10. "The Generations Saga," from Infinity Inc. #1-10. I have a man-crush on Roy Thomas. I have a man-crush on Earth-2, and I have a man-crush on Power Girl. Done and done.
- 10. "The Generations Saga," from Infinity Inc. #1-10. I have a man-crush on Roy Thomas. I have a man-crush on Earth-2, and I have a man-crush on Power Girl. Done and done.
- 9. "Captain America No More," from Captain America #332-350. I understand this may not qualify because of length, but this overarching plotline Has Steve Rogers being stripped of his title, John Walker at his most jingoistic, a clone of Steve Rogers turning out to be The Red Skull, and Battlestar. Probably the highpoint of the Mark Gruenwald run.
- 9a. "CapWolf," from Captain America #402-408. If "Captain America No More," is Gruenwald's highpoint, then "CapWolf" proves that Gruenwald was beginning to run out of ideas. Still, was goofy fun, and the fact that Marvel hasn't started releasing Gruenwald's Cap issues in a Visionaries line just goes to prove how confused they are.
- 8. "Secret Wars," from Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1-12. I think with my dying breath my final words to my family and loved ones will be "Secret Wars is still better than Crisis." I don't care if there are only two dozen declarative sentences in the entire thing. It is a good, old-fashioned super-hero romp that has a straightforward story that you don't need a roadmap and a vin diagram to understand.
- 7. "The Return of Hawkman," from JSA #22-25. Even though this is David Goyer's last storyline as lead writer of the title, this is the point where most fans are beginning to realize what Geoff Johns can do when he's given a little latitude. You can really see his strengths as a comic book writer here: taking old, convoluted concepts, streamlining them and making them vital once again.
- 6. "Batman: Death and the Maidens," from Batman: Death of the Maidens #1-9. This multi-layered examination of the psyche of Batman with the parallel story of the rise to power of an unknown daughter of Ra's al Ghul is one of the most underrated Batman stories in the past 20 years, and it is, hands down, Klaus Janson's best work on Batman, period.
- 5. "Breakdowns," from Justice League America #53-60 and Justice League Europe #29-35. When people think of the Giffen-DeMattis interpretation of the League, they usually think of the phrase "Bwah-ha-ha." But they ended their run with a storyline that was as epic as it was heartbreaking. The writers realized they were coming to the end of an era, and they take their characters through the emotional wringer before ending on a note of inspiration.
- 4. "Who Killed Retro Girl?" from Powers vol. 1, #1-6. My first exposure to Brian Michael Bendis and Powers was in the serialized story in Comic Shop News, and when Powers #1 was released, I was immediately hooked. Bendis' take on the super-hero genre as police procedural was so realistic and believable that it jumped to the top of my reading list each month. Who knew Bendis would eventually rewrite the Marvel Universe in his own image?
- 3. "Reign of the Supermen," from various Superman titles in the early 90s. After the death of Superman, four new heroes rise to take his place. But one wants to destroy the others. From the appearance of Superboy, Steel, The Eradicator and The Cyborg Superman, to the reveal of the villain and the return of Superman with a ponytail, this run had me riveted. Three out of the four replacements are still some of my favorite characters (I'll let you guess which ones), and I will still buy anything they appear in.
- 2. "Batman: Year Two," from Detective Comics #575-578. I never cared for "Year One" as a kid, but "Year Two" continues to be one of my favorite all-time Batman stories, and Mike W. Barr doesn't get nearly enough credit as a Batman writer. It was also the inspiration for the Paul Dini-produced animated feature, Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm.
- 1. "Welcome Back, Frank," from The Punisher vol. 3, #1-12. It literally redefined and saved the character of Frank Castle from being thrown on the scrap heap because of his over- and misuse (something that looks like it's happening again, by the way). I also believe that this storyline has had the shortest transition time between appearing as a comic book and being adapted as the basic plot for the 2004 Punisher film.
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