There are comic stories you liked, comic stories you loved, and then there are stories that you swear people will be rereading 100 years from now. What stories do you think go beyond entertainment and truly count as literature?
** Sandman** by Neil Gaiman
Some Eisner stuff
Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Possibly Miracleman by Alan Moore & Neil Gaiman
Maus by Art Speigelmann
Earth X by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross.
Peter David’s entire Hulkrun (with maybe some notable gaps where he was having a period of bad writing).
The entire Kirby/Lee Fantastic Four.
Crisis on Infinite Earths by Wolfman/Perez. (Love it, hate it, it was darn notable.)
(Side note: hey, it’s my 1,000th post…and I’m thrilled it relates to comics. To paraphrase Homer Simpson: “Ah, comics. Teacher, mother…secret lover.” 
)
I was fond of the original Elfquest series by Wendy and Richard Pini quite a few years back, but I have no idea how they’ve held up in the eyes of the serious collector (which I wasn’t).
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
To add yet another Alan Moore book, I’d say From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.
The first 36 issues of the Legion of Super-Heroes by Tom & Mary Beirbaum and Keith Giffen.
The first 27 issues of Starman by James Robinson (the rest of the series was good, but not, IMHO, “truly great”).
John Byrne’s run on Fantastic Four (issues # 232 - 295)…second only to Stan & Jack’s on that book.
Walt Simonson’s Thor.
And I second the selections of Crisis and Sandman.
Oh, yes…Swing with Scooter # 19. A classic for the ages.
“The Dark Phoenix Saga” – X-Men – Marvel, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. This one really has got it all. A well written and action filled plot, strong art, and a killer ending that leaves you hungry for more. I really got into all of the characters, and this story is the penultimate X-Men story.
“Who Killed Retro Girl?” – Powers – Image, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. I liken this book to NYPD Blue set in Metropolis. Good dialogue, funny and serious at the same time, and very original. The extra features are really cool, concept art, promo art, and the script for the first issue were all included in this one.
“Kingdom Come” – DC, by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. If the art doesn’t grab you by the crotch and make you salivate, then you’re blind and I’m deeply sorry. The story is also well written and the collected edition comes complete with a promo art gallery, a behind the scenes look at Ross’s paintings, and a character design sketchbook. Even my non-comic fan friends loved this book.
“The Watchmen” – DC, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Although a little dated today, this mini-series had the media paying attention to comics with it’s political undertones and a great mystery. The TPB is sorta no frills, but the book is a great read, which more than makes up for it.
“Whiteout” – Oni Press, By Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. Black and White, no special features, and one hell of a good mystery makes this story of murder in the Antarctic one of my all time favs. Both creators have moved on to bigger projects (Rucka is writing Batman for DC, Lieber has drawn Bats and Superman, and they both have won a Eisner award since Whiteout was published), and this is a good showing off of their talent.
When Keith Giffen and J.M De Matteis were writing the various Justice Leage books in the early 90’s. They were friggin’ hilarious.
Love and Rockets by Los Bros. Hernadez was way cool, and here’s a link http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/lr/losbros/losbros.html
What about 2000 AD offerings:
** Johnny Alpha and Strontium Dog** and of course Judge Dredd
I put in another vote for both The Watchmen and Kingdom Come. Also, Marvels was a rather neat story as well.
Dawn is one of my personal favorites.
The Crow. I mean, come on.
The Age of Apocolypse. One of my favorite, and in my opinion, BEST alternate reality type storylines (especially for Marvel).
Days of Future Past is another good one.
Giffen also wrote the sublimely funny Heckler comics.
WSLer, you must have read my mind. I’d also add:
Swamp Thing – both the Len Wein and Alan Moore versions (I prefer the Wein, but Moore is always great).
1963 – Alan Moore’s pastiche of the Stan Lee Marvel Comics heroes. Especially great is his vicious parody of Lee himself as “Affable Al Moore.” It was also an interesting attempt to contrast the older heroes with the present day ones, and the fact that the final issue – an 80 page giant where the 1963 heroes visit the present – was never produced is one of the great losses to the medium.
Green Lantern/Green Arrow – Denny O’Neal’s revitalization of the characters, with one of the greatest (and, next to Jack Kirby, most influential) artists in comics, Neal Adams.
Batman – The Dark Knight Returns – The first truly dark comic book character. The series was one of the most influential ever.
Howard the Duck – OK, the movie sucked, but the comic was wild, wacky, and fun. Further, Howard the Duck #1 is proof positive that comic book are NOT an investment.
“How Things Work Out”, by Alan Moore and Rick Veitch, from Tomorrow Stories #2 (1999). A four-page short story spanning forty years, with an experimental panel layout that can be read in several different ways. An amazing twist on standard comics structure. There’s at least one trade paperback that includes a reprint of it.
Some of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City stories, including the first issue, showing a Superman-like hero who can never relax; Astro City 1/2, a Wizard magazine giveaway, with a short story about a man tormented by dreams of a mysterious woman; and the multi-part “Confessor” storyline, about the training of a teen sidekick.
And here I was thinking there were comics before the 70s.
I don’t know if people will be reading the comics, but future generations will know how Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, the Hulk, and a few others came to be. Especially the first three, with very defining, parable-istic origin stories.
Grant Morrison’s run on Doom Patrol was great, with some spectacular issues, such as teh one where Cliff goes into Jane’s mind and the one with Monsieur Mallah and The Brain. If they ever reprint that last one, they need to include the letter from the irate fan who was upset that a comic depicted a disembodied brain and a talking gorilla having a homosexual relationship. Truly a landmark moment in comics history.
Similarly, Morrison’s last issue on Animal Man was a triumph, with him showing up and explaining how it all works to Buddy Baker.
And I’m certain that 100 years from now, people will revere Bob Haney as the genius he was. Yes, Batman digs this day.
Hmmmm, in order:
- The Watchmen - it hasn’t become dated at all, New & Improved Scott, IMHO - it was the best comic ever, and still is.
- The Dark Knight Returns
- X-Men, Giant Size #1, and #94 through about #120, especially fights with Magneto, around issue #110 or so
- Spiderman, most issues with Ditko
- Fantastic Four, the Galactus Trilogy
There are others, but those to me are the epitome. Maus is amazing, but I think of it differently, and chose to interpret the question to be superhero/fantasy-oriented, but YMMV.
Dark Knight (1),Watchmen,Kingdom Come, yes, yes, and yes. Also:
The Maxx - By Sam Kieth and Bill Messner-Loebs
and
Mage: The Hero Discovered - By Matt Wagner
And “The Death Of Speedy Ortez” was one of the best comics storylines ever.
Doom Patrol at least in the silver age incarnation and Grant Morrison’s run was really good.
Akira was just as beautiful and action packed as the movie was, only the comic actually made sense.
The Vertigo version of Weird War Tales was excellent, but it was only a four issue series.
Peter Bagge’s HATE
Alex Robinsons’s Box Office Poison
Batton Lash’s Wolff and Byrd
100 Bullets, by Brian Azzarello and Eduard Riso
Jonah Hex done by Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, Miracle Man, Promethia, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta etc
Grimjack, John Ostrander, Tim Truman, Flint Henry, Tom Mandrake, and others
Preacher, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Any of the 60’s and 70’s comic magazines that had more mature content to bypass the Comics Code, like Creepy, Eerie, Conan, Vampirella etc
EC Horror comics, especially the ones that called out by Seduction of the Innocent
many others i’m forgetting…
Peter Bagge’s HATE
Alex Robinsons’s Box Office Poison
Batton Lash’s Wolff and Byrd
100 Bullets, by Brian Azzarello and Eduard Riso
Jonah Hex done by Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, Miracle Man, Promethia, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta etc
Grimjack, John Ostrander, Tim Truman, Flint Henry, Tom Mandrake, and others
Preacher, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Any of the 60’s and 70’s comic magazines that had more mature content to bypass the Comics Code, like Creepy, Eerie, Conan, Vampirella etc
EC Horror comics, especially the ones that called out by Seduction of the Innocent
many others i’m forgetting…
Peter Bagge’s HATE
Alex Robinsons’s Box Office Poison
Batton Lash’s Wolff and Byrd
100 Bullets, by Brian Azzarello and Eduard Riso
Jonah Hex done by Joe R. Lansdale and Tim Truman
Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, Miracle Man, Promethia, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta etc
Grimjack, John Ostrander, Tim Truman, Flint Henry, Tom Mandrake, and others
Preacher, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Any of the 60’s and 70’s comic magazines that had more mature content to bypass the Comics Code, like Creepy, Eerie, Conan, Vampirella etc
EC Horror comics, especially the ones that called out by Seduction of the Innocent
many others i’m forgetting…