What are your "Top Ten" DC stories that never even make "Top 100" lists

[BatmanJones]

What are your top 10 (or 20 or more - no limit) that would rarely even make a Top 100 list? And why you love them if you care to say? Not required.

You can list runs by certain creators on a certain title, story arcs, collections, or single issues. There are no rules to this except to share the stories that you feel are great but underrated.

We can all google "top 10" or "top 100" DC stories and we'll all get pretty much the same answers. This is a place to list the ones that don't get the glory, that maybe belong on a top X list, or that are just on YOUR top X list. And if you have more to share, so much the better. There's no limit. You can list a top 100 if you want to. If you can list in order of preference that would be cool. Or just say "no particular order" which works too.

I'll come up with my own list eventually if the thread lasts long enough. For now, I'm interested in hearing from you.

The point of this exercise is to discover (or rediscover) obscure but great stories by asking for your personal favorites that don't typically appear on these sorts of lists. And hopefully give us all a lot of good reading suggestions we wouldn't have found anywhere else.

[BatmanJones]

To give at least one answer of my own that I rarely see on a top X list...

Hourman by Peyer and Morales

So rarely recognized for greatness that it hasn't even been collected and isn't even for sale digitally in single issues. But still a REALLY great run.

That's the sort of stuff I'm looking for, just YOUR version of it. I hope a lot of people will post here because I'm eager for the recommendations.

[Lee Stone]

The Roy Thomas Earth-2 Secret Origins issues and the post-Crisis Secret Origins issues of All-Star Squadron
Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes
JLA #200
Batman #400
Blue Devil Annual #1
Justice League International #16-17
Sandman Mystery Theatre
Cosmic Odyssey
Rann/Thanagar War
Superman: Panic in the Sky

[EmeraldGladiator]

Gerard Jones run on Green Lantern
The third Law GL during Gerard Jones run
Titans Hunt
GL Mosaic
Azrael JPV version first 50 issues or so
All Star Squadron say 16-50.
Not counting books like Sandman, Preacher and Fables of course.

[Agent Z]

Rucka's The Hiketeia

Peter David's Young Justice

Phil Jiminez's Wonder Woman

The Sangti Arc from Luke's Wonder Woman

Golden Perfect

Devin Grayson's Titans

Mark Andreyko's Manhunter (especially the Wonder Woman tie ins)

Gail Simone's The Circle

Rucka's Checkmate

Connor and Palmiotti's Power Girl

Connor and Palmiotti's Starfire

Greg Rucka's Huntress: Cry For Blood

Dan Jurgens' Teen Titans

Guy Gardner as Warrior

[BatmanJones]

Such great responses! Keep 'em coming!

[MRP]

My ten:
First Issue Special #9 (Martin Pasko & Walt Simonson on Dr. Fate)
Secret Origins #10 (four takes on the Phantom Stranger's origin)
Doorway to Nightmare #1-5 (Madame Xanadu and some classic Kaluta covers)
Adventure Comics 431-440 (Fleischer & Aparo on the Spectre; reprinted in Wrath of the Spectre #1-4)
Neal Adams on Deadman in Strange Adventures
Hawkworld by Tim Truman
Sword of the Atom by Jam Strnad & Gil Kane
Arak, Son of Thunder #1-50
Martian Manhunter: American Secrets #1-3
Guns of the Dragon #1-4 by Tim Truman & co



-M

[Buried Alien]

BATMAN: YEAR THREE

BATMAN: A LONELY PLACE OF DYING

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[married guy]

Manhunter by Marc Andreyko
Secret Six by Gail Simone
Guy Gardner by Beau Smith
Superman #84 by Dan Jurgens - that one stuck with me for a while
The Flash by William Messner-Loebs
Green Arrow by Chuck Dixon - love me some Connor Hawke
Hitman by Garth Ennis

[Soubhagya]

DC One Million: This is one of the best stories i have ever read, comics or otherwise. Fantastic premise. Justice League from 853rd Century AD, pay a visit to the present time to invite the Justice League of our time. For the celebrations of Superman's return from his self imposed exile in the sun in 853rd Century. Apparently, Superman still lives in 853rd Century. In their absence, the future Justice League would take care of the earth now. But something turns out to be very wrong. A conspiracy made over a span of hundreds of centuries traps both the groups of heroes in the wrong times. 873rd Century JL in the present and today's JL in 873rd Century while the world is in peril.

What appeals to me is the mind boggling scope. A fascinating look to the world of DCU ages from now. What appeals to me most is the mythology of all this. About what comic books as a medium of storytelling is capable of. Its a fantastic adventure. A love story. Its also the conflict of the future with the past. Its also celebrating the past while forging ahead with the future. Its about heroism. One important story in it was about whether it can be inherited or chosen?

For an event all of its tie-ins did something unique. DC One Million is as it says in the cover. Action Comics #1 came out in June 1938. If we calculate it, if all the books are published upto one million issues that's what the story in that particular issue is. And by calculations Action Comics will reach one million if its published monthly till 853rd Century. By squinting a bit like how Martian Manhunter is published for one million issues and reaches the number at the same time as Action all of it fits. A gimmick. But its done really well. Almost all tie-ins are good. One of the best ones is Hitman #1000000 by Garth Ennis.

I don't know why people don't talk about it so much. But i absolutely love this story.

[Jim Kelly]

Many on here already that I’d pick.

The one I always mention is the Immortal Superman in ACTION COMICS 385 - 387. There are several clever ideas that Cary Bates inserts in this tale that you can see in all of the DC universe after him. Usually writers like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Mark Waid get credit for these big ideas, but Bates did it first.

Going against this story is the poor inking by George Roussos over Curt Swan (all the more irritating for the beautiful covers by Swan and Anderson). But you could justify the art as reflecting the rough time that Supes has for most of this epic adventure.

Also, in terms of the Man of Tomorrow, the syndicated strip had plenty of extended adventures. The League to Destroy Superman is an early example—but I’m sure there were others.

[dancj]

The Swamp Think in Gotham City storyline (#51-53) tends to get ignored in favour of the American Gothic story that led into it, but really American Gothic had a very weak ending, and the Gotham story is much better IMO.

Skreemer

Flex Mentallo (probably in some lists, but not enough)

The Enigma

Batman: Secrets

The Return of Superman (aka Reign of the Supermen).

Hard Time

Young Heroes in Love

Batman vs Predator (just the first one by Dave Gibbons and one or two of the Kuberts)

Major Bummer

[Hush]

Hitman by Garth Ennis, the whole serie is amazing and each time I see a top 10 or a top 20 this serie is never here. It's the best and most consistent book Ennis ever did and with Starman it might be the best DC serie of the 90s.

CBR did a top 10 comics of the 90s recently and they didn't even put Hitman in it, same for their 2017 top 100 comic book runs, it's just disappointing

[jump]

Here's mine, most are Batman stories tho.

Huntress: Cry For Blood
Wonder Woman The Hiketeia (I always see his runs on lists but not the book that got him the Wondy job)
Batman: Gotham Knights (Grayson's run)
Dark Moon Rising
Batman Year 100
Secret Six (2006)
Blades (Legends of The Dark Knight)

[Slim Shady]

Superman: Emperor Joker
Aquaman: Atlantis Chronicles
Batman: Eye of the Beholder (Annual 14)
Robin II: Joker's Wild
Green Arrow & Black Canary (Judd Winick)

BATMAN: YEAR THREE

BATMAN: A LONELY PLACE OF DYING

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Yes to both of those. Throw in Identity Crisis for a sorta kinda loose trilogy.

Since you read those then you've probably read this one since it fell in the middle of all that. Dark Knight, Dark City. It's the first story that comes to mind when someone asks for a good Riddler story.