Top 10: Batman Stories

The seed for this article was planted during a conversation I was having during which I made an off-hand comment about the best Batman stories. It began life as the “Top Ten Batman Stories of All Time”, but after Dark Knight Returns and “Year One” I had trouble ranking my other picks in any kind of order. It stuck in my head until I had to write it. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized my best of isn’t going to be someone else’s best (and some of my choices are a bit wonky and even wonkier is what DIDN’T make the list). So, I settled for the Batman stories (single issues or multi-issue storylines) that I personally find the most memorable.

Top 10: Daredevil Stories

This time around, the Man Without Fear: Daredevil. DD has always been one of my favourite characters, and his stories have always been among my favourite reads. Having said that, I never got into the Ann Nocenti / John Romita Jr. run or that whacky Daredevil in armour period, where he tried to pretend that Matt Murdock was dead and he was someone else. I just didn’t care for Nocenti’s take on the character and dropped it quickly. I DID pick up quite a bit of the “armour” run but STILL found it unreadable. Those two eras spanned roughly #250 to #380– almost thirteen solid years where one of my favourite books was ransacked.

Top 10: Darkseid Stories

You’re probably asking yourself, “Why Darkseid?” Good question as it wasn’t MY idea. Dana suggested it and I snorted that I might be able to come up with four. But the seed had been planted and the gears began to turn. It became an intellectual challenge to see if I could come up with ten good Darkseid stories

Top 10: Galactus Tales

This time around, the big G, the Devourer, the Alpha/The Omega, GALACTUS! While doing some previous articles, I encountered Galactus quite a bit, and I got that “tingle”. If I can find 10 great stories for a character I don’t like (Darkseid), it shouldn’t be too hard to knock one off on a character I DO like quite a bit. I’m not sure what it is I like about the character; he’s visually interesting thanks to a great Jack Kirby design, and despite being a planet eating monster, has a sense of nobility. Unlike Darkseid, the Big G does most of his own heavy lifting. I like spectacle and Galactus by his very nature is a spectacular character.

Top 10: My Favourite Thor Stories

This time around: the God of Thunder himself, Thor. The character isn’t in my top five but over the years he’s found himself in terrific stories that are great reads. And I have read many of them numerous times. Thor stories are usually spectacular and vast in scope– these are among the most spectacular comics stories ever done and among my all-time favourites. They all stand up to several re-readings. Without further ado, here we go…

Top 10: My Favourite Legion of Super-Heroes Stories

I love epic stories, and the Legion with its large cast is perfectly suited for epic. The best stories are the ones where the threat is so dire it takes the entire Legion to handle. DC is forever tinkering with the concept, and is always throwing the baby out with the bathwater by twisting it like a pretzel to fit whatever vision the current powers that be have.

Top 10: Best Superhero Battles of All Time

This time around, the best superhero fights of all time. I got bogged down compiling this one, as there were so many to choose from. The breakthrough came when I determined what made a great fight. 1) The hero(s) overcome great obstacles and adversity to eventually triumph. 2) The fun in seeing a match-up between two similar characters or characters you’d like to see duke it out. 3) A well choreographed fight.