Fanzing's Top 100 Graphic Novels

compiled and introduced by D.J. LoTempio
Additional commentary by Nicolas Juzda

Back in May, Wizard magazine published their list of the top 100 graphic novels and trade paperbacks. The usual stable of books appeared on the list - Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Neil Gaiman's Sandman series - but, not surprising, many people were critical of certain books that appeared or were missing from the list. Let's face it. Creating a declarative list of the top 100 of anything is a controversial endeavor no matter how you slice it. In fact, it is the pinnacle of hubris and amounts to the proverbial line drawn in the sand. We here at Fanzing are not adverse to controversy and have never seen a line that we didn't like to cross. The four-color gauntlet has been thrown and, instead of responding with four-color language, we have crafted our own volley of 100 graphic novels and trade paperbacks that encapsulate the crème de la crème.

Some familiar names will be found here and some hitherto unknown or overlooked books are included in this list. Pursue the later at your own risk, because many of these books will expand your reading horizons into unusual arenas. The former are no less dangerous with their unbridled creativity and deadly execution.

The reader will immediately notice that the list is organized alphabetically and into tiers, and that it contains over 100 titles. We are not using new math. After tallying the votes, a number of books received tie votes and so those books have been placed on aggregate tiers. Those books are considered peers in quality and their relative numbering is not indicative of greater or lesser value. Also, many books were recommended that never received a vote, like little voices lost in the wind. For your pleasure, we have included them as a collective section so that readers can investigate these books at the leisure.

#1 Crisis on Infinite Earths

#2 Watchmen

#3 Kingdom Come

RED TIER

#5 The Dark Knight Returns

#6 The Golden Age

This Elseworlds explores how the heroes of the 1940s might have been shoved aside as society moved on. Author James Robinson combines historical trends with his own original (and controversial) interpretations of many classic characters to show a whole new side of The Golden Age.

#7 Marvels

This beautiful book helped to clear the collective palate of fans everywhere. After years of watching stories become increasingly epic and ponderous, Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross eloquently remind us of the human side of comics through the eyes of a reporter following the exploits of Marvel's superheroes.

#8 Squadron Supreme

ORANGE TIER

#9 Batman: The Killing Joke

The Killing Joke was a re-telling of the Joker's origin that firmly cast Batman and Joker as more than just adversaries; they were two sides of the same coin. Published on the heels of Dark Knight Returns, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's story was a sharp contrast to Miller's highly stylized and baroque narrative. The story also features the crippling of Barbara Gordon (Batgirl); an event important to the creation of the Birds of Prey comic and television show.

#10 Batman: Year One

Dark Knight Returns may be better known, but this story about Batman's first year in Gotham refocused the character upon his basics: one man against an entire city of crime and corruption. Or, since this story also radically revamps Commissioner Gordon, two men.

#11 Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

#12 JLA: Year One

Mark Waid's limited series focusing on the early days of the JLA spotlighted fan favorite Silver Age characters like Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. A combination of retro feel, solid characterization, and engaging plot make this book a modern classic.

#13 Legion: The Great Darkness Saga

The Legion of Super-Heroes are arguably the most powerful super-team ever. But when they face off against Darkseid and a planet of enslaved Daxamites (each as powerful as Superman), even they look outclassed. With the fate of the entire universe hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher. Often considered the best story in LSH history.

YELLOW TIER

#14 Batman: A Death in the Family

The story that made history. Robin died... and it was all the audience's fault.

#15 Manhunter

#16 Nightwing: A Night in Bludhaven

Chuck Dixon's revamp of Nightwing begins here. The trademark set pieces and action sequences are among the most intensive fight scenes produced in recent years.

#17 Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

The final story of the Silver Age Superman brings many elements of his mythos together into one tragic showdown. As supporting characters and villains alike fall, two questions remain? Who is behind this? And can even Superman survive it? Considered by many to be one of the best Superman stories ever.

#18 Top Ten TPBs

Alan Moore yet again makes the list with the collections of Top Ten. In a city where everyone is a super-hero, how would the law operate? This very strange question has even stranger answers, as the super-hero genre becomes merged with the police procedural.

#19 Understanding Comics & Reinventing Comics

GREEN TIER

#20 Astro City TPBs (Confessions)

What would it really be like to be a sidekick? This question is perhaps given its most realistic and involving answer in Confessions, which doubles as both a murder mystery and a science fiction story, but is ultimately a tale about trust.

#21 Batman: Arkham Asylum

#22 Camelot 3000

Mike W. Barr takes the King Arthur story into new territory in this sequel. He's aided by gorgeous Brian Bolland art. One of the first non-Comics Code stories of the 1980s, it was among DC's first attempts at dealing with issues of sexuality.

#23 Green Arrow/Green Lantern

#24 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

#25 Maus

Anyone who thinks that comics are just about super-heroes should read this biography of a Holocaust survivor in the form of an anthropomorphic animal comic. One of the most affecting non-fiction works the medium has ever produced.

#26 Spider Man: Death of Gwen Stacy

Gwen's death changed Spider-Man forever, and mainstream comics as well. From this point on, readers knew that no one was safe.

#27 Saga of the Swamp Thing TPBs

Alan Moore's epic run covered the gamut from terrifying horror to touching love story to thought-provoking mysticism to social commentary and back again.

#28 Starman TPBs

BLUE TIER

29 Animal Man TPBs

Grant Morrison's first major work in American comics. The down to Earth presentation of Animal Man, an intelligent examination of animal rights, and some mindbending commentary on the medium make this a memorable debut.

30 Aquaman: Time and Tide

31 Batman: Strange Apparitions

The brief run of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers on Batman is nevertheless considered one of the Dark Knight's finest hours. This book has just about everything a Batman fan could want: one of the definitive Joker stories, appearances by the Penguin, Deadshot, and Hugo Strange, with a running romantic subplot.

32 Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey

33 Daredevil Visionaries Frank Miller

The work that catapulted Miller to stardom. Redefining Daredevil, Bullseye, and the Kingpin, as well as introducing Elektra, this collection also features one of the most memorable deaths in comics.

34 Enemy Ace: War Idyll

Gorgeous painted artwork illustrates this meditation on wars and its effects on those who fight them, with the First World War and Vietnam being compared and contrasted.

35 Flash: The Return of Barry Allen

36 From Hell

37 Road to Perdition

38 Robin: A Hero Reborn

39 Sandman TPBs

40 V For Vendetta

INDIGO TIER

41 Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War

The first great multi-part cosmic epic, and still one of the best. With Earth caught in the middle of a war between two galactic empires, the Avengers are Earth's only hope. A wildly twisting storyline by Roy Thomas and memorable art (including Neal Adams) make this one of the Avengers' most memorable adventures.

42 Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

The origin of the third Robin is also a story about loss, change, and growth.

43 Batman: The Long Halloween

44 Batman: Tales of the Demon

45 Blaze of Glory

46 BONE TPBs

Three cousins are kicked out of their hometown and discover a wondrous valley filled with dragons, talking bugs and, quite possibly the greatest villains of all time, stupid, stupid rat creatures. Bone is fantasy series that combines the best elements of J. R. R. Tolkein, C. S. Lewis and Warner Bros. cartoons. It is a story that crosses age groups and the boundaries of comedy and drama, making it one of the most consistently rewarding comics produced today.

47 Daredevil: Born Again

48 The Death of Captain Marvel

49 Elfquest

A group of carefree sylvan elves embark on an epic quest to find a new home and their lost ancestors. Wendy and Richard Pini set a high watermark on the quality of independent books in the early 80s with Elfquest and its story still stands strong today.

50 Essential Spiderman V.1

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko redefined superheroes with Spider-Man by making him a more realistic and less idealized protagonist. These groundbreaking stories, which also introduced much of Spidey's Rogues Gallery, feature some of Lee's finest pathos and Ditko's offbeat art stands out from anything else out there.

51 Fantastic Four: The Trial of Galactus

After Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's initial run, many people consider John Byrne's tenure as the FF's second best period. This storyline is among the most fondly remembered of that period, asking difficult ethical questions and demonstrating why the Fantastic Four are heroes.

52 The Greatest XXXXX Stories Ever Told books.

53 JSA: Justice Be Done/Darkness Falls

54 JLA: Rock of Ages (a write-in)

55 The Kents - A western comic for the 21^st century.

56 Lone Wolf and Cub

57 Nick Fury: Scorpio

58 Preacher TPBs

Preacher is a scathing and acerbic satire on religion, government and culture in comic form. Jesse Custer, a drunken preacher, is possessed by a strange force that gives him the voice of God. Havoc ensues. Not for the thin-skinned, the series features everything from God, vampires, undead cowboys, inbreeding, cannibals, a guy with a meat fetish, serial killers, malevolent matriarchs, and prolonged amputation and emasculation. That's not even the heart of the story, which contains a lot of honor, trust, and love.

59 Promethea TPBs

Never one to avoid controversy, Alan Moore has crafted a series that has only the thinnest link with superheroics yet maintains its moorings with heroic fiction. Fans can't decide whether it's a heavy-headed polemic or a tour-de-force meditation on creativity and human values. It uses the comic book as a language to discuss these fascinating topics, much like Scott McCloud's use of the comic form in Understanding Comics, and that language is given frightening force by J. H. Williams' art. Promethea is imagination given earthen form and her adventures not only thrill but also mystify, in the best sense of the word, her readers.

60 Sin City

Sin City follows in the best tradition of hard-boiled noir fiction, typified by Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler. Marv, the ersatz hero, is a misanthrope who leaves a bloody trail of dead as he follows his own cruel brand of honor and justice. Frank Miller spun the comics world on its head when he serialized this story a decade ago and it hasn't lost any of its excitement and danger. Miller adopted a style that emphasized positive and negative space, and demonstrated that black and white comics could pack as much punch as color. An impressive work from the bad boy auteur.

61 Untold Legend of the Batman

A fondly remembered mini-series from DC comics that compiles 50 years worth of Batman history into one story.

62 World's Finest TPB

63 X-Men: The Phoenix Saga

Widely considered the finest X-Men story ever told. With cosmic stakes and a very human core, this storyline was instrumental in catapulting the title to where it is today.

VIOLET TIER

64 Archie Americana Series: The Forties (a write-in)

A collection of the first appearances of many of Riverdale's most prominent residents as well as the best stories from the 1940s. If you have any interest at all in Archie, this is a book you need to own.

65 300 by Frank Miller

66 Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa

On 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Barefoot Gen is the eyewitness account of the artist Keiji Nakazawa who survived the bombing. The series is a gripping story about one boy's attempt to preserve human dignity while the world dissolves into chaos and incivility around him. The art and subject is disarming to American readers but neither obscures the passion of this story. Only 4 of the 10 volumes are available in English, but a fully translated set is rumored to be released in 2003.

67 Batman: Anarky

68 Batman: Collected Legends of the Dark Knight (a write-in)

69 Batman/Green Arrow: The Poison Tomorrow (a write-in)

70 The Complete Frank Miller Batman (a write-in)

71 Crisis on Multiple Earths

72 Daredevil: Guardian Devil (a write-in)

73 DC/Marvel Crossover Classics (a write-in)

Back when DC/Marvel crossovers meant something, four were produced. Superman and Spider-Man, Batman and the Hulk, and the X-Men and New Teen Titans all teamed up for extra-long stories by some of the day's hottest talents, who seemed to understand that these stories had to be momentous.

74 Death: The Time of Your Life (a write-in)

75 Doctor Strange/Doctor Doom: Triumph and Tragedy (a write-in)

76 Exiles (a write-in)

77 Marvel Masterpieces: Fantastic Four

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's initial run on the Fantastic Four marked the beginnings of Marvel's Silver Age. Memorable characterization, bizarre locales, larger-than-life foes, and more can be found in these pages. The Fantastic Four Masterworks include classics ranging from The Galactus Trilogy and This Man, This Monster, to numerous Thing/Hulk fights, to the marriage of Reed and Sue.

78 Green Lantern: Fear Itself (a write-in)

79 Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale (a write-in)

80 Heart of Empire

81 Hercules: Full Circle (a write-in)

82 The Invisibles TPBs

For Sale! Anarchy for the masses. The Invisibles appears to be a non-linear story about anarchists hoping to save humanity from mental oppression. In reality, it is about everything, and I mean EVERYTHING: time, the three dimensions plus, consciousness, and the fate of human evolution. The book is a rescue mission to wake the reader to greater awareness. Some say it was the basis for THE MATRIX. A rip-roaring, mind-bending read in the tradition of good science-fiction.

83 JLA: The Nail (a write-in)

84 Las Mujeres Perdidas

85 Little Nemo in Slumberland collections

86 Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars (a write-in)

Not exactly the most intellectual of works, but if you want the primal thrill of seeing all the major Marvel heroes and villains lined up against one another, this is your book.

87 Palestine

88 Poison River

89 Pulp Fiction: Mystery In Space

90 Prince Valiant

91 Ranma 1/2

A lighthearted martial arts comedy about a gender switching teenager and his many fiancées. You don't find this stuff in American comics. A good introduction to Manga, with the various volumes standing more or less on their own.

92 Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt (a write-in)

93 Spider-Man: The Saga of the Alien Costume

94 Spirit Archives

95 Tale of One Bad Rat

Another book that demonstrates the power of the comics medium. A young English girl is traumatized by emotional and sexual abuse and runs away from home and reality. With nary a superhero or magic trope in sight, Bryan Talbot constructs an arresting comic that ventures into territories that most creators fear to tread. Beautiful watercolors make this an equally attractive read.

96 Ultimate Spider-Man TPBs (a write-in)

97 Batman: Dark Victory (a write-in)

98 Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (a write-in)

99 JLA: Earth 2 (a write-in)

100 X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (a write-in)

101 Big Book of Urban Legends

102 Tarzan In Color collections (specifically the Burne Hogarth stuff)

These aren't even comic books, so why include them on the list? Two reason - Tarzan and Burne Hogarth. These stories established the visual language that was the foundation for all heroic comics. Hogarth's illustrations are pure muscle.

103 RECOMMENDED BOOKS:

Captain America: Operation Rebirth

X-Men visionaries - Neal Adams

Life On Another Planet by Will Eisner

Hellblazer: Original Sins

The Green Hornet Collectors Edition

Big Book of Conspiracies

Safe Area Gorzade by Joe Sacco

BERLIN: Book One by Jason Lutes

Blood of Palomar by Gilbert Hernadez

Hellboy: Wake the Devil

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

Ghost In the Shell by Masamune Shirow

Akira TPBs

Castle Waiting TPB by Linda Medley

Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD

Captain America: War and Remembrance

Captain America: To Serve and Protect

Fighting American collection by Kirby

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs TPBs

Avengers vs. Defenders

Jack Kirby's Fourth World

Deadman in Strange Adventures

Green Arrow: Quiver

Essential X-Men vol. 1 & 2

Essential Dr. Strange

is an aspiring writer with a wife, child and dog. He is a closet libertine and thinks he can sing like Marvin Gaye...on his good days. Wishes he could write like Nelson Algren. He is also a contributor to our first comic book, "Fanzing Presents: Job Wanted", which can be purchased at Too Many Longboxes.com!

Fiction editor Nicolas Juzda is currently studying law in Saskatchewan. He fills the void that was left in his soul by contributing to Fanzing. He has twice been among the winners in the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest for bad writing.
AIM name: nwjuzda