Let's Name The Top 100 Comic Book Storylines/Events Together

[MDG]

Englehart, Rogers and Austin's brief, but excellent stretch of Detective. It was an oasis of style and substance in a wasteland. It gave us the best of what had been and the best of what could be in the life of a legendary character.

!!!!!!

(ten characters)

[FanboyStranger]

This has turned into a great mix of stuff, all of which is worthy of a list like this.

Since someone beat me to Frank Miller's DD-- I was going to go with Born Again with Mazzucheli-- I'm going to suggest Dylan Horrocks' Hicksville, the story of a young journalist focused on comics who goes to the small New Zealand town of Hicksville looking for some background on his favorite creator, and finds a community obsessed with comics and a library that holds every comic ever thought. It's a really powerful work that marries a true love for the medium with some exceptional storytelling.


1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387) *
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-KIrby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks

[Chris N]

Scott McCloud's Zot! Its only weakness-- an inconsistency of tone-- is also its strength. It doesn't read like a series where the creator knew where it was going from the beginning. It reads like a young artist trying to decide what type of stories he wants to tell and how to best tell them. And so it gradually fades from superhero adventure to small slice of life stories, never losing its fundamental heart.

Anybody whose ever found themselves reading about a fictional world and finding themselves thinking they'd rather live there can relate to Jenny's struggle at the core of the series.

Zot's final battle with the assassin 9-Jack-9 is the centerpiece of the superhero action of the book. And features the haunting revelation of Jack's identity.



As we transition away from the superhero stories, we get Autumn, one of my all-time favorite comics, as Jenny's mom looks at her life and realizes what was lost when she let practicality get in the way of dreams.



36 issues. So much to love. It begins as a fun-loving adventure series, and ends... someplace else. Everybody who hasn't read it should.



1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387) *
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-KIrby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud

[Cei-U!]

1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387) *
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-KIrby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics

They may forgo the political satire of the later newspaper strip but these stories are vibrant proof that a "funny animal" comic written for children can be entertaining for adults as well (it doesn't hurt that they're fall-down funny).

Cei-U!
I summon the awesome possum!

[shaxper]

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck:

Some might call it sacrilege to mention this before even listing Carl Barks, but, while I generally much prefer Barks to Rosa, this storyline was simply inspired -- a true pinnacle of comic book storytelling, weaving rich humor, deep pathos, careful historical (and Barksian) research, and scholarly detail into possibly the single more elaborate character study in all of comicdom. This book has made me laugh, cry, think, and wonder. You can't ask much more from a story than that.




1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck

[MRP]

43. Mike Mignola's Hellboy-distinctive art, great stories with a touch of humor and pathos and just plain old fun to read.


Wow , a lot of runs I wanted to mention have been added while I was at work. Glad to see Hicksville get some love. That series blew me away when I first discovered it.


1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola

[Kirayoshi]

"Disappointed, Miss Frost?"
"Astonished, Miss Pryde."

1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola
44. Astonishing X-Men, the Joss Whedon run

[dan bailey]

Watchmen may be, IMHO, overrated. But not this one.

1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola
44. Astonishing X-Men, the Joss Whedon run
45. V for Vendetta

[CromagnonMan]

I was wondering when the obligatory Alan Moore stories were going to get a mention. Still, i'd prefer those over the Awful, sorry, Astonishing X-Men.

[shaxper]

45. V for Vendetta

I swear this was going to be the next one I posted :)

I was wondering when the obligatory Alan Moore stories were going to get a mention. Still, i'd prefer those over the Awful, sorry, Astonishing X-Men

Everyone's entitled to an opinion. I really enjoyed the series, myself.

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola
44. Astonishing X-Men, the Joss Whedon run
45. V for Vendetta
46. Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck

[shaxper]

Jack Kirby's Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth:

We've been pretty quiet about Kirby so far. I know Kamandi isn't the Kirby work most people think of first, but I happen to feel it was his greatest. It contains all of the trademark Kirby touches that one should expect (fantastic layouts, dynamic action, awe-inspiring splash pages, and a strong sci-fi premise), but also goes much farther. In every issue, Kamandi ventures into a new area, discovering amazing villains and support characters, unforgettable settings, and bewildering cultures, technologies, and back stories. And yet, every issue, both Kamandi and Kirby move on, leaving behind amazingly rich content that could easily have formed its own hit series, in pursuit of a new city with new potentials for amazing adventure. Whereas efforts like The Fourth World, The Eternals, and even Kirby's classic Golden and Silver Age works began with one fascinating premise and rode it out, Kamandi's is a premise that forced Jack to keep introducing new premises, literally each issue. In a sense, Kamandi is the ultimate Kirby work, the recipient of the lion's share of his creative energies, because it truly is 30+ Jack Kirby premises, each given one to two issues.




1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola
44. Astonishing X-Men, the Joss Whedon run
45. V for Vendetta
46. Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck
47. Jack Kirby's Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth

[dan bailey]

46. Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck

Gerber will be the subject of my next inclusion, as it happens, assuming no one else cites it before then.

[FanboyStranger]

I was going to suggest Howard the Duck at some point, but I'm glad someone got to it before me as I had quite a few things I'd have liked to suggest first.

My next choice is Charley's War by Pat Mills and Joe Colquehon. I consider Charley's War to be the finest (anti)war comic of all time, edging out that spectacular short series written by comics' greatest writer/editor and illustrated by a handful of legendary artists which should also be on this list. Mills tells a storyof WWI that focuses on the political divide between the upper class officers and lower class soldiers as much as the horrors of trench warfare, and Colquehon's remarkable artwork is so laden with accurate, researched detail that you can almost smell the mud.

1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola
44. Astonishing X-Men, the Joss Whedon run
45. V for Vendetta
46. Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck
47. Jack Kirby's Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth
48. Charley's War

[dan bailey]

My next one was gone far too soon ... even more abruptly & prematurely than its creator.

1. Astro City
2. Cerebus
3. X-Men (Claremont)
4. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos (44-81)
5. Eightball
6. Jingle Jangle Tales
7. Maus
8. The Immortal Superman (Action Comics #385-387)
9. Conan the Barbarian
10.Preacher
11. Avengers- Busiek/Perez
12. Sandman Mystery Theater
13. Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
14. Howard Chaykin's American Flagg!
15. Usagi Yojimbo
16. Bone
17. The Spirit by Will Eisner
18. Eddie Campbell's Alec
19. Hawkworld, especially #s 1-14
20. Strangers in Paradise, "I Dream of You"
21. Sandman
22. Daredevil by Frank Miller
23. Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans
24. Jim Starlin's Dreadstar
25. Lee-Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR
26. All star superman Morrison
27. Gilbert Hernandez's "Palomar" cycle from Love & Rockets
28. Thor-Simonson
29. Manhunter--Goodwin & Simonson
30. Lee/Ditko Spider-Man
31. Simon & Kirby's Young Romance
32. Planetary
33. Promethea
34. Harvey Kurtzman's MAD
35. Thanos saga by Jim Starlin
36. Box Office Poison
37. Jim Shooter's Valiant Universe
38. Englehart, Rogers, and Austin's run on Detective
39. Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks
40. Zot! by Scott McCloud
41. Walt Kelly's Pogo stories in Animal Comics
42. The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
43. Hellboy by Mike Mignola
44. Astonishing X-Men, the Joss Whedon run
45. V for Vendetta
46. Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck
47. Jack Kirby's Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth
48. Charley's War
49. Hard Time