1. Suicide Squad #1-66 (1987-92)



No surprises here for anyone who remembers my previous 12 Days list (especially as I couldn't work The Maze Agency into this year's list).

Spinning out of Legends, this was a series about morally reprehensible individuals being forced into doing missions, ostensibly for the greater good but sometimes themselves morally reprehensible, being controlled by a small group of deeply flawed heroes. Think the Dirty Dozen with supervillains.

I've said it before but this is a criminally underrated book. John Ostrander, and later Kim Yale, demonstrate that in the right hands even the most unlikely characters have a story to tell. They took C and D-list villains that no one else wanted and turned them into compelling characters. Everything you know about Deadshot was essentially created by this series. And this was the book that rescued Barbara Gordon post-The Killing Joke and turned her into Oracle; arguably a more interesting character than she ever was as Batgirl. And in the person of Amanda Waller a post-menopausal, overweight African-American woman became possibly the most respected and feared people in The DCU.

Just so many great moments, like Deadshot preventing Rick Flag from assassinating Senator Cray by killing the senator himself, and then quoting Waller's orders back to her; "You said stop him by whatever means necessary". Or Count Vertigo being stabbed by the New God assassin Kanto and left for dead, and being so offended by Kanto turning his back on him that he got to his feet, yanked out the knife stuck in him and stabbed Kanto in the back with his own blade!

Later incarnations of the Squad have been good (apart from the 2001 series being led by the fake Frank Rock. Give that one a miss), but they lack the raw edginess, and sometimes the heart, of the original series. In some respects,they have become a victim of the franchise's success. It is obvious that DC is not going to kill off Harley Quinn or Deadshot. However, back in the day, when the team went on a mission you could never be sure if any of them were going to be coming back.

Merry Christmas, everyone. And a special thank to Cei-U!. 2023 has been a particularly trying year for me, and this annual treat has given me something too look forward as this sh*tstorm of a  year comes to an end (and none too soon).

1. Dick Grayson(nightwing Chuck Dixon Series)

This was not as popular a choice as I thought, so that's interesting. I don't think it's an secret to readers in this forum that Dick Grayson is my favorite DC character...he's the rare character that has been allowed to grow, age and develop (if slowly)... going from a comic relief/grounding to leading the pre-eminent team and being the leader of all DCs superheroes.

There have been times that he takes steps back, and certainly multiple authors have told the story of him 'stepping out of Batman's shadow', but the overall trajectory is there.

1. SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #142, October 1971, DC Comics


Published cover by Neal Adams and Jack Kirby, Kirby’s original version on the right

By Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta

Spun-off from SUPERMAN #13, November/December 1941 via SUPERMAN #91, August 1954 (debatably attributed as the first appearance of the “Earth-1” Jimmy Olsen)

There’s a saying you might have heard: “Dance with the one that brung ya.” For me, that’s the 142nd issue of this spin-off series starring Superman’s best friend, Jimmy Olsen.

Jack Kirby’s Jimmy is the comic without which, I may not have ever been here in this forum or have ever begun reading comics. It was the first, in a tale I’ve recounted several times here: 11 year old monster movie fan can’t get his Famous Monsters of Filmland fix at the newsstand and happens to spot this convenient substitute. I know Superman and Jimmy from tv, and here’s a vampire in the Count Dracula mold and a werewolf, and I’ve got a quarter to spare, so why not?


Years later, I would see this issue spotlighted in an AMAZING HEROES article on (I think) “the 10 worst Jack Kirby stories ever.” So even at his “worst”, and with his often-cited “worst inker”, Vince Colletta, the Kirby magic was strong enough to make a convert out of me.

There was a lot I wasn’t equipped for in “The Man From Transilvane”: the Newsboy Legion, the DNA Project, the Guardian…and it was a continued story, so I didn’t even get a full serving! More than 50 years later, I can’t reconjure how this story affected me, what exactly thrilled me or disappointed me, but I was captivated enough to return to the comics rack, as recounted in my thread on my first year of comics collecting. Here’s what I said about this issue in that thread. I don’t think I can improve on the fuller commentary I worked up there, but I think I’ve more than justified my high ranking of this comic for Class Comics Christmas 2023.


(I used to own this original art for page 1 of the 2-page DNA Project backup in this issue, one of the saddest things I ever had to give up: a page from my first comic, bought for only $35 at a con where I met and spoke with Jack Kirby for a good 15 minutes. No waiting in line for expensive autographs, just walked up and talked to a god of the art like an ordinary guy. He wasn’t being mobbed by fans, just hanging out at his booth and shooting the breeze with anyone who wanted to talk. Between that experience and hanging out with Jim Aparo for a couple of days, I never had much interest in going to later cons to “meet” favorite pros the way it goes at these things now.)

And may I wish you all a happy holiday, and express my appreciation for this annual tradition, and give thanks to Cei-U! for developing and hosting the celebration each year (and apologies for beating him to the Bizarros, but a huge part of the sense of community here is discovering common love for specific pieces of this huge domain of comics--read CROSSFIRE!). This forum has been so important to me, especially over the past 4 or 5 years. Its existence is a gift that rewards me every time I log on. Thank you all, friends and fellow fans, for everything you’ve done to keep the joy of comics alive in me, and for your ongoing comradeship, encouragement, and positivity.

And finally, here’s to brutalis , whose untimely passing I remember each Christmas season. Wish you were around for this one, Bruce.

1. Hellblazer



Honestly, I was absolutely ready to hate the new John Constantine book when it came out. John Constantine had been an instant hit with me as a supporting character in Swamp Thing, but I seriously doubted that he could work as well as a main protagonist. Wouldn't he lose all of his fascinating mystery if we learned more about his background? Familiarity reeds contempt, and did I really want to know more about Newcastle, about the man’s fears, triumphs and tragedies?

I shouldn't have doubted. Jamie Delano first gave us a very engaging urban magician, one who grabbed my attention even if he was somewhat different from the one created by Alan Moore. Yes, he lost some of his mystery… but Constantine was very down to Earth, and I found the England depicted in the pages of Hellblazer fascinatingly exotic.

When Garth Ennis came aboard, I was a bit apprehensive at first; but the irreverent Constantine was in good hands. Ennis delved more deeply into what made Constantine click, and reinforced his blue collar status, so to speak. He also gave us one of the great comic-book romances of the age, and had John give the Devil himself the finger. That was quite a run.

I thought all was lost when Ennis left to pen Preacher, but first Eddie Campbell and then Paul Jenkins maintained a level of quality rarely equalled in a comic-book series not written all along by the same person.

One sour note: I really hated the "Haunted" storyline by Warren Ellis. However, his one-shots were pretty darn good. I also quite enjoyed the Brian Azarello stories I read, before moving away from any LCS put an end to my monthly comics reading.

Hellblazer was, for a long time, my very favourite comic. Through trials and tribulations, he was just the epitome of cool.

"Constantine!"
"What?"
"You're an a$$hole".
"Well, me secret's out, then".

That's the kind of cool I would have liked to be growing up.

Dick just barely missed my list, and strangely it was because I thought for sure he would have made others lists.