Completely Self-absorbed Top 100 Comic Runs You Need to Read

[Hawkmumbler]

Giant Days was one that completely passed me by, think it dropped at a time where that sort of thing just wasn't on my hits list, which seems infantile now but it is what it is.

This will most assuredly be rectified in the future (read as, most likely within the next few years if I haven't lost the plot).

[IndigoPrime]

Boom will definitely be releasing the complete set

* cries while pointing at incomplete Lumberjanes To The Max *

[Colin YNWA]

Number 126 - Avengers by Roger Stern and John Buscema

Keywords: Superheroes, Marvel, Mainstream, Youthful favs, formative

Creators:
Writer -  Roger Stern
Art - John Buscema inked by Tom Palmer
Colours - Mainly Christie Scheele

Publisher: Marvel Comics

No. issues: 32 (Issues 255-285 and I'm going to throw in Annual 14 cos I can even though it's not drawn by John Buscema, it has rather lovely John Byrne art, largely due to glorious Kyle Baker inks BUT does carry on a storyline from the core series.)

Date of Publication: 1985 - 1987

Last read: 2015

Another very personal one here. This time for different reasons, in this case even though I know objectively these shouldn't be on the list, who ever said this list was ever going to be objective and I bloody love these comics.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

Roger Stern took over the Avengers with issue 227 and while the first half of his run isn't too bad - I particularly like the Vision taking over the world storyline, it's when John Buscema and Tom Palmer come onboard that his stories are really elevated.

Now let's be very honest straight off the bat, these comics aren't breaking new ground. They are pretty standard fare, mainstream superhero comics from the 80s. I mean they are bloody good standard mainstream superhero comics from the 80s, but no more. Sometimes however I also just love stuff like this. Though less and less these days and there's less and less in my collection now and few have made this list. So why has this one?

Well simply put this is one of the first series I got into when I first got into American comics and so has that emotional connection. Unlike a lot of other comics from that time (but not all wait until MUCH later in the list for my favourite from this era) these really hold up well for their craft. The storylines are strong, in their own context and there are some good character beats across the run.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

The Wasp, in my top five US superheroes, really develops as a character during these stories, she demonstrates what a superb leader she is. Hercules is a daft, egotistical delight, Namor an infuriating but fab interloper, Black Knight becomes that superhero stereotype, the lovelorn self doubter, perfect for teenage me.  The characters here had a real impact on me.

The run also contains some pretty excellent and pivotal story arcs, most famously 'Under Siege' in issues 273 to 277. In this much hailed story Baron Zemo (the second one) gathers a new Masters of Evil, a group of super villains with the specific purpose of defeating the Avengers. Really just so Zemo can avenge himself against Captain America.

You witness Zemo putting together his team in a series of subplots in the issues leading up to the main story. Then slowly they exploit the weaknesses of our heroes, Hercules' ego and impetuousness, Black Knight's desire to prove himself, to steadily take down the Avengers and capture Avengers Mansion, viciously beating Jarvis, the Avenger's much loved butler and driving the remaining Avengers to gather support and start a desperate fight back. It's epic, thrilling stuff.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

There's plenty of others though besides that classic, we see Terminus destroy The Savage Land (Nooo! Why on earth did they do that, I chuffin' love the Savage Land!). The Skrulls in a civil war as Nebula makes her debut. The Council of Kangs is introduced as Kang battles himself as Immortus... don't ask, it's comic book complicated. The Avengers have to fight the Olympian gods as Zeus seeks to avenge (yes I may well keep doing that!) near fatal beating Hercules takes during 'Under Siege'. I mean this is top draw superheroics. The Secret Wars II storyline, in which the all-powerful Beyonder comes to Earth to try to understand humanity, does rather stop the momentum at times, but overall this is immense fun.

Oh and the art, the art is fantastic and provides proof, if proof be needed, that inkers are so much more than 'tracers'. John Buscema is an amazing artist but it's Tom Palmer who is the real star here for me. He adds incredible depth and solidity to Buscema's pencils. Elevating John Buscema from one of the very best to possibly produce the best superhero comic art of this era... well traditional American mainstream comic art. I mean Bill Sienkiewicz and others innovate more, but the art in this run is so comfortable and powerful. It's a massive part of why I love these comics so much.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

All that said, these are still just really good mainstream superhero comics. This run will rarely bother the lower end of most fan based top 100s comics and I doubt we'd see them in any critical list of the same. For me though as I've grown older I've gravitated to the Avengers over say the Uncanny X-Men.

It's much easier to be cool and appealing when you are outsiders. When you skirt the edges of the law, are renegades and outcasts avenging (well I did say I would...) those that oppress you while being chased by those you defend. The Avengers have an appeal to the older me, trying to do the right things while fitting in with society and operating in the status quo and all the rules and regulations that brings. For me that's why the Bendis run on the Avengers missed the mark so badly he just made The Avengers another version of the X-Men, outlaws having to work outside the system. In this run they have to work in the system, and alas I can relate to that all too well these days.

Ultimately though it's hard to get past issue 271


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

When I first become aware of American comics, all thanks to Paul Webster, at an age most folks move away from such things, I wandered into a newsagent in Birkenhead and picked up 5, maybe 6 comics and Avengers 271 was amongst them and the one really struck me and blew me away. Over the following months I'd come across more and more titles in the newsagent and then be introduced to that scary oasis for the nerd Chapter One in Liverpool. The titles that meant most to me would quickly change and develop as I discovered more and more and my understanding of what was good, or even great expanded... but for the first year or so Avengers was a firm favourite and helped shape what I want from mainstream US superhero comics.

It's hard to separate that formative experience from any growth in my expectations as a reader and as we go through this list there will be a few of this type of comic in here. The one's that don't necessarily stand up to my modern expectations, but are so fundamental to my understanding of what I like that I can return to them time and again and still get incredible joy from them.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

Where to find it

I think to get a complete set of these you'll need to track down the original floppies. I don't think there's been a comprehensive collection. I reckon you could do that pretty cheaply and easily with a bit of patience.

You can get close. Issues 255 - 261 and Annual 14 (and accompanying FF Annual) can be found in Avengers - The Legacy of Thanos

262 and 263 I think are missing out there, but on Comixology I believe.

Then 264 - 277 in Avengers Epic Collection: Under Siege

And the end of the run 278 - 285 in Avengers Epic Collection: Under Siege]Avengers Epic Collection - Judgement Day[/url]

You get lots of lovely other stuff included in those Epic Collection too.

Under Siege has been reprinted numerous times and there is a collection Kang storyline called 'Avengers: The Once And Future Kang' but you might need to hunt the aftermarket for that as it can get pricey.

The stuff is out there and, from my personal perspective, well worth the hunt if you like this kind of thing.

Learn more

Obligatory Wikipedia page - oh actually this doesn't exist as there's not a specific page for this run.

There are a few write ups and discussions of these comics out there. Mars will send no more is okay.

13th Dimension has a fun top 13 across all of Sterns Avengers comics (including his West Coast Avengers I was tempted to rope into this somehow). Most the key stories in this run are covered in that.

And there's and old thread on the CBR forums! that sings its praises... yes I'm scrapping a bit here.

If you search 'Under Siege' and add Avengers, or Roger Stern to avoid sites about Steven Seagal movies you'll find loads of chatter and videos about that particular story.

[Le Fink]

Another terrific write-up, thanks Colin. Hachette appear to have at least some of this too: Avengers Under Siege - Hachette
Probably not my cup of tea, but I'm liking your passion for it! Marvel-wise I only read the odd Iron Man back in the 80s. Good stuff though, fond memories.

[Colin YNWA]

Another terrific write-up, thanks Colin. Hachette appear to have at least some of this too: Avengers Under Siege - Hachette
Probably not my cup of tea, but I'm liking your passion for it! Marvel-wise I only read the odd Iron Man back in the 80s. Good stuff though, fond memories.

I did think this one would be quiet here as I doubt these comics will float many folks boats, here at least. Its interesting even at this early stage seeing which write ups get more reactions than others. That's the nature of the beast though, this list is as honest as possible for me and that is NEVER going to work for everyone and some of the stuff will stink this place up! Half the fun.

Which is kinda why I called out for folks to try their own lists as it will be such fun to compare and contrast.

[Colin YNWA]

Number 125 - Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev

Keywords: Marvel; gritty; Marvel Knights era; needs a re-read

Creators:
Writer -  Brian Michael Bendis
Art - Alex Maleev... and errr others... which I admit seems odd given I've identified this as Alex Maleev's run, I'll get to that.
Colours - Matt Hollingsworth

Publisher: Marvel Comics

No. issues: 48 - Daredevil vol. 2: 28-50; 56-81. We'll also get to what I'm considering here as its a little fluid
Date of Publication: 2001 - 2006

Last read: 2010

Brian Michael Bendis gives good Daredevil, though I am a little nervous how it will hold up on re-read, a re-read that does seem a long time coming as it's not even on the list (spreadsheet) yet. Maybe I'm subconsciously worried I might not like it as much as my memory has it!


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

First things first, what are we covering here? Well I'm going with Bendis's vol. 2 run. He did an arc 'Wake Up' with David Mack in issues 16-19 of volume 2 which I recall being pretty good and a mini Daredevil - Ninja which was okay, and 'Daredevil - The End'  which was also good. I'm not really thinking about those though. It's really his ongoing arc that starts with issue 26 where he defines himself as a great DD writer. David Mack did do an arc during this run in issues 51 - 55 and while it's good it is tangential to the ongoing storyline, so again I'm not covering that. 

That is why I name Alex Maleev as the artist, there are a few fill-ins but really this is Maleev's run as well, as he really helps define the tone of the stories, for good (mostly) and ill (a little) and for me it's as much about him as Bendis.

Now the other thing to note is I'm a massive Daredevil fan, as this list will attest as we go on. He's my favourite superhero and the one with the best hit rate of great runs. Most ongoing series are lucky to get a Simonson run, or a Claremont era etc. DD has a LOAD. There are so many of them that it's almost easier to note the less fantastic ones as they stand out more than the good to great ones, once Frank Miller and Klaus Janson get their hands on him in the late 70s. He is so consistently well served. As we go through this list I hope to unpick why that is.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

The Bendis and Maleev run is the one that feels most referential to that classic Miller and Janson. It's Miller Janson², Miller and Janson if they got their hand on DD in the early 2000s uber grim and gritty, hard boiled, let's make these heroes 'real' era of mainstream comics. It's also interesting that this run places so close to Gotham Central (at number 128 with a literal bullet) as the two share so much in common in terms of tone and art.

Oh gosh I'm so not getting to the point here am I, I suspect that will be a common theme when I talk about DD, hopefully I'll get that out my system here, we'll see. What we need to discuss first (ahem) is what the heck happens in these comics.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

After an initial arc 'Underboss' which establishes tone and the fact we're going to be dealing with Daredevil fully immersed in the seedy underbelly of New York organised crime. That we'll be dealing with Matt Murdock (we all know Matt Murdock is DD right, well everyone will soon..) at his most grim, his darkest, most unwavering, most humourless, truly the hard bitten, but physiologically broken warrior. Only after that do we get to the arc's major driver.

In the second arc 'Out' Matt Murdock is exposed as Daredevil in the press and while the run takes twists and turns from there, that really is the fundamental basis that shapes these stories. Matt Murdock and Foggy fight this in the courts, Daredevil tries to find ways to fight it with his fists. Everybody knows Matt is Daredevil but he ties this up in so much legal red tape no one is able to legally act upon it and he never admits it. Of course some don't care about the legality of things and the crime world circles him armed with this new weapon.

The run slides effortless into other dark corners. When the Kingpin (Alex Maleev used Bendis as his model for Kingpin right, his Kingpin is just a less smirky Bendis ... right?) returns after having been sidelined having been gunned down in issue 26. Daredevil takes him down and then takes the most extreme of steps to try to control New York's criminal underworld.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

Matt becoming the new Kingpin clearly demonstrates one of the other key elements of this run. Here Daredevil is at his most uncompromising, his most extreme, his most determined, he will stop at nothing. Bendis takes all the character developments Frank Miller introduced or refined in his run and dials them up to 11. Matt Murdock is a guilt ridden, damaged, fragile individual. Well never as much as here. Matt Murdock is self destructive. Well never as much as here. Daredevil wants to be compassionate and deal with things with his head and Matt's legal skills, but ends up resorting to his fists. Well never as much as here.

And that is the story's biggest blessing and curse. That is why this run makes this list but is a lot lower than some other Daredevil runs. Bendis and Maleev have their vision of DD and they utterly commit to it. They are perfect for the dark and 'realistic' vision of superheroes so prevalent in the early 2000s and they really run with that. They have a singular vision and they use that to create fantastic hard, dark, rain soaked stories of New York, even in a fantasy superhero world, at its bleakest and most grounded. And it really works, but it limits things.

Earlier and later Daredevil runs, which I rate much more highly, deal with similar things, but do so in far more creative and imaginative ways. Ways that allow for much more thrilling examination of very similar themes and ideas. This is so anchored that it almost drags. That's not to say it's ever boring, far from it, rather it doesn't explore different areas or stretch what can be achieved with the character.


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

Alex Maleev's art is a really big part of this too. I'm not 100% how he produces his work but I'm pretty sure it's very heavily, if not not entirely, photo-referenced. His art looks so perfectly real. Even the most fantastical elements are cast in shadow and designed to look as grounded as possible. New York looks like the hard, grimy and scarred city of 70s cop movies. His designs for Daredevils rogues gallery are made to make them feel real, to wash out the villainous colour and bring them violently and viciously down to earth.

Unlike so many artists who overly photo-reference and yes Greg Horn springs immediately to mind, he doesn't sacrifice movement and energy when doing this. His individual panels can be a little static I guess, but his page design and panel composition (look at me using big words I probably don't quite get!) breathe life into those static images and Daredevil swings, villains punch with real force, damage is dealt. It's really an incredible piece of work across the entire run. To say he is perfect for the stories Bendis writes would be an understatement, it's one of those writer / artist team-ups that truly brings the best out of both and each elevates the other. A marriage made in heaven... something poor ol' Matt will never know. Another DD trope that this run deals with!


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

Matt Hollingsworth's colours also need to be highlighted as well. His muted tones, his palate of blue greys for backgrounds to make the subdued crimsons of Daredevil's costume really pop are another perfect element... well I say that but there's a bit of me that would love to see Klaus Janson colour this. His richer, more stark colours would make for a really interesting experiment. I'm not sure it would work as well, but I'd sure love to see it as an interesting contrast!

So across 48 issues Bendis, Maleev and Hollingsworth produce a really coherent, solid tale. It's hard, gritty stuff. Daredevil takes punishment both physically and mentally... mind he dishes out the same. It's a great example of the team being perfect for the story and that story is pretty damned good. I do need to re-read and I do wonder if it will hold up as well in my eyes now but it's well deserving of its place on the list and heck who knows might be even better on re-read?

The whole thing does end on an almighty cliffhanger, which is kinda central to the identity being revealed storyline, but it's still a satisfying ending in its own way. The run that follows and picks up that cliffhanger by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark is well worth picking up anyway, though didn't quite make the list as there's quite enough DD on here already!


Copyright - Marvel Comics and not the folks who made them

Where to find it

There have been lots of omnibuses and trades of this run, but they seem to be at various stages of in-printness (that's probably a word?).

So I think 3 large collections or 11 single arc based trades in total. It can be a little tricky to track the lot down BUT if you are patient in the after market (or come to a Sheffield Comic Mart when I'm selling) you should find them easily enough. I got a full set of floppies (thus having all the trades for sale!) for the whole of vol.2 for about £100, which is really good value and gets you some great comics aside from the Bendis run.

They are all available digitally as well.

Learn more

For anything and everything Daredevil related Man without fear.com should always be your first port of call. That link takes you to a specific page detailing all of the Bendis issues in Volume 2

Again no Obligatory Wikipedia page as this specific run doesn't have a separate entry. But there are plenty of reviews of the individual collections, particularly the omnibuses just a Google search away.

Mars will send no more does a short and snappy write up of Omnibuses 1 and 2 for example.

If you just want to see the highlights Chasing Amazing has a Greatest Moments from the run which is fun...

Behind the scenes, comics gives a nice little timeline of events, as these stories can jump around a little chronologically, just one of Bendis' little tricks that though he does rather over use, doesn't get in the way of the story and do on occasion enhance them.

Finally there's also a number of decent videos on the run Matt Draper has an excellent YouTube channel and is a big fan of DD. I don't entirely agree with everything he says on the linked video but that's a good thing, different perspectives are useful.

[Barrington Boots]

I've never read any Daredevil but just wanted to say that I read a chunk of that Avengers run back in the 80s and really enjoyed it at the time.
As a kid, if I was lucky I would get Marvels Star Wars and Secret Wars comics and it means I've a real affection for that era of Marvel: old school Thor and Xmen, The West Coast Avengers, villains like Titania, Absorbing Man and The Wrecking Crew and so on. I've tried a few times to get back into Marvel comics since but I've always found them not to my taste. Reading short runs like these would probably be better for me as one of the things I really dislike is the way they're both mired in continuity and have a real lack of permeance/impact for any real actions.

Anyway, two more cool, impassioned writeups here Colin, great stuff!

[Colin YNWA]

...As a kid, if I was lucky I would get Marvels Star Wars and Secret Wars comics and it means I've a real affection for that era of Marvel: old school Thor and Xmen, The West Coast Avengers, villains like Titania, Absorbing Man and The Wrecking Crew and so on...

Actually wish I'd cottoned on to this when I was doing my write ups for these two as they both represent formative comics for me as I get into American comics.

The Avengers run was one that featured when I first got into comics in the mid 80s. The Bendis Daredevils has a similar place for when I got back into comics in the early 2000s after my wilderness years. Interesting that they appear so close together on my list then... wellllll... it is to me anyway!

I also read those Marvel UK Secret Wars comics as I was getting into US comics and while they don't make the list I do remember them very fondly. Loved the Alpha Flight back-ups in them as I recall.

[Tomwe]

I have the issues in the loft but have just preordered Feburary's Modern Epic Collection which I guess is the first quarter?

[BadlyDrawnKano]

I haven't read your entry for Bendis' Daredevil run as I want to avoid spoilers, as just looking at the art alone has made me want to buy it. There are times I really, really love his work (Alias is one of my all time favourite series, and Scarlet's pretty great too) but others start out well but kind of run out of steam (Guardians of the Galaxy being the main example of this, though I didn't get on with The Pulse either). Anyway, this has gone on to my Amazon wish list, and I'll hopefully get it early in 2024 once Christmas and the New Year are out of the way, and I look forward to reading your thoughts on it once I've finished it.

[JohnW]

I've tried a few times to get back into Marvel comics since but I've always found them not to my taste. Reading short runs like these would probably be better for me as one of the things I really dislike is the way they're both mired in continuity and have a real lack of permeance/impact for any real actions.

Same here.
The Bendis/Maleev run was my first dip into Marvel since I was a kid and I was enthralled. But I followed it for too long and it got all Marvelly on me.

[Colin YNWA]

I have the issues in the loft but have just preordered Feburary's Modern Epic Collection which I guess is the first quarter?

That one seems to have his earlier arc I don't really discuss here and Underboss the first arc of the ongoing run covered in my post only. Lots of nice stuff in there, including an arc drawn by our own Phil Winslade, but not much of the Bendis run. I reckon the next one is likely to be all Bendis though.

I haven't read your entry for Bendis' Daredevil run as I want to avoid spoilers, as just looking at the art alone has made me want to buy it.

Cool beans! Hope you enjoy it the Alex Maleev art is really something.

The Bendis/Maleev run was my first dip into Marvel since I was a kid and I was enthralled. But I followed it for too long and it got all Marvelly on me.

Oh interesting. Even when they bring in more heros its done in shadows and typically out of costume as if Bendis and Maleev were embarrassed it was so sited in MCU.

I did drop off DD buying for a while with Shadowlands - which though by Andy Diggle, who I thought would be a great fit - was absolutely terrible. Some subsequent DD runs after that might well make the list though...

[karlos]

Peeps been raving about Chip Zdarsky's recent run.

Anyone on here read it? Is it raveworthy?

There's an omnibus of it incoming which I'd be interested in picking up.

[Colin YNWA]

Peeps been raving about Chip Zdarsky's recent run.

Anyone on here read it? Is it raveworthy?

There's an omnibus of it incoming which I'd be interested in picking up.

I've read his second volume and it was fine, not my Daredevil but then I have a LOT of my Daredevil so its good to see the character being taken in all sorts of different directions. Those issues lent in heavily in the brilliant Nocenti run and are worth a read, but not one of the classic runs for me.

The first volume seems to be the one that gets all the praise and have that digitally but not read it yet, its reputation speaks so highly of it though.

[Colin YNWA]

What's this Wednesday post. Well this week we'll get the first of my 'Bonus' post - quite who thinks more of this will be a bonus I don't know. So I'll be back tomorrow with something a little different... oh kinda different still me whittering on at relentless lenght about comics!



Number 124 - Lazarus

Keywords: Image; Ongoing; Sci-fi; dystopian future;

Creators:
Writer -  Greg Rucka
Art - Michael Lark
Colours - Santi Arcas

Publisher: Image

No. issues: 41 + 3 RPG source books!
Date of Publication: 2013 - date

Last read: Ongoing - so I've not done a reread yet

It's interesting to me I'm only 10 entries into my top 100 and there's already three entries when I've typed, grim and grounded far too much. I'm getting a little tired of it already and I think that's why a lot of the comics that force my limited vocabulary to resort to those cliches are at this end of the chart. They are still great comics but there's only so much grim and gritty I can take!


Copyright - them what created it...

The series is set in a dystopian future (another phrase I'll almost certainly over use in this series of posts!). Modern society broke down a number of decades ago and all the world's power, money and resources is controlled by 16 families across the world. The relative few they employ due to their useful skills, be it industrial, scientific, military etc are 'Serfs', each 'lucky' enough to be entirely indebted to one of these families for their evaluated status. 'Lucky' as the rest of the world's population is 'Waste' forced to live in the barren wilderness, and scrap out a very meagre existence on the little that is left for them. Basically today's society nudged a little to the right!

Forever Carlyle is a Lazarus, of the title, the chosen warrior of the Carlyle Family (when they say Family they mean it.) which rules half of North America. Each Family has a Lazarus to represent them in combat if a dispute needs to be settled in a (soon to be vain) attempt to prevent expensive wars. These Lazaruses... Lazarui... warriors are genetically enhanced to be near immortal and able to heal from almost any wound short of beheading.


Copyright - them what created it...

The comics initially examine Forever, her place in the Carlyle family, consisting of patriarch Malcolm Carlyle, her father and her four apparent siblings. The politics between the Families and their patriarchs / matriarchs is slowly laid out and as the series develops the reader is given a wider view of the world as the lives of Serfs and Waste are explored, the waste desperate to get choosen in the 'lift' to show their skills in an attempt to can become Serfs.

Oh and there's plenty of violence, action, espionage and political machinations along the way. Before tensions between two of the biggest Families the aforementioned Carlyles and the Hocks reach a head and war breaks out between them. Forcing all the families to choose a side.

I mean it all sounds a bit like Nikolai Dante, but it's really not the same below the surface. There are some shared themes, exploring family, how the poor are brutalised by the powerful, how war is so destructive and devastating... but all that aside, unlike a lot of comics that appear on my list Lazarus doesn't feel like a 2000ad story. Its pacing is different and while it doesn't lack for excitement it doesn't have that 6 page thrill pump that 2000ad stories do. It uses the time and space its format allows and builds its tale at a steady pace, enabling mystery, intrigue and tension to creep up. That's not to say one way is better than the other, just that it's different and Lazarus uses those differences to maximum effect.


Copyright - them what created it...

World building is a large part of this series. It's clear, even with the stories that Rucka and Lark craft around Forever and her family that there is a deep and rich understanding of the world she inhabits. As the story expands different aspects are shown in detail. The depth of the world they create is evident by the fact that while the series was in one of its hiatus between storylines three RPG sourcebooks were created detailing that world in exquisite detail. Together these total over 150 pages of material for some established gaming system or other. Alongside this there is plenty of back matter in each issue providing more and more depth.

None of this stuff is superfluous, it's not just self pleasuring nonsense from the creators. It helps to embed the political commentary that the series is so rich in. It adds substance to the world and the reflections it has on modern society really well. You don't need to read any of this stuff, but all of it adds to the experience and makes the world feel complete and real. The actions in it have sharper consequences.


Copyright - them what created it...

Relentless world building, political commentary, steady pacing in the wrong hands can lead to a dry read. Not at all, as with Nikolai Dante there is plenty of melodrama to counter all that. For all the sharp reflections on modern times this comic never forgets its an action adventure comic. Okay the melodrama might not be as obvious as that in Dante, but it's there and not shy in coming forward. The human stories are only enhanced by the geo-political scaffolding used to prop it all up. For all the big stuff, the weighty issues the reader is never allowed to forget this is first and foremost the story of Forever trying to find her place in this world and family and the way it can twist and distort that search for identity.

It's a finely balanced piece of work delicately balancing the future opera elements with relatable human tales. It's deftly done. Michael Lark's art helps with that. Again (as with Alex Maleev in last post 125) I'm not 100% sure how he constructs his work. It seems to be largely photo referenced. This serves to ground the gritty and real elements of the tale, yet Lark is able to avoid that style dampening movement, energy and human emotion. Another deft balancing act supremely achieved.


Copyright - them what created it...

Just as the story has been steadily paced so has the publication. We're now 10 years into the series run and we have 28 issues of the regular series, a six issue mini called X+66 which gave focus to individual members of the supporting cast from across Lazarus' society. After that the main story continued with seven issues of Risen, each of which being 64 pages with at least 40 of the main comic series, so really double single issue count, with lots of supporting material.

We've not hit the end yet. Rucka and Lark have promised one more mini series which is being created as I type... well maybe not literally I dunno. It was due out at the end of this year (2023) but is likely not to be seen until spring 2024 at the earliest. This will be much curtailed from the original ambition of 150 issues, but given the way the world has changed since it first started that might not, sadly, be a bad thing. If Rucka and Lark did go for 150 issues at this pace the whole thing might be all too prophetic to be seen as dystopian sci-fi by the time they hit this mark!

How well the ending lands will in part determine the position of this series in future iterations of this list (don't worry I have no plans at this stage!). At the time of typing its a really effective, exciting political thriller told through the lens of militaristic action. The tone and themes feel very familiar, its not doing anything earth shattering (as surrounding write-up attest to!) but what it does, it does really, really well.


Copyright - them what created it...

Where to find it

Well we've not finished so you can get the ending live as floppies when it comes out. To catch up with the story to date there are four chunky collections of the story up to the end of X+66 and the RPG source books.

I'm not sure that Risen has been collected yet. I reckon they might release that ahead of the start of the final series to get folks warmed up (??)

As ever the aftermarket and patience is your friend. However good the series is, it has not generated any heat in the back issue market and you can pick this up before the telly series is surely announced!?!

Learn more

Obligatory Wikipedia page

Image provided a summary of the series ahead of the start of Risen.

Paste Magazine provides a decent review of the earlier issues (from 2016)

All the standard reviewing places will give you feedback on the collections etc.