"The Golden Age" by Robinson and Smith. The "Watchmen" of the JSA. If they had taken it any darker DC might have asked them to not use their characters, the way they asked Moore to not use the Charlton ones.
Great pick. One of the criteria for this list is "lesser-known". It would be great to learn about some classic obscurities.
Here are a couple:
Human Target by Peter Milligan. I believe there were two minis, if memory serves.
Arak: Son of Thunder by Roy Thomas from the '80s. This series often featured incredible art from Alfredo Alcala and, to the best of my knowledge, has never been collected.
Not obscure but not mentioned enough: Planetary by Ellis and Cassady.
Agreed. It's brilliant, but it's also anything but "Lesser Known..."
From memory, it feels like it was limited series/graphic novel/ongoing that went about two years. That said, could not agree more. I feel like it is some of that writer's best work.
While I'm never really sure if i feel like it is actually "Lesser Known..." the "DC Focus" comic Hard Time was incredibly solid. Maybe not "As Good As...", but a superior work.
You are right. I have the mini and the GN in a single collection (Chance Meetings) and I mistakenly thought the GN was a mini as well. I also have the first ten issues of the ongoing, some of which had Cliff Chiang on art. I should see if the rest of it was ever collected.
And now for something completely different: Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham. I mean, the art alone makes it classic.
A number of suggestions already that I like as much or more than Watchmen (has Daytripper been mentioned?) and there are plenty more besides but I actually don't think that any comic I have read is better than Watchmen on a pure craft level. Sure, plenty of comics resonate with me far more than Watchmen - indeed, for all that I love it, Watchmen is quite cold and calculated - but I can't think of any comic book, past or present, that is as immaculately put together as Moore and Gibbons' masterpiece.
Check out my blog, Because Everyone Else Has One, for my regularly updated movie reviews.