3. Doctor Strange by Ditko & Lee (1963-1966)



including stories from Strange Tales 110, 111, 114-146, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2

Ditko and Lee craft the saga of a man who becomes the Sorcerer Supreme. 110 and 111 give us a glimpse of Dr. Strange, Master of Black Magic and then 114 shows us how he became such and then the series kicks into the tale of his rise from those origins until he, the student, has become the master and all the trials and tribulations he faces along the way. By the time Ditko leaves with 146, the transformative journey is complete and we've been taken on a hell of a roller coaster ride through mystic battles, strange dimensions and cosmic entities, a thrill ride second to none in super-hero comics for me. Ditko's masterful craftsmanship and plotting, and Lee's distinctive voice combine here to weave a tale that brings us Nightmare, Dormammu, Eternity, Clea, and more, it features good vs. evil, romance, enlightenment and a whole lot of adventure and strange milieus. It is both a visual treat and an engrossing story with lots to chew on.

-M

Busiek compared to Joyce! I REALLY need to finally read this series.

I discovered Preacher around issue 40 or so, maybe the one with Starr surviving the cannibals,but anyhoo...I'm broke, making babies, shit wages at the factory, bored with comics(thank you Heroes Return and Death of Superman), shedding old habits, and desperately trying not to think about things, you know how it is, bury your head in that flamin' sand.
This book, damn man, this friggin book just lit something in my brain. Im scrounging every cent I got to grab the back issues at my LCS, ignorin bills but feeding babies(I aint that much of an addict). I get the trades for the earlier issues. I devour this like the All-Father with his chicken leg up there(in the cover above).

You know its damn refreshing to know that as bad as things seem, theres always some mook got it worse off than you. Thank Ennis foe Starr.

My first taste of Ennis though I had seen Dillon plenty before (Judge Dredd in Cry Werewolf I think, oh and Axel Pressbutton). What a team, ably supported by those gorgeous Glenn Fabry covers. Ive always seen Dillon as suited to these type of stories, with more realistic characters, like he would do in Hellblazer, rather than the superhero stuff he ended doing at Marvel. What suited on this doesnt do it for me with the other.


heh, struggling to find some Safe-For-Work art 

The cast of characters here is amazing, and the range of situations, from violent and extreme(Jody, Quincannon,The Saint etc etc), to the extreme humor (Starr hopping across the desert had me in stitches the first time), to extremely real and touching(look at Jesse's fathers story) has the creators at their best. Dillon's range of facial expressions and body language still astounds me, and this is my favorite work by Ennis(having read most of his work up until the last 5 years or so). I know it offends some with its portrayal of God and Christianity (well that and the extreme violence and graphic sick-bastardness) but always felt it strengthened my faith(and practiced the ability to separate fiction from real life).

Tales Of Colossus GN

Story and Ar : Mark Andrews



My relationship with this story began with a 1998 comic called Loud Cannoli published by the great artist Scott Morse.



"A knight, whose soul is trapped inside a metal monster called Colossus, lives out an immortal existence slaying evil creatures. Until one day a twisted, evil paladin wielding enchanted weapons arrives in the Kingdom with his own agenda. Their paths cross in a steel pounding, armor glinting no holds barred battle that will change a Kingdom forever."

I purchased it because Scott Morse was a very singular voices back then, one that I grew deeply fond of, bringing animation sensibilities qiute apart from those we grew acustomed in the 80ies. This little one off featured a back-up story by comic newcomer Mark Andrews. This unknown talent went on to become director and screenwriter of the 2012 Pixar feature film Brave. He was the story supervisor for The Incredibles, Ratatouille, directed the short film One Man Band and co-wrote the short films Jack-Jack Attack and One Man Band. He also wrote and directed for the second unit of the John Carter movie amongst other things.

Andrews studied animation at the Character Animation Program at CalArts. He is also considered to be Brad Bird's "right-hand man". Some of his student films have been featured at MOMA's exhibition TOMORROWLAND: CalArts in Moving Pictures. Unlike most other CalArts alumni, he was not a huge fan of Disney films, and claimed he was a bigger fan of anime such as Kimba the White Lion, Speed Racer, and Robotech.

So when I purchased this little comic, I had no idea I had in my hands the pure creativity of a future titan, but it still made a huge impact on me, since in the few pages it contained, it made me care for an emotionless creature. Andrews went on to expand that story in 2000 into an 90+ pages graphic novel, but I'm now talking about the revised 2006 edition which is now 180+ pages of story plus bonuses, and really feels like a whole saga.
Beyond the lenght, there was a crucial difference between both versions though, the fact that he completely redrew it, and went full digital :

"I dont know how many comicbook artists use the computer these days but thats all i used in creating this graphic novel. i use the computer all the time to do my work. Its true I've left the pencil and the comfort of paper behind but what I've lost is more than made for in flexability.

I work only with photoshop and I draw on a wacom cintiq ( its the kind you can draw right on the screen) most people ask me if there is any lag? The answer is NO! not really . If I draw really fast there is but it doesn't change how you draw. the cool thing about it is I never have to erase, you just grab it and delet, perfect, no smudges. I can also get as close to my drawing as I want without getting close, no more bending over the table. Saves the eyes. There are many more benifits that well out way what I miss about paper and pencil. Ah well Im a tech convert.

Not to say that classical illustration will be left in the dust.... no way... drawing in the classical way or even painting gives you a foundation that is priceless.

anyway enough rambling. I did the whole comic on the computer because it was fast and gave me way more flexability and control. the pages below will explain in a simple way how I did it."

The story is kinetic and yet deeply emotional, moves around quickly without loosing time in "poseur" panels, it's a little rough on the edges, but that's what you get from this very very busy man who hasn't (to the better of my knowledge) contributed more to comics since then.
If I was to pitch it to you, I'd say it is Games Of Throne meets The Iron Giant, but that might do it a dis-service since this is a unique and original piece of work that I urge you to loose yourself in.

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga. vol 2. Issues 290, 291, 292, 293, 294. 1982

Virtually every Legionnaire past and present along with their allies the Legion of Substitute Heroes, the Wanderers, Heroes of Lallor and others unite in battle against a universal darkness. The darkness uses great beings of power resembling heroes of the past seeking out instruments of great power. The Master of the Darkness defeats even Mordru the most powerful Legion foe and takes his powers and uses the power to move Daxam across the cosmos and have it change places with his home planet. The Daxamites gain powers equal to Superman and he uses them to reshape their planet into the image of the Master and reveals that the Legion is facing....DARKSEID.

Wowser what a story this was! Strengthening the connection of the Legion with the past and using that connection to create even more. Darkseid's curse of darkness which will destroy the Legion from within being revealed that Saturn Girl's current pregnancy is actually twins and one of the twins is "taken" from her to be reborn as Validus and never being recognized as the child of Lightning Lad and Saturn girl. The introduction of new Legion recruits Invisible Lad and The White Witch in the telling and showing that the New God's remain a vital part of DC history far into the future. What fun this was!

#3: Bone

Bone #1-55




When I try to explain Bone to non-comics readers, I usually say, imagine if Lord of the Rings starred Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and you'll have a pretty good idea of the magic Jeff Smith is able to pull off in this work of genius. Not only is it an amazing mix of hilarious comedy and high fantasy action, it's also appropriate for readers of all ages, from 6 to 106. I have purchased the Complete One Volume Bone collection as gifts for multiple people, and will probably do so again in the future as well.

It's just one of the best comics ever made.