Best Single Issues / Two-Parters?

[hangmanjury]

Which storylines that spanned only one or two issues do you guys think produced the best comics? I'd like to say "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" from Roger Stern's Run and also "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice, nand the American Way" from Action Comics #775, but those are standard answers.

In other words, which great single/double issues would you recommend ebaying?

[Nate C.]

If I can cheat with a six parter and a four parter, "Death of Kraven" and "Death of Jean DeWolf" are excellent stories.

Moebius and Stan Lee did a nice 2 issue Silver Surfer story in 1988.

[Hombre]

Which storylines that spanned only one or two issues do you guys think produced the best comics? I'd like to say "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" from Roger Stern's Run and also "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice, nand the American Way" from Action Comics #775, but those are standard answers.

In other words, which great single/double issues would you recommend ebaying?

A Frank Miller DD story spotlighting Foggy setting out to help Heather Glenn by taking on the Kingpin's henchmen by himself, with Matt watching his back unbeknownst to him. It's called "Guts", and a real gem.

Mindgames/Magneto Triumphant, the defeat and capture of the X-Men by Claremont/Byrne/Austin, is the single best story I have ever read.

The bachelor party of Rick Jones, by David/Frank. You have to see it to believe it's a Hulk story.

Blazing Saddles, T'Challa and his party in the old west as written by Priest. For Asgard! For Buzzard Gulch! 'Nuff said.

[T GUy]

Which storylines that spanned only one or two issues do you guys think produced the best comics? - Hangmanjury

Almost any issue of Our Army at War starring Sgt. Rock. If you're lucky, you'll trip over one with Sam Galnzman's U. S. S. Stevens and a good 'Bob Kanigher's Gallery of War' in it as well.

[Slam_Bradley]

- Hangmanjury

Almost any issue of Our Army at War starring Sgt. Rock. If you're lucky, you'll trip over one with Sam Galnzman's U. S. S. Stevens and a good 'Bob Kanigher's Gallery of War' in it as well.

By the same token there are many many outstanding single issues over the run of Brave & Bold. Too darn many for me to name them all.

[gentlesatirist]

...was the fantastic JLA 200 from 1982. A bunch of "original members" square off against "the new guys" and a bunch of artists take a crack at the individual pairings : Batman vs. Green Arrow/Black Canary by Brian Bolland, Superman vs. Hawkman by Joe Kubert, Aquaman vs. Red Tornado by Jim Aparo, Atom vs. Green Lantern by Gil Kane. What more can you ask for?

Plus the whole thing is held together by a storyline involving the original meteorite that brought the league together. Fine stuff!


- FE Wickliffe OH

[TomGun13]

There's actually another cool DD story I think it was issue 191, where DD confronts Bullseye in a hospital.

[TheHistorian]

Action 583 & Superman 423 - Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?

Alan Moore writes the definitive Superman story.

[Nate C.]

I would also echo any given issue of Groo or Nexus, as most of those are stand alone issues. You pick up a couple of each, and you might get hooked.

[founder81]

Every issue of Howard the Duck is a standalone issue and are pure classics.

Amazing Spider-man #266 and 267 - each one is a stand alone by Peter David and each one is hilarious

Justice League (Int) # 8 - learn how the Justice League moves into their new home. Just don't let Mister Miracle bring the Jet and J'onn watch out for those stairs!

Mister Miracle # 7-8, Beetle and Booster pay MM and Barda an unexpected visit.

Fables ?? (11 maybe?) - can't remember the number, but the its a stand alone where Jack of all trades beats the devil at cards and later gives Death a vacation

Deadpool 11 - Deadpool gets shot back in time to Peter Parker's past. He is totally freaked out by the Osborne's hair do. This is a must have for just about any body.

[roach04]

Dr. Strange #55 -- Roger Stern/Michael Golden -- probably the greatest non-Ditko Dr. Strange issue ever and I believe I read an interview at one point where Art Adams said he considered it the greatest comic ever done!

I see another poster mentioned DD #185 - the "Guts" story and I'd 2nd it as worth the hunt.

Others that are one or two part stories (and, yeah, alot of these are pretty standard answers...LOL)

Spider-Man #229-230 - Roger Stern/John Romita Jr - "Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut"

Iron Man #149-150 - David Michelinie/John Romita Jr - Iron Man vs. Dr. Doom in Camelot

Fantastic Four #51 - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby - "This Man, This Monster"

Virtually any of the single issue stories from Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing - including #21, #28, #32, #40 and #44.

Avengers Annual #7/Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 - the greatest Warlock story NOT in the original Warlock series. Starlin at his best and most cosmic!

Not a single issue, but if you can use GNs I'll also throw in "Batman: Son of the Demon" as my personal favourite Batman story.

Hell...I could type tons more material here but it's hard to think of great "one offs" that didn't tie into anything else somewhere!

[JeffreyWKramer]

Which storylines that spanned only one or two issues do you guys think produced the best comics? I'd like to say "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" from Roger Stern's Run and also "What's so Funny About Truth, Justice, nand the American Way" from Action Comics #775, but those are standard answers.

In other words, which great single/double issues would you recommend ebaying?


If you want great single/double-issue stories, one could do a lot worse than just grabbing up runs of MARVEL TEAM-UP (especially the Claremont/Byrne issues) or THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD.

[MWGallaher]

If you want great single/double-issue stories, one could do a lot worse than just grabbing up runs of MARVEL TEAM-UP (especially the Claremont/Byrne issues) or THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD.

Very true, Jeffrey! But if I might, allow me to point out some particularly good issues of B&B:

182 & 184 (skip issue 183, a poor fill-in!): Batman of Earth-1 meets the Robin and Huntress of Earth-2 in a great pair of stories, possibly the last great Earth-2 stories. These deal with an intriguing aspect of the multiple earths that hadn't been addressed much before: Dick Grayson and Helena Wayne get to meet their deceased father's doppelganger (our Batman). Wonderful issues, with excellent Aparo art.

181: The wonderful Allan Brennart writes and Jim Aparo draws the "conclusion" of the story of the original Hawk and Dove. Too bad DC couldn't leave the characters alone. The story frustrated continuity buffs, since it depicted Don and Hank as post-teen, while the other Teen Titans hadn't aged much, but even the gripers couldn't argue with the quality of this one!

150: Batman and a mystery guest! Some readers were disappointed with the surprise, but I thought it was a brilliant move! And Aparo did the mystery guest so well...I wished he'd had more chances to do that character.

[Sir Tim Drake]

It's the start of a five-day weekend and I don't feel like working right now, so I made a long, long list of my favorite one-, two- and a few three-part stories. It's so long, in fact, that it might take three or four posts. Fear my overabundant free time!

381 STORIES:

1. Action Comics #399: “Superman, You’re Dead…Dead…Dead!”
2. Action Comics #428: “The Plot to Kill Black Canary”
3. Action Comics #484: “Superman Takes a Wife”
4. Action Comics #507-508: “The Miraculous Return of Jonathan Kent”
5. Action Comics #554: “If Superman Didn’t Exist…”
6. Adventure Comics #354-355: “The Adult Legion”
7. Adventure Comics #357: “The Ghost of Ferro Lad”
8. Adventure Comics #369-370: “Mordru the Merciless”
9. Adventure Comics #431: “The Wrath of the Spectre” and “Is a Snerl Human?”
10. Alpha Flight #12: “And One Shall Surely Die”
11. Amazing Adventures 39: “Mourning Prey”
12. Amazing Fantasy #9: “The Terror of Tim Boo Ba”
13. The Amazing Screw-On Head #1
14. Animal Man #5: “The Coyote Gospel”
15. Animal Man #23-24: “The Second Crisis”
16. Animal Man #25-26: “Deus Ex Machina”
17. Anthro #6: “The Marriage of Anthro”
18. Astro City vol. 1 #4: “Safeguards” (though every issue of the initial miniseries is a classic)
19. Astro City vol. 2 #2-3: “Family Album”
20. Astro City vol. 2 #10: “Show ‘Em All”
21. Avengers #56: “Death Be Not Proud”
22. Avengers #58: “Even an Android Can Cry”
23. Avengers #60: “Till Death Do Us Part”
24. Avengers #93: “This Beachhead Earth”
25. Avengers #113: “Your Young Men Shall Slay Visions”
26. Avengers #160: “The Trial”
27. Avengers #161-162: “The Bride of Ultron”
28. Avengers #181: “On the Matter of Heroes”
29. Avengers #224: “Two from the Heart”
30. Avengers #280: “Faithful Servant”
31. Avengers vol. 3 #56: “Lo, There Shall Come an Accounting!” (included here to represent the Busiek run, which was consistently excellent but didn’t have a lot of standout issues)
32. Avengers Annual #7: “The Final Threat”
33. Avengers Annual #10: “By Friends Betrayed”
34. Bat Lash #2, untitled (or any other issue)
35. Batman #47: “The Origin of the Batman!”
36. Batman #156: “Robin Dies at Dawn”
37. Batman #232: “Daughter of the Demon”
38. Batman #237: “Night of the Reaper”
39. Batman #244: “The Demon Lives Again!”
40. Batman #251: “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge”
41. Batman #332: “The Lazarus Affair” and “Cat’s Paw”
42. Batman #400: “Resurrection Night”
43. Batman #416: “White Gold and Truth”
44. Batman Annual #11: “Mortal Clay” and “Love Birds”
45. Batman: Black and White #1: “Perpetual Mourning” and “Two of a Kind”
46. The Birth Caul, one-shot
47. The Black Hood #3: “The Most … Man in the World”
48. Blazing Combat #4: “Give and Take” plus seven more classic stories
49. Bone #10: “The Great Cow Race”
50. Bone #16: “Eyes of the Storm”
51. Brave and the Bold #85: “The Senator’s Been Shot!”
52. Brave and the Bold #111: “Death Has the Last Laugh”
53. Brave and the Bold #181: “Time, See What’s Become of Me”
54. Brave and the Bold #182: “Interlude on Earth-Two”
55. Brave and the Bold #197: “The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne”
56. Captain America #110, 111, 113: the Steranko issues
57. Captain America #163: “Beware of Serpents!”
58. Captain America #183: “Nomad: No More!”
59. Captain America #237: “From the Ashes…”
60. Captain America #247: “By the Dawn’s Early Light”
61. Captain America #250: “Cap for President”
62. Captain America #454: “Sanctuary”
63. Captain Marvel Adventures #100: “Captain Marvel Battles the Plot Against the Universe”
64. Charlton Premiere #2: “Children of Doom”
65. Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2: “Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot,” “Gifts” and “Ex Machina”
66. Classic X-Men #4: “The Big Dare”
67. Conan the Barbarian #4: “The Tower of the Elephant”
68. Conan the Barbarian #24: “The Song of Red Sonja”
69. Conan the Barbarian #37: “Curse of the Golden Skull”
70. Conan the Barbarian #115: “A War of Wizards!”
71. Concrete Eclectica #2: “I Strive for Realism” (or any Concrete story)
72. Creepy #1: “Werewolf!” and “H2O World”
73. Creepy #75: “Thrillkill!”
74. Creepy #81: “Process of Elimination” and “In Deep” (many issues of Creepy have multiple classic stories)
75. Daredevil #47: “Brother, Take My Hand”
76. Daredevil #164: “Exposé”
77. Daredevil #179: “Spiked!”
78. Daredevil #181-182: “Last Hand” and “She’s Alive”
79. Daredevil #183-184: “Child’s Play”
80. Daredevil #191: “Roulette”
81. Daredevil #208: “The Deadliest Night of My Life”
82. DC Comics Presents #3: “The Riddle of Little Earth Lost”
83. DC Comics Presents #59: “Ambush Bug II”
84. DC Comics Presents #85: “The Jungle Line”
85. DC Special Series #15: “I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife” and “Death Strikes at Midnight and Three”
86. Death Rattle #2: “God’s Bosom” (which, be warned, is extremely disturbing) plus stories by Eisner and Rand Holmes
87. Detective Comics #31-32: “Batman vs. the Vampire”
88. Detective Comics #404: “Ghost of the Killer Skies”
89. Detective Comics #408: “The House That Haunted Batman”
90. Detective Comics #437: “Deathmask” and a Manhunter story
91. Detective Comics #439: “Night of the Stalker” and a Manhunter backup
92. Detective Comics #442: “Death Flies the Haunted Sky” plus Manhunter
93. Detective Comics #457: “There is No Hope in Crime Alley”
94. Detective Comics #473: “The Malay Penguin”
95. Detective Comics #475-476: “The Laughing Fish”
96. Detective Comics #500: “To Kill a Legend,” plus “Once Upon a Time” and other quality stories
97. Detective Comics #572: “The Doomsday Book”
98. Doctor Strange #2: “A Separate Reality” (or any Brunner issue)
99. Doctor Strange #56: “A Mystic Reborn!”
100. Doctor Strange #66: “The Chosen One”
101. Doctor Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? one-shot
102. Doom Patrol #34: “The Soul of a New Machine”
103. Doom Patrol #63: “The Empire of Chairs”
104. Dork! #4: “The Eltingville Club in ‘The Marathon Men’”
105. Drawn & Quarterly vol. 2 #2: “The Hannah Story”plus stories by Tardi and Avril/Petit-Roulet
106. Eerie #68: “The Muck Monster” and “Godeye”(most issues of Eerie have lots of good stories)
107. Eightball #22: “Ice Haven”
108. Elric #0: “One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock”
109. E-Man #6: “Wunder-World” plus a Rog 2000 story(every issue of E-Man is about equally good)
110. Fantastic Four #40: “The Battle of the Baxter Building”
111. Fantastic Four #51: “This Man… This Monster!”
112. Fantastic Four #60: “The Peril and the Power!”
113. Fantastic Four #116: “The Alien, the Ally, and Armageddon”
114. Fantastic Four #236: “Terror in a Tiny Town”
115. Fantastic Four #246-247: “This Land is Mine!”
116. Fantastic Four #261-262: “The Trial of Reed Richards”
117. Fantastic Four #267: “A Small Loss”
118. Fantastic Four #352: “No Time Like the Present!”
119. Fantastic Four vol. 2 #61: “24 Blocks and One Blockhead”
120. Fantastic Four Annual #3: “Bedlam at the Baxter Building!”
121. Finder #22: “Fight Scene”
122. First Issue Special #9: “Dr. Fate”
123. Flash vol. 2 #119: “The Mirror Master’s Magic Bullet”
124. Flash vol. 2 #123: “Flash of Two Worlds!”
125. Flash vol. 2 #137: “Vengeance of the Immortal Villain”
126. Flash vol. 2 #179: “The Flash—Fact or Fiction?”
127. Flash vol. 2 #268: “Riddle of the Runaway Comic”
128. Flash vol. 3 #79: “The Once and Future Flash” (part of a long storyline, but included here to represent Mark Waid’s Flash)
129. Frank #1: “Gentlemanhog”
130. Frontline Combat #5: “The Big If”
131. Frontline Combat #8: “Thunderjet!” (or any other issue)
132. Giant-Size Man-Thing #4: “The Kid’s Night Out”
133. Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #2: “The Devil Doctor’s Triumph”
134. Graffiti Kitchen, one-shot
135. Green Lantern #76: “No Evil Shall Escape My Sight”
136. Green Lantern #85-86: “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” (the drug story)
137. Green Lantern #87: “What Can One Man Do?”
138. Green Lantern #189: “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize”
139. Grimjack #3 (or any issue, I’m just picking this one because it has a Steve Bissette backup story)
140. Groo the Wanderer #34-36: “The Amulet”
141. Groo the Wanderer #78: “The Book Burners”
142. Groo the Wanderer #100: “A Little Knowledge” (every issue of Groo is worth reading, though Mark Evanier might try to deny it)
143. Harold Hedd #2: “Wings over Tijuana”
144. Haunt of Fear #14: “A Little Stranger!” (every issue has multiple good stories)
145. Hellboy: The Corpse, one-shot
146. House of Secrets #92: “Swamp Thing”
147. Howard the Duck #3: “Four Feathers of Death!”
148. Howard the Duck #16: “Zen and the Art of Comic Book Writing” (again, every Gerber issue is a near-classic)
149. Impact #1: “Master Race” (greatest single story in the history of comic books)
150. Impulse #12: “Sonic Youth”
151. Incredible Hulk #134: “Among Us Walks the Golem”
152. Incredible Hulk #140: “The Brute That Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom”
153. Incredible Hulk #147: “Heaven is a Very Small Place”
154. Incredible Hulk #312: “Monster!”
155. Incredible Hulk #340: “Vicious Circle”
156. Incredible Hulk #376-377: “Honey, I Shrunk the Hulk”
157. Incredible Hulk #395-396: “Return to Vegas”
158. Incredible Hulk #417: “Party Animals”
159. Incredible Hulk #467: “The Lone and Level Sands”
160. Iron Man #128: “Demon in a Bottle”
161. Iron Man #149-150: “Doomquest”
162. Jon Sable, Freelance #1: “The Iron Monster”(another series in which most issues are classics)
163. Justice League of America #21-22: “Crisis on Earths One and Two”
164. Justice League of America #96-98: “Star-Breaker”
165. Justice League of America #100-102: “The Unknown Soldier of Victory”
166. Justice League of America #144: “The Origin of the Justice League, Minus One!”
167. Justice League of America #145: “Carnival of Souls”
168. Justice League of America #200: “A League Divided”
169. Justice League #5: “Grey Life, Grey Dreams” (featuring the famous “one punch” scene)
170. Justice League America #34-35: “Club JLI”

[Sir Tim Drake]

171. Justice League America #38-40: “Hell on Earth”
172. Justice League Quarterly #10: “When Titans Date”
173. Leave it to Chance #6-7: “The Return of Cap’n Hitch”
174. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #289: “A Cold and Lonely Corner of Hell”
175. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #300: “The Future is Forever!”
176. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 Annual #1: “Monster in a Little Girl’s Mind!”
177. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #23: “Back Home in Hell”
178. Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #38:“The Greatest Hero of Them All”
179. Legionnaires #7: “Devils in the Deep”
180. Little Archie #145: “You Win a Few…”
181. Magnus, Robot Fighter [Gold Key] #6: “Alone Against Talpa”
182. Man-Thing #6: “And When I Died…”
183. Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #5: “The Best of All Possible Worlds”
184. Marvel Fanfare #18: “Home Fires!”
185. Marvel Fanfare #40: “Chiaroscuro”
186. Marvel Premiere #9-10: “Finally, Shuma-Gorath!”
187. Marvel Premiere #38: “The Lord of Tyndall’s Quest”
188. Marvel Spotlight #31: “Assignment: The Infinity Formula!”
189. Marvel Team-Up #59-60: “A Matter of Love and Death”
190. Marvel Team-Up #79: “Sword of the She-Devil”
191. Marvel Team-Up #124: “The Ties That Bind!”
192. Marvel Two-in-One #51: “Full House, Dragons High!”
193. Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2: “Death Watch!”
194. Marvel & DC Present X-Men/Teen Titans, one-shot
195. Master of Kung Fu #38-39: “Cat”
196. Master of Kung Fu #40: “The Murder Agency”
197. Miracleman #9: “Scenes from the Nativity”
198. Miracleman #15: “Nemesis”
199. Mysterious Suspense #1: “What Makes a Hero?”
200. Mystery in Space #90: “Planets in Peril”
201. New Gods #7: “The Pact”
202. New Teen Titans #16: “Starfire Unleashed”
203. New Teen Titans #26-27: “Runaways”
204. New Teen Titans #38: “Who is Donna Troy?”
205. New Teen Titans #39: “Crossroads”
206. Nexus #6-8: “The Trialogue Trilogy”
207. Nexus #16: “Into the Web”
208. Nexus #34: “The Crystal Ballroom”
209. Nexus: The Origin, one-shot (every Baron/Rude issue of Nexus is worth reading)
210. 100 Bullets #27: “Idol Chatter”
211. Our Army at War #257: “The Sea is Calm…The Sky is Bright” (as well as any other Glanzman U.S.S. Stevens story)
212. Our Love Story #5: “My Heart Broke in Hollywood” (Steranko romance story)
213. Penny Century #3: “Home School”
214. Piracy #5: “Salvage” and “The Keg”
215. Plop! #1: “The Gourmet”
216. Plop! #3: “This Little Witch Went to Market”
217. Power Pack #19: “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”
218. Promethea #7: “Rocks and Hard Places”
219. Promethea #10: “Sex, Stars and Serpents”
220. Promethea #12: “Metaphore”
221. Promethea #32: “Wrap Party”
222. Rima the Jungle Girl #2: “Flight from Eden” (or any other issue)
223. Saga of the Swamp Thing #21: “The Anatomy Lesson”
224. Saga of the Swamp Thing #29-31: “Love and Death”
225. Saga of the Swamp Thing #32: “Pog”
226. Saga of the Swamp Thing #34: “Rite of Spring”
227. Saga of the Swamp Thing #43: “Windfall”
228. Saga of the Swamp Thing #50: “The End”
229. Saga of the Swamp Thing #53: “The Garden of Earthly Delights”
230. Saga of the Swamp Thing #76: “L’Adoration de la Terre”
231. Saga of the Swamp Thing Annual #2: “Down Among the Dead Men”
232. Sandman #8: “The Sound of Her Wings”
233. Sandman #18: “A Dream of a Thousand Cats”
234. Sandman #19: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
235. Sandman #40: “The Parliament of Rooks”
236. Sandman #50: “Ramadan”
237. Sandman #75: “The Tempest”
238. The Savage Dragon #105: “Candyman!” and “Those Who Would Destroy Us”
239. The Scorpion #1: “The Death’s Gemini Commission”
240. Secret Origins #10: “Footsteps” plus other good stories
241. Secret Origins #32: “All Together Now”
242. Silver Surfer vol. 1 #4: “The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny”
243. Son of Satan #8: “Dance with the Devil, My Red-Headed Son!” (bad story, spectacular art)
244. Spawn #10: “Crossing Over” (yes, I said Spawn)
245. Spectacular Spider-Man #189: “The Osborn Legacy”
246. The Spectre #5: “A Rage in Hell”
247. The Spectre #26: “The Door of the Solstice”
248. (Amazing) Spider-Man #12: “Unmasked by Doctor Octopus”
249. Spider-Man #26: “The Man in the Crime-Master’s Mask!”
250. Spider-Man #33: “The Final Chapter” (plus all the other Ditko issues)
251. Spider-Man #50: “Spider-Man No More!”
252. Spider-Man #68: “Crisis on the Campus!”
253. Spider-Man #83-85: “The Secret of the Schemer”
254. Spider-Man #90: “And Death Shall Come” (death of Captain Stacy)
255. Spider-Man #96-98: “In the Grip of the Goblin” (the drug issues)
256. Spider-Man #121: “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”
257. Spider-Man #200: “The Spider and the Burglar”
258. Spider-Man #224: “Let Fly These Aged Wings”
259. Spider-Man #226-227: “But the Cat Came Back”
260. Spider-Man #231-232: “Caught in the Act” (you’ll notice I didn’t mention “Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut,” which is good but overrated)
261. Spider-Man #248: “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man”
262. Spider-Man #267: “The Commuter Cometh”
263. Spider-Man #38/479: “The Conversation”
264. Spider-Man Annual #14: “Bend Sinister”
265. Spider-Man Annual #15: “Spider-Man, Threat or Menace?”
266. The Spirit section 307: “Max Scarr’s Map”
267. The Spirit section 432: “The Story of Gerhard Shnobble”
268. The Spirit section 446: “Two Lives”
269. The Spirit section 485: “Ten Minutes” (most of the postwar Spirit sections are classics; look for the ’80s Kitchen Sink reprint series)
270. Starman #5: “Talking with David ’95”
271. Starman #27: “Christmas Knight”
272. Starman #37: “Talking with David ’97”
273. Star Trek #10-12: “The Trial of James T. Kirk”
274. Static #25: “Snow”
275. Strange Tales #181: “1000 Clowns”
276. St. Swithin’s Day, one-shot
277. The Stuff of Dreams #1-2, two one-shots
278. Superboy #195: “The One-Shot Hero”
279. Superboy #202: “Lost: A Million Miles from Home” plus some excellent reprints
280. Superboy #226: “The Dazzling Debut of Dawnstar”
281. Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #233: “The Infinite Man Who Conquered the Legion”
282. Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #242: “Startarget: Earth”
283. Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #250-251: “Omega”
284. Superman #129: “The Girl in Superman’s Past”
285. Superman #149: “The Death of Superman”
286. Superman #156?: “The Last Days of Superman”
287. Superman #162: “The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue”
288. Superman #176: “Superman’s Day of Truth”
289. Superman #233: “Superman Breaks Loose!”
290. Superman #240: “To Save a Superman”
291. Superman #247: “Must There Be a Superman?”
292. Superman #292: “The Luthor Nobody Knows” (any Superman story by Elliot S! Maggin is likely to be a classic)
293. Superman #338: “Let My People Grow!”
294. Superman #400: “The Living Legends of Superman” and “Exile at the Edge of Eternity”
295. Superman #411: “The Last Earth-Prime Story”
296. Superman #416: “The Einstein Connection” and “The Ghost of Superman Future”
297. Superman #423/Action Comics #583: “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”
298. Adventures of Superman #440: “The Hurrieder I Go”
299. Superman Annual #11: “For the Man Who Has Everything”
300. Superman vol. 2 #2: “The Secret Revealed”
301. Superman vol. 2 #9: “Metropolis 900 Mi.”
302. Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #134: “The Mountain of Judgment”
303. Supernatural Law #35: “Words Don’t Do It Justice”
304. Supernatural Law 101, one-shot
305. Supernatural Thrillers #3: “The Valley of the Worm”
306. Supreme #50: “A Love Supreme”
307. Swamp Thing vol. 1 #5: “The Last of the Ravenwind Witches”
308. Swamp Thing vol. 1 #10: “The Man Who Would Not Die”
309. Sword of the Atom Special #1 and #2
310. Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2: “Tygers”
311. Tales of the Teen Titans #50: “We Are Gathered Here Today…”
312. Tarzan #173: “Jad-Bal-Ja and the Impostor”
313. Tarzan #208: “A Son’s Vengeance” (or any other issue of Kubert’s Tarzan)
314. Teen Titans vol. 1 #13: “The TT’s Swingin’ Christmas Carol”
315. The Nimrod #4: “The Stroll”
316. Thor #155-156: “The Mangog Saga”
317. Thor #272: “The Day the Thunder Failed!”
318. Thor #294: “New Asgards for Old!”
319. Thor #339: “Something Old, Something New”
320. Thor #343: “If I Should Die Before I Wake…”
321. Thor #353: “Doom II”
322. Thor #364-366: “The Frog of Thunder”
323. Thor #373: “The Gift of Death”
324. Thor #380: “Mjolnir’s Song”
325. Thor #382: “Journey into Mystery”
326. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #12 or any other Tower issue
327. Tomb of Dracula #12: “Night of the Screaming House”
328. Tomb of Dracula #25-26: “Where Lurks the Chimera”
329. Tomb of Dracula #56: “The Vampire Conspiracy”
330. Tomb of Dracula #70: “Lords of the Undead” (every issue of this series after #12 is classic)
331. Tomorrow Stories #2: “How Things Work Out” and “The Unbearableness of Being Light”
332. Tom Strong #13: “The Family Strong and the Tower at Time’s End”
333. Tower of Shadows #1: “At the Stroke of Midnight”
334. (Uncanny) X-Men #114: “Desolation”
335. (Uncanny) X-Men #126-128: “Proteus”
336. (Uncanny) X-Men #141-142: “Days of Future Past”
337. Uncanny X-Men #143: “Demon”
338. Uncanny X-Men #153: “Kitty’s Fairy Tale”
339. Uncanny X-Men #168: “Professor Xavier is a Jerk!”
340. Uncanny X-Men #186: “Lifedeath”
341. Uncanny X-Men #190-191: “An Age Undreamed Of”
342. Uncanny X-Men #198: “Lifedeath: From the Heart of Darkness”
343. Uncanny X-Men #205: “Wounded Wolf”
344. Uncanny X-Men #268: “Madripoor Knights”
345. Uncanny X-Men #275-277: “The Path Not Taken”
346. Uncanny X-Men Annual #3: “A Fire in the Sky”
347. Uncanny X-Men Annual #4: “Nightcrawler’s Inferno”
348. Uncle Scrooge #219: “The Son of the Sun”
349. Uncle Scrooge #224: “Cash Flow”
350. Uncle Scrooge #319: “The Dutchman’s Secret”
351. Uncle Scrooge #325: “The Beagle Boys vs. the Money Bin” and Barks’s “Back to the Klondike”
352. Uncle Scrooge #329: “The Dream of a Lifetime”
353. Uncle Scrooge #334: “The Quest for Kalevala”

[Sir Tim Drake]

354. Uncle Scrooge Adventures #5: “Last Sled to Dawson”
355. Uncle Scrooge Adventures #14: “His Majesty McDuck” (or any other classic story by Barks or Rosa, of which there are too many to list here)
356. Untold Tales of Spider-Man #2: “Castles in the Air” (or any other issue)
357. Usagi Yojimbo vol. 1 #38: “The Last Ino Story”
358. Usagi Yojimbo vol. 3 #8: “A Promise in the Snow”
359. Usagi Yojimbo vol. 3 #57: “Images from a Winter’s Day”
360. Usagi Yojimbo vol. 3 #80: “When Rabbits Fly” (every other issue is also classic)
361. Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #635-637: “The Three Caballeros Ride Again”
362. Warlock #11: “The Strange Death of Adam Warlock”
363. Warlock #15: “Just a Series of Events”
364. Weird Fantasy #15: “The Quick Trip” and “The Long Trip”
365. Weird Science #22: “My World”
366. What If? vol. 1 #35: “What If Bullseye Had Not Killed Elektra?”
367. What If? vol. 1 #42: “What If the Invisible Girl Had Died in Childbirth?”
368. What If? vol. 1 #44: “What If Captain America Were Not Revived Until Today?”
369. Wonder Woman vol. 1 #250-251: “Tournament”
370. Wonder Woman vol. 1 #286: “Be Wonder Woman and Die”
371. Wonder Woman vol. 2 #1: “The Princess and the Power”
372. Wonder Woman vol. 2 #8: “Time Passages”
373. Wonder Woman vol. 2 #20: “Who Killed Myndi Mayer?”
374. World’s Finest Comics #236: “Killers Come in All Sizes”
375. World’s Finest Comics #238: “The Angel with a Dirty Name”
376. Wulf the Barbarian #1: “Wulf the Barbarian”
377. X-Factor #87: “X-Aminations”
378. X-Force #124: “Edie and Guy Finally Do It”
379. (New) X-Men #121: “Silence Psychic Rescue in Process”
380. (New) X-Men #135-137: “Riot at Xavier’s”
381. Zot! #34: “Sometimes a Direction…”

And after you've read all of these, I can recommend 382 more. No, just kidding. :)

EDIT: One notable omission from this list is Love & Rockets, but I think it's better to just get the Palomar and Locas hardcovers rather than look for back issues.

[dan bailey]

243. Son of Satan #8: “Dance with the Devil, My Red-Headed Son!” (bad story, spectacular art)


amen. when my decades-dormant interest in comics started perking up again maybe a year & a half ago, this was, i believe, the first issue i made a point of dropping by my local comics store to pick up (the fact that i knew it would be dirt cheap was a crucial consideration, of course). *stunning* russ heath art (along with that odd, uncolored romita full-pager stuck in the middle, undoubtedly to fill out the page count ... why not just add a 2nd page to the lettercol?), though the repro is so weak that it's enough to make me wonder whether marvel got a deal on some play-doh printing plates that month ...

[prince hal]

In addition to quite a few on Tim's list:

ADVENTURE 353-4: The Sun-eater saga capped by the death of Ferro Lad;

DETECTIVE 443: Batman and Manhunter;

DETECTIVE 474-5: "The Laughing Fish" Joker story by Englehart and Rogers;

The ENEMY ACE two-parter by Garth Ennis;

BLACKHAWK 242: the penultimate issue of the first DC run, in which dignity is belatedly restored to the Black Knights;

CHALLENGERS 48 and DOOM PATROL 102: One of the earliest crossovers in the DC Universe that I can recall;

ADVENTURE 340: Computo and the "death" of Triplicate Girl;

Gold Key's KING KONG one-shot;

The TALES OF ASGARD one-shot;

The FF annual featuring the wedding of Reed and Sue;

The final issue of Barry Smith's run on CONAN, (24 or 25?) which I think was done mostly by Buscema, and which contained a startlingly anti-religious finale;

CONAN 10, "The Beast-God of Anu" or words to that effect;

THE WORLD'S GREATEST SUPERHEROES issue of the DC 100-page Giants.

And a hundred more I can't think of when the pressure's on!


PS: Didn't want to be repetitive, but SANDMANs 19 and 75, the Shakespeare issues, deserve every accolade they've ever received!

[InfoBroker]

Not sure where or what I was doing on Feb 18, but a random stroll thru some faded threads brought me here.

I am much impressed with the list that Sir Tim has assembled. He seems to be a well read lad. The list is covers a lot of classic comic material. Glad to see some excellent Roy Thomas Avengers in there, along with many many other tales that I would have included.

I do have to pose a question though on one particular comic book, and its not exactly meant to put you on the spot or anything (well maybe it is, but in a nice way).

It's interesting that you point at Spider-man #68 - Calamity on Campus.

It's not a Spidey tale that normally shows up on people's short list. Have to confess it's not on mine. It is an interesting lead-in to the issues to come, but I usually start my Kingpin/Silvermane reading with issue #69, and if I were to choose a breakaway issue from that pack, it would be issue #70.

There must be something unique that reached you with this tale. I'm curious to hear more.

-jb the "web-spinning" ib http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/spidey-icon.gif

[Sir Tim Drake]

Not sure where or what I was doing on Feb 18, but a random stroll thru some faded threads brought me here.

I am much impressed with the list that Sir Tim has assembled. He seems to be a well read lad. The list is covers a lot of classic comic material. Glad to see some excellent Roy Thomas Avengers in there, along with many many other tales that I would have included.

I do have to pose a question though on one particular comic book, and its not exactly meant to put you on the spot or anything (well maybe it is, but in a nice way).

It's interesting that you point at Spider-man #68 - Calamity on Campus.

It's not a Spidey tale that normally shows up on people's short list. Have to confess it's not on mine. It is an interesting lead-in to the issues to come, but I usually start my Kingpin/Silvermane reading with issue #69, and if I were to choose a breakaway issue from that pack, it would be issue #70.

There must be something unique that reached you with this tale. I'm curious to hear more.

-jb the "web-spinning" ib http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/spidey-icon.gif

First, thanks for the compliments! *blush*

Second, a few more that could have been included:

American Splendor: Terminal #1 - "The Terminal Years" (I think this is the one where he says "I'll lose the war, but I'll win a few skirmishes)
Batman Adventures #20 - "Smells Like Black Sunday"
Conan (Dark Horse) #7 - "Born on a Battlefield"
Eightball #23 - "The Death Ray"
Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #3 - "It's a Magic Number"
Love & Rockets vol. 2 #5 - "Bay of Threes"

And finally, about that Spider-Man #68. It's possible that I only included that because its cover appeared in Les Daniels's Marvel coffee table book, which I read long before I read the actual issue. But also, I thought the theme of the campus protest was handled quite well, and I liked the racial politics surrounding Robbie's son.

I also liked the Prowler two-parter from #78-79. Maybe I should have included that too.

[InfoBroker]

And since I singled out Sir Tim, it's only fair I cast my Spidey list for others to review and comment upon...

Amazing Fantasy #15. Everything in this origin and first story is now totally iconic, but the story is solid. The entire framework for one of the best super-hero legends of all time is encased in a mere 14 pages of material. If you can look at it with fresh eyes, it holds up as a solid well structured story. If all that came after never happened, if Sol and Martin Goodman ignored the sales numbers, then this issue would still be sought out by the classic comic readers. It is an amazing tale.

Amazing Spider-man #4 Following AF#15, the first three issues of Spider-man seem a bit jagged to me. Stan and Steve are trying to find their footing, and Spidey the character hasn't quite reach out and told them yet what does and doesn't work. But with these issue many elements all mix and strike a balance. The city at night, Spidey rooted in Manhattan, Peter struggling to find work, classmates and private life conflicting with the hero side of life. Oh, and of course the premiere of a significant villian, the Sandman.

Amazing Spider-man #7 Never cared much for the initial appearance of the Vulture. But this issue nail him, and really established the cockier side of Spidey's crime fighting style.

Amazing Spider-man #11-12 The set up issue with the links of Betty and her brother to the seedy mob characters, followed by Spidey's unmasking in the climax issue. These two issues also established the greatness of Doctor Octopus as one of Spidey's core villians.

Amazing Spider-man #13 The opening sequence of Spidey committing a crime. The psycological impact it has on the cast, Spider-man desperately seeking medical help. I also liked Mysterio's style and MO.

Amazing Spider-man #20 I can't say that this issue stands out the way AF#15 or ASM#50 do. This comic does not have that type of impact. But this is still a favorite of mine.

Amazing Spider-man #28 Pete's Graduation, a very cool cover, a somewhat oddball super-villian. This is an issue were the supporting cast and their activities far outweigh the significance of the super-hero plotline. And it's that supporting cast that makes the first 50 or so issues of Spider-man one of the greatest runs in the history of comics.

Amazing Spider-man #37 If you had never read a Spider-man comic in your entire life and you had no clue who or what Spider-man was. This is the Spider-man comic I would have you read first. It has continuity that threads from previous issues to future one (especially 39/40), but they are used as underpinnings here that spin around the main plot of this issue. This comic, like the splash page says, "is a doozy" So is the cover.

Amazing Spider-man #39/40 Issue #39 was my very first Spider-man comic. But even if I scale back those sentimental attractions, the quality of these two comics overwelms all of that.

Amazing Spider-man Annual #3 The mixing of Spidey's world to the breaks good and bad that other super-types are dealt. The pros and cons of Spider-man being invited to become an Avenger. And the final result here is very fitting.

Amazing Spider-man #44/45 The Lizard is a great villian. Spider-man just doesn't belong in Florida fighting him. But bring the Lizard to New York, and presto, the results are much more satisfying.

Amazing Spider-man #48/49 I love the covers to both of these issues. I love the city scenes and the battles. I also loved the way Gwen and MJ looked in these two issues. Er, um... onward please.

Amazing Spider-man #50 The other bookend to Amazing Fantasy #15. Another great cover, with legendary impact. The conflict of why Peter is Spider-man is presented in a wonderfully unique, and very humbling human fashion.

Amazing Spider-man #87 - just fooling. This would be on another list all together.

Amazing Spider-man #121/122 I can't think of a supporting cast member of any comic book series that is more missed that Gwen Stacy. Even to a couple of generations of comic fans who weren't there when she was.

Amazing Spider-man #248 The first time in a long time, where I remember where I was when I first read a Spider-man comic. This is a classic.

- jb the "watching day-lights saving time steal an hour from my weekend" ib http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/spidey-icon.gif

[InfoBroker]

Adding to the silver-age Avengers portion of Sir Tim's list:

Avengers #3 - This issue is the epitome example of the power that constituted the original members. it sets up the next issue, and Fantastic Four #25 and 26. But it is still a nice stand-alone story.

Avengers #4 - Sub-mariner is responsible for the return of Captain America. Outstanding rebirth/second origin tale.

Avengers #16 - The first major change-up in the organization of the Avengers. The power-shift downward was substantial. It made for an entirely different team interplay, and a different story telling approach.

Avengers #43/44 - From my viewpoint, it took about a year for Roy Thomas to find his own voice and flavor comics in his directions, while still operating within the framework of the Marvel style. I think one of his best skills was adding depth and background to characters that had meger texture before. With the Red Guardian, and probing deeper into Hawkeye and Natasha's history, these two issues are one of the first places he begins this process in ernest. In later issues he would also bring into play many golden-age themes that delighted him as a fan.

Avengers #49/50 - get these for the artwork of John Buscema. This was his breakaway moment, where he took what he had been learning about the dynamics of the Kirby style and proceeded to infuse it with his own anatomical truths and dramatic natures.

Avengers 54/55 - The summer of 1968 is upon us when these comics came out. Me, the wannabe-artist/writer, became absorbed in what big John was now producing. The page layout opened up, even while the size of the original artwork shrunk. I don't know if big JB preferred the smaller size, but he was quick to master it. Roy was also on a roll, and it became more evident(to me anyway), that he was doing a lot more work structuring the direction for his comics for many months, perhaps even years in advance of actually doing the story conferences with the artists. WIthout a doubt, I think the Avengers was his favorite assignment at this time in his career.

Avengers #57 - Sir Tim dodged around this one. Of the group of really great Avengers stories that Roy did in this timeframe, this is my favorite issue. A great cover, a tremendously paced sequence that introduced the return (well in name and a bit of styling anyway) of a now obscure golden-age character (The Vision), and Jan looked yummy (er, um... onward).

The last page, with the Xanadu quote is even more powerful than the splash page. And that is saying something, because the mood and dynamics of that opening sequence is spectacular. Needless to say, I was mimicking a lot of this issues' material in my creations of that time. A LOT!

Avengers 59 - is a tag team issue accompaning #60.

Avengers 66/67 - Barry Smith's next assignment after X-men #55, a bunch of covers, and a handful of Daredevil comics. His next stop, The Twilight Zone. Er, um... Conan. These two stories are wonderfully paced, and the history of the Vision is explored in more detail.

- jb the assembled ib http://webpages.charter.net/astrozoid/spidey-icon.gif

[Zerostatic]

244. Spawn #10: “Crossing Over” (yes, I said Spawn)

That was a cool, cool issue, anybody who hasn't read it, pick it up.