I still really haven't decided which of my last two picks should be ranked no. 1 or 2, but the write-up for this one was easier, as I still haven't even written anything (or even found some images) for my other choice, so here goes:

2. Black Panther
(as written by Don McGregor, in collaboration with a number of artists)
Both Black Panther and McGregor’s run with the character in the pages of Jungle Action have appeared a number of times already, as I expected they would. So most of the main points have already been summed up. And while I agree that the sprawling epic told in the “Panther’s Rage” arc is the stand out, I want to take this opportunity to give a bit of a shout-out to the follow-up arc, the “Black Panther vs. the Klan.” Yes, it suffers by comparison to what came before, and it is unfinished (by McGregor anyway). However, it is laudable that McGregor decided to have a superhero, one who is a Black man from Africa at that, take on the Klan. And Billy Graham (with Bob McLeod inking) gave us visuals like this:
I also think that both of the subsequent Black Panther stories written by McGregor in the mid-1980s and then early 1990s deserve mention and are well-worth reading if you liked "Panther's Rage." I personally think of them as chapters in the same lengthy saga. The first is “Panther’s Quest,” with art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer, which originally ran in the pages of Marvel Comics Presents (#13-37) and involves T’Challa searching for his long-lost mother. Among other things, it can basically be described as “Black Panther vs. Apartheid.” (It was later collected into a tpb, cover below.)
The second is the four-part Panther’s Prey (1991) with art by Dwayne Turner, which revisits some of the themes and characters last seen in “Panther’s Rage” (and brings back my favorite romantic partner for T’Challa, Monica Lynne).

2. CROSSFIRE, Eclipse Comics, CROSSFIRE #1 (May 1984) - #26(February 1988)

By Mark Evanier and Dan Spiegle



Spun-off from DNAGENTS #9 (February 1984) via DNAGENTS #4 (July 1983)

Jeff Baker, super-villain (but not assassin!) for hire, debuted as the gliding opponent of the DNAgents in their fourth issue. In the ninth and tenth, including an origin chapter drawn by guest artist Dan Spiegle, Crossfire’s costume, equipment, and landline are appropriated by Jay Endicott, a bail bondsman and all-around good guy who relies on impersonating the villain to assist the DNAgents.

In the letters page of the ninth issue, Evanier remarks that he and Spiegle, who were contemporaneously doing BLACKHAWK for DC, had been looking for another project to do together centered around Hollywood and show business, and that “after we got this issue all plotted, it dawned on me that without intending it, I’d set Crossfire up for business in Hollywood. Hmmm…sounds like a new Eclipse comic to me.”

Most likely, the spin-off was set up a little more intentionally than Evanier implies, as he must have seen the writing on the wall that BLACKHAWK wasn’t going to last much longer. As much as I was loving Mark and Dan’s WWII aviators, trading that title for this one was absolutely worth it.

The premise is itself a strong one, one I could easily see sustaining an 80’s tv series: bailbondsman masquerades as a legendary crook-for-hire to work from the inside of criminal operations. But the premise was just something to hang terrific stories on (as opposed to stories written to emphasize the premise), and Evanier had some incredibly entertaining stories derived from an industry full of them, behind-the-scenes kinds of stories that the public either never gets or gets highly fictionalized versions of.

Evanier’s strong on genuine humor, Eisneresque plots, engaging supporting characters, and solid mysteries. There were some incredibly impressive creative approaches, like #21’s story told with the chapters in reverse chronological order, and he looked to unexpected real world characters like Michael Jackson and Howard Hughes for plat inspiration. Spiegle brings his mastery of “character actors” the likes of and physical variety of which no one else in comics could match as well as what was, at least at the time, a peerless dedication to rendering richly drawn and highly convincing sets.

CROSSFIRE holds up well to re-reading; there’s so much variety in plot across its run, but all of it is coherent. You feel like you’re reading the same comic, but you’re reading a fresh, different story than last issue, not just another round of the same thing. And Evanier’s Show Business columns are always a meaty delight to read.

CROSSFIRE is my desert island kind of book, one that would remind a castaway MW of humanity in its breadth, its concerns both mundane and serious, and its convincing set depictions would refresh my memory of the architecture, technology, styles and accommodations in the culture I’d been separated from. If Cei-U! and I are stranded together, we can share and bring more comics!

CROSSFIRE could easily have been my #1 pick this year, but I’ve got an even more important comic to acknowledge tomorrow.

That sweet soft lisp

#2- Luba's Comics & Stories (2000-2006)






Gilbert Hernandez's world of Palomar throughout 40 years of comics has changed but stayed the small Central American town its given the world. Its people are as colorful as the culture, with Luba being one of his central characters. As the series progressed, Luba founds out that her family was bigger than expected. She has two half-sisters in the United States, Petra and Rosalba Martinez. As Luba got older, she immigrated to the US and settled down for a very prosperous life, also being part of Petra and Rosalba's life. From there Gilbert changes gears and Rosalba, aka "Fritz" takes centerstage and begins as the new Luba in his writings.

Fritz and Petra were Love and Rockets 2.0, at least to me, slightly before the relaunch of Volume 2 in 2001. Here we see a shift from non-Palomar stories and creating something different than the main story from Beto. He's done side tales of Palomar (New Old Tales of Palomar, Julio's Day, etc) but Fritz, who is smart, sensitive, sexual and a mother/aunt figure to those in her world. From her beginnings as a troubled punk rocker to her becoming a psychiatrist and then making the strangest turn in becoming an B movie actress who's cult of personality is so massive, she has daughters that follow in her stead, lookalikes, and a series of hardcover books that are actually her movies. 

I could've done another 4 more entries from Gilbert's creations alone but wanted to give my number 2 to Fritz.

2. Jack Knight - Starman

1st Appearance: Zero Hour #1
Choice Run: Starman #0-81

One of my favorite comics of all time, and one of the reasons the late 90s is maybe my favorite era from the 40 years I've been reading and collecting comics.

A great story about parents and children, while weaving together a bunch of great classic DC continuity that wouldn't seem to fit together at all.

2. Legion of Super-heroes

I discovered the Legion as the fill-in material offered in Éditions Héritage's Kamandi comic. The first story I read was also the first Jim Shooter wrote, coincidentally. I thought it was a little childish (and no wonder, since the lad was 13 at the time) but it had a certain spark that made me like it a lot. Months later I bought a translation of the Treasury Edition in which Lightning Lad married Saturn Girl. (That's actually one of the few comics I lost. I lent it to friends who lived in a different city and it never came back; when I asked about it they had completely forgotten about it and didn't know where it had gone. Sigh.) That marriage story wasn't especially interesting, but I thoroughly enjoyed the back pages listing all the Legionnaires. So many names! So many costumes! It was a cornucopia of comic-book goodness! That's why I never understood editors of team books who sometimes insist on "smaller and tighter" groups. The more characters the better, I say!

I became a real Legion fan with the Great Darkness Saga. Then again years later with the 5YL era. Then again with the Archie Legion. And finally once more with the gripping Legion of the Damned storyline, by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Olivier Coipel.



I'm no longer a fan of doom and gloom comics, and I thought the Legion had already been through enough anguish with the destruction of Earth in the 5YL storyline. But in this case, I could forgive the mag just about anything. The Legion titles were about to be cancelled, we readers all knew that, and so the Earth-shattering events of Legion of the Damned could very well be permanent; maybe everybody would die and the title be rebooted from scratch (something that would indeed happen a few years later). To anyone caring about this incarnation of the characters, the stakes were very high indeed. Plus, the art looked great. I had never seen someone draw quite like Coipel, part E.R. Cruz and part Katsuhiro Otomo.

The Legion Lost miniseries that followed maintained my interest, especially when it introduced the best design ever for Wildfire (Drake being my favourite Legionnaire).

I have never been as big a fan of the Legion as I have been of the X-Men, but I don't think any other team book managed to maintain my interest for so long. It might hit a low point from time to time, but it would always rebound from it.

Day 11 - Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

First appearance - Fantastic Four #21
1968 series 1-3, 5




Nick Fury as a present-day secret agent first appeared in the FF. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. He then got recruited to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Strange Tales series. I really enjoyed that first story arc, the first Hydra story. But after that, I felt like the series lost its way, and my interest waned. So I wasn't reading when Jim Steranko took over. But the series got its own book, and I picked one up to see how things were going.

I was freakin' blown away. By the third issue, this was one of my favorite books. Of course, after a fill-in in the fourth issue, the fifth would be Steranko's last, cause that's the way my world works.

But I still love those 4 issues. A spy drama intermingled with a Las Vegas crime story, introducing a more personal villain for Fury in Scorpio. A more traditional superheroic tale, complete with dinosaurs. A gothic take on the Hound of the Baskervilles. And a sequel to the first issue, exploring the mystery of Scorpio.

Let's talk about the artwork. It was mind-blowing, vibrant, energetic, with innovative coloring and wild new, bizarre, but always readable layouts. Stunning stuff.



This is still one of my favorite runs of any comic, any publisher.
 
And since we have such a knowledgeable bunch here, let me ask a question that still bugs me. Did they ever explain why both Scorpio and Centurius talked about the Parable of Doom?