100 Greatest Comic Books

[Robert Beerbohm]

While interesting (nothing like a good pirate or revolutionary war story to get the blood pumping ), I would suggest these pulps belong in our pulp thread or the OO vs Action 1 thread. The topic at hand is the most important comic books and not the 100 most important pre-cursor states in the evolution of comics starting with Gilgamesh, though that might make for a fun thread. Squinting as hard as I might these don't look like comics. As always, your mileage may vary.

 

Oh, i did not mean to hi-jack this thread - i made mention of data i had brought up in some of my Overstreet comic book history threads articles - and was asked what i meant - i thought people here simply enjoyed looking at cool old stuff.

 

I had been earlier in the month placing some of my DNs into MyLite-2 which i like a lot cuz they have a flap i can tape down & crease to hold the item in place - and when i saw another impossible Top 11 Lists out of a zillion of them over the years, i just can't help but be amused.

 

There are many milestones, but for every "most important" hero of one generation, there are equally as important heroes in some other generation's output of popular culture

 

So, to pick one #1

 

impossible

 

i say which decade?

 

Was Superman more important than say TMNT in the 1980s? hah.

 

Supes had his moments, so has had Baht-mahn

 

Bats two 15 minutes of fame are basicly 1966 and 1989, give or take

 

where did Batman shake the national consciousness except for those two instances in time of about a year each, less than a year each, actually. Both times led to a glut of material.

 

Then famine set in at least between the TV and Michael Keaton on the Silver Screen.

 

Super Hero First Appearances were simply not a criteria they used

 

What impact did Tec 27 have when it came out?

 

What impact did MAD #1 have when it hit the stands?

 

Which got banned in Boston as iy were, and retaliated with a series of "hidden" comic book covers so you could sneak them into class for longer periods of time before confiscation. Getting a teacher all worked up and it only cost a collective dime, sounds like cheap entertainment all way around

 

And when Alfred E Neuman ran for President beginning in the 1956 Prez run, well, he surely gave Pogo a run for his bucks that year at least.

 

Mad shot up to millions and millions sold each month. It satorized every thing

 

Hard to say which got the imagination of America more in their respective times, Superman or Mad

 

Then there was them Barks Ducks with WDCS out-selling Superman and Action combined and still double those figures to boot - and Barks is still translated into 20 some countries around teh world - making Carl Barks the most read comic book creator in the world.

 

How do we define the word "important" much less "most important" that is what i want to know

[The Black Hand ®]

Hey...thank's for keeping it short Bob. You're not getting paid by the word are you? Just kidding. I don't know what historians 500 years from now are going to say....but for now, it's extremely dificult to choose a "most important" pop culture comic book figure but I'll do it anyway. Superman then Donald Duck and then Batman and then Archie. I just threw Archie in there for 143ksk. There...I did it.

[143ksk]

I just threw Archie in there for 143ksk. There...I did it.

 

[lou_fine]

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.

 

Although I simply can't stand that Robin character, when you add in the criteria for "new concept", I can also understand why 'Tec 38 would finish higher than 'Tec #27 as this was certainly not a new concept at the time.

 

I can also understand the argument that was made for FF #48 being placed on a higher ranking level than FF #1. And yes, I would definitely have to place Funnies on Parade somewhere in the Top 3 of my list.

 

Actually, this whole thread appears to be a bit of a rehash of a previous thread over in General from a couple of years ago when the book first came out. Overall, not that bad of a book if you don't become too focused on the actual rankings. Nice two page spread on each of the Top 10 books if I remember correctly.

[ciorac]

What the hell was the ranking criteria for this list!!!!

 

I think it was based on how many of each they had and what grade they were in......

[ciorac]

Hey...thank's for keeping it short Bob. You're not getting paid by the word are you? Just kidding. I don't know what historians 500 years from now are going to say....but for now, it's extremely dificult to choose a "most important" pop culture comic book figure but I'll do it anyway. Superman then Donald Duck and then Batman and then Archie. I just threw Archie in there for 143ksk. There...I did it.

 

Add Mickey Mouse to the above list and I am on board with BH on this one!

[tth2]

Showcase #22 before you guessed Pep #22?

Sure.

[tth2]

Superman then Donald Duck and then Batman

Nobody's a bigger Duck fan than me, but Donald Duck isn't a world icon because of a comic book. He's a core Disney character, star of the stage, screen, amusement parks, etc.. Comics helped to supplement his popularity, but they didn't make or break him. Uncle Scrooge is a much better example of a Disney character that was really made by the comics rather than cartoons/movies.

[The Black Hand ®]

Superman then Donald Duck and then Batman

Nobody's a bigger Duck fan than me, but Donald Duck isn't a world icon because of a comic book. He's a core Disney character, star of the stage, screen, amusement parks, etc.. Comics helped to supplement his popularity, but they didn't make or break him. Uncle Scrooge is a much better example of a Disney character that was really made by the comics rather than cartoons/movies.

 

Well then. Bark's Ducks....and Mickey.

[Crowzilla]

Bob,

I fell asleep , did you ever say if Jack had any of those Red Ravens?

[Sal]

What the hell was the ranking criteria for this list!!!!

 

I think it was based on how many of each they had and what grade they were in......

 

so you're channeling j_c now? next you'll be throwing out insults and "breadstick-armed geek" cracks

[EastEnd]

Superman then Donald Duck and then Batman

Nobody's a bigger Duck fan than me, but Donald Duck isn't a world icon because of a comic book. He's a core Disney character, star of the stage, screen, amusement parks, etc.. Comics helped to supplement his popularity, but they didn't make or break him. Uncle Scrooge is a much better example of a Disney character that was really made by the comics rather than cartoons/movies.

 

I agree with this. Superman may have been far and away outsold by Disney funny animals and Mad, but costumed superheros were born from comic books (unlike funny animals and cartoon satire). Superheros are comic books' unique contribution to pop culture and so to me the most important comic is Action #1.

[Robert Beerbohm]

Bob,

I fell asleep , did you ever say if Jack had any of those Red Ravens?

 

attempting to re-read this entire thread, i fell into zeee-zeee land myself

 

who knows if jack had any earlier Red Raven incarnations

 

i wuz speck-u-la-tin on the concept

[Robert Beerbohm]

Superman then Donald Duck and then Batman

Nobody's a bigger Duck fan than me, but Donald Duck isn't a world icon because of a comic book. He's a core Disney character, star of the stage, screen, amusement parks, etc.. Comics helped to supplement his popularity, but they didn't make or break him. Uncle Scrooge is a much better example of a Disney character that was really made by the comics rather than cartoons/movies.

 

I agree with this. Superman may have been far and away outsold by Disney funny animals and Mad, but costumed superheros were born from comic books (unlike funny animals and cartoon satire). Superheros are comic books' unique contribution to pop culture and so to me the most important comic is Action #1.

 

If Batman is a "super" hero, then the concept of the "super" hero goes back many many decades prior to what is being bandied about here

 

Zorro

 

Scarlet Pimpernal

 

Robin Hood

 

etc

 

etc

 

etc

 

so, the theory does not hold water under analysis

[action1kid]

Zoro, Robinhood are Heros. Not Superheros. The Superhero concept is origanal to Superman.......

[Theagenes]

Zoro, Robinhood are Heros. Not Superheros. The Superhero concept is origanal to Superman.......

 

But even Superman has his precursors with Doc Savage, Wylie's Galdiator, John Carter of Mars (lesser gravity giving him strength and leaping ability), and even Popeye. And those are just immediate precursors -- that doesn't even begin to get into figures from mythology and folklore from John Henry to Hercules.

 

Superman was something new to be sure, but nothing is created in a vacuum.

[Robert Beerbohm]

Then Batman - Not Superhero

 

there are so many "pre-hero" heroes one would be hard pressed to shake a stick at all of them

 

jeff mentions Doc Savage, then there was Shadow, and so many others in the pulps predating the advent of The Men of Mystery in 1938, gaining some traction in 1939, then a whole lot of steam by 1940.

 

Sure, Superman was a publishing phenomena for a period there, his fortunes waxed and waned over the decades.

 

But i was centering on Batman as a super hero of some import. Like Capt America was basicly a man who drank some chemical potion, enhancing his abilities, Bruce Wayne honed in the Far East

 

And Superman is not a core world cultural icon becuase of a comic book either: TV and movies si what spread his fame as well - every bit as much as Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse

 

A combo of all available media outlets its what drives any property to icon status

 

that is what i think

[action1kid]

Im not arguing the Hero concept is origanal to Superman. Not at all. The SUPER hero concept is origanal to Superman. There are always precursors to any concept at least to some degree. There were precursors to the Perimids. Something inspired the idea.

[Robert Beerbohm]

Zoro, Robinhood are Heros. Not Superheros. The Superhero concept is origanal to Superman.......

 

Please Read my Origin of the Modern Comic Book in Overstreet to glean a sample of the earliest known original straight super hero comic strip called Hugo Hercules which began in the Chicago Tribune Sunday newspaper in 1902 and thru thru a chunk of 1903

 

Blackbeard put a couple in his A CENTURY OF NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS Kitchen published as a two volume hard cove rwith slip case in 1995 and was recently reprinted as a combined soft cover

 

Philip Wylie grew up in Chicago

 

His character in The Gladiator was named Hugo

 

Some say Gladiator was the main inspiration - i say nay as the insipration comes from a host of sources -

[action1kid]

I quess it comes down to our individual definitions of what a Superhero is.