I’m assuming that since I included the a c b c the way you asked me to, the comment will disappear once it’s been moderated?

I know you’re not on board with me on this rule, but I wish you had put that RUNS THAT AREN’T FINISHED DON’T QUALIFY!!!!! I mean, if someone votes for this current run of Daredevil based on 16 (or whatever) issues, they’re just wrong, aren’t they? I know, I’m pissing in the wind here, but I just wanted to get it off my chest!

wondering if you would consider the works of carl barks, dan decarlo, floyd gottfredson, etc to be eligible?

they were creators who weren’t telling sustained narratives or even working every month on the same book. however, they worked with the same characters over a long period of time and made significant contributions to the characters world.

I remember I discovered this blog with the last 100 Comic Book Runs Poll! Has it been 4 years already?

Pissing in the wind is a good way to make sure it gets ON your chest, I would think, Greg; but I will acknowledge that you have more experience with that equipment…

I can’t believe it’s already been four years. Sadly, I can’t imagine my choices being very much different. Although I don’t think I remember what my choices were precisely so maybe the order might be different.

I had three questions, but rule #9 answered the entire “Grant/Breyfogle hopping around Bat-titles” issue.

But I still have two questions:

Would something like 100 Bullets be considered a mini-series? Okay, “mini” may be the wrong word, but the series was always intended to be 100 issues, so does that count as an ongoing since it’s so long? (I know this probably applies to other books as well, but I can’t think of any off-hand.)

And do runs on books that are canceled but then revived years later, perhaps at another publisher, count as one uninterrupted run? I’m chiefly thinking of Hama’s run on G.I.Joe (1-155 and Special Missions 1-26, with a couple of fill-ins, then a lull of over a decade and now 155.5+), but I’m sure, again, there are other titles in this boat, even if I’m drawing a blank on them right now (aside from Furman’s similar situation on Transformers, but I don’t want to sound like too big a dork by citing them both).

Is Sleeper a run? Seems like the fact that it came back for a second season allows it to be a run.

I felt that my list was boring, so I remade it with only one slot per writer, and then again with one slot per superhero franchise. I ended up with a weird, distinctly unpretentious, Marvel-heavy list, and I am happy with it.

Really excited to see the results!

can i vote for Superman 145-169? (almost every issue co written by Siegel and Hamilton)

What part of “include A-C-B-C (minus the hyphens) in your post” do people find hard to understand?

Brian, before I vote, I want to clarify something. I know you said we could consider it a “run” if it went from one title to another (you gave the Warlock example) … but what if the run is interrupted by a month or few? I’m thinking specifically of Len Wein’s Spider-Man, which began in I think ’73 in Team-Up and continued in Amazing until about 1977-ish, but there were a few months of 1974 where he DIDN’T write Spider-Man … the same question would apply for Manlto’s first Spider-Man run, which began in Team-Up and ended in Spectacular; Stern’s Spider-Man, which began in Spectacular and ended in Amazing; Michelinie’s, which when from Web to Amazing; and DeMatteis’ second stint, which began in Spectacular and switched to Amazing.

I get that mini-series or one-shots don’t count by themselves, but what about mini-series that are part of a run? For example, Abnett & Lanning’s run on the Legion involved the final four issues of two ongoings, followed by a 12-issue mini, a 6-issue mini, and then 33 issues of a new ongoing. Grant Morrison’s run on Batman has involved one mini (Return of Bruce Wayne) and a one-shot plus his various ongoings (Batman, Batman & Robin, Batman Inc. v1 & v2).

Ritchard – I believe “100 Bullets” would be a maxi-series, albeit a long one.

I’m assuming that since I included the a c b c the way you asked me to, the comment will disappear once it’s been moderated?

You and I will see it, but no one else will, correct.

I know you’re not on board with me on this rule, but I wish you had put that RUNS THAT AREN’T FINISHED DON’T QUALIFY!!!!! I mean, if someone votes for this current run of Daredevil based on 16 (or whatever) issues, they’re just wrong, aren’t they? I know, I’m pissing in the wind here, but I just wanted to get it off my chest!

Sure, modern stuff likely ends up too high but that’s part of the cool part of this being a recurring poll. So we can see how the modern stuff stacks up next go around. Will the modern stuff from 2008 still be popular in 2012? There are a couple of runs in particular I have in mind that I really wonder how they will fare this second poll.

wondering if you would consider the works of carl barks, dan decarlo, floyd gottfredson, etc to be eligible?

they were creators who weren’t telling sustained narratives or even working every month on the same book. however, they worked with the same characters over a long period of time and made significant contributions to the characters world.

Of course they count.

I remember I discovered this blog with the last 100 Comic Book Runs Poll! Has it been 4 years already?

No, it was a clever ruse.

Also, what about “runs” that you might describe as “piecewise continuous”? You mentioned Wolfman/Perez on the New Teen Titans. In fact, after Perez left, he came back briefly a few years later, and of course both men came back twenty years later to finish “Games”. Could that count as a single run? (I rather doubt it, but I thought I’d ask.)

Or what about a run that’s interrupted by several years? IDW’s GI Joe, A Real American Hero picked up both the numbering and the story of the Marvel series, and the same writer, Larry Hama. Would that count as one run or two runs?

Would something like 100 Bullets be considered a mini-series? Okay, “mini” may be the wrong word, but the series was always intended to be 100 issues, so does that count as an ongoing since it’s so long? (I know this probably applies to other books as well, but I can’t think of any off-hand.)

100 Bullets counts as an ongoing series. The same as Preacher, Lucifer, Y the Last Man, etc.

And do runs on books that are canceled but then revived years later, perhaps at another publisher, count as one uninterrupted run? I’m chiefly thinking of Hama’s run on G.I.Joe (1-155 and Special Missions 1-26, with a couple of fill-ins, then a lull of over a decade and now 155.5+), but I’m sure, again, there are other titles in this boat, even if I’m drawing a blank on them right now (aside from Furman’s similar situation on Transformers, but I don’t want to sound like too big a dork by citing them both).

They’d be two separate runs, akin to Peter David’s X-Factor working being split into his first run and his second run. So if you want to vote for both Hama runs, you have to vote for both separately. His second run has been quite good, hasn’t it?

Is Sleeper a run? Seems like the fact that it came back for a second season allows it to be a run.

Yes, Sleeper is a run.

can i vote for Superman 145-169? (almost every issue co written by Siegel and Hamilton)

I vote for two separate runs, but both WOULD count. Just write “Siegel’s second Superman run” and “Hamilton’s Superman run,” I’ll know what you mean.

I get that mini-series or one-shots don’t count by themselves, but what about mini-series that are part of a run? For example, Abnett & Lanning’s run on the Legion involved the final four issues of two ongoings, followed by a 12-issue mini, a 6-issue mini, and then 33 issues of a new ongoing. Grant Morrison’s run on Batman has involved one mini (Return of Bruce Wayne) and a one-shot plus his various ongoings (Batman, Batman & Robin, Batman Inc. v1 & v2).

They’d count. I mentioned that Morrison’s Batman run included a mini-series, right?

I think I read Greg’s contributions too much – I knew he would say that runs that haven’t ended shouldn’t count! I kind of agree, but there are loads of current things that would be on my top ten if no more was published. Especially ongoing series of minis type things.

I am excited about this – I have been itching for a major poll like this for a month or so now. It will take me a while to decide though. I’ll probably put mine in September 30th.

Adam Warlock started in Strange Adventures… I think you have the wrong Strange (or at least the wrong Adam)

Does Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Ultimate Spider-Man count as concluded, or is it still ongoing? On top of that, does it have to be broken into eras (Mark Bagley, Stuart Immonen, Sara Pichelli, etc…)?

Do comic strips count? Do webcomics count? Does foreign material count?

Becca: Yeah, that’s the chance you take when you make crazy statements! You definitely need to shower afterward!

Brian: I know. I just figured I’d rant about it early on and get it out of the way. It makes a bit more sense if you rerun the poll every four years, because you’re right – it will be interesting to see how things change.

Rolacka: Bwah-ha-ha-ha! I have invaded your consciousness!!!!

To be sure, Pak’s run on Hulk counts as one or as two (PH/WWH and Incredible Hulk(s) #601-635)?

I’m a total comics newb and I don’t know if I can even come up with 10 runs I love, but I’m tempted to vote anyway.

I’m sorry, but every single time you do one of these and tell people the four letter code to include to make sure their ballot stays secret, people disregard it. ABCD is not the same as what Brian wrote to include, neither is ABCB, ACBD, and whatever people are typing. The only valid excuse would be dyslexia, but come on people, follow the directions.

Also, what about “runs” that you might describe as “piecewise continuous”? You mentioned Wolfman/Perez on the New Teen Titans. In fact, after Perez left, he came back briefly a few years later, and of course both men came back twenty years later to finish “Games”. Could that count as a single run? (I rather doubt it, but I thought I’d ask.)

I suppose you could count the second Wolfman/Perez run as a second run, if you’d like. I’d still count the Wolfman post-Perez stuff as one solid run, just with an extra joint run if you’d like to single those issues out.

Or what about a run that’s interrupted by several years? IDW’s GI Joe, A Real American Hero picked up both the numbering and the story of the Marvel series, and the same writer, Larry Hama. Would that count as one run or two runs?

Two runs.

Does Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Ultimate Spider-Man count as concluded, or is it still ongoing? On top of that, does it have to be broken into eras (Mark Bagley, Stuart Immonen, Sara Pichelli, etc…)?

Ultimate Peter Parker (#1-160) would be one run by Brian Michael Bendis (I believe Marvel is even selling them as such). Miles Morales’ run would be a second run.

Scott Pilgrim doesn’t count, does it?

ACDC!!! ACDC!!!

Maybe a link to the last poll would help people out to see what’s ok and what’s not?

I like to get a comment in and see the followups to see all the people who can’t follow directions. Every single hidden comment poll has several, at least.

Here’s my nerdy/picayune question: would Cerebus count as 2 separate runs, as the solo Dave stuff (to issue…64, 65, I can never quite remember which) and the Dave and Gerhard stuff?

I mean, when I’m vote I’m totally counting it all as one run, but I figure if I mention it some people might say, yeah, I better vote for Cerebus!

Hmm, I know one book that just ended recently that will be high on my list.

Wait, if Seven Soldiers doesn’t count, that means that Before Watchmen doesn’t count either!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The notion that anyone’s going to vote for that….

ACDC!!! ACDC!!!

Scott Pilgrim doesn’t count, does it?

I’m okay with counting Scott Pilgrim as a run. I’ll add it to the rules!

We’re counting 52 the same as last voting, right? I mean, it’s a mini-series, yes, but 52 issues is about 40 issues longer than most series get.

How would you count something that spanned different companies over the years? If I voted of Matt Wagner’s Grendel would that count from The Devil by Deed at Comico all the way through the most recent Sympathy From the Devil short story at Dark Horse? (obviously any stories not written by Wagner at dark Horse wouldn’t count). Or would issues 1-40 count as one run, War Child 1-10 as another, etc. Groo would probably be another example, as would Marshall Law.

Also, how would I vote for Ennis’ Punisher run. The Marvel Knights run and the MAX run were pretty distinctly different and only one is worthy of voting for, IMO. If they are counted as separate runs, what about MAX material published during the MK run and vice versa. For example, Born was published while the Marvel Knights series was still ongoing as well as at least one one shot. Similarly, War Zone was published under the Marvel Knights banner during the MAX run.

Splitting Paul Levitz’s run into with Keith / without Keith makes it tricky for me. Was Keith Giffen actually listed as a co-plotter on the book? I don’t remember. But it’s always felt like such a run that was so defined by Paul Levitz himself – without any real discernible shift in tone when the artist changed. Giffen wasn’t even the solo artist originally.

The other one that’s tricky for me is the post-Byrne reboot Superman era, when the books had one continuity amongst them. I don’t suppose there’s anyway to count “Stern-Ordway-Perez-Jurgens-Simonson-Kesel” Superman as one run, is there?

Was Keith Giffen actually listed as a co-plotter on the book?

Yes.

How would you count something that spanned different companies over the years? If I voted of Matt Wagner’s Grendel would that count from The Devil by Deed at Comico all the way through the most recent Sympathy From the Devil short story at Dark Horse? (obviously any stories not written by Wagner at dark Horse wouldn’t count). Or would issues 1-40 count as one run, War Child 1-10 as another, etc. Groo would probably be another example, as would Marshall Law.

I’d give Grendel #1-40 plus War Child as one run.

Groo and Marshal Law would go, in effect, as one run, if only because if you’re voting for either of them, are you seriously going to be voting for the stuff specifically after the early stuff?

Also, how would I vote for Ennis’ Punisher run. The Marvel Knights run and the MAX run were pretty distinctly different and only one is worthy of voting for, IMO. If they are counted as separate runs, what about MAX material published during the MK run and vice versa. For example, Born was published while the Marvel Knights series was still ongoing as well as at least one one shot. Similarly, War Zone was published under the Marvel Knights banner during the MAX run.

The Marvel Knights stuff is obviously separate from the MAX stuff, but for the sake of the list, I’m just counting the whole kit and kaboodle as one run. If you want to vote for either one, just say Garth Ennis’ Punisher. Do we really want to take up two spots on the Top 100 with Garth Ennis Punisher runs?

We’re counting 52 the same as last voting, right? I mean, it’s a mini-series, yes, but 52 issues is about 40 issues longer than most series get.

I think I counted 52 last time, so fair enough. It didn’t make the last list so I doubt it’ll be an issue.

Brian 52 did not make the top 100, but it did make the ones you listed after 100 from what I remember. Did you ever post a list of the runs that got votes? I’m sure it was a long list.

The Miller and Mazzucchelli run on Daredevil was 8 issues beginning with 226. Born Again did not start until 227.

Does manga count?

Can you do runs based around an artist? I know a lot of people are going to be going writer based but there are a couple of runs on books where I was all about the art and the writer I couldn’t care less about, like with Joe Madureira (although I liked Lobdell, Madureira’s run was the selling point above all else).

Just my two cents about the issue of whether to count runs that are still going:

I think it depends on whether the writer originally had a specific ending point in mind, or whether the writer is just writing it until he doesn’t feel like it anymore. For example, Fables, Brubaker’s Cap, and Johns’ GL are all still ongoing, but I think it’s fair to count them because they’re past the point of having a specific ending that was what the series has been building towards this whole time.

Something like Sweet Tooth, on the other hand, or Scalped if this poll had been done a few months ago, seem like they would have to be ineligible because their ending is so intrinsically tied to the quality of the whole.

Think about TV– The Mentalist is still ongoing, but it’s a show where how it ends likely won’t affect the perceived quality of the show. Breaking Bad is different. If Breaking Bad ends in a critically reviled way, that will forever affect how the show is perceived historically.

That’s just how I would handle the issue of what Greg is talking about.

Would All-Star Superman be considered a mini or an ongoing?

Does manga count?

Yes.

Can you do runs based around an artist? I know a lot of people are going to be going writer based but there are a couple of runs on books where I was all about the art and the writer I couldn’t care less about, like with Joe Madureira (although I liked Lobdell, Madureira’s run was the selling point above all else).

Yes.

Would All-Star Superman be considered a mini or an ongoing?

Mini.

Should have asked this before I posted it but does Gail Simone & Udons Deadpool/Agent X and Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung’s Young Avengers/ The Children’s Crusade count? I’m not worried about my other choices making the list but it would be a shame if my top 2 picks didn’t count.

Should have asked this before I posted it but does Gail Simone & Udons Deadpool/Agent X and Allan Heinberg & Jim Cheung’s Young Avengers/ The Children’s Crusade count? I’m not worried about my other choices making the list but it would be a shame if my top 2 picks didn’t count.

I’ll count both, yeah.

Thanks alot. You’re the best Brian.

Brian, was there any thought about that 90′s Superman “inter-title continuity” period that I mentioned before? Anyway to acknowledge the Stern-Ordway-Jurgens-Simonson-etc era Superman other than as separate runs?

Would “John Wagner’s Judge Dredd” count as just one giant run? I’m not really sure how else you’d break it up. Unless the Wagner/Grant years count as a separate run.

Brian, was there any thought about that 90?s Superman “inter-title continuity” period that I mentioned before? Anyway to acknowledge the Stern-Ordway-Jurgens-Simonson-etc era Superman other than as separate runs?

I don’t mind calling the triangle years a run. Just like how I’m fine with Brand New Day being a run for Amazing Spider-Man.

Would “John Wagner’s Judge Dredd” count as just one giant run? I’m not really sure how else you’d break it up. Unless the Wagner/Grant years count as a separate run.

I’d count it as two runs. Wagner/Grant and just Wagner solo.

How about a series like the Rocketeer, that started as a back-up feature for Starslayer, and later Pacific Presents (totaling five issues), but only has four full books of his own (the Magazine one-shot, and the New York Adventure mini)? Technically, that’s nine issues.

Sure, vote for the Rocketeer if you’d like.

What about Don McGregor’s work on Black Panther? I know many years passed between his stint as writer on Jungle Action and then the “Panther’s Quest” story followed by that “Panther’s Prey” mini, but – to me, anyway – they all seem to function as a run.

I always get the impression that when Brian says, yeah, vote for that if you’d like, the unspoken assumption is “no one ELSE will, so go ahead”.

But that’s just me and my paranoia.

Man, I gotta start thinking of this list. Just 10?

What about Don McGregor’s work on Black Panther? I know many years passed between his stint as writer on Jungle Action and then the “Panther’s Quest” story followed by that “Panther’s Prey” mini, but – to me, anyway – they all seem to function as a run.

McGregor’s Black Panther is two runs. I mean, come on, it was separated by over 13 years!

That time Superman raced the Flash was a good run.

would “drifting classroom” count (weekly shonen jump installments for 2 years)

Sure.

I wish Saga had been around long enough to count…

Which is to go to say that no, I don’ tthink runs shoudl be finished to qualify.

I DO wish you would drop that no minis rule, though. I use the last list to try to help build my comic slibrary and leaving off minis is just annoying.

Like Starman said, I probably should’ve asked this before casting my vote, but just saying “Grant Morrison’s Batman” count as everything? I mean Batman, Batman and Robin and The Return of Bruce Wayne? Because that’s what I meant when I put it (although I wasn’t thinking about Batman Inc.).

@Greg Burgas: if it makes you feel better, all my votes were for completed runs (like I wrote above, I consider Batman Inc. to be a separate run from what came before) but unfortunately I didn’t vote for Morrison’s Doom Patrol run, which I know is your nr. 1 pick! I hope you can forgive me!

Just a couple of questions.

1: If I were to vote for the John Byrne Superman run, would they be considered seperate from the Byrne/Ordway stories from Adventures of Superman? Because, if you ask me, they both make up one continuous narrative, so they should be included together.

2: If I were to vote for the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League, would “Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League” be enough, or would I need to break it down by artist (say, “Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire, or Giffen/DeMatteis/Templeton”)? And if it’s the former, would I be able to include the first dozen or so issues of Justice League Europe?

Pedro: YOU’RE DEAD TO ME!!!!!

Travis Pelkie said:

I always get the impression that when Brian says, yeah, vote for that if you’d like, the unspoken assumption is “no one ELSE will, so go ahead”.

But that’s just me and my paranoia.

Could be! But does it really matter if that’s what he means? The actual vote tallies will be whatever they turn out to be, not just whatever you or he or anyone else expects them to be!

Heck, just now I was looking over my ballot from the previous Poll, 4 years ago, and I see that 5 of my 10 favorites did NOT make it into the Top 100 when the final results were in.

At the time, I said loud and clear that I blamed that on one simple factor: At least four of my “favorite runs” have never been reprinted in full in convenient TPB collections to catch the attention of modern readers who weren’t buying comics at the time the stuff in question was originally coming out. I knew that going in, and I still voted for them because I love to reread the relevant back issues in my collection, even though I knew it would take a miracle for those runs to do particularly well!

I doubt the situation will change much, this time around, as far as “half of my old favorites being ignored by the rest of the voters” is concerned.

(Although it looks as if Brian’s revised rules mean at least one of my other picks of 4 years ago — Miller’s “Born Again” run on Daredevil, which did land in the Top 100 last time — now needs to be booted off my ballot because it was less than 9 issues long. So now I have to pick another “favorite run” to take its place on my new ballot. Decisions, decisions!)

Would “Love and Rockets by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez” count as one run or would it
be two : Locas by Jaime and Palomar Stories by Gilbert?

On the “ongoing series” question: Daredevil, as good as it has been lately, is one thing with only 16 issues, but Fables, Hellboy, and the Boys seem pretty substantial at this point. Even shorter current runs like Dan Slott on Spider-Man or Hickman on Fantastic Four ought to qualify.

Does Grant Morrison’s whole run on Batman (From Batman and Son through RIP, Batman and Robin, Batman Inc, etc) count as one run, or would Batman and Robin be counted separately from Batman Inc, etc?

From one of his early responses to comments on this page, I get the distinct impression that Brian Cronin figures “If a writer’s current run for an ongoing title is already at least 9 issues old, you can go right ahead and vote for it.” (Although those were not his exact words.)

Specifically, in response to a comment from Greg Burgas,e who devoutly wished Brian had explicitly prohibited votes for “unfinished” runs in current titles, Brian said:

Sure, modern stuff likely ends up too high but that’s part of the cool part of this being a recurring poll. So we can see how the modern stuff stacks up next go around. Will the modern stuff from 2008 still be popular in 2012? There are a couple of runs in particular I have in mind that I really wonder how they will fare this second poll.

So I think that question has already been settled. (Even though, in my heart, I am inclined to agree with Greg Burgas — but hey, this ain’t my poll!)

csis asked:

Does Grant Morrison’s whole run on Batman (From Batman and Son through RIP, Batman and Robin, Batman Inc, etc) count as one run, or would Batman and Robin be counted separately from Batman Inc, etc?

Brian Cronin anticipated your question in his rules at the top of this page. I’ll just add a little boldface to make it stand out:

9. Runs can span more than one title. For instance, Jim Starlin’s Warlock run began in Strange Tales and then continued into Warlock. Also, Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern run has spanned a mini-series and two ongoing series so far. Grant Morrison’s Batman run has spanned three ongoing series and a mini-series. Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers run has spanned six ongoing series (Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, Avengers and New Avengers).

Evidently, since it all fits together as part of one cohesive long-running storytelling effort on Morrison’s part, it doesn’t matter that his scripts have included issues of more than one monthly title along the way.

Woops! I read the whole initial post, and somehow failed to notice that. Thanks!

@ The Crazed Spruce

I personally, on the JLI thing, would call it “Giffen/DeMatteis’ JL/I/A run” since Maguire never co-plotted (although his art was very integral to the series).

What about Gotham Central? Brubaker and Rucka co-wrote the first arc but alternated until Brubaker left?

Hey Brian, I just realized something about my votes that seems wrong to me – I broke up Morrison’s run on JLA by just calling out the Howard Porter issues, but I forgot there were some decent fill-ins by other artists and none of the artists co-plotted with him. Could you just count my vote as Grant Morrison’s JLA?

My apologies if this has been addressed already:

Batwoman in Detective Comics by Greg Rucka is 10 issues (counting the Jock 3-parter). Can this be called a run by author?

My apologies if this has been addressed already:

Batwoman in Detective Comics by Greg Rucka is 10 issues (counting the Jock 3-parter). Can this be called a run by author?

Sure.

1: If I were to vote for the John Byrne Superman run, would they be considered seperate from the Byrne/Ordway stories from Adventures of Superman? Because, if you ask me, they both make up one continuous narrative, so they should be included together.

Byrne’s Superman would include all the Superman work from Byrne in that period, so yes, even the stuff he “only” wrote.

2: If I were to vote for the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League, would “Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League” be enough, or would I need to break it down by artist (say, “Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire, or Giffen/DeMatteis/Templeton”)? And if it’s the former, would I be able to include the first dozen or so issues of Justice League Europe?

Just “Giffen/DeMatteis’ Justice League.”

What about Gotham Central? Brubaker and Rucka co-wrote the first arc but alternated until Brubaker left?

Go Rucka/Brubaker’s Gotham Central.

Hey Brian, I just realized something about my votes that seems wrong to me – I broke up Morrison’s run on JLA by just calling out the Howard Porter issues, but I forgot there were some decent fill-ins by other artists and none of the artists co-plotted with him. Could you just count my vote as Grant Morrison’s JLA?

I was planning on it.

Would “Love and Rockets by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez” count as one run or would it
be two : Locas by Jaime and Palomar Stories by Gilbert?

It should be two runs, Locas and Palomar, but I’ll likely combine the two to give them a realistic shot at placing higher on the list. So I guess you might as well vote for “Love and Rockets by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez.”

Hey Brian, question about Sandman Mystery Theater. To me, this is all one run, but under the rules I’m not sure. Matt Wagner started as writer, then brought on Steven T. Seagle as co-writer, who then took over as solo writer when Wagner left. Guy Davis was artist for the whole series, except he didn’t do every arc, just the majority of them, with occasional fill-in arcs by other artists. I fell like it’s all one run, but then again, it is also broken down into four-issue story arcs, some of which have different creative teams than others.

Is it cool to vote for it as one run?

Hey Brian, question about Sandman Mystery Theater. To me, this is all one run, but under the rules I’m not sure. Matt Wagner started as writer, then brought on Steven T. Seagle as co-writer, who then took over as solo writer when Wagner left. Guy Davis was artist for the whole series, except he didn’t do every arc, just the majority of them, with occasional fill-in arcs by other artists. I fell like it’s all one run, but then again, it is also broken down into four-issue story arcs, some of which have different creative teams than others.

Is it cool to vote for it as one run?

I think you have to look at Seagle’s solo stint as a separate run, yes. But I’d accept Wagner/Seagle’s Sandman Mystery Theater as a run that’d include Wagner’s entire time on the book (which gets you almost the entire series, since Wagner is still credited for story ideas up through #60).

Brian, I know you already addressed this but i’m bothered by your ruling for Gotham Central. Even though Rucka and Brubaker individually wrote arcs after the first arc was done, the reasoning behind it was closely tied to the story. One of the writers took care of the day shift and the other the night shift (I don’t recall who was in charge or writing for which shift). This allowed them to continue writting stories that tied together under one title but also giving the writers the freedom to develop their group of characters as they see fit. However, getting to my point, all Gotham Central characters could (and some did) appear during arcs that were written by either one of the writers.

I personally don’t think they should be separated. Its somewhat similar to the Love and Rockets ruling. Although for that one, I agree with your decision since it’s not as “popular” as a book like Gotham Central (even though it’s far, far better in my opinion even if I am a fan of Gotham Central).

Huh? My ruling was that you vote for it as Rucka/Brubaker’s Gotham Central. Not Rucka’s Gotham Central and Brubaker’s Gotham Central.

As in Gotham Central as a whole? If so, my appologies, I understood Rucka’s GC and Brubaker’s GC separately. My bad.

No problema.

I know this is the third question I’ve asked so far, but I just reread the rules and saw how you were classifying X-Men runs. I did not read that part when I voted and was going off what I remembered from last time – whoops lol

That’s not going to be a problem is it?

Nope, it’s all good.

Hmmm I was gonna vote for Ennis’s Punisher Max (and may still do), but the so-so Marvel Knights stuff with Dillon kind of dilutes the overall quality.

Just vote for it as if you were voting for just MAX. This is all just about optimizing the amount of runs on the list, so we don’t have repetitive stuff like Ennis being on the list twice for his Punisher work.

Re-submitted with magic word . Delete the last post.

I apologize if this has already been asked, but what would the original collection of Jack Kirby Fourth World Series count as? Would it be okay to vote for all of them under one run or as New Gods/Mr. Miracle/Forever People?

I posted my list yesterday but I no longer see it up here. Was it deleted or something? I really wanted to vote on this.

‘Nother question, though I suspect I know the answer: would The Adventures of Tintin count as a “run”?

Also: Giffen & Bisley’s series of Lobo one-shots and minis: run or no?

I posted my list yesterday but I no longer see it up here. Was it deleted or something? I really wanted to vote on this.

It’s there. Perhaps people CAN’T see their own moderated posts? I thought that they could. Okay, in that case, keep that in mind for future reference, people!

I can see my last post, with my top ten, but I swear I put in that word

Also: Giffen & Bisley’s series of Lobo one-shots and minis: run or no?

There were nine of them, right? So sure.

I can see my last post, with my top ten, but I swear I put in that word

You’re good. I thought people can see their own moderated post, just not others. I dunno anymore.

Hm, I just did a test post with the special letters in it a while ago, but I’m not seeing it again. Did you delete it?

Otherwise it’s all going crazy!!!

OK, after I just posted that comment, the test one came up again saying it’s awaiting moderation. AHHH!!!

In reality, it shouldn’t be much of a concern. Posts don’t just get deleted for no reason. So if you make sure to use ACBC on your comment, you’ll be fine.

Not to nitpick, but All-Star Superman came in #52 in 2008. Was it not known at that point that it was a mini-series, so it was eligible then? I’m not a huge Morrison fan, but that series was bloody amazing.

Not to nitpick, but All-Star Superman came in #52 in 2008. Was it not known at that point that it was a mini-series, so it was eligible then?

That’s it exactly. Only 9 issues had come out when the first poll went up.

My post is still there from yesterday, with the code, but it also still says it’s awaiting moderation, fwiw….

Exactly. So so long as you put in the codeword, you are fine, whether you can see the post and it says “awaiting moderation” or not.

i expect to see Morrison’s Batman at least in the top 20! (with RIP the highlight)
A modern classic already if you ask me…

I tend to group Jim Krueger and Alex Ross’ Marvel X Trilogy (Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X) together as one big story. Although it wasn’t exactly an ongoing title, altogether they produced over 50 issues of awesomeness with various artists. For the purposes of this poll, could I count it as a run?

Mark Waid’s superb writing made me read the second volume of Captain America. But before that, the character was cheesy man for me. Sadly, after 24 issues, Waid left the series and so did I.

This qualifications of a “run” seems to narrowly focus in on the type of storytelling found in Superhero comics from The Big 2. However, I can see the fun in that. This work will be great for comparing Geoff John’s Green Lantern to Roy Thomas’ Justice League. Or Morrison’s X-Men to Morrison’s Doom Patrol. Because in the big 2 writers (and artist) come in to tell a story on a set of characters, leave, and someone else comes in to pick up again.

But it doesn’t make sense comparing them underground comics, humor titles (because of the lack of continuity), and creator owned series. Undergrounds and Creator Owns comics in to tell their own story with their own characters, and finish it when their done. That’s not a “run”, because no one will come in when their done. It’s a story. I understand the point of this event, but I wish it would just full on exclude the Humors, Comix, and Creator Owned, since it is attempting to do it anyway.

Also, according to the qualifications the following books should all count because they were serialized before being published, and never given a set number of issues when they began. (Like a plan mini series that has 3, 6, 12 issues.)

Maus – Published in RAW over 13 years
From Hell – Published in Taboo (and other places)
Lost Girls – Published in Taboo (and other places)
V for Vendetta – (Published in Warrior) (It is strange to me that Marvelman was counted last time, but not V. Even though they had the same original publication schedule. It seems people are easy to discount V just because it fits nicely between 2 covers, where is longer Marvelman does not.
Kim Dietch’s Waldo Comics – Published in various places

Deciding on my picks is making me nostalgic for the early Quesada era of Marvel. There were a lot of writer/artist teams, as opposed to writer driven stories. I think great runs need both to be consistent.

Would Atomic Robo count as an ongoing? It seems to me it would fall into a similar category as BPRD and Hellboy. It’s an excellent series and it would be shame if it didn’t count.

Okay, I think I’ve pretty much got my list narrowed down to a 25-run short list. Just a couple more questions, though….

1: I notice that these runs tend to favour writers. If a specific artist worked on a series or character for an extended period with a number of different writers (say, just for example, Curt Swan on Superman), would that be considered a run?

2: What if a team worked on a number of mini-series (such as, and again, I’m just spitballing here, Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming on Ambush Bug)? Would that be considered a run, or does it violate the “mini-series” rule?

Would Atomic Robo count as an ongoing? It seems to me it would fall into a similar category as BPRD and Hellboy. It’s an excellent series and it would be shame if it didn’t count.

Sure.

Okay, I think I’ve pretty much got my list narrowed down to a 25-run short list. Just a couple more questions, though….

1: I notice that these runs tend to favour writers. If a specific artist worked on a series or character for an extended period with a number of different writers (say, just for example, Curt Swan on Superman), would that be considered a run?

I’d allow it, but really, Curt Swan drew Superman for SO long and with SO many different styles of stories, that I don’t know if it says much to say “Curt Swan’s Superman.” Jerry Siegel’s Superman or Edmond Hamilton’s Superman or Denny O’Neil’s Superman or Elliot S! Maggin’s Superman gives you a better idea of what you have in mind.

2: What if a team worked on a number of mini-series (such as, and again, I’m just spitballing here, Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming on Ambush Bug)? Would that be considered a run, or does it violate the “mini-series” rule?

I’d count Ambush Bug as a run, yes. Two minis and a special all within a couple of years.

Brian, by what criteria should any of the EC titles be listed?

I only ask because all the titles were anthologies. Crypt of Terror (Tales From The Crypt) / Vault of Horror / Haunt of Fear are linked in terms of sensibility, but are different titles.

Weird Science and Weird Fantasy ended up becoming Weird Science-Fantasy, then Incredible Science Fiction. Is that all one run or does it need to be separated into the four different titles?

Does Johnny Craig’s writing and editorship affect Vault of Horror’s status as a run by Gaines and Feldstein? Or, for that matter, do any of the New Trend titles lose status in terms of being a “run,” due to the outsourcing of writing towards the end of those titles?

Should it just be simplified down to an EC title is an EC “run?”

(I suppose that none of this will matter anyway, as I sincerely doubt any EC title will have a snowball’s chance of making it onto the list).

Thanks for your time, Brian.

What do you think of Ultimates 1 & 2? Technically they were two mini-series, but they could be seen as one long run by two creators on a book that is still running.

What do you think of Ultimates 1 & 2? Technically they were two mini-series, but they could be seen as one long run by two creators on a book that is still running.

Yes, it is run.

Brian, by what criteria should any of the EC titles be listed?

I only ask because all the titles were anthologies. Crypt of Terror (Tales From The Crypt) / Vault of Horror / Haunt of Fear are linked in terms of sensibility, but are different titles.

Weird Science and Weird Fantasy ended up becoming Weird Science-Fantasy, then Incredible Science Fiction. Is that all one run or does it need to be separated into the four different titles?

Does Johnny Craig’s writing and editorship affect Vault of Horror’s status as a run by Gaines and Feldstein? Or, for that matter, do any of the New Trend titles lose status in terms of being a “run,” due to the outsourcing of writing towards the end of those titles?

Should it just be simplified down to an EC title is an EC “run?”

(I suppose that none of this will matter anyway, as I sincerely doubt any EC title will have a snowball’s chance of making it onto the list).

Thanks for your time, Brian.

You can vote for Johnny Craig for Vault of Horror or you can vote for Al Felstein, since both wrote a majority of the issues. Keep all of the books separate, so vote Weird Science and Weird Fantasy separately.

How ’bout Dwayne McDuffie’s Damage Control? 4 minis over the span of 19 years. But they are a series of Minis, so i dunno if that violates the mini rule. Also, it used Ernie Colon for the first two minis, but different artists for the last two. I dunno, what do ya think? It might be a stretch.

Brian,

It’s your deal, but man, I find it impossible to separate Ellis’ Stormwatch run and his Authority run. They seem like one long run to me.

Part 1 – Stormwatch 37-50
Part 2 – Stormwatch 1-11 & Aliens/Wildcats
Part 3 – Authority

In fact, I loan it to people like that and couldn’t imagine going “here read just the Stormwatch stuff.”

I wish I remembered what I voted for last time, as it would be fun to see what I change.

I somehow doubt any manga will be on this list disappointingly.

Brian, Peter Milligans Detective and Batman run issues – does this count as a run?

Tec is 7 issues, Batman is 4, published around the same period (”90-91?)

Brian, Peter Milligans Detective and Batman run issues – does this count as a run?

Tec is 7 issues, Batman is 4, published around the same period (”90-91?)

Sure.

@lorendiac, Sept. 6:
>>At the time, I said loud and clear that I blamed that on one simple factor: At least four of my “favorite runs” have never been reprinted in full in convenient TPB collections to catch the attention of modern readers who weren’t buying comics at the time the stuff in question was originally coming out. I knew that going in, and I still voted for them because I love to reread the relevant back issues in my collection, even though I knew it would take a miracle for those runs to do particularly well!

Yep, I’m going to have the same problem. Englehart’s woefully underappreciated “Green Lantern” run is definitely going to be in my top 5, but I know it has no chance of placing in the poll. I hope the “Sector 2814″ TPB featuring Len Wein’s immediately preceding run sells well enough that DC keeps going into Englehart’s…

@Tae

Waid didn’t write Flash alone. He co-wrote it with Agustyn.

What about something like Denny O’Neil’s Detective Comics/Batman stuff? Sometimes he would do a couple of issues, take an issue off, then come back and do another few.

Brian, maybe it would help people to post their entries secretly if you edited the template to have the magic four letters in?

Since I can’t spend the time required to wrap my head around all the rules. I just want to drop some a couple that folks are forgetting:

- Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams GL/GA run – it’s been reprinted so many times, so somebody must like it
- Akira Toriyama’s DB/DBZ – if manga is included, this is still the biggest franchise, so somebody must think it’s worthy

Since you can’t be bothered – -why should we be?

I forgot Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing run, if you want you can place it at n° 2 in my list

A few I left out are
Garth Ennis Preacher and Hitman
(Hitman was excellent, if you never read it you should).
Walking Dead by Kirkman.
Y the Last Man by Vaughn
Ellis and Millar’s Authority
Gotham Central by Brubaker and Rucka
Amazing Spider-man by Stan Lee
Locke and Key by Joe Hill
Sin City by Frank Miller
and the list goes on and on.

Does anybody read the rules anymore!?

peter davids run on the incredible hulk. no one else has done the character better.

I really hope that Johns Aquaman makes it to the list. If his GL was on the previous one than this should definitely make it.

One title that missed my list was Savage Dragon, hopefully it at least makes the honorable mention list this time

Bah, rules! Why should I read them? I totally think whatever I put in should count!

And @Michael Sacal, Waid did write his early run of Flash solo (from about issue 60 until…the 1-teens, I think), but you are correct that Brian Augustyn co-wrote with him the rest of the Waid run (1-teens to 165, I think, minus the year Morrison and Millar wrote from 130-141).

So many things get eliminated once put to the rules!

I loved Englehart and Perez’ “Avengers” run, but they didn’t do a full 9! (So much musical chairs business back then on Avengers!)

Certainly the “Rose and Thorn” back-up story in “Lois Lane” was awesome, but do back-ups count?
(Sorry, I’m not sifting through 143 comments and such to find out!)

A few that didn’t make the list (although just barely)….
Barr and Davis’ “Batman and the Outsiders”
Drake and Premiani’s “Doom Patrol”
Haney and Cardy’s “Teen Titans”
“Strikeforce: Morituri” by Gillis and Anderson
and
“Zenith” by Morrison and Yeowell

“The Defenders” is one of my fave ongoings of all time, but narrowing to just one
fave creative team was hard to do.

Anyway…just rambling. Thanks for doing the poll…it is fun!

Ah crap, I forgot about Moore’s Swamp Thing. Can I change mine? I want to put it at No. 6.

Thanks for taking time to answer all these questions. One I haven’t seen, though, is whether the Jonah Hex run by Palmiotti and Gray extends through All Star Western. I would think it does, but I wanted to be sure it fits the criteria.

Yeah, sure, that works.

Man, it’s really killing me how many people cannot grasp the concept of a “run.” A run and a storyline are different things. Born Again is not a run. All-Star Superman is not a run. Hush is not a run. They are storylines. A run is a different thing from a creator doing a random selection of issues on a title over a long period (such as Curt Swan Superman).

A run is this: An extended take on a character/group of characters by a single creator or creative team, intended to form a continuing narrative.

If something you are considering voting for does not form a continuous narrative, it probably shouldn’t be counted as a run.

Also Brian-

Do you vote yourself? Is there any remote chance you would ever share your vote? Since you’ve read every comic ever published, I’m sure I’m not the only one that A) thinks your opinion would certainly count as an expert opinion, as the gaps in reading that most of us suffer from, you do not, and B) That an insight into your taste would be fascinating.

After all, Roger Ebert hates making lists and generally refuses to, but even he votes in the once-per-decade Sight & Sound poll of the greatest films of all-time. I think you should make the concession to vote in one poll, and have this be that poll.

I like the people who are voting for All Star Superman, even though it is explicit in the rules that it does not count. Then again, they can’t read the magic 4 letter code to put in right, either.

There was one of these polls back several months ago that I can’t remember what the theme was, but one of the lists that popped up was apparently Brian’s. I dunno if it was his actual votes or just a template/example. I wondered, though, why he had to put his own vote into the comments.

I more want to know what comics Brian HASN’T read. I don’t think there are any!!!

“Just not Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen. Or Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil (I allowed Born Again last time, but now I think it fits better on the storyline list and not the run list).”

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil was 10 issues, though only the first eight of which were published. Their run ending prematurely would mean that it DOES fit your criteria, and therefore should be eligible for voting.

Brian–would you consider showing the rank of where the run was four years ago underneath where it ranked this year?

Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil was 10 issues, though only the first eight of which were published. Their run ending prematurely would mean that it DOES fit your criteria, and therefore should be eligible for voting.

Que sera, sera. It isn’t.

Brian–would you consider showing the rank of where the run was four years ago underneath where it ranked this year?

The exclusion of so many of the runs from last time would really dull the impact, so I don’t believe so, no.

I think of Born Again as a coda to Miller’s Daredevil anyway – so a vote for Miller’s Daredevil would effectively capture both surely (in the way Brain has advised a vote for Garth Ennis’s Punisher instead of either or both Marvel Knights and MAX runs). I can’t imagine Brian would write up Miller’s Daredevil and not mention Miller came back later for a critically acclaimed story.

BTW, why a 9 issue minimum? It just seems likely an oddly arbitrary number.

To eliminate Born Again.

One more thing about the “issue” regarding Miller’s second run on Daredevil:

I just reread the rules thoroughly, and based on rules #9, #11, and #13 it appears to me that the second Miller DD run would count according to the criteria that you have set. I think you’ve made the mistake of assuming that the run only consisted of issues #226-233. This is not true. During the same time period he also wrote, and had published, a graphic novel called Daredevil: Love & War, and then immediately continued the “run” onto the Elektra: Assassin series.

Now again citing rules #9, #11, and #13, this means even if you were to seperate Elektra: Assassin from his run it would still count as 9 issues including the graphic novel (unless you want to count it as two issues like you mentioned, which in that case would make it 10).

The graphic novel is not counted as part of the run. Love and War is a standalone work. And Elektra: Assassin is not even in the same continuity as Love and War.

There will almost certainly be a storyline poll next year. Born Again (and Elektra: Assassin, for that matter) can be voted for in that poll. Just not this one.

In rule #9 you mention runs that include mini-series that have seperate stories. Another example of this would be Morrison’s JLA, which contained stuff like earth 2 which told a stand alone story. How is Love & War any different from this or the examples you gave?

On a different note, based on rule #13 would Fred Hembeck’s various superhero parodies count as a “run”? This consists of 8 one-shots between 1980 and 1983 (7 general superhero parodies + Fantastic Four Roast), a TRUCKLOAD of strips that ran in the pages of Marvel Age between 1983 and 1994, and two general Marvel parodies (Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe and Fred Hembeck $ell$ the Marvel Universe) published around the middle of his tenure writing strips for Marvel Age.

@Turd Burglar

For Christ sake, shut up. Brian said it didn’t count. If you don’t like the rules for the poll, don’t vote, or find a different blog to read.

Born Again is a storyline. This blog does a poll of greatest storylines. The rules for both polls are in place in the interests of each poll having entirely different results with no overlap. That really shouldn’t be too hard to grasp. If you don’t have ten comic book runs you love (discounting Born Again), then feel free to not vote.

And Fred Hembeck’s stuff is NOT a run. In a previous post, I defined a run as this: An extended take on a character or group of characters by a common creator/creative team, meant to form a continuous narrative. Hembeck’s stuff doesn’t form a continuous narrative, and isn’t about a single character or group of characters (unless the “group” is the Marvel U, which is ridiculous). Yes, they are works that have a common theme, but so are all the “back to the early days” mini-series by Loeb and Sale, and that ain’t a run either.

This isn’t a poll of people’s favorite comics, it’s a poll of favorite runs. If there were a poll of greatest baseball shortstops, you wouldn’t try to vote for a catcher, would you? Brian is doing this as a favor to his readers. Appreciate it or go.

“@Turd Burglar

For Christ sake, shut up. Brian said it didn’t count. If you don’t like the rules for the poll, don’t vote, or find a different blog to read.

Born Again is a storyline. This blog does a poll of greatest storylines. The rules for both polls are in place in the interests of each poll having entirely different results with no overlap. That really shouldn’t be too hard to grasp. If you don’t have ten comic book runs you love (discounting Born Again), then feel free to not vote.

And Fred Hembeck’s stuff is NOT a run. In a previous post, I defined a run as this: An extended take on a character or group of characters by a common creator/creative team, meant to form a continuous narrative. Hembeck’s stuff doesn’t form a continuous narrative, and isn’t about a single character or group of characters (unless the “group” is the Marvel U, which is ridiculous). Yes, they are works that have a common theme, but so are all the “back to the early days” mini-series by Loeb and Sale, and that ain’t a run either.

This isn’t a poll of people’s favorite comics, it’s a poll of favorite runs. If there were a poll of greatest baseball shortstops, you wouldn’t try to vote for a catcher, would you? Brian is doing this as a favor to his readers. Appreciate it or go.”

There is exactly nothing in this post that provides any rational, logical, or reasonable response to the questions in my last comment. Congratulations.

I’m sure you thought that post was really clever, but it just illustrates your lack of reading comprehension skills.

I answered your two main questions: Why Brian doesn’t want Born Again to count, and why it shouldn’t count.

To reiterate…

Brian doesn’t want Born Again to count because this log also does a best storylines poll, and in the interests of the results between the two polls not overlapping, things must be either a run or storyline, but not both. This makes perfect sense, as it ensures that the two polls will highlight 200 seperate works for new readers to discover.

And as for why Born Again shouldn’t count, independent of what Brian does or doesn’t want, is because it’s not a run, in the way the concept of a “run” has come to be defined within the comics industry. A run is an extended take on a character or group of characters by a single creator or creative team, intended to form a continuing narrative. Born Again is not an extended take. And Born Again & Love and Death do not form a continuing narrative with each other. When Marvel reprints them, they reprint Born Again as its own entity, and Love and Death is reprinted with Miller’s earlier Daredevil stuff. And Elektra Assassin has virtually nothing to do with either of them. I cease to see why this is such a difficult reality to grasp.

Third Man:

1. Your assumption that I was trying to be “clever” seems based on your further assumption that I am interested in “arguing” with you on the internet. Nothing that I posted was anything less than 100% factual. You seem interested in engaging in some sort of “flame war” on the internet. I suggest that you take this elsewhere.

2. “Born Again” is a single story. Frank Miller’s second run on Daredevil consists of three stories spanning Daredevil volume 1 #226-233 + Daredevil: Love & War (graphic novel). Under the criteria laid out in the rules this counts as eligible for voting. Several other runs are explicitly mentioned in the rules that follow the same pattern of spanning monthlies + graphic novels/one-shots/mini-series. Furthermore, it is not only commonplace, but STANDARDIZED for a run to consist of multiple stories, yet you oddly continue to explicitly state that a “run” must tell a single “narrative” (WTF?) despite few examples of these mythical “single story runs” you keep mentioning even existing. It is anything but outrageous to expect consistent standards to be applied to this poll or anywhere else on this blog or the internet at large. If you are that emotionally invested in a comics blog on the internet that you feel the need to defend a blogger when he is called out on poor, innacurate, and inconsistent application of his own rules, standards, and criteria — and this in spite of the fact that this particular oversight of his has proven unpopular amonst the majority — then I really don’t know what to tell you.

3. Lastly, if you are trying to argue that “Miller’s return to Daredevil was never intended to be a run, it was just one story like when he wrote Batman: Year One” then that’s simply not the case. Miller wrote the story that immediately preceded Born Again and wrote the story that was originally supposed to be published immediately after Born Again, plus Love & War on top of that. He was the “head writer” on Daredevil at the time. It was “intended” to be a “run” in the most traditional sense and usage of the term. (I already addressed this in the paragraph above, but I’m adding this part incase there is still a need for further clarification.)

I want to put in a plug for “Elfquest” by Wendy and Richard Pini. My favorite comic of all time.

Didn’t Love and War happen to come out when it did because it took a long time for the art to be done for it, so it was actually written during Miller’s first DD run?

Yes, I AM stoking the flames with only a tiny tiny bit of knowledge that may not be true. I do not care, because I am emotionally invested in this blog because Brian and co are good people.

I followed the directions….twice. Whats the deal, how come my choices are still showing up. The special word is in the body of both ballots.

Please disregard the second ballot if they both publish.

Lyle, your ballot will always show up on your screen — but on no one else’s. That threw me too.

Your first one went in, Lyle. For anyone worried, if you put in the word and you posted, it WILL show up for me. I don’t know what it will look like for you, but it WILL show up here. It is not going to get deleted or anything like that (although I will, in fact, eventually delete all of the ballots but only after I copy them all down).

Can we vote for japanese or european comics?

I only read Marvel so my opinion doesn’t count for much

1. New Warriors – Fabian Nicieza (grew up on that run)
2. Thunderbolts – Fabian Nicieza
3. Thunderbolts- Kurt Busiek
4. Fantastic Four – John Byrne
5. Alpha Flight – John Byrne
6. Avengers – Roger Stern
7. Amazing Spider-Man – JM DeMatteis
8. Spectacular Spider-Man – JM DeMatteis
9. Incredible Hulk – Peter David
10. Nova -DNA

Are B.P.R.D. and Hellboy counted as one run or as two separate ones like Stormwatch and the Authority? IIRC they were counted as one in the last list.

Are B.P.R.D. and Hellboy counted as one run or as two separate ones like Stormwatch and the Authority? IIRC they were counted as one in the last list.

Separate. It was separate last time, too. Here‘s the Hellboy entry.

Although I don’t expect it to rank, one I put at the end of my list, having just recently read it and having it fresh on my mind as impressive, was John David Warner’s _The Son of Satan_. This is eligible, although one would have to do research to confirm it. It ran 7 issues, and in #7, it was stated that the series was to be cancelled for low sales among other reasons, mentioning that they wanted to publish an inventory story by Bill Mantlo if the sales of 6 and 7 would justify it, which they did. (I’m not a big fan of Bill Mantlo, but it’s the best Mantlo story I can recall reading.) Just going to a database might imply that this run is ineligible, but based on the situation and the rules, it does.

Hey Brian, when do you think the results will come in? I’m highly anticipating them.

You folks all vote in the comments section here up until 11:59 Pacific time, September 30th. I’ll tabulate all the votes and I’ll begin a countdown of the winners starting October 8th.

Did anyone other than me vote for a run that they are almost positive would not make the Top 100? (Not even the Top 200)

JAlexander — to answer your question, the last time we did this (four years ago), I commented at the time that several of the runs on my ballot were stuff that was NOT readily available, reprinted in full, in TPB collections which modern fans might notice when they were browsing in a Local Comics Shop. Stuff they wouldn’t have noticed back in the 1980s (or whenever) if they weren’t buying comics at the time. Nor was it likely that many of them had painstakingly acquired all the individual back issues of the runs in question.

So there were items on my ballot which I didn’t expect would get many other votes.

As I recall, I was right — by and large, the runs for which I had low expectations were the ones that didn’t make the top 100. (I’m not sure about the range from 101-200).

That still applies! I’ve only changed one thing on my ballot this year, after all.

“Did anyone other than me vote for a run that they are almost positive would not make the Top 100?”

I’d like to believe that people are voting for their legit favorites and not just trying to “pick a winner” (which they unfortunately often do in, ahem… “other” types of voting). Otherwise the results are going to end up being painfully boring and that’s no fun for anyone.

JAlexander – Yes, I cast for Roy Thomas’s Invaders run. I wouldn’t be shocked if my points are the only ones it receives.

Sean Rogers– I voted for a Crossgen run that I know won’t make the list

I gave my top ten but didn’t include more recent things like Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four or Secret Warriors. Need more time before they can become a favorite.

JAlexander – Only three of my ten choices have a legitimate chance of showing up. I’m betting no one else voted for Claremont’s run on Ms. Marvel. And I’m really betting no one else voted for EC Comics titles like Vault of Horror and Shock SuspenStories.

I’m just interested to see how the results may differ from four years ago.

A few of mine have legit chances of showing up, I have a couple fairly recent ones that probably won’t make it (Hickman’s Fantastic Four, American Vampire and Snyder’s Detective Comics, which took my bottom 3 spots)

Yo, Brian Cronin dude. Is the deadline 11:59 AM or 11:59 PM?

What’s all this about a story Miller wrote that was ‘supposed to’ run after Born Again? I consider myself a big fan of pre-suck Miller, and his DD work in particular, but this is the first I’ve heard of this.

And why did Marvel spike the story? Did Jim Shooter suddenly decide he didn’t like money?

I’m probably asking this way too late (especially since I just voted) and it may have already been covered but I didn’t know what to search for in all the comments: can you vote for an artist’s run, as opposed to that of a writer whose longer run encompassed the artist’s? For my specific example, New Mutants with Bill Sienkiewicz was such a different book than it had been before he came on, and “Claremont’s New Mutants” as a whole would fall short of my list.

What’s all this about a story Miller wrote that was ‘supposed to’ run after Born Again? I consider myself a big fan of pre-suck Miller, and his DD work in particular, but this is the first I’ve heard of this.

And why did Marvel spike the story? Did Jim Shooter suddenly decide he didn’t like money?

I covered it in an old Comic Book Legends Revealed:

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/06/05/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-158/

Yo, Brian Cronin dude. Is the deadline 11:59 AM or 11:59 PM?

PM.

Thanks Brian – a fantastic installment of legends that I’d somehow managed to miss!

As someone with a degree in mathematics the numbers have meaning to me and so the scoring feels “wrong” to me.
That sort of marking is perfect when choosing from 10 or 11 options and good enough when there are 20 or less, when selecting from 100 you’re pretty much stretching it to it’s limit.
While no sane person would want to count the valid number of runs I would expect it to be over 1000 -(trying to narrow down to 10 best is a hard decisions, placing them is an arbitrary decision that I may change my mind on from day to day).
The scoring system means that 1st place get’s 9 more points than 10th place while 10th place get’s only 1 more vote than 1000th place.
With this sort of numbers the distinction between what is voted for and what isn’t voted for is much more significant than the relative positions within the 10, 3 9th-place votes should outweigh 1 2nd-place vote but the scoring doesn’t reflect that.
Is there any chance of at least listing the number of votes for each run even if you don’t use it for placing (personally, I would sort them by number of votes and use score as a tie-breaker but it’s not my decision)

Why hasn’t my list been “moderated” yet? I feel so exposed.

You’re good, Meseklet. Your post has been moderated.

Can we include the issue runs of a series if the quality of book degrades after a certain point? For example issue 1-30 of Bendis run on Daredevil?

Sorry for the late question.

Not really. I mean, you can note it on your list, but at the end of the day, when the list is counted, it’ll be listed the way the majority of people voted, ya know?

Aw, !@#$. I resent it. Could you please remove the posted list? Thanks.

No problema, Brad.

Aaaaarrrgghhh!! Only one day left?!? How have I not seen this before?? I want to put my 2 cents in, but there is so much to choose from!! Better start thinking!!

Will our vote say awaiting moderation after you’ve entered it?

Also, does Turd Burgler and The Third Man’s back and forth count as a run? If so I would have put it at number 11 on my list.

Bendis.. Ultimate Spider-man.. especially for ultimate comics: spider-man

I put in JMD’s spectacular spidey run. Im sure it wont make it. Marvel wont even collect the run in tpbs

My ballot’s disappeared. Was it accepted okay? Thanks.

Why did I get every comment after mine in my e-mail?….

Everyone who has asked has had their ballot counted.

Yep, you’re good.

Hello Brian,
My votes are still waiting for moderation… I posted yesterday.
Any problem?

Nope. All good.

Wondering about my ballot – still indicates it’s awaiting moderation.

You’re fine. Really (and this goes for everyone), so long as you posted, it will be counted. Even if you make a mistake, I’ll fix it. Even if it gets caught by the spam filter, I’ll get it. So so long as you made a post, it’ll count.

Yes somebody else voted for JMD Spec Spidey run! I was so disappointed it didnt make the list last time.

ookerdookers – “I’m betting no one else voted for Claremont’s run on Ms. Marvel. ”

I thought about it. But it just missed for me this time. I’m pleased to see it got recognized at least.

I’m getting worried that the moderator didn’t see my post. I’m confused, does writing in the A-C-B-C, make it so your post is invisible to moderators as well?

You’re good. Your ballot was cast.

Was my ballot cast Brian?

Today is the day!. Better than Christmas

If Brian does it the same way he did last time, he’ll probably just reveal #’s 100-96 to us today, in the beginning of a slow, day-by-day countdown, milking the suspense for all it’s worth. But that’ll be a start!

I think just 5 of my personal Top 10 made it into the Top 100 last time around. Frankly, I expect that to be equally true this time — although there has been one change on my ballot since 2008 (because Brian’s revised rules now exclude one of my old “favorite picks.”)

It just occured to me that I might not have specified which of Hama’s G.I. Joe runs I wanted to vote for. Incase I forgot, it was the first one for Marvel (A Real American Hero, Special Missions, The Order of Battle, Yearbooks).

I do believe the first entry is a day overdue!

When you kids keep demanding, Daddy turns the car around and NOBODY gets ice cream!!!

Capiche?