I love that run of Brennert stories. The one with the earth 2 robin just missed my list.

I love that Brennert story that he did in Daredevil right after Miller left. He should have been given that title instead of Denny O'Neil.

#7 - Batman: The Killing Joke (March 1988)



When comics got all dark and gritty in the late '80s, it was The Killing Joke that was my gateway into all that. I had heard about these new "graphic novels" with mysterious titles like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns (although I wouldn't read either until around 1990 or so), but I hadn't actually read any of these new "mature" comic books. When I saw an advert for The Killing Joke in an early 1988 issue from DC, the crazed image of the joker and the accompanying blurb that promised "a shocking look at the terror and violence of insanity" (I'm paraphrasing here), meant that I had to get hold of this thing.

However, with this being a prestige format book, I knew that the one local newsagents shop that stocked American Marvels and DCs would never have it in. No, I was gonna have to go up to the big, bad city of London and enter an honest-to-goodness comic shop, if I wanted this graphic novel. I talked with my comic book collecting friends at school and they told me about a really cool comic shop called Paradise Alley that was hidden, appropriately enough, down a narrow alley off of Oxford Street.

So, some weeks or even a month or two later (my memory is a little hazy here) I made the journey up to London by train alone, from my hometown in Buckinghamshire. I was only 15 at the time and such an expedition up to "the big smoke" on my own was quite daunting and scarey. I dunno, maybe I was a bit of a sheltered kid. Anyway, I located the comic shop in question. It was cramped and small, but it was an Aladdin's cave of vintage U.S. comics and trading cards. Sure enough I found a copy of The Killing Joke and I also bought a couple of other old Marvels (more of them later), since that was all I could afford with my limited funds, made up of paper round money.

Getting home and reading the book, I was blown away by how good it was. Here was a level of complexity and maturity that I had never encountered in a comic book before. But more than that, it was also a seriously gripping story. One that hit you like a sledgehammer. It was violent -- shockingly so, actually -- and it was all exquisitely drawn by Brian Bolland. This was like nothing I had ever read before. The ending in particular made a profound impression on me.

The Killing Joke immediately became my favourite comic book and, although it has slipped down from that high pedestal in the years since, it's still an amazingly well written, well drawn and well executed graphic novel. And it's still one of my favourite comics ever.

DC Super-Stars #17 (DC Dec.'77)




I was always a geek for Secret Origins books.  And this one really was something special.  As previously stated I gained my love for the JSA and things Earth-2 early on.  When The Huntress appeared I latched on like a remora.  I bought every appearance of Helena Wayne from this issue until her disappearance in the Crisis.  That's just one more reason that I hated that series.  I even bought Wonder Woman because she was the back-up, something I never would have done before or since.  She was the only character I followed from inception to the end.  And it's likely she'll remain that way, at least for corporate owned characters.  

Spider-Woman #9

"Eye of the Needle" by Mark Gruenwald & Carmine Infantino



This was my first Spider-Woman comic.  Well, technically, it was my sister's, but since she wasn't really a comics person (don't know that she even read it) it eventually came to me. 

The Needle was an elderly tailor who was mugged while leaving his shop late one night.  The assault left him mute but unlocked a latent power, the ability to hypnotize others with his remaining good eye.  When he got out of the hospital, he put on a costume and took his anger out on others by sewing their lips together.



Yes, this is a horror comic.  It was really disturbing for it's time.

Carmine Infantino draws a fine Jessica:



I was actually never a huge fan of his style, but it often depends on who's inking.  This time it's Al Gordon.

Jessica had a lot of oddball foes over the years, but I don't think any of them were as grotesque as the Needle.  He would later be cast as an antihero in the Shroud's "Night Shift" (as well as be drawn by artists who seemed to forget he was an old man), but I prefer to remember him as a one-off villain.

Anyway, this is a really creepy issue (especially for an 8 year-old) that has stuck with me ever since.

#7. Kurt Busiek's Astro City #10



Synopsis: Junkman enjoys the fruits of his illegal activities, but comes to realise he craves recognition.

Why I chose it: In the interests of variety, I decided that my list should only include one Astro City issue, so it then became a matter of chosing my favourite. I gave serious consideration to the heart-wrenching "The Nearness of You", but that story receives a lot of praise. So instead I thought I would give some love to what i consider to be the hidden gem of KBAC: "Show 'Em All". In a single issue, Kurt gives us the best exploration of supervillain psychology in comics. Ever.

This one issue encapsulates everything I love about Astro City. If I was going to be stranded on a desert isalnd, this is the issue I would want to have with me.

#7. The Avengers 170
Jim Shooter, George Perez, and Pablo Marcos.



Out of all of my choices this one has caused the most trouble because I really love the Avengers, all of them.

How do I do this great title justice with a solo entry ?
How do I do justice to the many great creative teams ?
How the hell do I choose just one book ?

Given that my choice may seem odd, no Stan and Jack (cant really remember the old issues), no Don Heck (never a fan sorry), what, no J Buscema I hear you say(hmmm big fan and I do like that era), no Kree/Skrull war, or Ultron Unlimited ? Well no. I think the Kree/Skrull war was over-rated, and though I do love me some Ultron I just keep coming back to this.

My first Avengers book. Sure I'd read plenty, but in 1978, not even 14 yet, and just starting to collect, this was my first.
I was hooked, and what a time to get hooked too. In the middle of the Korvac story, George Perez at the start of his meteoric rise to fame, Shooter writing some awesome stories, and I was along for the ride with a vengeance.

In my view George is THE Avengers artist, from his first story in the old west (which I had half written up on this page before a last minute change of heart), through his late 90s work with Kurt Busiek to the Avengers/JLA crossover the reality is that you could probably interchange any single issue for this spot, he just doesnt let you down.



The first couple of pages illustrate what would become a favourite aspect of the team, the sense of camaraderie, of family. 
I also fell in love with Beast, and the shot below where he casually carries off Caps HUGE barbell captures him perfectly.


Yeah, so while it aint the best book ever, its got the best creators, some of the best squad members, and its smack dab in the middle of what must be the hottest creative time in Avengers history, and of course, no matter how I try to choose a different issue, that cover keeps sucking me back in.