can you help me create a list of the top 10 indy comic titles from 1975 to now?

[dupont2005]

So it seems these magazine/mixed type titles: heavy metal, raw, etc.. are going to take up a good chunk

of the top 10 if things continue on this path. It will also be much more artistic then popularity based.

 

Well, that's why we're discussing the best. If we wanted to know the most popular we could just look up the print runs.

 

Maybe I am more of a hot dog type of guy instead of wine and cheese though.

 

If it was the best why don't more people know about it, collect it, and in heavy demand around

here? I am not referring to Heavy Metal specifically though but I do touch on it at the end of this

post.

 

Sometimes in the art world people can get snobbish. Looking down on poor poor Groo because

it is a funny book and putting artsy stuff on a pedestal even though no one can even remember

it. One ran for decades and sold in the 100s of thousands.. the others died off after a few years

and is almost forgotten except for the highlights that make people recall it. Perhaps 2% of the

material was memorable?

 

I guess my point is... mass popularity seems to mean a lower ranking compared to low print

run artsy material that most of us, if we tried to read today, would probably get bored after several

minutes (except for the 1-2% of material that is top notch.)

 

You ever try to read Heavy Metal now days? Ugh... I have just last week and a lot of it aged

very very poorly.

If we were discussing the greatest music documentary would you be voting for Justin Beiber? My vote would be Festival Express

I don't think a lot of the nominations here are "artsy"

RAW sure is, but a lot of them were nominated for other reasons. It doesn't have to be high brow to be great.

[BOOT]

Some great suggestions here.

 

Also for consideration:

 

Amelia Rules

Badger

Concrete

Hate

Jim

Mr. Monster

Neat Stuff

Nexus

Patty Cake

Raw

Weirdo

Yummy Fur

 

Not sure MAUS qualifies as "indy" - it was first published in RAW, which was an indy, but published on its own by Pantheon, a division of Random House.

 

Not sure Heavy Metal qualifies as "indy" either. First published by the folks who published National Lampoon at the time - pretty strong nationwide distribution.

[oakman29]

Immediately these come to mind:

 

TMNT: obvious choice

Bone: obvious choice

Maus: won a Pulitzer Prize. It was a huge deal back then.

Cerebus: influenced the creation of the Trade Paperback

Strangers in Paradise

Love and Rockets Cerebus, Strangers in Paradise, and Love & Rockets all reached a level that everyone reading comics knew they existed. Even if you weren't in to independents. These titles also inspired other creators to go the independent route. That aspect is something that is hard to measure, but these titles are always mentioned as influences by creators. Others mentioned in this thread also fit this category, but these seem to be mentioned as influences the most.

Heavy Metal

Dark Horse Presents: Heavy Metal and Dark Horse Presents gave opportunities to independent creators to publish their stuff in a title that reached a mainstream level. These books had a enormus impact on creating future comic book creators.

Hellboy: I always felt Hellboy comics saved Dark Horse Comics from falling off the map. Hellboy also broke into the mainstream level with 2 movies, cartoons, and tons of comics published over the years.

The Walking Dead: Yes, The Walking Dead is an indy. It's hard to remember that since it's success is so hot and mainstream right now. But this is a zombie book that was published at Indy numbers for YEARS before blowing up. Kirkman wasn't a partner at Image when it started or a big name at all. In fact, he was an unknown.

Agree 110% with everything,personally I would include Dead@17 too.the original 6 issue story is a very underrated book.

[Kevin.J]

Strangers in Paradise was the only comic that I could ever get the wife to read, she loved it for a while.

[MisterX]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

[dupont2005]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

Creator owned

 

 

Aliens wouldn't count, even if it's from the same publisher as several other nominees.

[MisterX]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

Creator owned

 

 

Aliens wouldn't count, even if it's from the same publisher as several other nominees.

 

OK, so...for example, does that mean something like Powers is eligible, even though it's published by Marvel?

 

(It is still published by Marvel, right?)

[MisterX]

Also, where do graphic novels fit in? (i.e. Blankets, Fun House, etc.)

[oakman29]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

Creator owned

 

 

Aliens wouldn't count, even if it's from the same publisher as several other nominees.

 

OK, so...for example, does that mean something like Powers is eligible, even though it's published by Marvel?

 

(It is still published by Marvel, right?)

That's a Marvel book.I would say no.

[MisterX]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

Creator owned

 

 

Aliens wouldn't count, even if it's from the same publisher as several other nominees.

 

OK, so...for example, does that mean something like Powers is eligible, even though it's published by Marvel?

 

(It is still published by Marvel, right?)

That's a Marvel book.I would say no.

 

So then the publisher is important? Or is it the size of the publisher?

 

Can we say that Image or Dark Horse are any less corporate than Marvel or DC?

 

For example, they both publish creator-owned material -- but their printing/distribution/advertising are on the same level (or nearly the same level) as the Big Two. (Althought perhaps not their circulation?)

 

Does "indy" also, in some way, mean "not mainstream?"

 

For example, can a comic book with a hit television show based on it still be considered an "indy?"

 

BTW: I'm just throwing out questions. No agenda or position being pushed.

[Dr Chaos]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

Creator owned

 

 

Aliens wouldn't count, even if it's from the same publisher as several other nominees.

 

OK, so...for example, does that mean something like Powers is eligible, even though it's published by Marvel?

 

(It is still published by Marvel, right?)

 

I think anything by Marvel or DC should be out even if they did it under Vertigo, Epic, or Eclipse.

 

As someone else pointed out, there should be an exception for books like V for Vendetta and Elfquest that started as independants and were later published by DC and Marvel (Elfquest was reprinted material but I would argue that new material from Marvel or DC building upon a previously independent title should not keep it from qualifying as independent).

[Davenport]

I'm curious why zero mention of Linsner's "Dawn" stuff.

 

Not anything I've read, but it's one of the 1st "indy properties" that came to mind, probably because it's so visually strong and seems to have staying power over the years.

 

Just curious. Interesting thread.

 

[dupont2005]

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the discussion to define "Indy," and maybe set some parameters?

Creator owned

 

 

Aliens wouldn't count, even if it's from the same publisher as several other nominees.

 

OK, so...for example, does that mean something like Powers is eligible, even though it's published by Marvel?

 

(It is still published by Marvel, right?)

That's a Marvel book.I would say no.

 

So then the publisher is important? Or is it the size of the publisher?

 

Can we say that Image or Dark Horse are any less corporate than Marvel or DC?

 

For example, they both publish creator-owned material -- but their printing/distribution/advertising are on the same level (or nearly the same level) as the Big Two. (Althought perhaps not their circulation?)

 

Does "indy" also, in some way, mean "not mainstream?"

 

For example, can a comic book with a hit television show based on it still be considered an "indy?"

 

BTW: I'm just throwing out questions. No agenda or position being pushed.

I think the editorial interference in Marvel and DC creator owned comics is a bit more than you would find at Dark Horse or Image. Also, Vertigo has a bit of a "House Style", and creators rights at these companies are always in doubt. I love Vertigo comics, but if they are included or not I could agree either way. I think the most iconic Vertigo titles were not actually creator owned anyway. Sandman and Swamp Thing seem to be the big guns, right?

[sakaridis]

 

V for Vendetta is a DC title, not independent.

 

V for Vendetta still qualifies, first serialised in Warrior magazine.

 

Fair enough, Elfquest also started elsewhere before Marvel took it over.

I'm fairly certain that Marvel never actually "took over" Elfquest.

 

They only published one series and it was all reprints from previously published books. Am I wrong about this? It's been years since I've glimpsed at the books.

 

As for V For Vendetta, I think the last three issues of the DC series are new material. The story was never completed in Warrior.

 

Let's not quibble over this one.

 

My point was that not all of the Elfquest issues were published under Marvel's banner (or Epic or Eclipse). Whether or not it later became a Marvel title is irrelevant because it started as an independant comic.

 

There were a lot of Grendel DC stories with and without Batman but I would consider it to be an extension of the Grendel independent title / character that started with Comico.

 

It's not a matter of quibbling, but one of accuracy. Elfquest has always been considered an indie and I doubt there's anyone out there who thinks of Elfquest as a "Marvel Comic".

 

On the subject of Grendel, are you sure there are "Grendel DC stories without Batman"? I personally can't recall any DC comic books with Grendel in them, aside from the two Batman Vs Grendel ltd series.

 

As far as I remember, after Comico folded Grendel has been published exclusively by Dark Horse.

[Dr Chaos]

It's not a matter of quibbling, but one of accuracy. Elfquest has always been considered an indie and I doubt there's anyone out there who thinks of Elfquest as a "Marvel Comic".

 

On the subject of Grendel, are you sure there are "Grendel DC stories without Batman"? I personally can't recall any DC comic books with Grendel in them, aside from the two Batman Vs Grendel ltd series.

 

As far as I remember, after Comico folded Grendel has been published exclusively by Dark Horse.

 

The first time I bought an Elfquest comic it was Marvel. At the time I didn't know any better and I am sure there are lots of people out there that may not be aware that smaller publishers had previously released the same stories.

 

Again, it is my belief that whether Marvel produced reprinted stories or new stories should not determine whether or not Elfquest is an independent comic. By virtue of Elfquest having comics produced by an independent publisher it was an independent comic before Marvel came along. Even if Marvel had produced new Elfquest stories, would that really change Elfquest from an independent comic to something else?

 

I am not arguing that Marvel produced new Elfquest material, I am saying that it is a moot point.

 

I think you may be right about Grendel. It can be confusing when three different publishers created stories with the same character. In any event I do not think that the Batman / Grendel crossovers produced by DC make Grendel any less of an independant title / character.

[dupont2005]

I think if you had read the letters pages in those comics you would have known they were reprints. Not sure though, I never read the Marvel letters pages myself. I can't even get through the comics. That coloring and page quality was terrible.

[boatfund]

Ones I really liked reading:

Nexus

Concrete

American Flagg

Jon Sable

Hero Alliance

Cerebus

Usagi Yojimbo

Mister X

Bone

Ralph Snart

 

The ones that have the most long term effect:

TMNT

Cerebus

Elfquest

[kdoginohio]

I would have to go with TMNT. They are the most widely recognized out of the whole list. Most of these are only known by those of us that collect.

[jjonahjameson1]

Ones I really liked reading:

Nexus

Concrete

American Flagg

Jon Sable

Hero Alliance

Cerebus

Usagi Yojimbo

Mister X

Bone

Ralph Snart

 

The ones that have the most long term effect:

TMNT

Cerebus

Elfquest

 

Really, what effect did Elfquest have? I must have been asleep at the wheel.

 

Most long - term effect would certainly be:

1. TMNT

2. Bone (in schools, public libraries, etc. fostering a new generation of readers)

3. Cerebus (TPB, single-story in 300 issues)

[MrDeafComics]

What about Knights of the Dining Table? Don't think it qualifies tho.

 

 

 

 

Bone 100%. I recently got my younger sister the thick hardcover.