Check out #100-91.





#90-81





(note: #90 and #89 do not exist due to a tie at the #88 spot)




88 (tie). Superman: King of the World
by Mark Waid, Karl Kesel, Jenete Kahn, Dan Jurgens, and Stewart Immomen

originally published in: 
Action Comics #750-754 (1999)
Superman #141-144 (1999)
Adventures of Superman #564-567 (1999)
Superman Man of Steel #86-89 (1999)
Supermen of America #1 (1999)
Superman The Man of tomorrow #13 (1999)
Superman King of the World #1 (1999)

Nominated by: sunofdarkchild

sunofdarkchild says, "This was the first large arc I can remember reading as it first came out, so it has a lot of nostalgic for me. This was a huge epic that really benefited from DC's policy of having 4 Superman books every month. The first issue of 1999 begins the story with Superman having a nightmare about a disaster which comes true and builds from there. Over the next few months Superman becomes haunted by his dreams and gradually feels that he needs to do more and more and more, interfering in the affairs of other nations on behalf of the oppressed, altering the weather, ect. He abandons his identity as Clark Kent because he's not saving people while writing novels. Eventually he goes to far and the government and the Justice League turn on him.

One of the things that I really enjoy about this story is that it doesn't make Superman evil. Unlike in stories like Injustice or the cartoon Justice Lords, this Superman never becomes a murderer and never crosses the line into villainy. The change is subtle and does not affect his core personality. It is rather an exploration of why superheroes can't save everyone of make everything better. It isn't healthy for them, and at a certain point it takes away the free will of the people.

The story took up almost the entire first half of 1999, and constantly escalated. Seeing Superman doing more and more, seeing the Justice League get involved, up until he starts making Superman robots and destroys all nuclear weapons, leading to a brawl with the JLA and then another between the robots and the JLA, was thrilling. Then the reveal that Dominus - one of my favorite Superman villains, was behind it all set up the final act. It was a thrilling 5-6 months which were tightly plotted despite how many issues were involved and how many cooks there were in the kitchen. And it left consequences. The fortress was destroyed, and the comics had to deal with the aftermath of the story for the rest of the year."




88 (tie). The Golden Age
by James Robinson and Paul Smith

originally published in: The Golden Age #1-4 (1993)

Nominated by: md62

Michael James writes, "A cynical yet hopeful story of the JSA. Pseudo realistic in it's approach as an Elseworlds story. McCarthyism forces the JSA into retirement. And dark forces are acting behind the scenes as America enters a new era in it's history. 

Normally I like my heroes noble, etc. That is why I usually prefer DC over Marvel. The flawed hero concept was taken to an extreme with this series. And has been copied many times since. But for me it worked. Because despite their shortcomings the heroes acted heroic & defeated evil. 

The series should have really been called the Atomic Age because it took place between the Golden & Silver Ages. Smith's beautiful art complemented Robinson's well written script. 

As with most of my top 10 list this was the perfect mix of characters, concepts, writer & artist."




88 (tie). Donjon
by Lewis Trondheim, Yohan Sfar, Blain, Boulet, Sfar, Kerascoët

originally published in: Donjon Zenith Vol. #1-#6, Donjon Crepuscule Vol. #1-#5, and Donjon Potron-Minet Vol. #1-#4 (1998-2006)

Nominated by: Arthur Gordon Scratch

Arthur Gordon Scratch writes, "French comics had a real new wave in the early 90ies with L'Association, as if Fantagraphics had been for France what Image was for the US back then. Most of those athors are still famous, probably even more, some have crossed over to movie making, but the great thing is that in the second half of those 90ies, most of those guys went to do some work for Delcourt, like the french DC.

Donjon is one of those works, created by Sfar and Trondheim, three interconnected series told at three different times. The main one is Zenith, illustrated by Trondheim, the one in the past is Potron Minet, illustrated by the amzing Blain, and Crepuscule is the futire, where the series would end, illustrated by Sfar and later by the Keraskoët duo.

If it seem at first to use the heroic fantasy genre as Dave Sim did with Cerebus, it rapidly turns into something equaly ambitious but with very different objectives and means. 

Sfar and Trondheim are obviously making fun of their D&D days, but not in a mainstream way : they go deep in geekiness, but play it straight, even with the jokes. Most of the humor comes from the very crude language used in real life ther transposed in a world we don't associate with vulgar street talk. Also, the characters are sexualized, and behave badly, which in a way reminds me of the work of Dave Cooper or even Jim Woodring, when funny animals become dark and somewhat creepy.

But all in all, it tells a great story of adventures, dinasties, curses, and ends up in quasi Sci-Fi concepts."




88 (tie). Corto Maltese: Ballad of The Salty Sea
by Hugo Pratt

originally published in: Sergeant Kirk Magazine #1-20 (1967-1969)

Nominated by: shaxper

shaxper writes, "Hugo Pratt was really just getting started when he first produced this serial feature as a backup in his Sgt. Kirk magazine, but it became the work for which he is best known. While later Corto Maltese adventures show tremendous growth in terms of visuals, there's a magic, depth, and level of artistry to be found in this initial saga that is far more fleeting in the ensuing adventures (at least in the ones that have been published in the United States thus far). 

The magic of this volume lies primarily in its sense of understatement. The most important elements of this story, in terms of characterization, motives, and (most importantly) symbolism, are muted and rarely paraded on panel for the convenience of the reader. Even key plot points and the passage of time itself become obscured and dream-like at times. Much as with the sea for which the story is named, Ballad is reluctant to spell out its secrets for the sake of the reader. The same burning frustration Corto feels when looking out at the ocean and wondering if he doesn't have it all wrong pervades the telling of this story and challenges us to look deep. And, of course, as this is Pratt's first outing, the story matures as it goes, the early chapters trying far too hard to introduce action sequences that aren't warranted once every twenty pages. Once those subside, the flight of those damn gulls and the heavy silences that accompany them are far more striking than the fists that swing and the guns that fire.

This series fires on all engines like no other, providing simple guilty pleasure escapism while hiding complexity and depth like Easter eggs in nearly every page, there only if you're open to receiving it. I've never read anything else quite like this, and while five re-readings have exposed some of the work's flaws that I otherwise might never have noticed, it still remains one of my absolute favorite sagas of all time and likely the greatest adventure epic ever committed to the comic book page."




88 (tie). Bram Stoker's Dracula
by Roy Thomas and Mike Mignola

originally published in: Dracula #1-4 (1992)

Nominated by: thwhtguardian

thwhtguardian writes, "I love horror books, especially if they feature vampires. While Coppola's film may not be my favorite adaptation, the visual look that Mike Mignola's art brought to the film certainly makes it memorable so it was only fair that he be allowed to do the art for the film's comic adaptation and man is it awesome. His page lay outs in particular are beautiful to behold in just how masterfully they move the story along. 
And as always his uses of shadow and light is just masterful."




86 (tie). Maus
by Art Spiegelman

originally published in: Raw Vol. 1 No. 2 - Vol. 2 No. 3 (1980-1991)

Nominated by: Slam_Bradley , shaxper

Slam_Bradley writes, "Spiegelman's memoir of his relationship with his father and his family's experience with the Holocaust shows everything that the comic medium is capable of doing...and so seldom actually does. The work is at once the most awarded work of graphic literature, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 and one of the most widely criticized for its anthropomorhization of the horrors of the holocaust. Whatever your take, it is an incredibly powerful look at both history and of the complex relationship between a father and a son."




86 (tie). Manhunter
by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson

originally published in: Detective Comics #437-443 (1973-1974), Special Edition (1983)

Nominated by: @mrp , Slam_Bradley

mrp writes, "There’s not much that I can say about this that hasn’t been covered by Codystarbuck in his review thread on this, but this is a seminal work from master storytellers and masters of the comic book form. It is a top notch adventure strip that builds intrigue, adventure, strong characters and wonderful plot twists as the story unfolds and is a visual tour-de-force by Walt Simonson. It is difficult to tell an ongoing story in the limited page space of a back up and keep it paced well. It either feels too clipped or too rushed more often than not, but Goodwin and Simonson avoid these pitfalls and craft a story that moves well, keeps you on the edge of your seat and offers enough shocks and surprises for a tale twice as long."




81 (tie). Pluto #1-8
by Naoki Urasawa, with some borrowings from Osamu Tezuka

originally published in: Pluto #1-8 (2003-2007)

Nominated by: Arthur Gordon Scratch

Arthur Gordon Scratch writes, "Pluto is a real epic saga. It is a dreamlike sequel to king Tezuka's most popular creation, Astroboy. One of the absolute masters of mangas, Urusawa has already won all possible international awards for Monster or 20th Century Boys. Pluto just added a few more to his shelves.
Commissioned by Tezuka's son to imagine a contemproray and relevant follow up to the original series. Astroboy was the comic that begun it all for Urusawa, so he could very well have collapsed under the weigh of the task, but instead he managed to pull his best work yet.
Pluto is dead serious, it is dark, light and poetic, heavy on the conspiration level and very dynamic.
It feels like William Gibson had written a remake of Blade Runner for Park Chan Wok (Old Boy), and found on the way that he was actually incounsciously making it about Astroboy on a meta level.

If this excites you, let me tell you that I don't even do justice to the achivements of this saga, just get onboard the ride already!"




81 (tie). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1.
by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

originally published in: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1-6 (1999-2000)

Nominated by: Slam_Bradley

Slam_Bradley writes, "I'm a fiend for this kind of thing. Farmer's Wold Newton. Newman's Anno Dracula. Moore pulled out all stops and gave us a huge literary world that works even if you don't get all the references. I probably could include everything Moore and O'Neill have done in the LoEG universe, but the first mini really is a tour de force of world building and story. It's not for the squeamish. And it takes flack because of Moore's ticks, both as an artist and as a person. But I don't care. Again, Moore shows us what the comic form is capable of and shows us very clearly why extended copyrights are an abomination to creativity."




81 (tie). Flash Gordon
by Alex Raymond

originally published in: newsprint January 7, 1934-February 1945
Nominated by: @mrp

Slam_Bradley writes, "Mongo headed towards Earth. Flash, Dale and Zharkov rocket to Mongo. Ming! Hawkmen. Prince Barin. Princess Aura. Lion Men. These are all iconic pieces of the Flash Gordon saga, a saga that has been told and retold in several mediums over the last 80+ years. And this is where it started, with Alex Raymond and the Sunday funny pages. It's a story that has stood the test of time and become timeless, and one that is flexible enough to be molded into several different iterations in the telling, but it all comes back to Raymond. Week in and week out Raymond wove a saga of adventure, rocket ships, ray guns, strange and wondrous places and even stranger and more wondrous creatures. It has become iconic and mythic and transcended its original iteration to enter into our very pop culture consciousness both through its own story and its influence on much that came after. But even with all that, it's stil a ripping good yard to sit down and read just as Raymond gave it to us."




81 (tie). Box Office Poison
by Alex Robinson

originally published in: Box Office Poison #0-21 (1996-?)
Nominated by: Crimebuster

Crimebuster writes, "This is one of those stories that hit the nail on the head so hard it drove it right through my brain. It's an ensemble true life tale focusing mainly on the lives of best friends Sherman and Ed. Sherman is an asipiring writer who spends his time working at a book store, submitting stories that don't get published, and complaining about things to his ill-matched, damaged and more successful girlfriend. Ed is an aspiring artist and hardcore comic book nerd who is awkward and shy around women and has very low self esteem.

When I first read this, you know, I was an aspiring writer and comic book nerd who was working at a book store and was terribly awkward with dating. Between the two characters, they hit exactly on every aspect of my life, and in incredibly real detail. It was obvious that creator Alex Robinson was writing from his own life experiences. Over the course of the story, an interesting reversal happens - the seemingly confident and talented Sherman, always right on the verge of getting his big break, ends up going nowhere and doing nothing, held back by his own unwillingness to change and to accept what's in front of him. Ed, on the other hand, blossoms thanks to his job as an assistant to an embittered old Golden Age comic book pro. By the end of the series, Ed is married, happy, and working as a comic book artist, while Sherman is just... older, but in the exact same place as always, only more sarcastic and bitter about his lot in life than ever before.

There are also a bunch of great side stories involving other characters, particularly Sherman's roommates Stephen and Jane. Robinson does a lot of fun little bits throughout the series, my favroite being a repeating one-page question and answer session with the characters, which in just one panel each provides a ton of development and insight into just exactly who these people are."




81 (tie). American Flagg # 1-12
by Howard Chaykin

originally published in: American Flagg # 1-12 (1983-1984)
Nominated by: hondobrode

hondobrode writes, "These first 12 issues are actually 4 separate storylines that all fit together as chapters of this over-arcing storyline. This is probably what Chaykin is best known for and with good reason. It’s one of his favorite themes of a broken dirty society and his recurring anti-hero trying to patch things up, with a good amount of adult implications woven throughout. Chaykin also touches on corruption and politics here with a corrupt government and head of security he’s forced to work with. Action, sci-fi concepts, Somnambutol ammo, a talking cat, underground media and subliminals, mind-controlling anti-STD drugs, and more. This is the series that really made Chaykin a superstar IMO showing he can sing and dance too. This was revolutionary 35 years ago and it still holds up today."