100 Greatest Comic Books

[Sal]

Just to play devil's advocate....

 

Funnies on Parade is the first comic book which is structurely in the modern comic book magazine format -- i.e. saddle-stitched newsprint pages, stapled with a slick cover. That's pretty damn important.

 

Yeah, I don't see this as all that important. Saddle stitching existed at least as far back as 1919 for books. Slick covers were all over the place in magazines. It was just a matter of time before someone went ahead and printed on newsprint.

 

I mean, don't get me wrong, i FoP books, but I don't see how important making a cost-cutting change was to the overall hobby.

 

I am willing to listen to arguments though

[Socratic Wonder]

If I told you three different comics' issue #22 were on that list, would you have guessed Crime Does Not Pay #22, Crime Suspenstories #22, and Showcase #22 before you guessed Pep #22?

 

It's hard to rationalize how Archie #1 made the list and Pep #22 didn't (I guess it was the intro of Squoimy the Woim and Bumbee the BeeTective that gave Archie #1 that extra boost )

 

[The Black Hand ®]

If I told you three different comics' issue #22 were on that list, would you have guessed Crime Does Not Pay #22, Crime Suspenstories #22, and Showcase #22 before you guessed Pep #22?

 

It's hard to rationalize how Archie #1 made the list and Pep #22 didn't (I guess it was the intro of Squoimy the Woim and Bumbee the BeeTective that gave Archie #1 that extra boost )

 

I think Pep 22 should be in anyone's top five. Archie's impact on pop culture should not be minimiz......minumise.......minomi.......underated.

[Socratic Wonder]

Using that, wouldn't Tec 27 get a 10 in at least 3 of those categories (Impact, Concept, and Popularity), at least a 7 in Rarity, and at least a 5 for Quality?

How does Tec 38 rank higher? I don't get it?

 

Not saying I agree with it, but I kind of understand it.

The first superhero sidekick had a huge impact (Bucky, Toro, Sandy, etc) and was a brand new concept, while the concept of Batman was already lifted from The Shadow and Spider pulps. No doubt he eclipsed them in popularity, but the concept of the nighttime shadowy avenger wasn't new in Tec #27.

So if you discount Tec #27 a bit in those two area, Tec #38 could rank slightly higher.

 

Thats a pretty fair point...I didn't think about that!

[Theagenes]

Just to play devil's advocate....

 

Funnies on Parade is the first comic book which is structurely in the modern comic book magazine format -- i.e. saddle-stitched newsprint pages, stapled with a slick cover. That's pretty damn important.

 

Yeah, I don't see this as all that important. Saddle stitching existed at least as far back as 1919 for books. Slick covers were all over the place in magazines. It was just a matter of time before someone went ahead and printed on newsprint.

 

I mean, don't get me wrong, i FoP books, but I don't see how important making a cost-cutting change was to the overall hobby.

 

I am willing to listen to arguments though

 

But it was the coming together of all those things that was the winning formula. Before this comics came in a number of formats -- Cupples & Leon style, tabloids like the Funnies, hardback w/dj, perfect bound, BLBs, etc. None of these formats really took off the way the comic magazine format did; it became, by far, the dominant format for comic books, unchanged for the most part, for the next 70 years. It was the first modern style comic book and I think that is hugely significant.

[october]

Mad 1 and Mickey Mouse Magazine 1 are more important than Marvel 1 and AF 15?

 

Batman 1 and Archie 1 are more important than Tec 27?

 

Don't even get me started on what's ahead of FF 1.

 

Sorry, this list makes zero sense. I don't care where the input came from.

 

The cultural impact of Mad magazine probably dwarfs that of Marvel 1. I would have Mad 1 in any Top 10 list I tried to put together.

 

Maybe unto itself, but as the first Marvel comic it's historically more significant than Mad 1 given what followed...and given what characters wouldn't have been created were it not for Marvel 1.

 

Nitpicking aside, the list is whacked.

[Theagenes]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

[Socratic Wonder]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

 

Agreed!

[Big Daddy]

I bought that book for 3.99 clearance at borders last week....I read through the list and couldn't stop laughing!

 

Everyone knows that Batman #1 is way more important that Tec #27

 

Now you know why it was $3.99

[Robert Beerbohm]

me, i is staying out of this one -

 

and for good reason

[showcase4]

me, i is staying out of this one -

 

and for good reason

 

[adamstrange]

Mad 1 and Mickey Mouse Magazine 1 are more important than Marvel 1 and AF 15?

 

Batman 1 and Archie 1 are more important than Tec 27?

 

Don't even get me started on what's ahead of FF 1.

 

Sorry, this list makes zero sense. I don't care where the input came from.

 

The cultural impact of Mad magazine probably dwarfs that of Marvel 1. I would have Mad 1 in any Top 10 list I tried to put together.

 

Maybe unto itself, but as the first Marvel comic it's historically more significant than Mad 1 given what followed...and given what characters wouldn't have been created were it not for Marvel 1.

 

Nitpicking aside, the list is whacked.

 

If you'll look at my earlier post you'll see are in violent agreement, even though you did try to disguise your plagiarism by changing wacky to whacked.

 

I do think we ended up with some really wacky results

 

Marvel 1 got the company successfully started in comics, but if they hadn't been very successful in Spicy pulps and distribution they wouldn't have had a company either. I do think it reasonable to argue for Mad 1 being more important as the type of humor / attitude it popularized was picked up in countless of other types of media since then and it has become one of the major comedic strains due to the mass number of writers/actors/artists who Mad as kids.

[FlyingDonut]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

 

My top 25, then:

 

1. Action Comics 1

2. Detective Comics 27

3. Mad 1

4. Pep 22

5. Amazing Fantasy 15

6. Fantastic Four 1

7. Giant Size X-Men 1

8. Showcase 4

9. Superman 1

10. Detective Comics 38

11. Captain America 1 (note edit)

12. Four Color 9

13. Four Color 386

14. Sensation Comics 1

15. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1

16. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1

17. Young Romance 1

18. Crime Patrol 15

19. Brave and the Bold 28

20. Watchmen 1-12 (aggregate)

21. Amazing Spider-Man 96-98 (aggregate)

22. Incredible Hulk 181

23. Amazing Spider-Man 129

24. Batman 1

25. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 1

 

comments welcome, of course....

[143ksk]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

 

My top 25, then:

 

1. Action Comics 1

2. Detective Comics 27

3. Mad 1

4. Pep 22

5. Amazing Fantasy 15

6. Fantastic Four 1

7. Giant Size X-Men 1

8. Showcase 4

9. Superman 1

10. Detective Comics 38

11. Four Color 9

12. Four Color 386

13. Sensation Comics 1

14. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1

16. Young Romance 1

17. Crime Patrol 15

18. Brave and the Bold 28

19. Watchmen 1-12 (aggregate)

20. Amazing Spider-Man 96-98 (aggregate)

21. Incredible Hulk 181

22. Amazing Spider-Man 129

23. Batman 1

24. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 1

25. X-Men 137

 

comments welcome, of course....

 

I think that's a pretty good list

 

I would include Funnies on Parade and Zap in the top 25, though (and have no problem bumping X-men 137 and Spidey 129 to make room)

[october]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

 

My top 25, then:

 

1. Action Comics 1

2. Detective Comics 27

3. Mad 1

4. Pep 22

5. Amazing Fantasy 15

6. Fantastic Four 1

7. Giant Size X-Men 1

8. Showcase 4

9. Superman 1

10. Detective Comics 38

11. Four Color 9

12. Four Color 386

13. Sensation Comics 1

14. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1

16. Young Romance 1

17. Crime Patrol 15

18. Brave and the Bold 28

19. Watchmen 1-12 (aggregate)

20. Amazing Spider-Man 96-98 (aggregate)

21. Incredible Hulk 181

22. Amazing Spider-Man 129

23. Batman 1

24. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 1

25. X-Men 137

 

comments welcome, of course....

 

No Marvel 1?

[FlyingDonut]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

 

My top 25, then:

 

1. Action Comics 1

2. Detective Comics 27

3. Mad 1

4. Pep 22

5. Amazing Fantasy 15

6. Fantastic Four 1

7. Giant Size X-Men 1

8. Showcase 4

9. Superman 1

10. Detective Comics 38

11. Four Color 9

12. Four Color 386

13. Sensation Comics 1

14. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1

16. Young Romance 1

17. Crime Patrol 15

18. Brave and the Bold 28

19. Watchmen 1-12 (aggregate)

20. Amazing Spider-Man 96-98 (aggregate)

21. Incredible Hulk 181

22. Amazing Spider-Man 129

23. Batman 1

24. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 1

25. X-Men 137

 

comments welcome, of course....

 

No Marvel 1?

 

No. I just don't see Marvel 1 as being as influential as these others. That being said, iIn retrospect, I'd put Captain America 1 on there probably at 10 or 11, move everything down, and take X-Men 137 off. Spider-Man 129 is more influential than people think.

[october]

So maybe we should create our own Board Top 100.

 

My top 25, then:

 

1. Action Comics 1

2. Detective Comics 27

3. Mad 1

4. Pep 22

5. Amazing Fantasy 15

6. Fantastic Four 1

7. Giant Size X-Men 1

8. Showcase 4

9. Superman 1

10. Detective Comics 38

11. Four Color 9

12. Four Color 386

13. Sensation Comics 1

14. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 1

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1

16. Young Romance 1

17. Crime Patrol 15

18. Brave and the Bold 28

19. Watchmen 1-12 (aggregate)

20. Amazing Spider-Man 96-98 (aggregate)

21. Incredible Hulk 181

22. Amazing Spider-Man 129

23. Batman 1

24. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 1

25. X-Men 137

 

comments welcome, of course....

 

No Marvel 1?

 

No. I just don't see Marvel 1 as being as influential as these others. That being said, iIn retrospect, I'd put Captain America 1 on there probably at 10 or 11, move everything down, and take X-Men 137 off. Spider-Man 129 is more influential than people think.

 

Wow. Marvel 1 is less influential than the first Punisher or X-Men 137? Interesting viewpoint.

[FlyingDonut]

While I understand your point, I just don't see it. Cap 1 yes, but not Marvel 1. Marvel 1 is a great big book, but influence? Not so much - I see it as sort of the bridge between pulps and what would become Timely.

 

Understanding that influence is probably a vague term. Amazing 129 (first Punisher) is, in my opinion, much more influential than Marvel 1 because the "grim and gritty" Punisher character has done much more across the board to change comics over the past 30 years than Marvel 1 did.

 

I'm more of a "what have you done for me now" guy when it comes to influence - I always vote for All-Stars based on first half performance.

 

I'd put Marvel 1, Zap 1 and a bunch of other books in the next 25.

[Robert Beerbohm]

Just to play devil's advocate....

 

Funnies on Parade is the first comic book which is structurely in the modern comic book magazine format -- i.e. saddle-stitched newsprint pages, stapled with a slick cover. That's pretty damn important.

 

Yeah, I don't see this as all that important. Saddle stitching existed at least as far back as 1919 for books. Slick covers were all over the place in magazines. It was just a matter of time before someone went ahead and printed on newsprint.

 

I mean, don't get me wrong, i FoP books, but I don't see how important making a cost-cutting change was to the overall hobby.

 

I am willing to listen to arguments though

 

Bit i will ka-bitz here a bit that the concept referred to here is nothing more than "modern" Dime Novel format with some colored pick-turs added in

 

side stapled wrap around cover format

 

here are some samples i have in my collection:

 

[Scrooge]

Bit i will ka-bitz here a bit that the concept referred to here is nothing more than "modern" Dime Novel format with some colored pick-turs added in

 

Bob, you lost me here. What exactly is the point you're trying to make? Is it in favor or against attaching importance to FoP?