Although Colin is currently listing his favourite comics by creative run/theme/storyarc, this is a list of my favourite comic book stories arranged by year of original publication from 1959-2009. I should caution you - as I am a former writer/coordinator of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, you're going to see an awful lot of Marvel super hero comics. What better way to enter into Thanksgiving weekend than a list of some comic books I'm very thankful for?
And with that...
1959: "The Girl in Superman's Past" (Superman#129) by Bill Finger & wayne Boring.
1960: "Beware! The Rawhide Kid!" (Rawhide Kid#17) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.
1961: "Zzutak! The Thing That Shouldn't Exist!" (Strange Tales#88) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.
1962: "Spider-Man!" (Amazing Fantasy#15) by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.
1963: "The Origin of Doctor Strange" (Strange Tales#115) by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.
1964: "The Sinister Six!" (Amazing Spider-Man Annual#1) by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.
1965: "Eternity Beckons!" (Strange Tales#135) by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.
1966: "The Final Chapter!" (Amazing Spider-Man#33) by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.
1967: "To Become an Immortal!" (Thor#136) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.
1968: "Bat Lash!" (Showcase#76) by Sergio Aragones & Nick Cardy.
1969: "And Who Shall Mourn for Him?" (Silver Surfer#5) by Stan Lee & John Buscema.
1970: "The Sword and the Sorcerers" (Chamber of Darkness#4) by Roy Thomas & Barry Windsor-Smith.
1971: "The Impossible Hit" (Golgo 13#1) by Takao Saito.
1972: "The Pact" (New Gods#7) by Jack Kirby.
1973: "Fear is the Name of the Game!" (Tomb of Dracula#15) by Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan.
1974: "Night of the Blood Stalker!" (Tomb of Dracula#25) by Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan.
1975: "Memories on a Mourning's Night!" (Tomb of Dracula#30) by Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan.
1976: "Cat"/"Fight Without Pity" (Master of Kung Fu#38-39) by Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy.
1977: "Astronauts" (Eternals#13) by Jack Kirby.
1978: "Nightimes" (Master of Kung Fu#71) by Doug Moench & Mike Zeck.
1979: "Batwings Over Transylvania!" (Tomb of Dracula#69) by Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan.
1980: "Cap for President!" (Captain America#250) by Roger Stern & John Byrne.
1981: "The Last Jedi!" (Star Wars#49) by Mike W. Barr & Walter Simonson.
1982: "To Have Loved... and Lost!" (Doctor Strange#55) by Roger Stern & Michael Golden. This is also my all-time favourite comic book story.
1983: "The Last Farewell!" (Avengers#230) by Roger Stern & Al Milgrom.
1984: "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" (Amazing Spider-Man#248) by Roger Stern & Ron Frenz.
1985: "Like a Bat Out of Hell!" (Thor#362) by Walter Simonson.
1986: "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" (Superman#423/Action Comics#583) by Alan Moore & Curt Swan.
1987: "The Price of Victory" (Avengers#277) by Roger Stern & John Buscema.
1988: "Surrender" (Captain America#345) by Mark Gruenwald & Kieron Dwyer.
1989: "Final Round" (Suicide Squad#22) by John Ostrander & Luke McDonnell.
1990: "The Brains of the Outfit" (Deathlok#1) by Dwayne McDuffie & Jackson Guice (more about it here).
1991: "Circles" (Usagi Yojimbo#28-31) by Stan Sakai.
1992: "Final Fate" (Spectre#12) by John Ostrander & Tom Mandrake.
1993: "Palestine" (Palestine#1-9) by Joe Sacco.
1994: "Monsters" (Marvels#2) by Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross.
1995: "The Scoop" (Kurt Busiek's Astro City#2) by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson.
1996: "The Nearness of You" (Kurt Busiek's Astro City#0.5) by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson.
1997: "My Father's Son" (Kurt Busiek's Astro City#9) by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson.
1998: "Final Rites" (Spectre#62) by John Ostrander & Tom Mandrake.
1999: "It's a Barbarian Bunny - Busty Broad Bonanza in my Brainpan - and I'm the Only One Invited!" (Deadpool#27) by Joe Kelly & Walter McDaniel.
2000: "Blaze of Glory" (Blaze of Glory#1-4) by John Ostrander & Leonardo Manco.
2001: "Showdown" (Usagi Yojimbo#46-47) by Stan Sakai.
2002: "The Last Titan" (Incredible Hulk: the End#1) by Peter David & Dale Keown.
2003: The Interman by Jeff Parker.
2004: "Story" (Aquaman#14) by John Ostrander & Tom Grummett.
2005: "I, Librarian" (Rex Libris#1) by James Turner.
2006: "A Dog and His Boy" (Dark Horse Book of Monsters) by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson.
2007: "Curse of the Replacement Superman" (All Star Superman#9) by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely.
2008: "A Cock & Bull Story" (Rex Libris#10) by James Turner.
2009: "Why Atomic Robo Hates Dr. Dinosaur" (Atomic Robo/Drone/We Kill Monsters Free Comic Book Day) by Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener.
If this list causes you to wonder whether Roger Stern & John Ostrander are two of my pet favourites - wonder no longer, they are.
Lovely, inspiring stuff. Your list is so much tidier than mine, but then, I suspect you're a far more organised chap than I am. I was just thinking of the comics that I wouldn't want to leave behind, which means I've got huge runs sitting next to single issues. Yours make more far more sense!
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating too. You've titles that came SO close to mine - eg The Nearness Of You - and several titles that I've shamefully never sampled.
But I've been taking notes, and I will :)
Thank you Colin! The above is just a portion of a much longer list - I whittled it down to just my favourite of each year. If I'd had a favourite story from 1958, I would have gone 1940-up. Perhaps some day I'll have a blog post devoted to each of the 200+ tales on the full list.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite enjoying your list too - we definitely value many of the same stories and creators.