The CCF TOP 100 COMIC SAGAS: #80-71
Apr 1, 2018 18:35:03 GMT -5
thwhtguardian, rberman, and 2 more like this
Post by shaxper on Apr 1, 2018 18:35:03 GMT -5
#90-81
#100-91
A few surprises on this section of the list that should give even the most well-read CCF member some new reading to do. The ties are still plentiful, but they are less omnipresent as we continue to move higher up the list.
#80-71
80. Nexus
by Mike Baron and Steve Rude
originally published in: Nexus (vol. 1) #1-3, and Nexus (vol. 2) #1-80 (1981-1991)
Nominated by: hondobrode , brutalis , Paste Pot Paul
78 (tie). Miracleman
by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Gary Leach, Alan Davis, Chuck Austen, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, and Mark Buckingham.
originally published in: Miracleman #1-24 (1985-1993)
Nominated by: Paste Pot Paul , Slam_Bradley , hondobrode
Paste Pot Paul writes, "I'd been getting comics directly from the States for a few years on and off, as finances allowed(feeding a car, a burgeoning beer habit, and the occasional girl drunk enough to let me tie her up, tends to curtail comic buying) and had been trying to expand my horizons, comics not drugs fool, when I came upon Miracleman 3 with its ugly little cover. But what a story, I've always had a soft spot for writers who are able to turn a worn out idea around, and I wasnt let down here.
Of course it all turns out so much better than just another Elseworlds tale of Shazam."
78 (tie). Captain America #247-255
by Roger Stern, John Byrne, and Joe Rubenstein
originally published in: Captain America #247-255 (1980-1981)
Nominated by: md62 , Slam_Bradley , Icctrombone
Michael James writes, "One of those times where the character, the concept, the writer & the artist all perfectly aligned to produce a classic run like this.
First Stern. This run should be required reading for any writer. Stern was a master at writing. He tied up loose plots. Paced his stories well. Gave great cliffhanger last pages. Mixed action with real life conversation. Captured Steve as a man out of time.
And Byrne did some of his best work here. His pages exploded with action. His facial expressions showed the emotions the characters were feeling.
If you want more of why I LOVED this run scroll thru my reviews."
74 (tie). Prince Valiant
by Hal Foster
originally published in: King Features Syndicate, Sunday (Saturdays in 1937) strips from 1937-1942
Nominated by: thwhtguardian
thwhtguardian writes, "This is a book that has only appealed to me recently, despite being a voracious reader in addition to loving comics growing up I would always skip Prince Valiant in my perusing of the Sunday funny pages because with it's stoic images and blocks of text it just looked boring to me...but man was I wrong back then as contrary to my views then I've found the strip to be vibrant, colorful, action-packed and gosh-darned fun. It's so odd that I never picked this up before seeing championed in one of our classic christmas events back at cbr, because I've always loved the stories of King Arthur and this comic really gives those stories a fresh new look, and Foster's art really tells the stories well. Rather than being static and dull his images are packed with detail and the layouts move the narrative forward with out the real need of text.
I thought about doing Hal's whole run from 1937 to 1971 but decided against it for two reasons; I love the early more "fantastic stories full of monsters and magic...and perhaps more importantly I've only read up to 1964 as that's all that's been reprinted by fantagraphics so far!"
74 (tie). Marvels
by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross
originally published in: Marvels #0-4 (1994)
Nominated by: coke & comics
coke & comics writes, "My first ever comic was Avengers #309. It exposed me to this rich tapestry that was the Marvel Universe. One giant story with many threads. This strikes me as an attempt to tell that story.
We get Phil Sheldon as the viewpoint character, the witness to the story of the Marvel Universe.
We get some truly great moments hidden amongst the stories we know. When Phil finds a mutant girl hiding out from a mob. The joy on Gwen's face as she finds beauty in Namor's assault.
And we get some iconic moments lovingly homaged, like Silver Surfer's betrayal of Galactus."
74 (tie). Lone Sloane
by Philippe Druillet
originally published in:
Le Mystère des Abîmes ("The Mystery of the Abyss", 1966)
Le Trone du Dieu Noir ("The Throne of the Black God"; in Pilote magazine #538, 1970)
Les Iles du Vent Sauvage ("The Isle of the Doom Wind"; in Pilote #553, 1970)
Rose (in Pilote N°562, 1970)
Torquedara Varenkor: Le Pont sur les Etoiles ("The Bridge over the Stars"; in Pilote #569, 1970)
O Sidarta (in Pilote #578, 1970)
Terra (in Pilote #598, 1971)
Delirius (written by Jacques Lob; in Pilote #651-666, 1972)
Gail (in Metal Hurlant magazine #18-27, 1975-1976)
Salammbo (in Metal Hurlant magazine #48-54, 1980)
Salammbo 2: Carthago (1982)
Salammbo 3: Matho (1986)
Chaos (2000)
Nominated by: @mrp
mrp writes, "Druillet's Lone Sloane Ourvre began in 1966 began with his comics debut Mystere des Abimes, continued in issues of Pilotte and later Metal Hurlant, being revised and revamped along the way and concluded with the final Lone Sloane volume Chaos published in 2000. They appeared in English in various places including Dark Horse's Cheval Noir and Heavy Metal and were collected into a series of graphic albums along the way. I am specifically including the 3 such volumes I have: The Six Voyages of Lone Sloane, Delirius and Chaos.
Druillet's epics are a mind-blowing cosmic trip and grand adventure. The art sweeps you up and carries you away into the epic and there is just so much to digest on every page and in every panel. The art is eye candy to be sure, but the experience is mind candy. Just read it."
74 (tie). Aquaman: Death Of A Prince
by Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, David Michelinie, Martin Pasko, Paul Kupperberg,Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, Carl Potts, Joe Rubinstein, Dick Giordano, Juan Ortiz, Vince Colletta, Don Newton, John Celardo, Bob McLeod, and Dave Hunt.
originally published in: Adventure Comics #435-437, 441-452 and Aquaman #57-63 (1974-1978)
Nominated by: md62
Michael James writes, "Written by Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, David Michelinie, Martin Pasko and Paul Kupperberg. Art by Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, Carl Potts, Joe Rubinstein, Dick Giordano, Juan Ortiz, Vince Colletta, Don Newton, John Celardo, Bob McLeod and Dave Hunt.
This storyline deeply affected me back in the 70's when it came out. It was pretty brutal. Black Manta destroys Aquaman by killing Aquaman's son. Up to that point I had not read anything in comics that heinous. It affected Aquaman & Mera to the point where they separated. Aquaman was alone to deal with his grief.
This story started in Adventure as back ups then led to a revival of Aquaman's own solo series. It also had some great art by Grell, Aparo & Newton."
73. Grimjack
by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman
originally published in: Starslayer #10-18, Grimjack #1-81, Grimjack: Demon Knight GN, Grimjack: Killer Instinct #1-6 (1983-2005)
Nominated by: Crimebuster, hondobrode, brutalis
Crimebuster writes, "It's kind of hard to even explain what Grimjack is, but the short version is... he's a tough as nails mercenary badass who lives in a city built at the nexus of all realities, which allows him to get into scrapes with literally any enemy from any genre in any situation you can possibly think of, and sometimes all at once. From demonic sorcerers to a killer robot who assumes human form by wearing the skin of his victims to giant mechas battling against gangsters riding dinosaurs, Gimjack literally has everything. On top of it all, the main character is endlessly fascinating, especially thanks to a shocking mid-series plot twist that totally changes everything about the title including the main character himself, unlocking a whole host of new storytelling possibilities as if infinity wasn't enough already.
Add in great art from the likes of Tim Truman, and for my money, this is one of the best titles of the 80's and a really overlooked gem."
71 (tie). Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History
by George Chieffet and Stephen DeStefano
originally published in: Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History
Nominated by: Arthur Gordon Scratch
Arthur Gordon Scratch writes, "While I don't know anything about George L. Chieffet this bio in the book states he mostly is a poet), DeStefano is one of my favorite aftists, one whom I collect every single piece of comics I can lay my hands on, a good chunk of his work being published by DC within their cartoon books publications. Him and Bill Wray (another favorite) are frequent collaborators, all sharing a love of the animation craft rarely seen since the first couple of Ren & Stimpy seasons, to which they collaborated if memory serves right.
So when Fantagraphics announced this book, I was extatic! You could say that his style stands right at the crossroads of Harvey Kurtzman and Tezuka, which for me is a dream come true!
The story follows the life of Lucky throughout three decisive times of his life, with war often being in the background. It's a bittersweat tale, iften taking dark turns, but it's always highly entertaining. A volume 2 was supposed to happen, but I guess that after a decade of silence or so, I must have been one of the few readers who cared about this. As sad as that is, this volume remains to be cherished years after years, so I hope some of you like it too."
71 (tie). Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
by Brian Augustyn, Mike Mignola, and P. Craig Russell
originally published in: Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (1989)
Nominated by: thwhtguardian
thehwtguardian writes, "It's hailed as the first Elseworlds book but it's just another in a long line of imaginary stories from DC, where the writers would take readers on wild journeys with familiar characters in wildly unfamiliar settings. There are a lot of great ones out there but Gaslight is by far my favorite; it's premise is simple, "What if Batman existed at the end of the Elizabethan era and fought Jack the Ripper?" but the execution is where it shines. Mignola and Russel gave the whole affair the feel of a classic, black and white noir film; the pacing is slow to begin with and explodes at the end and in between the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife...and it's all done visually."
#100-91
A few surprises on this section of the list that should give even the most well-read CCF member some new reading to do. The ties are still plentiful, but they are less omnipresent as we continue to move higher up the list.
#80-71
80. Nexus
by Mike Baron and Steve Rude
originally published in: Nexus (vol. 1) #1-3, and Nexus (vol. 2) #1-80 (1981-1991)
Nominated by: hondobrode , brutalis , Paste Pot Paul
78 (tie). Miracleman
by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Gary Leach, Alan Davis, Chuck Austen, Rick Veitch, John Totleben, and Mark Buckingham.
originally published in: Miracleman #1-24 (1985-1993)
Nominated by: Paste Pot Paul , Slam_Bradley , hondobrode
Paste Pot Paul writes, "I'd been getting comics directly from the States for a few years on and off, as finances allowed(feeding a car, a burgeoning beer habit, and the occasional girl drunk enough to let me tie her up, tends to curtail comic buying) and had been trying to expand my horizons, comics not drugs fool, when I came upon Miracleman 3 with its ugly little cover. But what a story, I've always had a soft spot for writers who are able to turn a worn out idea around, and I wasnt let down here.
Of course it all turns out so much better than just another Elseworlds tale of Shazam."
78 (tie). Captain America #247-255
by Roger Stern, John Byrne, and Joe Rubenstein
originally published in: Captain America #247-255 (1980-1981)
Nominated by: md62 , Slam_Bradley , Icctrombone
Michael James writes, "One of those times where the character, the concept, the writer & the artist all perfectly aligned to produce a classic run like this.
First Stern. This run should be required reading for any writer. Stern was a master at writing. He tied up loose plots. Paced his stories well. Gave great cliffhanger last pages. Mixed action with real life conversation. Captured Steve as a man out of time.
And Byrne did some of his best work here. His pages exploded with action. His facial expressions showed the emotions the characters were feeling.
If you want more of why I LOVED this run scroll thru my reviews."
74 (tie). Prince Valiant
by Hal Foster
originally published in: King Features Syndicate, Sunday (Saturdays in 1937) strips from 1937-1942
Nominated by: thwhtguardian
thwhtguardian writes, "This is a book that has only appealed to me recently, despite being a voracious reader in addition to loving comics growing up I would always skip Prince Valiant in my perusing of the Sunday funny pages because with it's stoic images and blocks of text it just looked boring to me...but man was I wrong back then as contrary to my views then I've found the strip to be vibrant, colorful, action-packed and gosh-darned fun. It's so odd that I never picked this up before seeing championed in one of our classic christmas events back at cbr, because I've always loved the stories of King Arthur and this comic really gives those stories a fresh new look, and Foster's art really tells the stories well. Rather than being static and dull his images are packed with detail and the layouts move the narrative forward with out the real need of text.
I thought about doing Hal's whole run from 1937 to 1971 but decided against it for two reasons; I love the early more "fantastic stories full of monsters and magic...and perhaps more importantly I've only read up to 1964 as that's all that's been reprinted by fantagraphics so far!"
74 (tie). Marvels
by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross
originally published in: Marvels #0-4 (1994)
Nominated by: coke & comics
coke & comics writes, "My first ever comic was Avengers #309. It exposed me to this rich tapestry that was the Marvel Universe. One giant story with many threads. This strikes me as an attempt to tell that story.
We get Phil Sheldon as the viewpoint character, the witness to the story of the Marvel Universe.
We get some truly great moments hidden amongst the stories we know. When Phil finds a mutant girl hiding out from a mob. The joy on Gwen's face as she finds beauty in Namor's assault.
And we get some iconic moments lovingly homaged, like Silver Surfer's betrayal of Galactus."
74 (tie). Lone Sloane
by Philippe Druillet
originally published in:
Le Mystère des Abîmes ("The Mystery of the Abyss", 1966)
Le Trone du Dieu Noir ("The Throne of the Black God"; in Pilote magazine #538, 1970)
Les Iles du Vent Sauvage ("The Isle of the Doom Wind"; in Pilote #553, 1970)
Rose (in Pilote N°562, 1970)
Torquedara Varenkor: Le Pont sur les Etoiles ("The Bridge over the Stars"; in Pilote #569, 1970)
O Sidarta (in Pilote #578, 1970)
Terra (in Pilote #598, 1971)
Delirius (written by Jacques Lob; in Pilote #651-666, 1972)
Gail (in Metal Hurlant magazine #18-27, 1975-1976)
Salammbo (in Metal Hurlant magazine #48-54, 1980)
Salammbo 2: Carthago (1982)
Salammbo 3: Matho (1986)
Chaos (2000)
Nominated by: @mrp
mrp writes, "Druillet's Lone Sloane Ourvre began in 1966 began with his comics debut Mystere des Abimes, continued in issues of Pilotte and later Metal Hurlant, being revised and revamped along the way and concluded with the final Lone Sloane volume Chaos published in 2000. They appeared in English in various places including Dark Horse's Cheval Noir and Heavy Metal and were collected into a series of graphic albums along the way. I am specifically including the 3 such volumes I have: The Six Voyages of Lone Sloane, Delirius and Chaos.
Druillet's epics are a mind-blowing cosmic trip and grand adventure. The art sweeps you up and carries you away into the epic and there is just so much to digest on every page and in every panel. The art is eye candy to be sure, but the experience is mind candy. Just read it."
74 (tie). Aquaman: Death Of A Prince
by Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, David Michelinie, Martin Pasko, Paul Kupperberg,Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, Carl Potts, Joe Rubinstein, Dick Giordano, Juan Ortiz, Vince Colletta, Don Newton, John Celardo, Bob McLeod, and Dave Hunt.
originally published in: Adventure Comics #435-437, 441-452 and Aquaman #57-63 (1974-1978)
Nominated by: md62
Michael James writes, "Written by Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, David Michelinie, Martin Pasko and Paul Kupperberg. Art by Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, Carl Potts, Joe Rubinstein, Dick Giordano, Juan Ortiz, Vince Colletta, Don Newton, John Celardo, Bob McLeod and Dave Hunt.
This storyline deeply affected me back in the 70's when it came out. It was pretty brutal. Black Manta destroys Aquaman by killing Aquaman's son. Up to that point I had not read anything in comics that heinous. It affected Aquaman & Mera to the point where they separated. Aquaman was alone to deal with his grief.
This story started in Adventure as back ups then led to a revival of Aquaman's own solo series. It also had some great art by Grell, Aparo & Newton."
73. Grimjack
by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman
originally published in: Starslayer #10-18, Grimjack #1-81, Grimjack: Demon Knight GN, Grimjack: Killer Instinct #1-6 (1983-2005)
Nominated by: Crimebuster, hondobrode, brutalis
Crimebuster writes, "It's kind of hard to even explain what Grimjack is, but the short version is... he's a tough as nails mercenary badass who lives in a city built at the nexus of all realities, which allows him to get into scrapes with literally any enemy from any genre in any situation you can possibly think of, and sometimes all at once. From demonic sorcerers to a killer robot who assumes human form by wearing the skin of his victims to giant mechas battling against gangsters riding dinosaurs, Gimjack literally has everything. On top of it all, the main character is endlessly fascinating, especially thanks to a shocking mid-series plot twist that totally changes everything about the title including the main character himself, unlocking a whole host of new storytelling possibilities as if infinity wasn't enough already.
Add in great art from the likes of Tim Truman, and for my money, this is one of the best titles of the 80's and a really overlooked gem."
71 (tie). Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History
by George Chieffet and Stephen DeStefano
originally published in: Lucky in Love Book 1: A Poor Man's History
Nominated by: Arthur Gordon Scratch
Arthur Gordon Scratch writes, "While I don't know anything about George L. Chieffet this bio in the book states he mostly is a poet), DeStefano is one of my favorite aftists, one whom I collect every single piece of comics I can lay my hands on, a good chunk of his work being published by DC within their cartoon books publications. Him and Bill Wray (another favorite) are frequent collaborators, all sharing a love of the animation craft rarely seen since the first couple of Ren & Stimpy seasons, to which they collaborated if memory serves right.
So when Fantagraphics announced this book, I was extatic! You could say that his style stands right at the crossroads of Harvey Kurtzman and Tezuka, which for me is a dream come true!
The story follows the life of Lucky throughout three decisive times of his life, with war often being in the background. It's a bittersweat tale, iften taking dark turns, but it's always highly entertaining. A volume 2 was supposed to happen, but I guess that after a decade of silence or so, I must have been one of the few readers who cared about this. As sad as that is, this volume remains to be cherished years after years, so I hope some of you like it too."
71 (tie). Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
by Brian Augustyn, Mike Mignola, and P. Craig Russell
originally published in: Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (1989)
Nominated by: thwhtguardian
thehwtguardian writes, "It's hailed as the first Elseworlds book but it's just another in a long line of imaginary stories from DC, where the writers would take readers on wild journeys with familiar characters in wildly unfamiliar settings. There are a lot of great ones out there but Gaslight is by far my favorite; it's premise is simple, "What if Batman existed at the end of the Elizabethan era and fought Jack the Ripper?" but the execution is where it shines. Mignola and Russel gave the whole affair the feel of a classic, black and white noir film; the pacing is slow to begin with and explodes at the end and in between the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife...and it's all done visually."
