#40-31
#50-41
#60-51
#70-61
#80-71
#90-81
#100-91





#30-21








30. Batman: Year One
by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

originally published in: Batman #404-407 (1987)

Nominated by: sunofdarkchild, Crimebuster, shaxper, @mrp, Slam_Bradley, coke & comics

sunofdarkchild says, "Full of iconic moments such as the bat flying through the window, this is not only the definitive Batman origin, but the first story to truly show why Gotham needs a Batman in the first place. With a broken system and little difference between the mob, the police, and the local government, Gotham needs something to shake things up and free the city from mafia control. Equally as important is the work's treatment of Gordon. Where previous incarnations would often have Gordon mostly calling Batman in to solve crimes for him (especially the Adam West show), this reimagined, younger Gordon is depicted as not only competent, but an excellent police officer who tries just as hard as Batman to end the injustice in Gotham."




29. The New Mutants: Demon Bear
by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz

originally published in: The New Mutants #18-20 (1984)

Nominated by: sunofdarkchild , and rberman (voting for New Mutants #18-28) and shaxper (voting for "Chris Claremont's New Mutants")

sunofdarkchild writes, "Back before the X-Men and Wolverine became so overexposed as to become jokes (how many teams is Wolverine been on at the same time?) the idea of a spinoff X-Men series was actually exciting. New Mutants was good, but it took a while to take off. Claremont shook things up a bit with new cast members like how the all-new X-Men team brought new life to the franchise in the 70s. But it was the change in artist that truly set New Mutants apart from everything else on the market. Bill Sienkiewicz began his memorable run on New Mutants with this arc, and he defined the iconic looks of several characters and creatures which had appeared beforehand, from Magik's signature bangs and now-medieval soul-sword to the rather creepy Demon Bear itself. In addition to the standout art, the story is Claremont at his best, with horror and fantasy mixed with personal drama and extremely high stakes. There's a reason this story is being adapted for the first New Mutants movie."




28. The Spectre #0-62
by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake

originally published in: The Spectre #0-62, and Annual #1 (1992-1998)

Nominated by: Slam_Bradley (voting for "Spectre #1-63+") and @mrp

Slam_Bradley writes, "Ostrander and Mandrake did far more than create a great super-hero comic. They gave us the life and redemption of Jim Corrigan. The book is really much less about The Spectre and much more about Jim Corrigan and his journey to find peace. This is a work of rare depth in mainstream comics. And it's just one example of great books coming out of the 90s."




27. Detective Comics #469-479
by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, Len Wein, and Walt Simonson

originally published in: Detective Comics #469-479 (1977-1978)

Nominated by: md62 , Prince Hal , and Slam_Bradley

Michael James writes, "IMO comic book perfection. Perfect portrayal of Batman. Great use of Batman villains. Great use of supporting cast. Silver St Cloud. Beautiful Rogers art. My all time favorite Batman run."




26. Sandman Mystery Theatre
by Matt Wagner, Guy Davis, Steven T. Seagle, and others

originally published in: Sandman Mystery Theatre #1-70 plus annuals and specials (1993-1999)

Nominated by: Crimebuster , Slam_Bradley , and thwhtguardian

Crimebuster writes, "Starman and SMT have a lot in common. Both use continuity to wonderful effect, exploring the history of the DC Universe. More importantly, though, as great as the adventures are, they both serve as a vehicle for a bigger story about human relationships. While Starman is about father and son, Sandman Mystery Theatre is about what I consider the best and most realistic romance in comics, the relationship between Wes Dodds and Dian Belmont. The structure itself highlights this (and I loev it when the structure of a story reinforces the story itself); every case is a four issue arc, and every arc alternates between Wes and Dian as narrator, telling one story from his point of view and then the next from hers. The series begins with their meeting and ends with their commitment to each other. Again, the structure of the ending is wonderful, as the final arc cuts off halfway through the case; we never learn who the killer was or how he was defeated or any of that, because it's beside the point. Once Wes and Dian's story was done being told, the series was over. The only sad part was that the ending came so soon - another 100 issues would not have been at all out of place. But we're fortunate to have 70 issues of what I consider the best saga of all time.

I should also say that the team of Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle as writers and Guy Davis as primary artist is absolutely sublime. And the stories themselves are fantastic bits of period pulp. Nothing is rose colored in this gritty depiction of late 30's New York; we see humanity in all its seedy, desperate depths. Guy Davis's depictions of 30's new York are absolutely to die for. And the bits where Wes (who in post-Crisis DC was the first superhero) interacts with the characters who would later form the foundation of the DCU - such as Hourman, Ted Knight and Blackhawk - are great, great moments for comics nerds. There are a lot of layers to this (I haven't even gotten into the connection between this series and Neil Gaiman's Sandman and the crossover one-shot between the two) and every layer is better than the last."




25. Spider-Man: The Master Planner
by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

originally published in: Amazing Spider-Man #31-33 (1965-1966)

Nominated by: Slam_Bradley , Crimebuster , and coke & comics (voting for "Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1-33, annual 1-2"), and sunofdarkchild (voting for "Stan Lee's Amazing Spider-Man run").

coke & comics writes, "It begins with a teenager learning a lesson about responsibility. It continues as he learns that the answer is not so easy. How does one balance conflicting responsibilities? That initial story is capstoned in the 3-part Master Planner Saga, in which social pressure and dating troubles and legal trouble and bad press and school responsibilities and a sick aunt and a villain on the loose all add up and threaten to overwhelm Peter, before an entire subway station collapses on his head.

Ditko stays on for a few more issues, but #33 brings the story to and end. There was nothing more to be said."




24. Daredevil: Born Again
by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

originally published in: Daredevil #227-233 (1986)

Nominated by: md62 , hondobrode , Paste Pot Paul , coke & comics , @mrp , and Slam_Bradley

Michael James writes, "Kingpin finds out Matt is DD & tears apart his life. Miller does an amazing job showing Matt's persistence & ability to fight on against impossible odds. The story moves at a perfect pace. He tears down Matt then rebuilds him returning him to a simpler existence. The ending is hopeful. This was the first time I saw Mazzucchelli's art. He did such an amazing job drawing "normal" people. This added so much to the story.

Again a perfect combination of character, concept, story & art. We have seen this copied as a hero is torn apart only to be rebuilt to get "back to basics". Usually it falls short of Daredevil: Born Again."




23. Green Lantern / Green Arrow: Hard Traveling Heroes
by Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano

originally published in: Green lantern/Green Arrow #76-89, and Flash #217-219 (1970-1973)

Nominated by: Icctrombone , shaxper , and Prince Hal (who disputes the title )

Icctrombone writes, "Maybe the most important artist to come along after the silver age combines with Denny O'Neil to produce a set of stories that impacted the comics world. This was my #1 a few years ago and I doubt it could ever be unseated. This series made me care about Green Lantern and Green Arrow for the first time and their ongoing adventure to try to see what's affecting America was a compelling saga even for this age. The Speedy drug abuse story was the first depiction of hard core drug use in the big two and it's unforgettable. The series was cut short because of poor sales and the mind boggles imagining a much longer run from these two creators. But maybe having a short but great set of issues adds to the greatness, similar to a short Steranko Captain America or a short New Gods series.Either way, I'm glad that I can visit these issues every year."




22. Superman: "Death of Superman," "World without a Superman," "Return of Superman"
by Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, Karl Kesel, William Messner-Loebs, and Gerard Jones

originally published in:

Superman The Man of Steel #18-26 (1992-1993)
Justice League America #69-70 1992-1993)
Superman #74-82 1992-1993)
Action Comics #684-691 1992-1993)
Adventures of Superman #497-504 (1992-1993)
Green Lantern #46 (1992-1993)
Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1 (1992-1993)

Nominated by: sunofdarkchild , and brutalis (voting for "The Death and Return of Superman Act 1: Doomsday"), shaxper (voting for "Superman Post-Crisis thru Death and Return"), and Icctrombone (voting for "The Death of Superman ( Doomsday)").

sunofdarkchild writes, "Yes. I consider this one long story rather than 3 separate stories. While I adore Knightfall, I have to say that the character work in the Death of Superman trilogy was far superior. The opening battle with Doomsday and return to save the world are great action set-pieces, but the real heart of this story is the middle, where everyone deals with Superman's demise in their own way. This story could never have been half as good or as impactful as it was without the years of building up the supporting cast in the Superman books. From Lois to Bibo and even Luthor, everyone is touched by the loss of the world's greatest hero. While many franchises jumped on the 'kill off the main character for shock value' bandwagon afterwards, most forgot that character deaths only impact the audience if they impact the world and the surrounding characters. But the title of the middle chapter, 'Funeral for a Friend,' underscores that point perfectly.

In addition, the story created or allowed a number of characters to shine and led to the eventual expansion of the Superman universe into a number of successful spinoff comics, including Steel, PAD's Supergirl, and Superboy."




31. Preacher
by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

originally published in: Preacher #1-66, Preacher Special: Saint of Killers #1–4, Preacher Special: Cassidy – Blood and Whiskey, Preacher Special: The Story of You-Know-Who, Preacher Special: The Good Old Boys, Preacher Special: One Man's War, and Preacher Special: Tall in the Saddle (1992-2000)

Nominated by:Paste Pot Paul , Slam_Bradley , and coke & comics

Paste Pot Paul writes, "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.
A classic then and a classic now. This is what had me hooked on collecting Justice League from here on. A great story and splendid Dick Dillin artwork (Mr. JLA!) that gave you everything you needed and then some more! 3 Super Teams united to fight villainy and doing their best without squabbles, without the extreme violence and without killing by the heroes. This is what comic books used to be all about!

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)."