Keene Equinox

Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: A & E

There have been countless stories in comic book history. Some stand the test of time while some are forgotten right after they are read or remembered for all the wrong reasons. This is the list of the top five comic stories of all time.



5. "Year One" ("Batman" issues 404-407, 1987)

Written by Frank Miller, art by David Mazzucchelli.

When DC Comics was revamping after "Crisis on Infinite Earths", DC hired Miller to write the new origin story of Batman.

A young Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City after he travels the world to find himself and Gotham, in ruins. Crime is everywhere, gangs run the city, corrupt judges, everything. Wayne decides that he must put a stop to this and dawns the familiar cape in cowl for the first time. Sound familiar? It should, since it was the basis for the 2005 smash hit "Batman Begins". Miller's work on this was amazing. It really captured the spirit of Batman and added to the origin, making it more complex. Mazzucchelli's art was a good fit for this story, with shadowy artwork and good character designs.



4. "The Dark Knight Returns" (issues 1-4, 1986)

Written and drawn by Frank Miller.

Considered one of the most influential comic stories of all time, Miller gave new life to a character that was lacking good stories for a while. It was the book that redefined who Batman was. It was a back to the basics story based in the future with an aging Bruce Wayne dawning the cowl once again to take down a gang of mutants and familiar villains. It showed Batman in a different light; not being cheery, but gritty and dark.

What made it so great was that Miller had a lot of creative freedom because he was not held to continuity.



3. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (issues 1-12, 1985 to 1986)

Written by Marv Wolfman, art by George Perez.

When DC Comics' 50th anniversary came around, they decided to fix a lot of continuity errors. How did they do this? By having a villian named the Anit-monitor destroy what were called multi-verses; different dimensions with different versions of DC heroes. After a while, it was getting very confusing as to what universe the stories took place in.

The writing by Wolfman was great with a very well thought out plot. You can tell he thought this plot through and did not rush it. "Crisis" also has what is considered to be Perez's best artwork ever, even better than his "New Teen Titans" art. "Crisis" is considered the definitive comic book team up book.



2. "The Man of Steel" (issues 1-6, 1986)

Written and drawn by John Byrne.

If there is one story that John Byrne should be remembered by, it is this one. In 1986 when DC revamped the entire company, they hired the best writer and artist in the industry, Byrne. He retold the origin of Superman. It originated in the 1986 rather than 1939. He made some drastic changes to the origin, like how the planet Krypton is depicted. Originally it was considered a utopia. But in the new origin, Krypton was a cold, lifeless planet. Another big change was that John and Martha Kent did not die.

What made this story so great was Byrne's sense of the Last Son of Krypton's character, and creative writing, putting new twists on the origin. It is considered the greatest Superman story of all time. A must read for any Superman fan, hard core, or casual.



1. "Kingdom Come" (issues 1-4, 1996)

Written by Mark Waid, artwork by Alex Ross.

This is truly the greatest comic book story of all time. Like "The Dark Knight Returns", this story paints a possibly grim future for the DC Universe.

In this future, the new generation of heroes have no regard for civilians. It is more like villains fighting villains. This causes the heroes we are familiar with to come out of retirement and fight the new generation of heroes.

Waid's writing is the greatest writing I have ever seen. It just hits the nail in the head. Waid gets the characters down perfectly.

Ross's artwork is great. What makes his work so unique is rather than drawing his artwork, he paints it, resulting in beautiful pictures that put him in a league of his own.



Keith O'Neil is a junior majoring in journalism.

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