Favorite Comic Book Series

Over the past thirty years or more, I have had the pleasure of reading some of the best comic books ever published. For every great series, of course, there is a mediocre one - or one that just stinks up the racks. Listed here are some of the series that I have enjoyed over these many years...

• JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (1960-1987) - This was the series that got me hooked when I was about 12 years old. I had already been reading comics on a non-regular basis, obtaining one or two during a run to the local 7/11 to get a Slurpee (in those now hard to find plastic cups with the Marvel superheroes on them - my stepmother hated them so they were relegated to our motor home where they died a painful death after being cracked, mashed, lost and used for Dad's fish bait). In 1977, I was not quite 13 years old, and I saw a kid at my junior high sitting under a tree reading a comic book. Curious, I inquired what he was reading, and I remembered how fun I thought comics were, so he and I went to the 7/11 across the street from the school and I picked up two comics - Justice League of America #166, and World's Finest Comics #253. I was hooked! To me, the Justice League was a printed version of the Super Friends TV show I had been watching since 1973, and there were more heroes here than on the small screen - Zatanna, Elongated Man, Black Canary! Who were these people? I needed more and I raced around town on my bike trying to find all the Justice League comics I could locate. Today, I have a complete collection of every issue of the Justice League of America (#1-261 including the three annuals), something I am very proud to own. Highlights for me include the annual Justice League/Justice Society team-ups, Zatanna joining the team, the frequent guest stars from throughout the DC Universe, and the wonderful villains. I would have to say that issue #1 to 200 are the absolute best. When the Detroit League came around, I had already discovered boys and drugs, and I thought the series had lost its heart by then. I also have all the various incarnations of the Justice League published since, including the 1980's comedy JLA, the rebooted Grant Morrison run (which wasn't bad, per se, but didn't float my boat), and the current title. The Justice League will always remain my all-time favorite comic book series...
• AVENGERS (1963-1996) - The original run of the Avengers, Marvel's premiere super-team reminded me alot of the Justice League, except for all the fighting amongst its members. And any team that includes villains - Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Swordsman - has to be a dysfunctional place to begin with. Favorite issues include the runs by George Perez and John Byrne, the Korvac saga, and any issue that guest starred Captain Marvel or the Silver Surfer. I have a near complete run of issues #1 through 402, but I am still missing about 10 different books. I have a solid run of #35 to the end of the series, and I am determined to fill in those missing spaces, come Hell or high water... As with the Justice League, I think Avengers #1 to 200 were among the best, although later issues with the stunning art of John Buscema and the underrated Steve Epting are gorgeous to look at, if not for the story. Loved the Squadron Supreme issues and the various Masters of Evil incarnations as well.
• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (1985-1986) - This maxi-series blew my fuckin' mind, especially the deaths of Supergirl and the Flash (Barry Allen). I remember crying when Supergirl died, this book affected me that much. I know that Marv Wolfman had a mandate from corporate to get rid of all the multiple earths, streamline the DC Universe and create one, solid place. Didn't work! As a kid, I had no problem with the multiple earth concepts, and I think that by the 1980's, kids were so fucked up on drugs and mindless television, that the idea was about as foreign to them as Nancy Reagan's wardrobe. I appreciate what Wolfman was trying to do, but I think it failed for so many reasons, especially the disregard for the Golden-Age characters and the history of the Justice Society and other such heroes. The artwork, well, George "Fuckin'" Perez! He managed to cram so many obscure characters into that 12 issue series that it's a wonder he wasn't locked up in a psycho-ward after completing the series. A major highlight for me was the villain issue, #9, and the portrait of the meanest, baddest of the DCU on the cover. An all time favorite.
• FABLES (2002-present) - This Vertigo series isn't all that adult or mature, with only the occasional sex scene or swear word, yet for the past 5 years has been a continuously enjoyable read. Bill Willingham has done an outstanding job in creating a world where the fables and fairy tales of our youth are living and breathing and going about their lives on a day to day basis. And he makes the characters human beings within a realm of fantasy. Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha have been the primary artists throughout the series run, with occasional issues done by other artists, but they have consistently hit the mark on every issue, rendering the various characters as individuals, not as stock comic book faces. Three friends of mine have recently read the trades and one has begun collecting the monthly. Last week, my partner asked if he could read the series since several of our friends have been talking about it. I may get him some of the trades for Christmas...
• CONAN (Dark Horse - 2004-present) - I enjoyed the Marvel run of this character, but the Dark Horse series, as originally written by Kurt Busiek and now by Tim Truman, has really rocked my world. The dialogue and the captions sweep the reader into a world of haze and fog, of good and evil, of darkness and shadow. And Conan, as drawn by Cary Nord, is the HOTTEST looking man in comics today! Nord's art shows Conan's muscular physique in all its glory. I can almost smell the body sweat on his glistening thighs and rock hard musculature. I would love to see a nude of Conan by Cary Nord. HOT! This series is a sweeping saga, and bounces back and forth between Conan's early life and later life as a king. If they ever make a new Conan movie, I hope the cast someone who looks exactly like Nord's Conan. I would go see that film, buy the DVD and pray for a television version with a similar hot actor...
• SUPER FRIENDS (1976-1981) - Based on the long running animated show, this series was a joy to read - the stories were compact and done-in-one, and the artwork of Ramona Fradon, as inked by Bob Smith, was breathtaking. Some of the stories were just plain silly, but I really enjoyed reading this comic. The artwork, mostly by Fradon, was based on the animated versions of the characters, which, in turn, were based on the designs of the great Alex Toth. I loved Fradon's simple, clean lines, which made the story that much more entertaining. Later issues introduced heroes from around the world and two of them - Ice Maiden and Green Fire - became members of the in-continuity Justice League in the 1980's. Guess that has to count for something... DC Comics would do well to start collecting this series as a Showcase reprint trade.
• THOR (1966-1996) - When I began reading this series, Roy Thomas was writing it, and I think John Buscema was drawing. Today, the dialogue is stilted, but I remember loving that Thor was an ass-kicker! He didn't take shit from anyone, except dear ol' daddy, Odin. I loved the deep mythological stories and I think that may have helped me in high school. During my senior year, I was in the AP English class, and for one semester, I took Mr. Dyson's mythology class, and I remember writing my term paper on Thor. I got an A minus on that report, and was very happy, yet, back then, I didn't realize the impact the comics version of Thor had on me. Verily, I say thee art amongst the greatest of heroes the world shall e'er know!

That's it for now. The ol' carpal tunnel is acting up...