Everyone has a favorite comic book. Whether they follow that title by buying each and every issue or, through curiosity, happen upon it out of coincidence, the story, or writing, or artwork strike an emotional chord that keeps it in their memory as one of the best comics ever.
And, just like every type of entertainment, everyone has a different opinion of what makes something great. These remaining five, are just my opinion of some of the greatest comics ever. Perhaps, one day, they will be yours, too.
Back in 2005, Marvel Comics released an 8 issue limited series called “House of M” that crossed over into many of its other popular titles. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, the “House of M” dealt with the mental breakdown of the reality altering mutant daughter of Magneto, Wanda Maximoff. A popular series in terms of copies sold, the real and lasting affect of this series would not be known until the end, when Wanda utters three simple words; “No More Mutants”.
With those words, most of Marvel’s secondary mutant characters had lost their powers and a universe that once consisted of thousands of mutants, was now down to a few hundred, with no idea if any new mutants would ever be born again.
Origin is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics from November 2001 to March 2002, written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, and illustrated by Andy Kubert (pencils) and Richard Isanove.
Finally, detailing the origins of one of Marvels most popular characters, the X-Man Wolverine’s history had long been a mystery and fodder for speculation. With the publication of this series, all those mysteries were put to rest and comic book fans had their story of who Wolverine was and how he became “The Best There Is”.
Published in 1985, “The Crisis on Infinite Earths” was a 12 issue limited series for DC comics with crossovers that spanned the entire DC universe. Written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by George Pérez (pencils/layouts), along with Mike DeCarlo, Dick Giordano, and Jerry Ordway (who shared inking/embellishing chores), these books succeeded in solving DC’s continuity problems and ended their numerous issues involving the multi-verse.
It also, killed such well known characters as Supergirl and Barry Allen’s The Flash, and was DC’s first major limited series, multi-book crossover. It’s changes to the DC universe continue to resonate till this day.
The “Identity Crisis” is a 7 issue limited series published by DC Comics in 2004. Written by Brad Meltzer with art by Rags Morales and inker, Michael Bair the books posed the question, “What would happen if the bad guys knew the good guy’s real identities?”. A first for comics, the death of Sue Dibny, wife of “The Elongated Man” and Tim Drake’s (Robin) Father, took comics in a totally new direction by highlighting the vulnerability of the immediate families of super-heroes. It, also, examined the affects of lies and deception on the stability of “The Justice League”.
Debated in comic book circles for it’s use of a sexual theme (Sue Dibny was, previously, raped by Dr. Light, which caused one of the main issues of memory altering for a greater purpose) some people, on the other hand, praised the realistic storyline.
Batman: The Killing Joke was published by DC Comics in 1988 as a one-shot graphic novel. Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, the book was both applauded and criticized for it’s graphic situations and violent nature.
In the comic, Batman’s arch nemesis, The Joker, has escaped from Arkham Asylum, kidnapped Commissioner Jim Gordon and shot and disabled, his daughter, Barbara, also known as, Batgirl, in an effort to drive him insane. It also, describes the Joker’s origin as a “down-on-his-luck” engineer, turned petty criminal who loses his wife and, after a freak accident, becomes the insane clown known as “The Joker”.
Considered one of the best Batman comics ever, on par, with “The Dark Knight Returns” and “Batman - Year One”, “The Killing Joke” is a story that should be read by anyone who wants to understand the Batman-Joker dynamic.
Well, those are my choices. What do you think? Do you agree … do you disagree? What are your favorites?
Whatever they may be, the fact that they made us think, feel or remember speaks volumes for their creators and I, for one, can’t wait for my next favorite.
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