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

[SixSpeedSamurai]

Vengeance of Bane II. I just like the story of a man rebuilding himself.
Robin #13. The scene of Bane in prison when Bruce becomes Batman again is one of my favorite panels ever.
Terminal Velocity. Part of the great Waid Flash run, I like the scene where Wally returns in a crack of lightening to save Linda.
A Lonely Place of Dying.
Simone's Secret Six.
Simone's Birds of Prey (Vol. 1)
Dixon's run on Detective.
Superman For All Seasons
The Last Arkham. Great Grant story with awesome Breyfogle art.
Robin first mini-series

[Ilan Preskovsky]

A few of these are only excerpts from larger, overlooked runs but the OP did ask for storylines so that's what I'm going to focus on here.

The Flash Volume 2 #80-91: Not only do you get to see Mike Wieringo improve by leaps and bounds with each issue, this run of issues that culminates with Wally West having to confront that he can't save everyone no matter how fast he is, when he is sued by a woman he failed to save at the start of this run of issues. It's an integral part of teh development of Wally West and is largely overlooked as being the bit between the Return of Barry Allen and Terminal Velocity.

Supergirl - Many Happy Returns: The culmination of Peter David's very unique, very long and really rather good Supergirl run that was an interesting mix of straight up superheroics with the sort of stuff you would find in early Vertigo (religion and identity, especially). This final arc was a change from the rest as it had Linda Danvers meet a time-dispalced Kara Zor-El but unlike the official return of Kara that happened within months of this, this Kara was still very much a holdover from the Silver Age with no lame attempts to make her edgy or current. It was one of DC's best ever resurrection stories - emotional, imaginative and fun - that was shunted aside almost as soon as it ended.

Hitman - the final arc: The whole of Ennis and McCrea's brilliant Hitman is criminally overlooked as it is very nearly as good as Preacher but doesn't get a hundredth of its accolades. Also, unlike Preacher, which got weaker towards the end, Hitman only got better as it went along with this final arc and an obvious, heartbreaking standout.

JSA - Black Reign: It's hard to think of a Geoff Johns co/mic as overlooked but this might just be the best thing he ever wrote and it never got the press of his higher profile stories. Johns is at his best when dealing with anti-heroes so it's no surprise that this Black Adam centric storyline, with some real moral complexity at its heart, plays on all of his strengths and none of his weaknesses. Johns' first JSA run was pretty great all the way through but this was obviously its high point.

Green Lantern - The Third Law: I haven't read this in years so it may not hold up at all but I remember this as the story that hooked me on Green Lantern. Indeed, while Kyle is my Green Lantern, most of Geard Jones' run on Green Lantern strikes me as being pretty overlooked and by far one of the most interesting portrayals of Hal Jordan, with some pretty nifty art to boot. Sadly, with his, um, personal problems, I don't think there's a chance in hell that Jones' run will ever be reprinted. Understandably but it's a pity.

[Jim Kelly]

I’d like it if more people talked up the 18 issue anthology series from the late 1980s, WASTELAND. Written mainly by Del Close and John Ostrander, it featured a lot of great artists on oddball short stories. And this is where I first sampled the work of William Messner-Loebs, not as a writer but as an artist.

Probably one of the most original books from DC. It’d be nice if they reprinted the whole thing—with Bill Loebs getting some attention for his art and some money in his pocket.

[BatmanJones]

I didn't mean to derail the thread. I always prefer threads when they're a full discussion with pros and cons. It keeps it more interesting. That's why I tend to avoid appreciation threads.

No need for apology. You didn't derail. I generally agree with what you said. I just want people to feel free to list their personal favorites without having to defend them.

[Clark_Kent]

The Super Seven! (2-part Elseworlds annuals, but I don't recall part one's issue #. Part 2 was Superboy Annual #1)

Action Comics #644 (Matrix thinks it's Superman, and fights the real Superman in Smallville)

Battle for Metropolis / Fall of Metropolis arc (think No Mans Land, but 4-5 years earlier)

Batman: Year Three

Batman: Contagion (usually lost in the discussion of this era; people mention Knightfall, Legacy, and NML, but often neglect Contagion)

Robin II: Joker's Wild

[BatmanJones]

Re-reading Batman Year Three which has been recommended here a few times. I read it when it came out but haven't read it since. Wolfman-Broderick is a team I loved when those books came out and the Perez covers are to die for.

I'll figure this out as I go along but was surprised to see an adult Dick Grayson who says he left the Batcave two years prior in "Batman Year Three." This was obviously way before New 52 caused DC to perform pretzel-like gymnastics to try to explain 5 Robins in (IIRC) 5 years and there was no need to pretend Dick had only been Robin for one year or less, in Batman's "Year One," especially since I don't remember him being in Batman Year One. I'm sure the story will explain itself. Looking forward to re-reading.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll read a lot of the books in this thread.

[BatmanJones]

Re-reading Meltzer/Hester Green Arrow "The Archer's Quest." Definitely one of my favorites that rarely makes "top DC stories" list. I'd forgotten about it.

[BatmanJones]

"The Archer's Quest" was even better than I remembered. Now I'm re-reading Kevin Smith's great run that brought Ollie back to life and remembering the thrill of that happening as the comics hit the stands. I took a brief break from comics in my 20s and when I came back I couldn't believe DC had so callously and frivolously killed off Oliver Queen, one of the most colorful characters I read as a kid and one of my favorites. After Barry, Hal, and Ollie died all I wanted was for them to come back. I felt that way about every JLA member death, as almost all of them died or "died" (Batman) and later came back to life at one time or another but it was a heck of a long wait for the returns of Hal and Ollie and a much longer one for Barry who seemed "Uncle Ben-dead" for decades.

But at the time I came back to comics I remember feeling that bringing any of those characters back wasn't a priority at DC. Like ever. And I remember reading back then that Kevin Smith offered to write a series but only if he could bring Oliver Queen back to life and DC went for it. (Or something like that - I'm paraphrasing a very old memory.) And I remember how exciting that was, and what a hero of a super-fan Kevin Smith seemed to me, that he'd be willing to do that when he was at the height of his film career, and moreover that he only wanted to bring back Green Arrow.

As I said Oliver Queen/GA was one of my favorite characters as a kid and into young adulthood but there are relatively few stories outside of JLA that really made a mark with me. And both Smith's run and Meltzer's that followed it are plainly, as I'm re-reading them, asserting themselves to be my favorite GA stories of all time...

That is AFTER GL/GA by O'Neil and Adams, of course. That series was the gold standard of its time and will always be one of my favorite DC series ever.

But the Smith/Meltzer runs are really something.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to anyone that hasn't read them and cares about GA or JLA/DCU generally, as there is so much JLA/DCU fan service (by way of guest-stars and telling old stories and the best sorts of nostalgic callbacks) to be found in each arc. You can track them down at your LCS or you can find them on comixology.

[Babylon23]

Vigilante 50: The final issue of the 80's series and one of the saddest books I've ever read. Adrian Chase's suicide really hit home for me.

Dr. Fate miniseries (1987): While Giffen and DeMatteis are known for their comedy they produced one of my favourite supernatural superhero/horror books with this miniseries.

Legion of Superheroes 1-38 (5-years later Legion): This is an incredibly complex (some might say confusing) read and I understand why fans don't like it, but this is my favourite Legion run. I love the political intrigue, the strong characterisation and the incredible world-building. Even htough I wasn't a big Legion fan before this series I had no problem following the book and keeping track of the various characters and plot threads.

Ghostdancing: One of the most overlooked books from the classic period of 90's Vertigo.

Blue Beetle 15-16 (80's series): While the Question is one of my favourite books of all time it often makes best of lists, but Blue Beetle and Captain Atom were also great series. The highlight of Blue Beetle was Ted's return to Pago Island and his encounter with hte original Blue Beetle Dan Garrett.

All-Star Squadron 17-40: Pre-Crisis All-Star is brilliant. While the early issues are great the book really hits it's stride with the Trial of Robotman. What follows is some of the finest stories I've ever read: Brain-Wave, the Ultra-Humanite/Infinity Inc. saga, Spectre vs. Dr. Fate, Earth X, Amazing Man vs. the Klan. Just one great story after another.

Human Target by Peter Milligan: Another overlooked Vertigo gem. Christopher Chance is a fascinating and compelling character in this series

Superman: War of the Worlds: One of the best Elseworlds books DC has produced. Original Superman vs. the martians using Orson Welles radio broadcast as its backdrop. Roy Thomas and Michael Lark at their best

Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner: Matt Wagner took Madame Xanadu from a mildly interesting support character to one of DC's most interesting and layered heroes. I loved the mix of history, mythology and comic history that Wagner blended in this series

[Clark_Kent]

Re-reading Batman Year Three which has been recommended here a few times. I read it when it came out but haven't read it since. Wolfman-Broderick is a team I loved when those books came out and the Perez covers are to die for.

I'll figure this out as I go along but was surprised to see an adult Dick Grayson who says he left the Batcave two years prior in "Batman Year Three." This was obviously way before New 52 caused DC to perform pretzel-like gymnastics to try to explain 5 Robins in (IIRC) 5 years and there was no need to pretend Dick had only been Robin for one year or less, in Batman's "Year One," especially since I don't remember him being in Batman Year One. I'm sure the story will explain itself. Looking forward to re-reading.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll read a lot of the books in this thread.

You've probably figured it out already, but the title "Year Three" actually refers to the flashback portions, while the main narrative takes place in the present (at least, that's how I remember it; been a long time since I read it). But definitely not saying he was Robin in Year One. Anyway, like I said, I'm sure you got there already

A few more I wanted to toss in:

• The 2-part Adventures of Superman story that tied into Infinite Crisis ("This Is Your Life", or something like that). When Kal-El & Kal-L are fighting, they each get to see how the other would have fared in the others' boots. Kal-L sees a world wherein he did not die fighting Doomsday, but ultimately doomed the world after foolishly trusting a partnership with Luthor. Meanwhile, Kal-El sees himself ending wars using L's higher powerset, resulting in a world where other heroes were never needed. His hubris ultimately leads to no defense when the Anti-Monitor comes calling. Both heroes come to realize the truth of things, and their conflict ends as Infinite Crisis showed it. This 2-part story basically happens "between the panels" of IC.

• Batman: Jekyll & Hyde. A wonderful dive into the psychology of Two Face...in a world with precious few 'good' Two Face stories, this one stands out as a great one, imo.

[Ramsay Snow]

Interesting thread....Here are my top DC comics/storylines which rarely, if ever, make a top 100 list.

The Web--- 10-issue series written by Angela Robinson, later Matthew Sturges, and with art by Roger Robinson. 11 issues if you count the origin one-shot written by Straczynski. ......Very fun comic linked to the Bat-family. A shame it went so under the radar. It was a part of the Red Circle line released by DC around that time-frame. The Web was the only good comic in that line of titles, and it was excellent.

Batman Family --- 8-issue limited series from 2002, written by John Francis (No relation to Alan!) Moore. This is a fun storyline involving Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Robin, etc....And they encounter a new group of villains who almost mirror the Bat-family.

Will Pfeiffer's Catwoman run with art by David Lopez. Essentially starting from the 1-Year-Later arc, issues 53-82.....A fun list of villains in this run, especially Film Freak (Just think of a goth cinephile version of the Joker). With Film Freak, you see his metamorphosis from being a somewhat interesting villain, to suddenly going up several levels.

Manhunter by Marc Andreyko

Justice by Alex Ross.....But get the Absolute version, if you can. Phenomenal art like that needs to be seen at its best platform.

Nightwing ---The part of Chuck Dixon's run where Greg Land joined in on the artwork. Pretty much issues 41-58. The ending of the last storyline is somewhat disappointing in terms of quality.

Before Watchmen: Dr Manhattan

[BatmanJones]

I love every single post in this thread. I started it selfishly to be reminded of runs I'd loved but forgotten or, better, great runs I never managed to read.

This is maybe TMI but I'm about to begin an extended medical leave and this thread and others like it are providing me with the BEST possible reading list. Thanks to all who have participated. I hope there will be many more.

[EmeraldGladiator]

Parralax View: two issue arc during the Kyle era of Green Lantern when Par(Hal)lax shows up and beats up the JLA. Also the Zero Issue (thanks to Zero Hour) of Green Lantern, but masterfully drawn by Darryl Banks.

[Sutekh]

The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Universo Project. It really only centers on four Legionnaires, so it's hardly an exemplary 'Legion' tale, and yet I love it even more than the much-more critically-beloved Great Darkness Saga for that reason. It really focuses hard on the four Legionnaires chosen, and presents some fascinating secondary characters (like the Silver Sword and 'Xera of Manna-5' who have not rated a mention if the writer had to juggle twenty other Legionnaires in the story).

[Hilden B. Lade]

Trying not to repeat some of the good stuff that's already been dropped here:

Shade the Changing Man by Peter Milligan. Another seminal Vertigo title, though it gets eclipsed by some of the other classics of the time like Sandman. 70 issues, with Chris Bachalo handling the art duties primarily for the first 50. The trades stopped after the first nineteen issues, but the rest of the series is on Comixology.

Action Comics Vol 2. 0-18 by Grant Morrison. New 52 Superman's finest (and some would argue only) moment. Weakest part of the run is Rags Morales' inconsistent art, and that t-shirt and jeans Superman goes away far too quickly for Jim Lee's armored eyesore. The back-ups by Sholly Fisch were pretty good too.

The Demon by Garth Ennis and John McCrea. It's arguable that this is just an extra-fancy Hitman prequel + warm-up (Tommy Monaghan and other familiar faces are introduced here) and it certainly does pale next to Garth's other major 90s work for DC/Vertigo (Hellblazer, Preacher, and ofc Hitman) but still Garth drops madly entertaining rhymes for the Demon Etrigan and you can't go wrong with a run that includes a story where The Demon teams up with a Haunted Tank and old WW2 vets to foil the plans of Nazi Zombies. (I should've made this entry rhyme, but I'm too lazy)

Jonah Hex by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Western done-in-ones, with an occasional arc here and there. A whole host of artists contributed to this series, including names such as JH Williams III, Darwyn Cooke, and Fiona Staples. Their New 52 follow-up All-Star Western wasn't as good (a more accurate title is All-Star Cowboy Fish Outta Water) but was a fun read and had a great ending that capped off their Hex saga as a whole.


Doctor 13: Architecture and Morality by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang. A collection of back-ups from David Lapham's Spectre that answer the question: what happens when Brian Azzarello tries to write like Grant Morrison for a day? As someone who has a hate-love relationship with Azzarello's work, I have to say that this probably is the least problematic work by him I've read: no rapist Amazons or Jokers here.

Paul Levitz's JSA work, including the Huntress back-ups from 70s Wonder Woman. Not the deepest or greatest JSA that's been done, but entertaining bronze age escapades regardless.

Young Liars by David Lapham. A love-it-or-hate-it late 00s Vertigo series, it falls on the love spectrum for me. A twisted and unpredictable rock-and-roll love story, though it is just as easy to find it a convoluted mess.

The Sheriff of Babylon by Tom King and Mitch Gerads. The debut of the Mister Miracle team. A murder story in Iraq after Saddam's fall. Possibly the best Vertigo series in a long-time.

Hellblazer (275 - 215) by Mike Carey. Essentially one giant story, with every arc leading in some way to the next. After a strong introduction that picks up the pieces from Brian Azzarello (whose run I'm not much of a fan of, though it had some moments), Carey's Hellblazer falls into a somewhat generic "stop the coming apocalypse" route in his first half, but by issue 200 his run vastly improves as the direction shifts into exploring the consequences of a Constantine gamble gone wrong. His run leads up to an explosive, emotional conclusion that would've been the perfect place to conclude Hellblazer as a series. Several artists contributed to this run, including some work by Jock and Lee Bermejo on the fill-ins, but the highlight of the run is Leonardo Manco whose pencils perfectly blend gritty realism with hellish imagery. Also worth checking out is the stand-alone Hellblazer graphic novel by Carey and Manco - All His Engines. It works as a good continuity-free way to introduce newcomers to the character, showcasing both the wit and bastardry of Constantine quite well.

(I have a feeling Christopher Priest's Deathstroke will eventually qualify for this thread's criteria)