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The most obvious omission is Tomb of Dracula, closely followed by Englehart & Buscema’s Captain America and Perez’s Wonder Woman. I’d have liked to have seen Batman runs either by Moench & Kelley Jones or Denny O’Neil & Neal Adams included too. And possibly Grell’s Jon Sable, Ostrander’s GrimJack, Starlin’s Dreadstar and the Collins/Beatty Ms Tree series. And, rather than being equal 100th, Moench’s superb Master of Kung Fu should have been in the Top 20 at least.

Overall, though, the list was great fun and excellently presented, although you certainly managed to drag out the top ten. It would still be interesting to see which titles just missed the list.

Larry Hamma’s GI Joe. I guess I should have voted (so I can’t really complain) but since this run was seminal in so many of us 80’s kids getting into (and staying into) comics that I’m really surprised it didn’t make the list. Up through at least issue 75 or so of that run, that comic just kept getting better and better. It truly was a “super hero” comic in the guise of a war comic. And it had one of the greatest casts of bad guys in any comic book (the infighting among the bad guys was one of the best parts of the book, culminating in the battle for Cobra Island). Still, it was a great list that in general is hard to argue with (though it may contain too may “current” runs to be full unbiased). Great job.

At least Suicide Squad made it this time.

Without a doubt, Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg!

Honestly, I’m more shocked that the stuff I voted for did make the list. Invincible and Casey’s Wildcats in the top 80? Amazing!

I turned in an extended “top 35″, which were all comics that I couldn’t bear to leave out of my top 10– Here are the ones that didn’t even make the top 100!

10. Mantlo and S. Buscema’s Hulk
12. Moore and Davis’s Captain Britain
13. Grell’s Jon Sable, Freelance
14. Starlin’s Dreadstar
20. Grell’s Warlord
25. Verheiden and McDonnell’s The Phantom
27. Stern and Smith’s Dr. Strange
29. Wein and Wrightson’s Swamp Thing
30. Goodwin and Simonson’s Manhunter
31. Conway, Colan and Newton’s Detective Comics
33. Starlin’s Captain Marvel
35. Englehart and Rogers’ Silver Surfer

and of course the big one that I forgot:
ROY THOMAS AND JOHN BUSCEMA CONAN!

I’m not sure if it would even be legal under the terms of the list, but all the people who made Robinson’s Starman #8 (#2 by first place vote) should really check out his Firearm series from the now defunct Malibu. It’s the most Starman-like of his other work, I think, in that it’s an original character with a lot of good, quite development.

I’ll admit a little surprise that I haven’t seen a single person mention one of my choices: Mike W. Barr’s Batman & the Outsiders. With outstanding art by Jim Aparo and Alan Davis, in the ’80s, this book was one of the top sellers at DC along with top ten finisher Teen Titans. While it is not nearly as important or influential, I figured the fun stories and top notch art would be enough to earn this run some fond memories.

I guess the fact that DC has not kept this print in print in any form (except the recent B&W collection) and the lack of any long-term relevance really hurt this title’s popularity.

Perez’s Wonder Woman not making the list shocked the hell out of me. It was one of the 1980s most important superhero runs and redefined one of the major characters in superhero comics and it had one of the industry’s greatest artists and… and… and…

Don’t want to turn this into a gender discussion, but Byrne’s She-Hulk and Slott’s She-Hulk not appearing was also shocking to me, particularly Slott’s. It’s one of those series that has everything Internet fans claim to love and want about comics. And it doesn’t even make the Top 100?

Lots of stuff that didn’t make it, though.

Steranko’s Nick Fury was the one 1960s Marvel comic book run that you can read with modern sensibilities and not feel the need to “look past the ancient style”, because it is very ahead of its time.

Lee/Buscema’s Silver Surfer work hasn’t aged as well, particularly the sentimentalism and preaching don’t appeal as much to the modern reader, but it remains a classic.

Roy Thomas only having one work included is a bit disappointing too. His X-Men are the most famous work of his after Avengers, but he also did excellent work in the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner, for instance. Not to mention his Conan, that is a major comic book achievement and used to be a best-seller in the Bronze Age.

Don McGregor in Black Panther, Power Man, and Killraven. Perhaps the writer most ahead of his time that is almost totally forgotten nowadays. If only he had worked on more famous characters.

Steve Gerber. His Man-Thing run is amazing. It was Alan Moore before Alan Moore. His Defenders run was Grant Morrison before Grant Morrison.

Steve Englehart too deserved to have more than just his Batman work included. Jeez, he is more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy, once upon a time he was THE Marvel guy! And the list doesn’t include his work on Avengers, Captain America, Doctor Strange… all classics, all among the best runs these characters had.

And that is only the major pre-1980s Marvel stuff that I can remember.

I’m a bit surprised by all the GI Joe love, since I almost never heard of it here in my country. I know the concept, obviously (we had the action figures and the cartoons), and I know Larry Hama by his work on Wolverine, I guess.

I had Mark Verheiden work on Aliens, The Maxx and Sin City on my list. I figured Aliens didn’t have a hope and I wasn’t shocked that The Maxx didn’t make it. Sin City was a bit of a surprise, but what are you going to do? I would have also liked to have seen Mage and Marshall Law make the list, but since I didn’t vote for them I can’t really complain.

Young Justice was the only long running series, that I’ve read from start to end completely and it’s definitely one of my favorite runs (55 issues counts as long, right ?). I can understand if a lot of guys probably don’t favor a goofy and somewhat lighter book like YJ, or probably just didn’t notice it or flat out thought it wasn’t good. it was always impressive to me that Todd Nauck was able to go long periods without a guest artist.

Steranko’s Nick Fury was the one 1960s Marvel comic book run that you can read with modern sensibilities and not feel the need to “look past the ancient style”, because it is very ahead of its time.

I may have mentioned this in another comment thread, but it appears that almost no one voted for an ‘artist only’ run. We had lots of runs by writer and some writer runs sub-divided by artist, but no artists only. That combined with a preference for recent work accounts for most of my shockers:
- Kangier and Kubert’s “Sgt. Rock”
- Gil Kane’s “Green Lantern”
- Carmine Infantino’s “The Flash”
- Kubert’s “Hawkman”
- Sternanko’s “Captain America”
- Jim Aparo’s “Aquaman”
- Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis’ “Batman and the Outsiders”
- Roger Stern and Paul Smith’s “Dr. Strange”
- Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson’s “Manhunter”
- Roy Thomas and John Buscema’s “Conan”
- Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s “Tomb of Dracula”

and, of course:
- George Perez’s “Wonder Woman”, which really is the defining run for a long-standing character. All those runs are now officially ‘under-rated’ in my book.

What is really odd is most of these are classic DC runs by various artists. I had always thought of DC as the “House of Writers” and Marvel as the “House of Artists”, but I was most involved as a comic reader in the ’80s and early ’90s. DC had Alan Moore resulting in a wave of both British talent coming mostly into those early Vertigo books, plus editor Mike Gold bringing in guys from the defunct First Comics. Of those groups, the writers were vastly more productive. Brian Bolland and Adam Hughes are great cover artists, but neither has cranked out much interior work. Conversely, Marvel was handing scripting chores to every ‘hot’ artist they could sign.

Maybe folks just don’t read the pre-Crisis DC stuff as avidly as they read old Marvels. If so, it is a shame. The house styles were very different, but equally good.

I’ll just name a few that I named in the other post of runs that I was a little shocked didn’t make it:

Wolfman’s Tomb of Dracula
Chaykin’s American Flagg
Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory
Simone’s Birds of Prey
Vaughan’s Ex Machina
WAGNER’s Mage
O’Neil and Adam’s Batman/Detective
Englehart’s Avengers
Waid’s Captain America
Johnson and Williams’s Chase
Claremont and Cockrum’s X-Men
Sterenko’s Nick Fury Agent of Shield
Sterenko’s Captain America
Grell’s Jon Sable, Freelancer
Bryne’s She-Hulk
Shooter’s Legion of Superheroes
Weisenger’s Superman
Englehart’s Dr Strange
Conway’s Spider-Man
Dematteis’s Spider-Man
Perez’s Wonder Woman
Rucka’s Queen and Country
Starlin’s Dreadstar
David’s Dreadstar
Shooter and Lapham’s Harbinger

Dean,

The ironic thing is, Steranko’s Nick Fury isn’t exactly an artist’s run either, since Steranko was really a writer/artist like John Byrne, Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, and others. His Nick Fury was revolutionary both in writing and pencilling, and that makes it an even bigger shame that it didn’t make the list.

Before circa 1988, I’d say Marvel was as much a “House of Writers” as DC. Yeah, post-1988 it changed, as the hot artist became even more powerful. But there is something to what you say, in that many of the more celebrated runs in Marvel were by the writer/artists mentioned above. And we can also add Jim Starlin to this list.

Anyway, I don’t say this strong writer/artist dicothomy you mention between Marvel/DC, except in a specific period of comics from 1988 to about 1996 or so.

I meant: “I don’t SEE this strong writer/artist dicothomy between the two houses.”

Stern/Byrne CAPTAIN AMERICA was my #8 and only pick that didn’t make the list. Something about those Invaders/Baron Blood issues still get me excited. Joe Rubinstein’s inks were fantastic, too. It’s unfortunate Shooter’s editorial rule caused them to leave the book. If they had hung on for a least another year, I have no doubt it would have been a top 100.

The two runs I voted for that didn’t make it were Kurtzman’s MAD and Simonson’s FF. MAD is simply one of the greatest and most influential comics ever, and Walt’s FF is the only run on the book that comes close to approaching Kirby. I was surprised that Waid’s mediocre FF made the cut over this one.

Other stuff that I didn’t vote for, but I think are top 100 runs material-
Fox/Sekowsky Justice League of America
Haney/Aparo Brave and the Bold
Chaykin’s American Flagg
Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis’s Batman
Haney/Fradon’s Metamorpho

I’m surprised GI Joe didn’t make the top 100, too. Those awesome animated commercials for the comic book (yes, they actually advertised comics on tv) were what got me into collecting comics in the first place. And the stories were great. The battle for Cobra Island is one of my favorite storylines ever. I would have thought a lot more people on this site got into comics the same way as me, and remembered that run fondly, guess not.

Of things not on my list, I’m probably most surprised Thomas and Buscema’s Conan didn’t make the list. I’ve only read a couple issues, but I liked what I saw,

I almost had Dick Sprang’s Batman on my list. That would have been artist only. Of course, I didn’t, so I guess it’s kind of a moot point.

I was surprised to see neither Arcudi/Mignola/Davis’s BPRD nor McKeever/Miyazawa’s Mary Jane/Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. I had also voted for Leonardi/David’s Spider-Man 2099 which was pretty much just awesome until Leonardi left. Those were actually the only three of my list to make it and BPRD was my #1 choice—I just cannot stop wanting more volumes and every time they release a new volume, I go back and gleefully read from Volume 3 onward. This is what I remarked in my original email with my choices:
_______________________________

Guy Davis’ involvement in BPRD has completely turned the book around. Volume 1 with Ryan Sook was mediocre. It was an alright story with art that was reminiscent of Mignola’s work on Hellboy, but it did little to bring BPRD into its own. Volume 2 was a step down. Some of the stories were so-so and some were just on the lighter side of bearable. Guy Davis’ short about investigating a long-passed witch witch hunt is the saving grace of the second volume.

With Volume 3, everything changes. Mignola began working with John Arcudi on story and script and art chores were given over entirely to Guy Davis. The story of BPRD (at last there was a story!) began to evolve and BPRD, volumes 3–7 have been among the best examples of Good Comics in the last five years. Davis has given the book a distinct look and one that fits the story and mood even better than Mignola’s own wonderful style.

There are only a small handful of books that merit my checking of Amazon with any regularity for a new release date. BPRD is certainly among those.

omissions that I think should have been on the list, regardless above Howard the Duck to name a few:

John Bucsema’s Conan

Chuck Dixon and scott McDaniels Nightwing.

Ron Marz and Daryl Banks Green Lantern.

Romita Jr. Thor.

The original George Perez run on Avengers.

Bob Layton Ironman.

McFarlane Spiderman.

Alan Davis Captain Britain

Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse Tom Strong

Jim Cheung Scion ( crossgen )

..just to name a few

My only pick not on the list was Jim Shooter’s Avengers, which I found kind of surprising.

I also notice Mark Waid and Ron Garney’s first Captain America run is missing (and not even mentioned on this thread, unless I missed it). This is kind of interesting because I remember that one being hailed as the best, definitive Cap run of the time (much as Brubaker’s run is praised today).

Before circa 1988, I’d say Marvel was as much a “House of Writers” as DC. Yeah, post-1988 it changed, as the hot artist became even more powerful.

Rene, you are almost certainly right.

There was huge outflow of talent from Marvel during late-’70s and ’80s. Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, ROY THOMAS and lot of other folks went out the door. In the case of Wein, Wolfman and Thomas, they became writer-editors at DC. In turn, they ‘broke’ a lot of talent. Wein hired Alan Moore on ‘Saga of the Swamp Thing’ and edited “Watchmen”. Roy Thomas hired both Jerry Ordway and Todd McFarlane on “Infinity, Inc.” Denny O’Neil brought Frank Miller to “Batman” and Grant & Breyfogle to “Detective”. Wolfman co-created both the new-version of “Teen Titans” and the post “Man of Steel” version of Lex Luthor. Steve Engelhart did an highly regarded version of Batman and grossly under-rated run on Green Lantern. Gerry Conway created the Justice Leaague: Detroit ….

… Well, you can’t win them all.

Chaykin’s American Flagg and O Neil’s Batman.

The list was a lot of FUN - I couldn’t believe I have all of these runs. Perhaps next list should be of the Top 50 Creators/Writers with the same rules applied as in this list. Some of the bvious top choices in terms of influence would be Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, D. O’Neill, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison,etc. However, it would be tricky since even though Stan Lee created the X-Men, Claremont’s run is, to me, more fun.
When voting, we could either write an essay as to why Grant Mirrison is God, or just include their works, like in the comments left by John B, and Billy F.
Or maybe the list would be redundant? I don’t know, just a thought
Happy Free Comic Book Day!
J

The one I had highest on my list that didn’t make the top 100 was Abnett and Lanning’s LSH. I guess it’s not that surprising, though, as its sales weren’t all that strong.

Heh, am I the only one who put Simon Furman’s run on Transformers on their list?

dhole,

I mentioned Mark Waid’s Captain America run in my post above. Both his runs on the title were among my favorite of the 90s, but I’m of the very small group of people who actually love his second run on Cap better than his first. I know, I’m weird.

So where are Carl Barks’ Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories and John Stanley’s Little Lulu? These are two of the greatest comics of all time and we are talking long, extended runs here. Barks’ Uncle Scrooge belongs as well.

This WAS a lot of fun. thanks Brian. I think all of my 10 made it,. but I think I was most shocked by the lack of O’Neil/Adams Batman from the entire list which was on my list before the resubmit call went out. It was the oversized reprint of the Ra’s Al Ghul storyline, and Talia defined sexy comic book foil for my seven year old mind. That is always the Batman to me, and apparently for Morrison as well. Kind of surprised not to see the Loeb/Lee Hush run, which doesn’t really break new ground, but is the epitome of a well told Batman tale.
Perez WW does stand out, but not really one of my favorites, so it didn’t make the10. I guess, like a lot of people…I picked my favorites and not necessarily the most influential.

I haven’t seen anyone nominate two of my favorites:

ROM by Mantlo and Buscema
Micronauts by Mantlo and Golden

And, though I haven’t read them in a long time, I was a big fan of Moench & Sienkiewicz on Moon Knight.

I also voted for the Abnett/Lanning Legion. I knew other folks would go for Levitz/Giffen, but Abnett/Lanning is the LOSH I enjoy the most.

I wasn’t really surprised that by any of my top 10 that didn’t make the list, although I thought Spider-Girl would sneak in there. But of course I wished they would have made it. I picked the Engelhart/Staton Green Lantern/GLC as my number 2 choice. It’s surprising that that run isn’t more celebrated.

So where are Carl Barks’ Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories and John Stanley’s Little Lulu? These are two of the greatest comics of all time and we are talking long, extended runs here. Barks’ Uncle Scrooge belongs as well.

While we are out of the superhero ghetto, how about Dan DeCarlo’s “Archie”?

No mention of Grell’s Green Arrow run? Oh well.

Peter David’s Supergirl (especially 1-50) is the most slept upon run I can think of. It actually means a lot to me, and I can’t say that about a lot of comic runs, especially those that i didn’t read off the shelf.

I also think that Rucka’s WW is superior to Perez’s and should have been somewhere on there.

Oh, the only run more slept on than PAD’s Supergirl? Thunderbolts v1 51-75. The stuff that Nicieza did with Zemo in those issues are so good. Ah well.

Stuff I thought was overlooked:

- George Perez on “Wonder Woman” (with a couple of other writers involved in the early issues); classic, classic stuff, really the best period for the character in terms of synergy of creativity in art and writing (if Rucka’s run had been allowed to finish, it might have surpassed Perez).

- Kevin Smith’s “Green Arrow”; it was brief, but I love ‘Quiver’ so much; one of my all-time favourite DC stories.

I had four selections on my list that didn’t crack the top 100: I expected seven to make it.

The one that I thought would get chosen for the top 100 but wasn’t was Perez’s Wonder Woman, but many people have mentioned that.

The other three were:

* Barr’s Batman & the Outsiders, which I mentioned above.

I didn’t expect it to make the top 100, but I thought more people would talk about it. Since I posted that (and I was referring to all the comments throughout this feature when I said I don’t remember it mentioned) a couple of people have mention Barr and Davis, which I find odd, because I thought Barr and Aparo were just as good.

After about a half dozen issues had passed when Davis had replaced Aparo on the book, I remember warming up to him, and finally coming around to the opinion that I liked his work even better. Then Aparo came back, and made me realize I liked *him* better on the book all along.

* Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting

I knew this didn’t have a chance of sniffing the top 100, as a) It isn’t published by the big 2, or even the big 10, b) It never generated the huge buzz among indies like Bone or Cerebus, and c) Medley interrupted the run to go off and make some real money doing something else. So clearly no one is buying or reading the book.

But I don’t care — this was the list of *favorite* runs, and well, this is a favorite of mine. I love fairy tales, and find Medley’s playful take on the classic fairy tales endearing and wonderful.

For those who are not familiar with the book, let me attempt to give a brief summary: A pregnant woman, who seems to be on the run for some reason from the father of her baby, shows up at a castle that has been deserted by the royal family who once lived there and is now inhabited by a number of characters from various fairy tales. As she settles in and prepares to give birth, we learn about the odd past of the characters as well as seeing how they get along day-to-day in the castle.

Gee that description sounds a bit like Lost! No smoke monster, though.

* DC’s ‘Mazing Man, by DeStefano and Rozakis.

I also figured no one would vote for this selection, but I find it so charming and quirky, and so unlike what DC was doing at the time that I couldn’t resist it, then or now. I reread it regularly, and I find ‘Maze, who “battles crime” by keeping his neighborhood safe through things like recycling cans and making sure kids cross the street safely, imminently relatable.

It didn’t sell well at the time — it lasted just a dozen issues before being cancelled due to low sales — and other than a couple of specials shortly afterward, I’ve never heard that DC did anything with any of the characters. They don’t fit into the standard mold, after all. Maybe Morrison will write ‘Maze into Final Crisis!

Lest anyone think I am a DC guy from my choices here, of the six that made the top 100, four were Marvel (Simonson’s Thor, Miller’s DD, Byrne’s FF, Layton/Mich.’s Iron Man) and two were independent (Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo and Groo, my No. 1 choice (the only No. 1 for that title! I can’t believe it!)).

Great fun, this entire venture. I had fun following the top characters, but I hadn’t actually submitted my list. When this feature came along, I just had to be a part of it. Thanks Brian, for giving us a chance to talk about our favorite stuff!

By my calculations, there are well over fifty No. 1 votes missing. Any chance of seeing numbers 101 - 200, even just a listing without any write ups?

“Steve Englehart too deserved to have more than just his Batman work included. Jeez, he is more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy, once upon a time he was THE Marvel guy! And the list doesn’t include his work on Avengers, Captain America, Doctor Strange… all classics, all among the best runs these characters had.”

I had Englehart’s JLA also on my list (his ‘Tec was my #1), and overall I think he got the shaft. He could’ve appeared at least four more times on the list.

All those who are saying O’Neil/Adams Batman need to realize that they never had a “run” together. Adams never drew more than three issues in a row (and Batman #243-245 was the only time he did three in a row), so a vote for “O’Neil’s Batman” would be more correct.

No mention of Grell’s Green Arrow run? Oh well.

It was in the Top 100.

In terms of personal flaws, I think I forgot to add Adam Warren’s Gen 13 run to my list. But overall? Yeah, I’m not feeling the need to beef with the list.

I think Steranko’s Captain America ran less than 6 issues, which, if I recall correctly, disqualifies it.

MAD & Archie lack overall story arcs (I’ve read very little Archie, so I could be wrong). I didn’t see any anthology series on the list. Kurtzman’s MAD was amazing comics, but I have a hard time thinking of it as a “run.”

The Maxx is one of my favorites, and I’m surprised it didn’t make it. Other surprise omissions include Infantino’s Flash, Kubert’s Sgt. Rock & Tarzan, Gerber’s Defenders, and Busiek’ & Oliffe’s Untold Tales of Spider-Man.

No Tomb of Dracula! It’s up there with Howard the Duck as best Big 2 series of the 70s. Gene Colan & Tom Palmer knocked it out of the park.

@Lee - I may have actually voted for Castle Waiting myself, but I didn’t count it as a run for reasons described in prior threads. I think that confusion over what exactly counted as a “run” ham-strung certain worthwhile books (though obviously not enough to keep Sandman out of the top spot*).

*I wouldn’t count Gaiman’s work on Sandman a run since he was the only writer, but I think one could count the artists’ stints on the book as being runs. Unfortunately, I think the art on the book is pretty much its most glaring weak point.

All of my picks made the list, except for JMS’s Rising Stars.

I’ve always loved the “ordinary guys with superpowers in the real world” concept. I know many comic book fans who think it kills the fun, superheroes should be kept silly, etc. but it actually engages my imagination and wish fullfilment, to think of myself gaining powers in our own world.

I’ve watched all the “Heroes” episodes (even the disappointing second season), and I’ve read all of “Wild Cards” novels. Yep, strange, the two biggest examples of the sub-genre come from outside comic books. What the hell?

The biggest exceptions have been Marvel’s defunct New Universe line and JMS’s Rising Stars. JMS actually had a lot of promise as a writer once. I idolized the man that created Babylon 5, and I was excited as hell when he came to comics. The first issues of Rising Stars gave me what I had craved for a long while, and more. A big, complicated cast of “normal guys with powers”, tragedy, mysteries aplenty, serial killings, and even a superhero with transvestite desires (I’m not making this up).

It was just like “Heroes”, except “Heroes” never got to crossdressing.

But there seems to be something to what JMS does in comics, sooner or later he always sabotages the work. The first 8 issues or so were great. Then we get stuff like the heroes fighting a city full of zombie werewolves (nothing against zombie werewolves in theory, but it’s the wrong concept in a series trying to be all serious), we get stuff like the extreme melodrama of the healer giving up her life to revive the hero, and finally it confused the hell out of me to have George W. Bush as the villain President as the final segment of the series takes place 20 years in the future (are we to suppose that circa 2020 we’ll have a Prez with the same facial features as George?)

Even so, the final issues manage to recapture a bit the initial dramatic strength of the series.

So, the series is uneven as hell, and is only on my list because I found the first third of it so amazing, and it appeals to my love of this particular sub-genre. Maybe I should re-read it someday and see if I’m more forgiving of the errors outlined above.

Stuff I was disappointed not to see:

-Wolfman & Colan’s Tomb of Dracula
-Barr & Davis’ Detective Comics
-Evanier & Spiegle’s Blackhawk
-Evanier & Spiegle’s Crossfire (CRIMINALLY underrated, people!)
-Thomas & Ordway’s All-Star Squadron

Pretty surprised not to see Mark Waid’s Captain America (which had one of my votes) and Wolfman and Colan’s Tomb of Dracula, which I didn’t vote for, but which I think is basically the best comic-book run of the entire 1970s.

I think I had Winick’s GL run just missing my ballot, on account that his run petered out in the end, which is the same reason I had to shut out Marz’s run. And I think Winick’s capable of coming back…kinda pains me that his name is a four-letter word in the online world.

Dang should have posted here first.

I wrote in another thread how schocked I was that NOT ONE title of the great DC Silver Age era made it!!!
All those Julius Schwartz edited titles that actually saved the superhero genre (without whom there would be no Top 100 runs, just barely a Top Ten when you account for the very few titles that are not superhero genre), all those classic written by Gardner Fox or John Broome, and drawn by either Carmine Infantino or Gil Kane: NONE! Not even the one who started it all, the Silver Age Flash made it!?

And what about the Weisenger era SUPERMAN? Where would be Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman without the explosions of ideas that built the Man of Steel’s mythology in the Silver Age drawn mostly by the great Curt Swan?

While it was fun, the set up for the poll eliminated most non-superhero genre, the anthology format of EC Comics to name the most obvious.

Also the more recent stuff didn’t leave much room for the Golden Age, Silver Age (except for a few Marvel flagship titles) and even the Bronze Age.

Thanks for the Top 100, Brian! I really enjoyed reading the list, and appreciated the mix of old and new stuff.

My list for should-have-beens:

Buscema’s Conan!! -A classic.
Wolfman/Colan/Palmer Tomb of Dracula -all of them contributed.
Grell’s Jon Sable -underrated I think, as I don’t hear much talk of it. He’s a very good storyteller, good characters.

Kubert’s Tarzan, Sgt. Rock!! -of course. Such a unique art style, powerful and present.
Wrightson’s Swamp Thing -I wonder what a Moore/Wrightson collaboration would be like?
Sienkiewicz’s Moon Knight -Still his best comic series, for my liking. Love the transition from Neal Adams look to crazy daring Sienkiewicz. I like the supporting cast as well. Finch’s art on the new Moon Knight is good, but the writer screwed up the characters.

Vaughan/Harris Ex Machina -just read the first 6 TPBs, and it really draws you in. Worthy.
Ennis/Silvestri The Darkness, Waid/Silvestri Hunter Killer -Silvestri fan.

I’d like to see a Top 100 for individual comics, or limited series, so I can nominate some Garcia Lopez stuff. Did Asterix qualify for the Top 100? That’ll be in there too.

Kirbydotter, I’ve always had the impression that DC’s Silver Age was the stuff most people who read comic books loved. It is the stuff that is mostly praised in the Internet, after all. Turns out I was wrong. It is the stuff most critics and bloggers and columnists love, but the bulk of comic book readers seems to prefer the more modern stuff and more Marvel stuff.

And this poll is just that, a popularity contest. And there is nothing right or wrong about that.

Actually, if this were a poll made from votes of EVERYONE that buys and reads comics, I suspect Marvel and modern comics would be even more strongly represented.

For a whole host of reasons people have noted in the threads, but mostly because DC’s Silver Age seems to lack the emphasis on angst that draws so many modern readers, and has aged even worse than Marvel’s Silver Age stories.

Speaking as a modern reader (born in 1987, started reading single-issue comics in 2004) Silver Age DC is a strange mix of incredible genericness (the characters) and incredible nonsensical weirdness (the plots); they’re fun to look over and make fun of for their sheer insanity and illogic (Chris’s Invincible Super-Blog and the like basically hang their hats on that sort of activity), but I’d never consider them “good” for the most part, although there are often some decent ideas that future writers could use. By the time you get to the early 70s you get some stuff that I’d consider genuinely worthy, such as GL/GA and some Batman runs.

For a whole host of reasons people have noted in the threads, but mostly because DC’s Silver Age seems to lack the emphasis on angst that draws so many modern readers, and has aged even worse than Marvel’s Silver Age stories.

Rene - I have to disagree with you slightly. I have a very young child, so I am actually reading this stuff aloud. The DC and Marvel Silver Age material has aged roughly equally. Neither have modern, naturalistic dialogue. The pacing is actually a bit better for the DCs and the art is slicker.

However, you can tell Stan Lee is writing the Marvels. You hear his ‘voice’ in all those comics and Stan Lee is good company. Plus, the Lee-Kirby and Lee-Ditko Marvels have a shaggy, underdog charm. You want to forgive he little … quirks. The DCs seems more professional, which make the dated style less forgivable somehow.

Alan Grant’s Lobo. One of the most hysterically funny things I’ve ever read.

The Kesels’ Hawk & Dove, which is still my favourite ever series from DC… Well, maybe second after All Star Superman, now, but still well worthy of inclusion.

Just to echo some above comments, and add a few personal faves:

Englehart’s Avengers run (with art by Buckler, Heck, Brown, Buscema, Giella, Cockrum, etc.)
Mantlo’s Rom:Spaceknight
Claremont/Cockrum X-men
Claremont/Leiloha Spider-Woman
Claremont’s Ms. Marvel
The Simonson Fantastic Four
Steve Gerber’s Defenders

For all the good and plausible reasons people have advanced as to why O’Neil/Adams Batman didn’t make it, it remains the omission that most surprised me. Others I thought may have made it include Waid/Garney’s first Cap run, Englehart’s Avengers and Barks’ Uncle Scrooge.

However there are several runs on the list I didn’t know much about that sound so good that I’m now considering seeking them out.

I’ve already mentioned these elsewhere:

The two of mine that didn’t make it were:

9. Robinson/Casey/Ladrönn/Cable (I think it counts as one run, as the writers worked together. Both had the same artist anyway, so call it Ladrönn’s run if you like.)
10. David/X-Factor (Current series)

I’m not surprised my number nine didn’t make it, but I can’t believe PAD’s first X-Factor run beat the current X-Factor. Oh well.

Stuff that maybe should have been on the list:
Lapham – Stray Bullets
Larsen – Savage Dragon
Straczynski – Rising Stars
Straczynski/Romita Jr – Amazing Spider-Man
Lee/Buscema – Silver Surfer
PAD – Aquaman
Jones/Romita Jr – Hulk
Vaughn/Harris - Ex Machina
Priest/Bright - Quantum & Woody
Kieth - The Maxx
Miller - Sin City
Slott - She-Hulk

I think all of those deserved a spot, especially Quantum & Woody (I should’ve voted for it).

Having read these comments, I agree that Smith’s Green Arrow should have made it. Also, although I haven’t read Barks’s Uncle Scrooge, I’m surprised it hasn’t made it. I’m also surprised that Whedonites didn’t ensure a spot for Buffy.

I’d like to ask a question.

I’m an Ennis man. I also love Gaiman, Moore and Ellis. However, most of my exposure to Morrison has been his mainstream stuff - X-Men (it was on my list), JLA (it was okay, but didn’t make my list), Marvel Boy (awesome), All-Star Superman (love it, but it didn’t make my list) and Batman (I’m waiting for him to give us more on this one). I’ve also read We3 and think it might be one of the greatest achievements within the medium. During the posting of results for this poll, I picked up all three of his Animal Man trades and hope to get into them soon. My question is this: If I plan on getting all the trades for Doom Patrol, The Invisibles and Seven Soldiers, which of those three should I get first, second and third?

While I didn’t expect all of these to make the list here’s the one’s I voted for that didn’t make it. I’d have loved them all to have had more support but hey that’s the fun of these things not all the things you love will be popular enough. So anyway

My no.2 Grant Morrison’s Zenith (I thought this was my one but checked and Animal Man got that. Anybody who loves Morrison’s work should try their best to get this stuff from 2000ad. Book 3 is Morrison’s first take on doing a ‘Crisis’ for DC using old British comic book characters and is truly brilliant. Steve Yeowell’s black and white art (book 4 was in colour) was some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen. I think this only failed to chart as its been out of print for a long time due to legal issues. But dig out the issues of 2000ad and in some you’ll get the added treat of…

Wagner and Grant’s Judge Dredd - another from my list. Didn’t expect this fella to make it but had to vote for the greatest run on the greatest British comic character ever. Right from the outset Judge Dredd was a biting dark satire told with humour and cool nails hard action. I specifically went for the Wagner and Grant Dredd, a pretty long run over some 9 years (I think) of weekly joy as during their time together they removed the worst of each others excesses. Dredd’s world had matured and was fully formed and was surely the most fun comic book playground ever. For half the stories Dredd isn’t the star the citizens of Mega City One and Dredd’s universe beyond the city are….oh I could go on all day but please America if you get the chance catch onto the delights that is Judge Dredd (and not that damned shameful Stallone movie that for large points missed the point entirely!)

Zot! Are Scott McClouds Zot! the perfect blend of whimsical fun, real characters, fantastic worlds, terrifying villains (9 Jack 9 is one of the truly great Villains I think, my favorite ever) and a bit of Art History. Around issue 25 (maybe 26) it took a turn of direction and moved Zot to the ‘real world’ these issues showed the start of the ideas that McCloud would use in later works dealing with more real human stories (well that’s not fair as all of Zots! stories were every human so maybe just real is better?). Genius stuff

Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Specifically the volumes written by Goscinny as amazing as Uderzo’s art is it just hasn’t been the same since Goscinny died. These books ar many many things, the way I learnt to read, timeless, it grows with you, it has possibly the best comics art ever (I know it’s a big statement but the books in the middle of the run are just exquistite) but must of all funny, laugh out load funny. Truly all ages and truly great. A hat off to translaters Bell and Hockridge who play making the English translations I read so funny.

Hate by Pete Bagge, and speaking of funny and human and great art and satire its all in here to. Kinda thought this one would make it to the early part of the list as I thought it was the biggest of alternative comics for a long time and thus might get some more votes. Ho hum if you’ve note read it check it out its all out there in trades.

I also voted for Nocenti’s Daredevil but I’ve commented about that elsewhere. Waid’s Flash, Stern’s Avengers, Eisners Spirit and Morriosn’s Animal Man made up my other votes.

Enough from me already!

I can’t say that I’m “shocked” that some classic runs didn’t make the top 100 because (a) most of the voters aren’t over 50, and (b) I didn’t vote for them either. My list was heavily slanted towards “favorite” over “best.”

The biggest surprises were Tomb of Dracula by Wolfman/Colan, and Conan the Barbarian by Thomas/Buscema not making the list at all when I thought they both had a shot at the top ten.

I don’t know what to make of the fact that Robert Kanigher and Bob Haney didn’t make the list at all, given that the internet fanboy community ( of which I am a proud member) seems to be obsessed with them at times, and how often they worked on iconic characters with great artists. (Kubert, Aparo, Heath, etc.)

Here’s how I voted:

1: Hitman - Ennis/McCrea
2: The Mighty Thor - Simonson/Simonson
3: Tarzan of the Apes - Kubert/Kubert
4: Master of Kung Fu - Moench/Gulacy
5: Brave and Bold - Haney/Aparo
6: G.I. Combat (Haunted Tank) - Kanigher/Heath
7: Tomb of Dracula - Wolfman/Colan
8: The Shadow - O’Neill/Kaluta
9: Swamp Thing - Moore/Bissette
10: The Spectre - Ostrander/Mandrake

I’m surprised the longest creator owned strip of all time didn’t make the list. “Cerebus”.

Cerebus did make the list, and well-deserved, too!

I’d recommend Doom Patrol first, then Seven Soldiers (as I presume you dig superheroes, right?) then Invisibles.

But really, they’re all excellent, so any order would be fine.

I am shocked and appalled that nobody has yet mentioned “Flaming Carrot”. I guess I can’t complain too much because I forgot to put it on my list, but if I had remembered, it would’ve been #1.

Doom Patrol is the best run in comic book history, so yeah, I’d start with that!

I had 5 of my runs place - I’m counting my vote for Leviz’s legion as placing even though more people voted for just his first collaboration with Giffen.

What didn’t make it?

My # 2 Jim Aparo’s second run on Aquaman (scripts and/or plotting mostly by Paul Levitz or David Micheline, but with Martin Pasko, Gerry Conway, and Steve Skeates thrown in for good measure.)
[Adventure Comics #441 – 452, Aquaman #57 – 59] Didn’t expect this to make the list.

# 5 Ed Hannigan and Jerry Bingham’s run on Black Panther
[Black Panther #13 – 15, Marvel Premier #51 – 53; just made the 6 issues requirement there!} Didn’t expect this to make it, either.

6) Dick Dillin’s run on Justice League of America (written by too many to lists)
[Justice League of America #64 – 66, 68 – 75, 77 – 84, 86 – 92, 94 – 152, 154 – 183; a little over the 100 issue mark so if I must really choose one collaborator then it’d be Steve Englehart #139 – 146, 149-150. But I hope enough other people mention the Dillin run that my vote’ll count, as is.] I had hopes for this but … no …

Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s run on Marvel Team-Up
[Marvel Team-up #59 – 70] Lot’s more fun than their X-stuff in my opinion. Didn’t expect it to make the list, though.

9) Roger Stern’s run on Dr. Strange
[Dr, Strange 47 – 62, 65 -73, 75] This I am suprised about.

Omissions new and old:

Bruce Jones’ Incredible Hulk
Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man
Brian Azzarello’s 100 Bullets & Hellblazer
Doug Murray/ Mike Golden’s The ‘Nam
Don Lomax’s Vietnam Journal
John Severin’s Incredible Hulk, Sgt Fury, Captain Savage and Semper Fi

Sorry — 100 Bullets is a limited series — easy to overlook that fact considering …

Sorry — 100 Bullets is a limited series — easy to overlook that fact considering …

Nah, it’s an ongoing.

And it’s on the list!

Josh - I voted for Furman’s Transformers too, knew I was being a bit optimistic though.

Brian - think I may have asked this before (apologies if I have) - how many runs were there in total?

Brian, were there any runs that got only one vote, and it was a #1?

Brian and Greg: Thanks guys. That’s what I thought. Altthough I am interested in politics and similar subjects, and I did take quite a bit of acid as a teenager, I thought I’d be better off starting with Doom Patrol rather than The Invisibles (yes, I do like superheroes). I thought I should maybe read The Filth before starting on The Invisibles, as I understand it’s concnetrated Morrison goodness, similar to The Invisibles but in one volume. Let me know if this sounds about right.

I have one vote that, unsuprisingly, does not appear on the Top 100 :

8. ELEMENTALS — Bill Willingham. (Comico)

And I thought somebody would mention it on this thread before me, but no! Is it because nobody knows about it? Or perhaps it is because it’s slightly harder to purchase… Or simply because nobody liked it !?

And I thought somebody would mention it on this thread before me, but no! Is it because nobody knows about it? Or perhaps it is because it’s slightly harder to purchase… Or simply because nobody liked it !?

I liked “Elementals” a lot when it was coming out. Willingham’s art is a good match for his always excellent scripts. However, it felt unfinished when it was cancelled.

I totally thought of Elementals too and am glad you brought it up. I don’t think a lot of people remember many of the 80s independents other than Miracleman (which has the British cache’ built in as well).

In that light, I’d also like to mention Steven Grant’s “Whisper,” which was a groundbreaking comic in its day.

Çteve, I voted for Elementals, too. I know it all went to hell and will never be finished, but Willingham did a great job on that title while he was there. There were some great characters and events: Captain Cadaver, the infamous Shapeshifter revenge plot, Ratman, and everytime Vortex got totally eviscerated (he was Kenny before Kenny got on the TV). Plus, Dave Dragovan, the template the egotistical dickhead character now seen (more or less) as Jack of Fables.
I loved how he pushed the envelope in a way like Moore did with Swamp Thing. I don’t know if the comparison of quality totally holds up nowadays, but at the time they were both seemed to be pretty fresh and cool takes on the mix of superheroes and supernatural.

Most of my picks made it, but the two that didn’t were my votes for Peter Bagge’s Buddy Bradley stories from Neat Stuff and Hate (which I believe was #8,) and Gilbert Shelton’s work with Dave Sheridan and Paul Mavrides on The Fabulous Furry Freak brothers (which was #10).

Runners-up from my list that I would’ve liked to have seen:
Moench/Sienkiewicz Moon Knight
Mills/O’Neill Marshal Law
Rick Veitch on the King Hell Heroica (Brat Pack/Maximortal)
Mike Carey’s Hellblazer
Lapham’s Stray Bullets

I’d also love to see Johnny Ryan’s Angry Youth Comix get some recognition, but i recognize that AIDS, turd and boner jokes aren’t for everyone.

I also want to send some love out to the Barr and Davis Detective run. It was too short, and it ended prematurely, but it depicted a great version of Batman that paid homage to the campy fun stuff while also maintaining its “street cred” as a dark knight book. I loved how they went through and did Batman’s classic foes. Plus, it was one of the few times Jason Todd was portrayed decently as a character and actually made sense as Robin.
It’s a shame those issues aren’t collected somewhere. It’d be thin, but it’d a great read.

“Jon Sable, Freelance” is another great 80s independent title that may have been hurt by fizzling out in the end, but issues 1-29 are among my most re-read comics. In some of the other talk-backs, debate is raging about dialog. As far as I’m concerned JSF had the best dialog of any comic ever. Grell is a master of both bad-ass quips or flirtatious banter. I’m completely baffled as to why he never became one of those million-dollar-a-week Hollywood re-write men.

Just to add my two (more) cents to the comics equivalent of Billboard’s “Bubbling Under the Hot 100″ …

Denny O’Neil & Neal Adams’ Deadman
Mike Baron’s Nexus & Badger
Steve Englehart’s Coyote
Tim Truman’s Scout
and … dare I add? … Jim Shooter’s Starbrand

All are unlikely to rank on anyone’s list of the best runs ever but (like many of the other titles above), I’d say each (yes, even Starbrand) deserves honorable mention and a place on the list of All-Time Unsung / Overlooked / Underrated Runs.

I agree with Brian: Doom Patrol, 7 Soldiers, Invisibles. The Filth wasn’t for me, but it is concentrated Morrison. The covers of that series are the highlight.

As for my favourites that didn’t make it: Quantum & Woody and GL: Mosaic. I actually hated GL: Mosaic when it was coming out (though I was often fascinated with it anyway). I reread it when I got old enough to understand it, and wow. Way ahead of its time. It would be ahead of its time if it were being published now. As far as I know, it’s the only non-Vertigo but Vertigo-in-spirit comic that was firmly set in the DCU. (Come to think of it, Hitman, Swamp Thing, and Animal Man, all of which I haven’t read, probably qualify as well).

Also, Colin, you convinced me to hunt down some Judge Dredd. Thanks!

I too was surprised that Hama’s GIJoe was not on the list. It spawned an entire generation of comic readers. It was the greatest “gateway comic” in the history of the medium. I had it as my #1 run, so I was really stunned that it didn’t make the list at all.