5 Greatest Comics of All Time....

[babyblob]

So I am fairly new to comics. Have only been reading them steady for a few years. I read a bit as a kid but didnt get really involved in the hobby until the last little bit. I have read some comics that I really loved and some comics that I really didnt care for. But out of all the comics through out the years I wanted to seek the opinion of the community at large, from those who know alot more about comics then I do.

What are the top 5 greatest comics of all time? Whether it's story, artwork, cultural impact, etc.. What would you think are the best of the best.

I wouldnt even know where to begin with a list like this as like I said I dont know much about comics as a whole.

But I would love your thoughts. So drop some tittles and let me know why you added them to the list.


I would love for this to be a fun spirited debate over comics.

I look forward to reading the responses.

If I did have a list with my limited knowledge I would have a couple.

Action Comics 1 - The comic that started the superhero craze. I have read it on reprints. Boy did Superman have a busy day.

Fantastic Four 1 - The start of the Marvel age of comics. Superheroes without hidden identities. Superheroes with problems. Was amazing.

[kjn]

Tricky to limit things to five, and I'm not that well-versed in comics history either. But here are a couple candidates:

Maus by Art Spiegelman. Probably one of the most influential graphic novels of all time, certainly one of the most well-regarded.

Tintin by Hergé. If I had to select one album, I'd probably choose The Blue Lotus, given that it started Hergé's trend of immaculate research.

Valérian and Laureline by Christin and Mézières, probably the most influential science fiction comic of all time (though it's influence might be even more felt within movies: it inspired both Star Wars and The Fifth Element). Here I'd probably choose the second album, Empire of a Thousand Planets.

[jb681131]

Tricky to limit things to five, and I'm not that well-versed in comics history either. But here are a couple candidates:

Maus by Art Spiegelman. Probably one of the most influential graphic novels of all time, certainly one of the most well-regarded.

Tintin by Hergé. If I had to select one album, I'd probably choose The Blue Lotus, given that it started Hergé's trend of immaculate research.

Valérian and Laureline by Christin and Mézières, probably the most influential science fiction comic of all time (though it's influence might be even more felt within movies: it inspired both Star Wars and The Fifth Element). Here I'd probably choose the second album, Empire of a Thousand Planets.

Ideed major comics are the ones that influenced all the others.
So most of them are "old" comics 60's and before.

One of the first comic book is Little Nemo (1905-1926).

Then came newspaper strips. A very influencial one is Krazy Kat (1913-1944).

After that there whas lots of "pulp" comics (20's-40's):

• Shadow
• Doc Savage
• The Avengers
• ...

Then the super-heros appeared (40's-70's):

• Superman - Action Comics #1 - 1938
• Batman - Detecive Comics #27 - 1939
• The Spirit - by Will Eisner (like the Awards) - 1940
• Flash - 1940
• Robin - 1940
• Captain America - 1941
• Fantastic Four - 1961
• Spider-Man - 1962
• Green Lantern - 1971
• X-Men - 1975
• ...

In the mean times you had European comics:

• Tintin (1929-1986)
• Spriou (1938-)
• Lucky Luke (1946-)
• Blake & Mortimer (1950-)
• The Smurfs (1958-)
• Asterix (1959-)
• Valerian (1967-)
• ...

Let's not also forget all the great strips/show adventures stories:

• Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson
• Garfield Jim Davis
• Peanuts by Charles Schulz
• Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson
• Donald Duck by Carl Barks
• Scroodge by Don Rosa
• ...

After that the important era was the 60's-80's with the darker more adult comics:

• Swamp Thing
• Dardevil
• Rocketeer
• The Watchemen
• The Dark Knight Returns
• ...

In this Darker era, it was also the publication of very important and influencial SciFi comics:

• V for Vendetta - Alan Moore
• Incal - Jodorowsky and Moebius
• Nikopol Trilogy - Enki Bilal
• Astro Boy - Osamu Tezuka
• Lone Sloane - Lob & Druillet
• Akira - Katsuhiro Otomo
• Snowpiercer - Lob & Rochette
• ...

Also to note that the 80's had the first big crossover event with DC's Crisis on Infinit Earths.

After that in the 80's-90's-00's, you had lots of the Indie and Creator Owned comics such as:

• Teenage Mutan Ninja Turtles
• Hellboy
• Sandman
• Hellblazer
• Spawn
• Sin City
• Deadly Class
• Fable
• Transmetropolitan
• Saga
• Chew
• Blacksaad
• 100 Bullets
• Y: The Last Man
• Preacher
• Southern Bastard
• Paper Girls
• East/West
• Scalped
• ...

If I had to pic a short list I would go for:

• Krazy Kat
• Incal
• Scroodge by Don Rosa
• The Spirit
• 100 Bullets
• Daredevil by Frank Miller
• Spirou & Fantasio by Franquin
• Lucky Luke

[K7P5V]

My Top 5 (listed chronologically):

1962 - Spider-Man! (Amazing Fantasy, Vol.1 #15)
1964 - Captain America Joins... The Avengers! (Avengers, Vol.1 #4)
1983 - Roulette (Daredevil, Vol.1 #191)
1984 - The Anatomy Lesson (Swamp Thing, Vol.2 #21)
1987 - The Abyss Gazes Also (Watchmen, Vol.1 #6)

[Nschornhorst]

I don't know about 'greatest,' but here's my top five offhand in no particular order...

The Complete Peanuts by Charles Schulz- A large collection, but complete and a great way to see the span of a cartoonist's career (or most of it), plus it's such an influential and excellent strip.

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa- While all of Barks' work with the ducks is awesome, Don Rosa compiled much of it and other stories into a timeline and wonderful story of the highs and lows of the character most know quite differently from the DuckTales cartoons.

Kingdom Come by Alex Ross and Mark Waid- I love Ross' art style and the amount of religious symbolism in this work is immense. It helps to have knowledge of DC characters, but it's not necessary, as it's an alternate universe.

Batman: The Long Halloween by Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb- An interesting mystery showcasing Batman as a detective alongside much of his rogues. Perhaps it was better as a monthly to build suspense, but I also enjoyed the TPB.

Pogo by Walt Kelly- While it isn't as funny (to me) as other strips, this inspired so many comics creators with its lush backgrounds, cartoony characters, and socio-political subject matter. Bloom County, Calvin & Hobbes, Bone, and so much more owe a lot to this creation.



OTHER MENTIONS:


Bone by Jeff Smith

Justice League: The Nail by Alan Davis

Fables by Bill Willingham

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons


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However, just seek out what you like. That's how I started-- I used to read about characters/shows I already enjoyed and went from there. If you prefer a certain art style or writer, go with that. Or pick a genre and dive in! There's such a wide variety of comics and such, including strips, manga, superheroes, indies, funny animals, adaptations, etc. it's hard to narrow it down to five. Start with what you know and branch off! I think that may be more fun for you, as 'greatest' is different for everyone.

[GOLGO 13]

As for truly special books I can only recommend:

-Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
-Calvin & Hobbes by Watterson

[dancj]

In no order

The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: Year One
Watchmen
Moore's Swamp Thing run
Morrison's Animal Man run
Locke and Key

Yeah that's six