or (horrors!) criticisms should be posted in this thread.

So this is your official heads up: you have just over two weeks to create your lists before the fun starts. Who's in?

Cei-U!
I summon your secret stashes!

* I try to keep public rules lawyering to a minimum so I encourage you to contact me via PM if you have any questions about your choice's eligibility.