Yesterday you got 21-75 of the list, now here are the next 5 with a little commentary…
(Part one can be found here.)
The Top 75 Essential Trades (or Storylines, for those who don’t like trades) According to the Comics Nexus Staff Part 2 (20-16):
20. Starman Omnibus
Joel: The book that brought a sense of legacy and tradition back into superhero comics, while giving us a complex, modern hero and a perspective broad enough to question the very past it celebrates. This is one of the rare works of fiction about the effect of history that doesn’t feel mired in the past – it’s nostalgic without being romanticized, incisive without being cynical. It’s also one of the most compelling family dramas in the medium’s history, a book that understands both the burden and the strength that family provides. A hero’s journey and a coming of age tale, it’s one of few complete tales in superhero comics, and one of the most stellar.
Paul S: In 1994 James Robinson created a new kind of superhero with feat of clay, while eshueing the grim & gritty kill-o-matic big-guns aesthetics that were depressingly common in the 90s. With one foot steeped deeply in the fast and the other pushing deeply into new ground, the saga of Jack Knight remains one of the best-loved runs in comics.
19. The Crow
Eugene: I picked this up after seeing the movie, and was completely moved by it. Up to this point, I’d only read Marvel, DC, and Image books and it completely opened my eyes to comics outside of traditional superheroes.
Paul S: Is James O’Barr the greatest one-hit wonder in the history of comics? A Gothic tale of supernatural revenge the original Crow remains an icon of independent comics with it’s beautiful yet often horrific art. Alas much like iconic the film it would inspire, the sequels are best left skipped.
18. All Star Superman Vol 1
Joel: Not just the best Superman story in years, but probably the best comic series this decade. And it achieves this by being unabashedly contrary to every trend in mainstream comics – in a time when most books have confused darkness with depth, Morrison’s work is optimistic and inspiring; while unimaginative writers have deconstructed and revived the concepts and characters of times past, Morrison has absorbed the tone of Silver Age Superman stories and applied it to modern ideas and perspectives; and in an era where the mundane has been confused with the human, the book finds the humanity in grand mythologies and larger than life figures. Pity to those who try to write a meaningful Superman story in the near future, because this book is as definitive for the character as Dark Knight Returns was for Batman.
Alex: Rather unbelievably the only Grant Morrison in the Top 20, ASS is Superman-done-right. Iconic, sprinkled with classic Morrison weirdness, and Goddamn pretty thanks to Frank Quitely. This is Superman’s Golden Age.
Paul S: Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly’s 12-issue series is one part surreal journey and one part post-card to the Superman comics of the silver age. Despite the series trippy-art Morrison’s writing brings the man of steal a sense humanity that is seldom felt in many modern comics.
17. Howard the Duck Omnibus
Paul S: Speaking of biting, caustic parodies Steve Gerber’s surreal look at the 70s remains one of the funniest comics of all time. Sadly both of the collections available are somewhat flawed. “The Essential Howard the Duck” cuts off in the middle of the Dr. Bong arc (possibly because of Gerber’s abrupt departure from Marvel) while The Omnibus collects some jarringly unfunny comics written by Steven Grant in 1986 to tie-into the infamous movie. Still for 25-issues or so Howard the Duck is essential reading to any comic fan, that everyone should have their hands on.
16. X-Force: Mutants Famous and Dead
Paul S: In 2001 Peter Milligan and Mike Allred were given a floundering 90s X-Men spin-off property and created one of the most caustic, biting parodies of Superhero comics and celebrity ever created. Though the book was eventually retitled X-Statix the early issues remain the most fondly remembered. Perhaps the highpoint of Bill Jemas’s tenure as head honcho of Marvel comics.
Manolis: Ah, my personal favourite in this entire list. Milligan and Allred’s X-Force was the surprise hit of the Jemas/Quesada Nu Marvel X-revival, a gripping character drama dressed as an unrelenting media satire and marketed as an X-book (like a wolf in sheep’s clothing). This X-Force took over the name of the floundering X-team and repopulated the team with the most controversial, tormented and relatable mutants Marvel had ever seen. The book was breaking new boundaries every step of the way, giving the stuffy Comics Code Authority the finger, making a floating green mascot into a bonafide sex symbol for the geek generation, introducing a proud honest breed of gay superheroes, tackling issues of race, drugs, sexuality, the fickle nature of fame, heroism and mortality. At its center it never stopped being about these characters becoming friends, lovers, heroes and celebrities, making sense of their brief bright lives and coming to terms with the price they have agreed to pay for fame and fortune.
Images courtesy of Amazon.
Look for part 3 tomorrow.
