Best Modern Super Hero run?

[ChrisInBaltimore]

Someone in the Invincible thread was reading the book for the first time. It made me remember how much I'd loved the book. Thus I picked it back up and started re-reading it. It got me thinking: What is the best modern super hero book?

 

In my opinion, it is a toss up between Invincible and Ultimate Spider-Man. In my mind, the factors that play a huge part are consistency and longevity. Both books were/are good for very long runs. Say what you want about USM now, the first 111 issues with the Bendis/Bagley team was pretty solid.

 

What I love about Invincible though, the book has a vintage feel to it. The storyline develops with a bunch of subplots constantly running in the background. Kirkman does a great job dropping hints here and there. It has an outstanding supporting cast and rich universe of characters. It has some of those elements that made silver age Marvel comics so much fun.

 

Honorable mentions would probably go to the Bendis/Brubaker run on Daredevil that just felt like one huge extension of one another. The current run on Batman might end up being one of the best. I'm sure there are some others.

 

Thoughts?

[fastballspecial]

Winnick's Exiles 1-25

[HarveySwick]

Honorable mentions would probably go to the Bendis/Brubaker run on Daredevil that just felt like one huge extension of one another. Thoughts?

I just finished the Bendis/Maleev run and started the Brubaker run last night.

 

For Bendis/Maleev... Wow. I read it via the "Ultimate Collections" but I can't imagine how it must have been reading it monthly. Every issue just seemed to be such an exciting finish to that issue, but leading up to the next issue let alone a bigger picture. Even the way they handled certain characters. I never saw a more "real" depiction of the Kingpin or Bullseye/Typhoid Mary. Just some of the BEST reading I've ever read on a super hero book. And I'm a huge Miller fan! Even the whole arc of the support group and seeing the DD world through the group's eyes and experienes.

Just the race to get the "Murdock Papers" and how Elektra knows and "there is one other person".... and suddenly DD catches an Ace Playing card right before it gets Elektra in the neck and he says "I think I have an idea who it is." Or how the support group in the next arc tell their stories only to find Matt Murdock amongst them the entire time!

I'm just starting the Brubaker run now, but everyone says it's really great too so I can't wait!

[the authority]

Invincible and Ultimate Spider-man would be way up there for me. Invincible is a unique book with a completely different perspective on what superheroes do and more importantly, who they are. The best imho would be

 

 

The Authority Ellis and Millar

JLA Morrison then Waid

 

 

Those 2 would top my list but I feel guilty leaving so much great stuff out.

[ChrisInBaltimore]

Those 2 would top my list but I feel guilty leaving so much great stuff out.

 

That was why I added "Honorable Mentions" I kept coming up with other stuff. Waid/Ringo's run on FF also came to mind.

 

Honorable mentions would probably go to the Bendis/Brubaker run on Daredevil that just felt like one huge extension of one another. Thoughts?

I just finished the Bendis/Maleev run and started the Brubaker run last night.

 

For Bendis/Maleev... Wow. I read it via the "Ultimate Collections" but I can't imagine how it must have been reading it monthly. Every issue just seemed to be such an exciting finish to that issue, but leading up to the next issue let alone a bigger picture. Even the way they handled certain characters. I never saw a more "real" depiction of the Kingpin or Bullseye/Typhoid Mary. Just some of the BEST reading I've ever read on a super hero book. And I'm a huge Miller fan! Even the whole arc of the support group and seeing the DD world through the group's eyes and experienes.

Just the race to get the "Murdock Papers" and how Elektra knows and "there is one other person".... and suddenly DD catches an Ace Playing card right before it gets Elektra in the neck and he says "I think I have an idea who it is." Or how the support group in the next arc tell their stories only to find Matt Murdock amongst them the entire time!

I'm just starting the Brubaker run now, but everyone says it's really great too so I can't wait!

 

Yea Brubaker keeps it going- don't worry. I've still got some holes in my Bendis run that need filling in. I caught it at the end. I wish I'd be reading it monthly as it came out.

[bffnut]

+1 on Morrison's JLA run

Starman by Robinson

Astro City

Amazing Spiderman by Slott

Flash run by Waid and Johns

JSA by Johns

[ChrisInBaltimore]

+1 on Morrison's JLA run

Starman by Robinson

Astro City

Amazing Spiderman by Slott

Flash run by Waid and Johns

JSA by Johns

 

I feel like the verdict is still out on Slott's ASM run.

[Garf]

Invincible and Ultimate Spider-man would be way up there for me. Invincible is a unique book with a completely different perspective on what superheroes do and more importantly, who they are. The best imho would be

 

 

The Authority Ellis and Millar

JLA Morrison then Waid

 

 

Those 2 would top my list but I feel guilty leaving so much great stuff out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... I'm too much of a sucker for the stuff from my original collection, loved Morrison's JLA.

[400yrs]

Invincible hands down.

 

Astro city, usm were good, but Invincible is everything that is right with super hero books. Daredevil is one of my favorite runs, but it didn't feel like a super hero book. Same for captain America.

 

Slott's Spidey is probably second on my list.

[the authority]

+1 on Morrison's JLA run

Starman by Robinson

Astro City

Amazing Spiderman by Slott

Flash run by Waid and Johns

JSA by Johns

 

 

Johns run on Flash was as good as I've ever seen on that character. The Prof Zoom story was my favorite.

 

Ditto for JSA.

 

I still have complete runs of the JLA, JSA, Astro City vol 1 and 2. It was a really good time for team comics.

[the authority]

Invincible and Ultimate Spider-man would be way up there for me. Invincible is a unique book with a completely different perspective on what superheroes do and more importantly, who they are. The best imho would be

 

 

The Authority Ellis and Millar

JLA Morrison then Waid

 

 

Those 2 would top my list but I feel guilty leaving so much great stuff out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... I'm too much of a sucker for the stuff from my original collection, loved Morrison's JLA.

 

 

Garf, you couldn't have picked a better page to showcase why that book was so great ! Thanks (thumbs u

[maraxusofkeld]

I thought Ultimate Spiderman volume one was fantastic and I'm not a Spiderman fan. I thought most of theUltimate line was good, Ultimates, X-men, but definitely not FF.Invincible is definitively a fantastic series as well, which I think gets overlooked because of the walking dead.

[fastballspecial]

JSA is the textbook on good superhero books. A lot of people never read that volume and its brilliant.

 

[bffnut]

+1 on Morrison's JLA run

Starman by Robinson

Astro City

Amazing Spiderman by Slott

Flash run by Waid and Johns

JSA by Johns

 

I feel like the verdict is still out on Slott's ASM run.

 

I think what he has done so far has been pretty fantastic. I don't collect floppies anymore; I buy Omnibuses or HC when I want a run. I will definitely buy one for his run when it comes out.

 

I would include Hickman's run on FF. While I dropped the title initially, I couldn't get enough of it by the end.

 

I really like Invincible, too. I have all of the omnibuses. However, I would not put it on the same level as Starman or Morrison's JLA. Not a lesser level, just different. Kirkman is a great plotter but has a main weakness with dialogue. Maybe it's just me being an English Major, but I cannot stand his comma splices. It doesn't stand out as much in TWD as Invincible, but it annoys me.

[bababooey]

I lost interest & quit collecting in the mid-nineties when everything Marvel put out was pretty horrible.

 

I came back in the early 2000's with USM, Bendis/Maleev DD & the JMS/JRJR Amazing Spider-man run....I think that was a quality era for Marvel extending all the way up to the end of Civil War/Brand New Day.

Then I quit again.

...but just for a year or two

 

[warburger]

Daredevil 26-82 by Bendis/Maleev and Claremont Run on Uncanny X-Men

[The Madness]

My vote goes to Ultimate Spider-Man as well. Bendis was great and Bagley was phenomenal, and imo Bagley is the greatest Spider-Man artist in the last 20 years. And the end of the series with Pete was great. It was the way Spidey/Peter should've died in the 616. He died a hero

[ChrisInBaltimore]

I lost interest & quit collecting in the mid-nineties when everything Marvel put out was pretty horrible.

 

I came back in the early 2000's with USM, Bendis/Maleev DD & the JMS/JRJR Amazing Spider-man run....I think that was a quality era for Marvel extending all the way up to the end of Civil War/Brand New Day.

Then I quit again.

...but just for a year or two

 

I didn't think of JMS/JRJR run on ASM. It is hard to put that on the list because of how JMS run went after JRJR's departure. But yea prior to that- outstanding book. When I re-read JMS run I cut out all of Deodato Jr and then OMD. Reading it like that it is an outstanding run.

[troywall-migration]

My absolute favorite modern age run is New X-Men by Grant Morrison and various artists including Quietly, Van Sciver, and Jimenez. Good lord, what a ride that was. I couldn't wait for each new issue.

 

Second to that, and darn near a tie, would be Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev. This run has been mentioned quite a few times already and rightly so! Just amazing. While Brubaker opened very strong with his follow-up run, he lost me shortly after issue #500 (renumbering) with the introduction of the blind ninja sensei and the female Bullseye...all that rubbish helped contribute to the complete downfall of quality DD stories with the dreaded...Shadowland event! Argh! Andy Diggle and the Shadowland material gets my vote for WORST modern age run, .

 

Third comes Planetary. I missed out on this book when it was launched and it stayed under my radar because of the sporadic publishing schedule. I purchased it all in TPB when the final issue was published several years ago and read the entire series in a weekend. I was floored at the awesomeness of it all.

 

Although All-Star Superman was only 12 issues, it was one helluva run and the most I've enjoyed Superman in my 20 years of sampling big blue's millions of stories.

 

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 through the Hollywood storyline with Doc Ock, which I think was somewhere around the late 50's. After that point, for me, the book lost its magic with the goofy Carnage storyline, Harry Osborn Hobgoblin, the awful Deadpool arc...Morbius...Clone Saga was dull. You could tell the book actually had a weakness after years of comic book perfection and for the first time its cancellation (with relaunch in tow) could be seen on the horizon. Man, those first 50-something issues were simply untouchable in fun factor.

 

The Authority by Ellis, Millar, Hitch and Quietly brought be back to comics (along with Ultimate Spider-Man) after having quit during the worst years of the 90's dreck. I had certainly never read anything like that before!

 

Y: The Last Man #1-60 managed to stay riveting throughout the entire run.

 

Fables was simply amazing up until the Adversary was defeated. It was always on top of my read pile. Mr. Dark never managed to be the same level of antagonist as Gepetto and company. After Mr. Dark, the series is REALLY meandering. I go back and forth with canceling Fables from my pull list now, which sucks because it used to be one of the best comics ever. I came on board the series kind of late at around issue #25 and I remember snapping up #1-24 in TPB and reading them all in the same night, one right after the other.

 

I really enjoyed Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Ultimates Vol. 1 and 2. It was hard to believe the same guy who wrote these was writing the very much mediocre Ultimate Avengers when it came out some years later. Mark Millar's three year run on Ultimate X-Men is also very solid.

 

And let's not forget the Walking Dead! I've been onboard since 2003 with issue #1. Bought it off the rack on release day because I had enjoyed some of Kirkman's other comics.

[slym2none]

Some of these runs mentioned aren't exactly "modern" age.

 

Just wanted to point that out before I run out of here, dodging things thrown at me.

 

 

 

 

-slym