Inspired by this post, especially Chris Durnell's comment in it: what are the comics recently published or being published now that are going to be classics? What will you re-read in five, ten, fifteen years? Books like Tom Strong or are you more invested in Y, the Last Man? Are you going to be demanding a hardback reprint of Michael Turner's work? What's good enough to get one of the Masterwork/Classics reprint treatment?
For myself, if you're asking me to name the books I think should get this treatment, I'll admit that I'm a sucker for Morrison's work on The Invisibles and JLA and think there should be a hardback library of Moore's work. For starters. I think Cerebus will be read for quite a while, even if I'm not a huge fan, and I think Simonson's Thor and Fantastic Four were extraordinary and deserve a lot more praise than they get, and Ostrander's Spectre should be collected. I'm also interested to see if Strangers in Paradise or David Lapham's Stray Bullets are still being read a decade or two from now, because both of them intrigued me. There are a lot more, of course, but I'll let you cover that in comments.
Your turn: what are the deserved masterworks of the past two decades in comics?
Update: Greg makes a good point in the comments, asking if I mean aside from obvious ones like Watchmen, so I figured I'd answer it here: no, not aside from that. Please feel free to mention what seem to be obvious choices and to discuss why they're obvious, whatever suits your fancy.
Posted by Matt Rossi at October 28, 2004 6:58 AM
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I think Kingdom Come has already proved itself that it will be a classic in the years to come.
I think JSA and Morrison's JLA run are destined as classics.
I already consider the Giffen-era JLI as classics and some of my most cherished comics.
It may be early to declare this, but Astonishing X-Men seems to be a future classic.
Strangers in Paradise makes the list.
His recent stuff has been crap, but Garth Ennis's run on Hellblazer was an amazing read.
Obviously, Gaiman's Sandman makes the list.
These might be outside of the two decades, but I think V for Vendetta and Watchmen are must haves on any Modern Classics list.
ALso, I'd like to add Grell's Green Arrow run to the list.
I think a big one that has so far gone neglected is Grant Morrison's "Doom Patrol." It was one of the big series that paved the way for the Vertigo imprint and still remains a considerably original work.
You mean aside from the obvious ones like DD: Born Again and Watchmen? I'll try to limit myself to things that won't be on everyone's list.
Moore's Supreme is, I think, an extraordinarily effective revival/commentary on the Weisinger-era Superman. Moore's Top Ten is also on my list.
Morrison's career highlights are masterworks. I have an opinion on what those are, which will differ from others'.
Phil Foglio's Buck Godot, particularly The Gallimaufry, succeeds at being both excellent science fiction and excellent humor, which is a truly remarkable achievement. (See also Xxxenophile, which combines humor, fantasy, and smut.)
Larry Marder's Tales of the Beanworld is a masterwork of fabulism; it is furthermore far and away the most successful work I've ever encountered for showing to non-comics readers.
Scott McCloud's Zot! is a masterwork of adventure, design, and character.
Pretty much all Moore's big stuff - Watchmen, From Hell, Supreme, his Superman stuff. Probably Promethea and League out of the ABC material.
Morrison's Animal Man and Invisibles.
Cerebus is the single most ambitious work in comics, and will definitely continue to be read for decades.
I never got into Bone, but I bet that will carry on being read.
Morrison's JLA could be given classic status.
Astro City and Marvels will probably be read for a while.
Well, nearly all of the Moore canon makes the list. (I think we can safely excluse Skizz, The Bowing Machine, and Maxell the Magic Cat, though.)
On Zot, the future classic status I'd say is contingent on the Earth Stories making it back into print.
Cerebus.
Provided that Part III doesn't drag the whole thing down, Mage.
Grendel.
The entire run of Wasteland (which it's a complete mystery to me why DC hasn't floated at least one reprint trade under the Vertigo imprint. But this is a company that reprints Veitch's Swamp Thing run without starting with the Gorillarific Annual...)
Over in Mainstream Comics, the entire run of Suicide Squad, and Peter David's run on Hulk. And the Giffen Justice League. And I expect that, despite its flaws, Ultimate Spider Man will hold up well against the test of time. I'm not so sure about Morrison's JLA and New X-Men runs, just because I see them as a bit too invested in continuity and/or storytelling trends that won't be recognizable in a decade or too.
Since I seem to have inadvertently started this, I'll state my choices. I will purposely only select titles past 1990 as I still consider the eighties (especially the Jim Shooter helmed years at Marvel) as a time when the market was strong and the magic still remained.
Changing the time frame from 10-15 years instead of 20 immediately eliminates many of the prime contenders (Simonson's Thor, Dark Knight, Born Again, Watchman, etc). And also note that per my criteria (though not Matt's) that choices like Marvels or Kingdom Come are "cheats" - they all throw down the nostalgia card of a better, earlier era. I also find it interesting that many choices are series started during the last "golden age" (Zot, Cerberus) or are commentaries/reflections of past stories (Alan Moore's Supreme).
Peter David's HULK - One of the few examples where new iconic moments were created for an old character. It's too bad this foundation was not built on afterwards.
PLANETARY
HELLBOY
SIN CITY
The original Shooter-era VALIANT comics - The subsequent demise of the company due to an inability to keep the magic will insure these stories remain forgotten.
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL, but does it count since it's Manga?
BIRDS OF PREY - An intelligent book with strong leads. How many female-oriented comcis last this long? Only drawback is the failure to develop exciting iconic villains that return.
Some of the Crossgen series could have been huge, especially RUSE, the PATH, and El CAZADOR. Again, the demise of the publisher will insure these are forgotten. I ignored Crossgen for almost two years before I discovered some of their stories. One of the few things that reawakened the magic in me and whose books excited people who don't normally read comics.
The initial JMS run on Amazing Spider-Man. Flawed in parts, but very, very good. Unfortunately, his stunt with the twins makes him the new Gerry Conway. Can anyone look at the genius that wrote the deaths of Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin without grimacing about the subsequent clone story? Same thing here.
JEPH LOEB/TIM SALE's work - Unfortunately this usually violates my own nostalgia rule. Why can't more modern stories create mythology like this? At least HUSH was interesting, although not quite equal to the hype. Would be better if it turned the Riddler into a greater threat.
I could think of some more given time. There have been good stories other than these, but nothing that creates lasting, iconic moments. Mark Waid is good - but already his Cap stories are receding in the background. His Flash stories have stronger stayign power. Morrison's X-Men was good, but I only bought haphazardly and I have to ask myself why was that?
Some of these classics are repeats, but what the heck:
Morrison's Doom Patrol. Better than anything he's ever done. It should be more widely read.
Sandman.
Planetary. Unbelievable what's going on in that book.
Hitman. I always liked it more than Preacher.
Suicide Squad and Spectre. Ostrander doesn't get enough credit for his writing.
Moench and Jones's run on Batman was always overlooked, but it deserves a closer read. Innovative story-telling techniques and that wacky Kelley Jones art.
Robinson's Starman.
Wildcats 3.0. Sadly cut short.
I could probably do more, but these books especially seem to take risks and push the boundaries of what's possible in mainstream comics. As for underground stuff -- who knows? That's why it's underground. I would say Faust is they ever finish the furshlugginer thing.
I don't know if Hitman will ever have the classic status that Preacher has, but it's a shame, because it *is* the better comic. The Superman issue was the best in-continuity Superman story since the reboot...
Damn right about the Superman story in Hitman. Ennis has a nice grasp of the whole idea of Superman. His Batman, Joker, Catwoman, and Green Lantern are almost perfect takes as well, especially Kyle. Hitman was also laugh-out-loud funny even when it was unbelievably brutal.
Moore's Supreme - some of the best Superman stories never written
I'd like to see the Casey/McGuinness run on Mr. Majestic remembered in the same way, because they are still more of the best Superman stories never written.
Robinson's Starman - Mostly among DCU afficionados, though, since Robinson was pretty continuity heavy (he explained everything well enough, but it's still a lot for a new reader to sort through)
Morrison's Animal Man - Possibly the perfect "modern" super-hero comic, IMHO.
Beland's True Story Swear To God - Just because.
Grist's Jack Staff - Great throwback to everything that made most of us like hero books in the first place
Wood & Cloonan's Demo - 11 (and probably 12) great short stories.
my favourite comic books published in the last 20 years or so?
Morrison: Animal Man, Doom Patrol, The Filth, and, I think, We3, but we'll see about that one--it's not over yet!
Moore: Watchmen
Sim: Cerebus
Gruenwald: Spider-Woman with Infantino, Squadron Supreme, Captain America, and Quasar
Roy Thomas: All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and the early issues of Dr. Strange, Sorceror Supreme, with Guice
Englehart: West Coast Avengers
J. Hernandez: Locas
Roger Stern: his Spider-Man work, Dr. Strange, Power of the Atom and Avengers
Gerard Jones: The Shadow Strikes (but, having listened to this interview, I'm no longer interested in his new book...)
The Bates/Infantino Flash
Messner-Loebs' Flash
Miller/Mazzuchelli "Born Again"
lots of other great stuff, I'm sure, that I just haven't read...
Dave
Will I get stoned for suggesting Jim Shooter's initial seven-issue run on Star Brand (before he got the heave-ho for greenlighting the rest of the New Universe)?
I will? Well, then, it's a good thing I wasn't gonna suggest it or anything...
I won't stone you, but I think DP7 was the best work to come out of the New Universe (and the best thing Gruenwald ever wrote). Shooter's Starbrand was a laudable effort at a real-world superhero, and it contained some neat ideas, but I don't think it read very well.
I think Shooter's best work was either his 'Legion of Super-Heroes' run or his work masterminding and driving Valiant forward. When they lost him, they lost something vital, maybe the same pugnacious spirit that made me hate him when I was a teenager, I dunno.
Lately, I'm really feeling the Valiant. I really enjoyed a lot of those books, from Barry Windsor-Smith's 'Archer and Armstrong' ("The wife thinks you're retarded, mister 'At one with the universe!'") to X-O Manowar and Harbinger: a lot of interesting stuff. Maybe I'll go back to the Half-Price books and see if they have that 'Rai' trade. Since Magnus Robot Fighter is being relaunched, it's just possible people will start remembering Valiant again...
The exiling of Jim Shooter from comics perfectly coincides with the decline of American comics. The man knew what he was doing. He was very rare in that he combined both great creativity with a sound eye on management. He reigned in the worst excesses when EiC at Marvel and encouraged much needed creativity elsewhere.
For all that people complained about him, he made things work. First at Marvel and then at Valiant. He got screwed in both cases. I have no doubt that had he not been ousted at Valiant, it would be the highest selling publisher today. It was the only new comics company that truly had captured the magic.
I'll try to just list ones that no one else has that I think represent the cream of the crop:
Age of Bronze by Eric Shanower
Ring of Nibelungen by P. Craig Russell
Midnight Nation by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank
Alias by Brian Bendis and Michael Gaydos
And a comment about Grendel. What is up with the collected versions? Did Matt Wagner ever even work on the series himself? Is there any kind of overview anywhere as to what is available and/or what has been published at all? The best stuff I've read so far is Devils & Deaths by Darko Macan and Edvin Biukovic.