Best of all time

[anarky]

No matter how obvious, we just point out the best comic stories of all time. I'll start with:

Watchmen

I didn't read this until I was well into adulthood, but it didn't lessen the impact of it. Alan Moore crafts one of the most effective deconstructions of heroes ever (if not the most effective). I'm sure most of us have read it, but (just in case) I won't spoil any details yet. If you've not read it, do so now.

And a little less obvious one:

Emerald Dawn I and II

ED2 seems to be OOP, which is a shame. Superman had Man of Steel, Batman had Year One, and, a few years later, Green Lantern got Emerald Dawn. And we learn that Hal wasn't this great fellow, as we saw in the Silver Age. No, he was a dick. He had the potential to be a hero, though, which is why Abin Sur's ring chose him. He had to realize his potential--and, in doing so, take responsibility for a DUI charge... which stuck him in jail for the second mini-series, when he trained as a GL under Sinestro. Needless to say, this was where we first find out Sinestro is a bigger dick than Hal could ever dream of being.

[jjreason]

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is an all-time great comic story and has to be here. Reread after reread (and I've been through at least 4 times now), it still packs a whallop.

Uncanny X-Men 140. A true oddity - a self contained story inside a Marvel book. The comic that cemented my interest in the medium.... forever to be my favorite single issue of anything, ever.

I need to reread Watchmen pretty badly. I'm missing 2 of the original books, but should break down and either get them ($$$) or buy a cheap used TPB ($). Tough call.

[Diabolical]

I'll second DKR
V for Vendetta - duh.
Marvels - Spawned tons of imitators and has held up well over the years.
Ghost World & Maus - two very different examples of outstanding indie comics.
Sin City: The Hard Goodbye - Marv rules.

[vynsane]

ANY sin city.
ANY hellboy.
"welcome back frank" (ennis' punisher debut)
erik larsen's "revenge of the sinister six" in adjectiveless spider-man

[Zero]

Iron Man: Armor Wars. Issues 224-231

Captain America 332-350. Cap quits. John "USAgent" Walker takes up the shield.

Titans Hunt. New Titans 71-85.

X-books from Mutant Massacre until Inferno. Long, slow build-up to showdown between (alleged mutant hunters)X-Factor and X-Men.

[anarky]

I agree with everything I've read so far, and will try to check out the stuff I've not.

Here's some more:

Bone. I can't stress this one enough.

Silent Interlude (GIJoe Vol I, #21). The first (so far as I am aware) "silent issue" of any major comic. Breathtaking storytelling.

The Battle of Benzheen (GIJoe Vol I, #'s 109-116, with some "prelim" in the few issues preceding). The stakes get raised big time as Hama is allowed by Hasbro to let these guys act like real military... and get killed like it, too. Some really strong emotion in this one, especially in the death of a throwaway character who's only around for like ten pages.

The Death of Superman. The stuff afterwards got sorta convoluted, but, by itself, the Doomsday storyline is probably the best slugfest in comics history. I think the last page of Superman #75 is a strong contender for the best single panel of all time.

Knightfall. Again, everything after it took way too long to get resolved, and there are even a few clunky chapters in the Knightfall story itself, but the good far, far outweighs the bad. Bane is an awesome villain. His systematic plan to destroy his enemy over the course of a year's worth of comics is one of the best-planned stories I've ever read. Actually, let me change that to "Knightfall up until Bane actually breaks Batman's back." Then Azrael takes over.

Anarky in Gotham City (Detective Comics #'s 608-609). I'm not sure how many people will echo this sentiment, but methinks this is the strongest two-parter in Batman history. I like it so much, I stole the name.

[Zero]

Recent books that are worth checking out.

Amazing Spidey. 37 and 38. Aunt May confronts Peter about everything. Best Spidey writing ever? JMS might have left some turds during his run, but when he was giving his A-game. Damn.

NextW.A.V.E. Pokes fun at the ludicrousness that is the Marvel Universe, but in a way that makes you glad you read comic books.

Green Lantern: Rebirth. Hal Jordan IS Green Lantern.

Avengers: Red Zone. Dell Rusk, bitches. He was in front of you the whole time.

Batman:Hush. This decade's definitive Batman tale.

Astonishing X-Men. Astonishing indeed.

Thunderbolts. Ellis and Deodato's current run is chilling and brutally fun to read. You will never be more confused about whether to root for 'heroes' or 'villains' than right here.

Detective Comics 801-814. Dave Lapham's City of Crime opus.

Walking Dead. The Zombie book that DESERVES the hype.

[Zero]

Oh shit! Alan Moore's Top Ten. Either hunt down the 12 issues or pick up the two TPBs. Brilliant fucking book.

[jjreason]

Again, something I've got most of but have never read due to a missing issue or 3. Comic stores that forget to put shit aside for you some months suck ass.

[anarky]

Not sure how I forgot this one, especially since I brought up "Silent Interlude" and "The Battle of Benzheen" before, but "Panic at the North Pole."

I read this in a reprint digest back in '84 or '85, and (though I'd read a handful of comics before) I think it's the one that created a monster. This is still one of the finest stand-alone stories ever crafted. I'm not sure what my favorite moment is: Stalker's "hunting" the deer or the final shot of Snake Eyes wearing Kwinn's weasel skull necklace.

Fuck anyone who says Larry Hama isn't one of the best writers in comics history.

There's a link to it above on Hasbro's website. I hope they add more comics until the entire run is up there.