Expensive week for me....

Ultimate Spider-Man #32 - Kind of just buying this out of habit right now. I may drop it after the upcoming Venom storyline.

Gotham Central #1 - I've said several times that I rarely buy a book just because of the art. However, if I'm undecided about whether or not I want to pick up a book, the artist may help me make my decision. The idea of the book is somewhat interesting, but Michael Lark's art was what sold me. I've been a big fan since discovering his work in the brilliant, underappreciated "Terminal City", and I'm glad to see him doing a regular monthly book. Let's just hope that I enjoy the writing as much as the art.

Green Arrow #19 - I still hate the art, but it's a good read. Too bad that Meltzer's leaving and Judd Winick will be writing the series soon.

Global Frequency #2 - Missed it last week and was lucky enough to snag the store's last copy today.

100 Bullets - The last couple of single issue stories have been excellent. It seems that this book, always one of the best on the stands, started getting even better with the recent "The Counterfifth Detective" storyline. These single issue storylines over the past few months have been even better and are a good point for new readers to come aboard. This issue focuses on everyone's favorite psychopath, Lono. One of the few sure things every month, "100 Bullets" is not only one of best books around, it's the best non-superhero books you can find.

JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice - I hate original hardcover graphic novels. They look good and are more durable than TPBs, but I hate to blow $25 on a story. But there's no way I can resist Geoff Johns and David Goyer, whose monthly JSA series is so consistently brilliant.


QUESTION OF THE WEEK....

So. Wizard released their list of the 100 best stories ever a few months ago. What did they get right? What did they get wrong? Which ones do you have? (Feel free to add your thoughts/reviews one the ones you have.

Here's the list (Cribbed from a previous thread)....

(Note: For my list * means I have either the TPB on the single issues. ** means I don't have it, but I've read it.)


1. maus**
2. watchmen*
3. dark knight returns 10th anniversary ed.*
4. sandman vol. 4: season of mists*
5. ultimate spider man vol. 1: hc*
6. batman: year one*
7. daredevil: born again**
8. marvels*
9. superman:whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?*
10. x-men: dark phoenix saga
11. the golden age*
12. x-men:days of future past
13. swamp thing vol. 1:saga of the swamp thing*
14. miracleman vol. 3: olympus*
15. new teen titans: the judas contract
16. top 10 book 1*
17. magnus, robot fighter:steel nation
18. daredevil visionaries: frank miller vol. 2*
19. hawkworld
20. preacher vol. 3: proud americans
21. the books of magic*
22. squadron supreme
23. superman: for all seasons
24. death: the high cost of living*
25. fantastic four: the trial of galactus
26. solar, man of the atom: alpha and omega
27. sin city: that yellow bastard
28. spider man: nothing can stop the juggernaut
29. daredevil: yellow**
30. astro city vol. 3: confessions
31. torso*
32. bone vol 2: the great cow race*
33. league of extraordinary gentlemen*
34. 300
35. pedro and me
36. sin city: a dame to kill for*
37. planetary vol. 2: the fourth man*
38. neil gaiman's midnight days
39. banner*
40. kingdom come*
41. akira vol. 1*
42. 100 bullets vol. 3: hang up on the down low*
43. fantastic four visionaries: john byrne*
44. usagi yojimbo book 6
45. x-men: e is for extinction*
46. hellblazer: hard time*
47. thor visionaries: walt simonson*
48. hellboy: the chained coffin and others
49. stormwatch vol. 4: a finer world*
50. the power of iron man
51. the authority vol. 2: under new management*
52. box office poison*
53. hellblazer: dnagerous habits*
54. animal man*
55. strangers in paradise col. 2: i dream of you*
56. legion of super heroes: the great darkness saga
57. dr. strange/dr. doom: triumph and torment
58. jla: new world order*
59. earth x**
60. infinity gauntlet
61. justice league: a new beginning
62. x-force: a new beginning*
63. jinx: the definitive collection
64. x-men: god loves, man kills
65. silver surfer: the rebirth of thanos
66. avengers: under siege
67. daredevil: the man without fear*
68. captain america: war and remembrance
69. wolverine
70. fortune and glory*
71. goldfish*
72. powers vol. 1: who killed retro girl?*
73. punisher: circle of blood*
74. whiteout*
75. doom patrol: crawling from the wreckage
76. batman: the long halloween*
77. tmnt: the collected book vol. 1
78. jla: earth 2**
79. avengers: ultron unlimited
80. crisis on infinite earths*
81. obergeist: director's cut
82. green lantern: emerald dawn
83. batman/huntrss: cry for blood*
84. the coffin
85. nightwing vol. 4
86. batman: dark victory*
87. ultimate x-men vol. 1: the tomorrow people
88. incredible hulk: ground zero
89. batman: arkham asylum*
90. american flagg! vol. 1: hard times*
91. wolverine: blood debt
92. cerebus vol. 2: high society*
93. the adventures of tony millionaire's sock monkey
94. batman: haunted knight*
95. x-men: from the ashes*
96. the complete concrete
97. spider man vs. venom
98. batman: red rain*
99. the red star
100. batman: faces*

So, if my count is right, I own or have read 57 of these stories. Pretty scary for a grown man to admit that.

Although I don't agree with all of their picks or the order, I think that it is, in general, a pretty good list. A bit short on the small press books, but that's to be expected from Wizard. (In contrast, The Comics Journal's ridiculous 100 greatest list is mostly the obscure or unexpected, and that's to be expected from them.)

What did they get right?
Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson - An unexpected pick. I bought this book on impulse when I saw it in a store a few months age. I've never been a Thor fan, but Simonson's run is considered legendary for good reason. Funny and suspenseful, full of great bits of Norse mythology. Well worth the cover price. Now how about a volume 2????

Box Office Poison - Alex Robinson's only comic work today is everything that "Strangers In Paradise" should have been and so much more. Track down the huge TPB, if you can find it.

The Golden Age - I knew that Wizard thought very highly of this minseries, but I wasn't expecting it to be all the way up at #11. Good call on their part!

What did they get wrong?

Maybe they should have made a list of "100 Greatest Stories Still In Print"...or at least noted which ones were no longer available.

Why no love for Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane or any other Golden/Silver Age Greats? And don't tell me that it's because the books feel dated. (If a book feeling dated was really relevant here, why did they include John Byrne's "Fantastic Four"?)I'll admit that some of them do feel a bit dated, but remember that these were the men breaking new ground and defining a whole new genre. The stories held up very well in many cases and are unbelievably (and unpretentiously) addictive. You can't have a "100 Greatest" list without including these legends. Check out the Marvel Essential line (only $15 for huge TPBs) and Jack Kirby's "Fourth World" books (also available in TPB).

I'm glad that they ackowledge Will Eisner as the inventor of the graphic novel, but how come he's nowhere on the list. This is the man who first gave comics their brains. Check out "A Contract With God", "Dropsie Avenue"....Heck, get them all!

A good selection from Alan Moore, but no "From Hell"????

I know that Frank Miller is hugely influential and has done some good stuff. That said...."300"?????

Perhaps it's just because I feel that he's in a slump right now, but there's too much Bendis on this list. "Ultimate Spider-Man" should not be on this list. Neither should the overrated "Goldfish".

Wizard called "JSA" the best book of 2002 (Deservedly so, I would add), but the TPBs don't make the list????

No Daniel Clowes????

I'll probably add more to the list of what they got right and wrong later. This weekend, time permitting, I will provide brief reviews of all the stories I own or have read. I encourage everyone else to do the same.


jim

I've read 63 of them... I don't own them all now (I periodically have to clean out the comics collection or it'll overrun the house), but I think I got to #17 when I read that list in Wizard a while back before I came to one I didn't have (Magnus). It's a better list than I'd expect from Wizard, although a perfect world might be ahybrid between that and TCJ's....

Regarding the lack of Lee & Kirby, I don't have the issue in front of me now but I seem to recall it had a "Bronze Age" and later type limit on it - I don't see much of anything pre-1970 and most of it's after 1980, although again I'm not sure it seems the list is restricted to that.

Also worth noting, because I didn't see it in your post Gamblor, is that they usually selected one TPB to represent an entire series -- i.e. one volume of "Preacher," one volume of "Sandman," and they also plugged the rest of the similar TPBs in the entry. That allows them to actually pick much more than 100 books here. So don't think too much into why they picked "Season Of Mists" over "The Wake" or another Sandman volume, I guess.

What should be on there, keeping the idea that it's more "modern," I'd probably include Dan Clowes' Eightball for sure, Peter Bagge's HATE, Rick Veitch's BRATPACK/MAXIMORTAL work, Chris Ware's "Jimmy Corrigan," R. Crumb's Coffee Table Art Book, anything by Kyle Baker ... generally more indie/mature stuff than they leaned toward, I guess.

Personally, I'd put WATCHMEN over MAUS any day -- I like them both, but I feel like with the Pulitzer and all "Maus" just gets arbitrarily put on these lists too often. WATCHMEN, to me, is the single finest comic ever produced, full of immeasurable denseness and layers, the best take on the superhero mythology yet produced.

Just had to add -- More power to you! I'd fill up DVD Talk's server if I tried such a thing, even if I had the time. Them's a lot of comic books! Seriously, look forward to reading your comments...

Okay. Maybe it'll take more than the weekend to write my comments. Don't expect anything to in-depth. In some cases, don't expect anything at all. (What can I say about "Watchmen" that hasn't been said better 1000 times before?) But, since I want to encourage more people to post reviews here, I guess I should start doing it, too. I'm trying to lead by example. So...how about it, if I post short reviews for 1/3 of these stories I've read (about 20), can I get others to add a few reviews of their own? It doesn't have to be anything from this list. Surprise me. Give me a good review of a book that I may not have read, but might be interested in.

jim

Wow! What was I thinking last night???? I'm starting a new job, and I still have to get ready for Christmas. There's no way I'll squeeze out 20 reviews. I just don't have the time. But I will do a couple reviews just to encourage others.

20 reviews! Ha!

I must learn to stop licking toads before posting here.

jim

I own 23 of these and have read another 23.

Pleasant Surprises

Maus
Admittedly, this is the token alternative book, but considering it's one of the very few representing every alternative genre - alternate to superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy and crime, of course - this damn well should be number 1 on the list.

Alan Moore
Ok, my personal vendetta aside, Watchmen is a comics milestone and, aside from a disappointing ending, actually deserves much of the praise it gets. With one exception, I'm glad to see Moore so well represented on here.

Frank Miller
Two Sin City books seems to be breaking the rule of one book representing a series. Still, Miller's Batman and some of his Sin City stuff is mostly gold. Not to mention Daredevil: Born Again which makes all Miller's other work with Daredevil pale in comparison. Jesus, Miller has 8 spots on here? Maybe this should all be under my "Shocking Disappointments".

Neil Gaiman
So, Sin City picks up two entries, but one of the most influential books of the 90's goes with only a single nod? Considering the competition, Sandman should be higher on this list. Books of Magic made it, but not Mr. Punch or Violent Cases? Still, it's good to see Gaiman got multiple nods when he does very little straight superhero work.

Brian Bendis
Ok, Brian Bendis is losing that glossy sheen that made him the current "it" writer. Still, the stuff he has on here is all solid work and, when you consider some of the hacks that made it on here, he probably deserved more spots. Especially glad Powers, Fortune and Glory and Torso made the list.

Astro City
And they picked my favorite volume, too.

Planetary
I don't swoon over Ellis quite as frequently as the comics community at large, but this is a damn fine book. How is this book not higher on the list, though? Oh, I see, apparently Spider-Man: Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut is a better read. (Admittedly, I just pulled the most absurdly sub-titled book off the list. Never actually read it myself.)

100 Bullets
My opinion of Brian Azarrello oscillates like mad, but this series has been running strong since the second trade.

Authority: Under New Management
The first Authority trade was a brainless mess (but it was pretty). Under Mark Millar, the Authority briefly became a title subtly making a point about world politics, popular opinion and the dangers of power. At a minimum, I'm glad this trade made it on the list rather than the first.

Shocking Disappointments

Alex Ross
Why is it that his beautiful art is almost always covering the ugliest writing I've ever read. Earth X, are you kidding me?

Top Ten
I consider this to be one of Moore's weakest books - it descended directly to the level of work it was supposed to parody - but I realize that I'm virtually alone in that opinion.

Jeph Loeb
The word is "mediocre". Sadly, in the world of comic books, being an adequate writer (as opposed to a dreadful one) lands you 5 of the top 100 spots on Wizard's list. So, no, I don't even blink when Bendis gets 6 spots. (Of course, I have to blink back tears when I realize that Gaiman only had 4. What the HELL?)

Crisis on Infinite Earths
Sha-wha? Can this be some mistake, or did someone actually write down and publish a "best of" list containing Crisis on Infinite Earths. The word is a bit more severe and, frankly, vulgar than "mediocre".

Hellboy: The Chained Coffin is really good, but it's a collection of short stories.

Seed of Destruction and Wake the Devil are much better stories in general.

Tuan Jim

If they can put Crisis On Infinite Earths on there, then where the hell is Secret Wars? That is where Venom came from anyway. And what about Batman - A Death in the Family? And Batman - Arkham Asylum should be way higher up on that list.

I've read 13 of them, I believe... but I only own 2 in collected form. I have a few more in the form of singles.

Personally, I would have enjoyed seeing the collected Sam & Max book or some Scud: The Disposable Assassin on the list.

My reading from today:

Global Frequency #2 - Loved it! A very cool standalone story. I thought the sniper was a great character. Frrreaky villain in this one. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Batman #609 - Still diggin' it. Really liked the Stratego flashback with young Bruce.

GI Joe Frontline #2 - Hama's writing is still good. Art is just so-so, and I have a couple of small Joe-geek quibbles about an aircraft that was used... but still highly entertaining. Awesome cover.

GI Joe #12 - The current artist is the best we've had on this book so far (Sharpe), and that's pretty cool. Not GREAT, but way better than the first couple of guys. Cool enough story... but I'm really just buying it out of loyalty/nostalgia right now. Hmm... GI Joe #12 in '83 was the comic book that started it all for me! Cool!

Ultimate War #1 - I get the idea that we should have read another issue of Ultimates before this arrived, but no such luck there. Cool to see Ultimate Hawkeye in action, and Splinter Cell Captain America FREAKIN' KICKED AYCE! I think I'll have to do some research to catch up on Ultimate X-Men.

Still to read: Agent X #5, Alias #17, Ultimate Adventures #2, Superman: Day of Doom #2, Wildcats #4 and apparently I missed Green Arrow #19 somehow?

Own TPB:
1. maus
2. watchmen
3. dark knight returns 10th anniversary ed.
4. sandman vol. 4: season of mists
6. batman: year one
11. the golden age
13. swamp thing vol. 1:saga of the swamp thing
30. astro city vol. 3: confessions
40. kingdom come
57. dr. strange/dr. doom: triumph and torment
59. earth x
64. x-men: god loves, man kills
74. whiteout
76. batman: the long halloween
89. batman: arkham asylum

*Comments*
57. If you haven't read it, go out now and buy it. Roger Stern does wonders with Dr. Doom and Dr. Strange.
64. If you haven't read this, just know that the X-Men sequel is based off this GN. So if you ever want to read this, do it before the movie, if you're one of those people who can't read the LOTR Trilogy since you saw the movie already (I am).
74. Whiteout: Melt was better, even though Whiteout was amazing. How can you not love Rucka?
*Comments*

Own Issues:
7. daredevil: born again
8. marvels
9. superman:whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?
14. miracleman vol. 3: olympus
16. top 10 book 1
18. daredevil visionaries: frank miller vol. 2
23. superman: for all seasons
33. league of extraordinary gentlemen
34. 300
47. thor visionaries: walt simonson
54. animal man
58. jla: new world order
67. daredevil: the man without fear
82. green lantern: emerald dawn
88. incredible hulk: ground zero

Read:
10. x-men: dark phoenix saga
15. new teen titans: the judas contract
20. preacher vol. 3: proud americans
22. squadron supreme
50. the power of iron man
80. crisis on infinite earths
97. spider man vs. venom

*Comments*
97. Isn't this by McFarlane? didn't see that one coming.
*Comments*

What needs to be on the list:
A. Batman: The Killing Joke
B. Superman Annual #11 (1st series)
C. Why I Hate Saturn
D. From Hell
E. Eightball
F. Moore's run on Supreme

*Comments*
A. Oh come on! it's Joker at his most psycho-ness.
B. A single issue, so I don't really know if it belongs on the list.
C. Kyle Baker!
D. Art really didn't suit me, but who cares, I couldn't put it down because of the writing.
E. If not Eighball, how about Ghostworld?
F. If you love Superman, read this for the love of god, it is Superman at his finest. I hate the idea of a Supergirl or Superdog, but I surprised myself when I changed my mind after reading this.
*Comments*

Why is this on the list?:
The Power of Iron Man

*Comments*
Read it, didn't think it was all it is cracked up to be. I'm not really an Iron Man fan, expected too much from this book, still not an Iron Man fan.
*Comments*
Yeah, where is From Hell?

Miller's 300 is VERY good, I consider it one of his greatest pieces actually. It just gets overshadowed since it isn't about a well-knwon character (e.g. Batman, Daredevil, etc) or maybe people just don't like Spartans.

Yeah, where is Clowes?
Yeah, Earth X, why is that on the list?

I'm sorry, Top Ten is the BEST thing from America's Best Comics (which is hard for me to say considering LOEG and Promethea).

Jeph Loeb's For All Seasons is wonderful, he deserves praise for that. The Long Halloween was good, but I don't know if I think it's top 100 list material, the art probably pushes it on the list for most people. Haven't read Dark Victory or Yellow, so can't comment on that.

Yeah, we need more Gaiman on the list.

Crisis is more for the older pre-crisis readers me thinks, I personally don't think it was that great of a story, but it had some extremely touching moments that make you shiver (e.g. Flash and Supergirl scenes).

-Spooon69

I own 73 of the stories listed on Wizard's list in hardcover, trade paperback or in the original comics, so I agree with a lot of the picks.

Some comments though:

I'm not a big fan of Jeph Loeb but I enjoyed Superman For All Seasons. Batman was basically inept in the Long Halloween & Dark Victory. Greatest detective in the world & he never figures out who the murderer is or is consitently incorrect when offering solutions. I also didn't like Daredevil: Yellow. It was just a rehash of early Daredevil stories that didn't offer anything new. I did, however, enjoy Tim Sale's art on all of the above.

I find Ultimate Spider-Man to one of the top superhero comics being published and the Vol 1 hardcover it one of my favorite books.

Looking at Frank Miller's work, I have to defend 300 as an excellent work. It is among my favorie Frank Miller works and deserves to be higher than it is. I also think Ronin deserves to be on the list.

I also defend Crisis. For being a company-wide cross-over maxi series it was actually very good. It also sported some seriously impressive George Perez artwork. The number of characters he drew was incredible. The death of Supergirl & Flash, besides being significant to continuity, were well executed stories (Supergirl moreso than Flash). Bottom line - Crisis stands up today. Secret Wars, which someone mentioned earlier, on the other hand, was no more than a toy tie in. It was a terrible story in which everyone frequently acted out of character and was often repetitive. And Wasp was beating characters who she had no business beating. Mike Zeck wasn't able to save that stinker.

I agree, From Hell deserves to be up there.

The placement of some of the books bothered me a bit. Magnus Steel Nation in the top 20? And above Miller's Daredevil? Squadren Supreme? Good concept but the execution was somewhat lacking.

I thought Justice League: The Nail deserved to make the list somewhere.

Killing Joke is excellent, but I'm not sure it qualifies as a trade paperback.

Also not a fan of Green Lantern: Emeral Dawn. If you want to put GL on the list, at least go back to the Neal Adams GL/GA book.

I wouldn't mind seeing Murder Me Dead on Stray Bullets from David Lapham on the list.

I'm sure there is more. I'll post when it occurs to me.

Agreed, The Nail needs to be up there.

You're probably right about Killing Joke, it isn't TPB length/form.

I keep hearing about Murder Me Dead and Stray Bullets, how about a non-spoiler review?

-Spooon69

Here's a piece of a review that someone wrote on a website regarding Stray Bullets:

"Anyone familiar with Lapham's super-hero work was shocked to encounter what looked suspiciously like a crime comic. And that it was, clearly influenced by such post-modern crime movies like the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple and Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Lapham's Stray Bullets lived up to its name — dangerous, unpredictable and potentially lethal, a return to the gritty realism of comic books deemed socially unacceptable three decades earlier. For his ambition and vision, Lapham has won an Eisner, the comic industry's highest award, as the best writer/artist of 1996 and has been nominated every year since in that category. "

I'd toss Pulp Fiction into the list of movies cited as an influence on the comic as well. Its kind of comics noir. An overall excellent book. It tells stories that impact various, seemingly unrelated characters.

Murder Me Dead on the other hand is a self-contained story that follows one central character and the people he interacts with. It was described by Lapham as "an eight-issue tale of murder, greed, cute little babies, mean old women, lost souls, con men, dirty dealin', music, violence, gangsters, back alleys, resort hotels, prison, love, lust, and murder." All 8 issues are collected into 1 tpb.

Spoon, If Kyle Baker were to make the list, I'd prefer to see "The Cowboy Wally Show" over "Why I Hate Saturn".

Stray Bullets should be up there, but it might be a little too independent for many Wizard readers. The Amy Racecar stories, in particular, probably don't go over well with your average Earth X fan.

Let's forget trying to get non-superhero books on the list for a moment. Where the hell are Wildcats: Viscous Circles and Grendel: Black, White and Red? Gaiman and McKean's work on Black Orchid is bit amateurish, but considering the competition (I'm looking at you, Earth X) this book should have handily made the list.

Superman: For All Seasons was an enjoyable read and probably does belong on Wizard's list. I wouldn't have included any of Loeb's Batman work, but we certainly don't need all three trades listed individually. Although I never read it, my cynical nature leads me to believe that Daredevil: Yellow only made the list because it was fresh on the editor's minds. If they create the list again in five years, I wouldn't expect to see it up there.

For that matter, do we really need 3 books up there for Miller's Daredevil work? Daredevil: Born Again should be taking the nod for all three, that was the pinnacle of Miller's run on the title.

I agree that Born Again is the best of the bunch but I don't mind the others being included. Personally I think you need Visionaries so that the period when Miller was drawing Daredevil is represented. Those issues will go down as some of the best comics ever published. Man Without Fear was a better early DD story than Yellow was and Romita Jr's artwork is always nice to look at so I don't mind it being there.

I think Crisis is MUCH better than Secret Wars. They're both a little silly, but looking at it today Secret Wars is a fluffy, goofy mess that seems mostly made to sell action figures. Crisis actually had a serious impact on the DC Universe and a cast of gazillions -- it defines "epic" for me in comic stories. I can still look at it today and get swept up in the panorama of characters, universes and the deaths of Barry Allen and Supergirl still get me all verklempt.

Whereas, Secret Wars had a relatively smaller cast, lots of cheap sentiment that didn't really matter (Wasp's "death", the Thing leaving earth) and how many of the changes it made actually hold water today? (Don't talk to me about Venom coming out of it in a roundabout way -- and I personally can't consider Toothy Creepy Spidey Copy's creation a particular highlight in modern comics.)

Crisis is what all other so-called "epic" crossovers have tried to measure up to in the 15 years since, and most of them, DC and Marvel's alike, have failed pretty miserably IMHO.

Blatant plug: Alex writes for my website, and we also host his message forum. He loves to hear from fans, so we invite everyone to drop in and say hello. He doesn't update his column regularly anymore, but his archives can be found here. He's currently hard at work on his next graphic novel, which will also be published by Top Shelf.

On his forum, Alex is also working on a page-by-page commentary for Box Office Poison, which is viewable here.

Wow, that was a blatant plug

Thanks for the blatant plug. BJacks. I'm thrilled to hear that Alex is working on another graphic novel, and I'll definitely check out that sight later on tonight. Once again, I urge everyone to check out "Box Office Poison"...especially those of you who (like me) by the travesty that "Strangers in Paradise" has become.

Well, obviously, I'm not going to get around to writing those reviews that I talked about. I just got a promotion at work, and I've been putting in some long hours. I had good intentions, but I simply do not have the time.

I will, however, add my comments to recent discussions,

Crisis on Infinite Earths - I'm somewhere in between on this one. I finally read it for the first time a few months ago. While I can't say that I was blown away by the story, but I was amazed by the scope of the whole thing. It was a huge undertaking and one that seemed doomed to fail completely. They basically took every character in the DC universe and tried to make them all fit into a single continuity. This is impossible to do without sacrificing a bit storywise, but it workd more often than it doesn't. And it still 100 times better than "Secret Wars" or any other similar project that has been attempted since. Plus, you get wonderful art by George Perez.
(By the way, Marv Wolfman mentions in the TPB that he wrote the story in such a way that it would be possible to bring back Barry Allen, but he doesn't explain how. Anyone want to take a guess?)

Jeph Loeb - Okay, I thought that "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" were entertaining. (And not many Batman stories have been entertaining lately.) But I don't think that I'd put them in with the 100 greatest stories of all time. And "Batman: Haunted Knight" definitely does not belong there. "Daredevil: Yellow" was nothing that has been done better before. I haven't read "Superman For All Seasons"

"Batman: Faces" is a pleasant surprise on this list. It's not very well known and deserves more attention. Matt Wagner doesn't do many Batman stories, but they're almost always worth checking out.

Nice "Stray Bullets" review posted here, so I don't have much to add. And "Murder Me Dead" is the best crime comic in recent years. A must-own for noir junkies like myself.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one totally bewildered by the appearance of "Earth X" on this list. A truly awful experience. To make matters worse, the thing just won't die! How many spin-offs do we need from a series that no one liked in the first place????

This week's books....

Ultimate Spider-Man #32 - It's like they've taken the worst Dawson Creek-esque aspects of "Smallville" and apllied them to Spider-Man. Yawn!

Gotham Central #1 - Mediocre story. Wonderful art. I may give it a few issues to see how it develops before giving up completely.

Green Arrow #19 - Let me be the first to say.....Kevin Who??? Melter's work is better than Mr. Smith's work on this title and sure to be better than that of (ugh!) Judd Winick.

Global Frequency #2 - I like Glen Fabry's cover art and his work on the Daredevil/Bullseye miniseries, but the art here looks pretty bad. The story, however, is much better than that of the first issue.

100 Bullets - Plesae tell me I didn't read this one correctly!

JLA/JSA - Virtue and Vice The greatest team in comics today (JSA) and what would be a great team if they got a good writer (JLA) finally meet. Is it worth $25? Maybe. Maybe not. Personally, I loved it. Those not so in love with the JSA may want to wait for a less expensive paperback version.

jim

Still three hours left for this thread and I have a quick JSA question, since Gamblor just mentioned the new graphic novel. Generally, what did fans of the series think of the first trade JSA: Justice Be Done? I didn't care for it, but I'm wondering if the series improves dramatically after these issues. If I'm thinking about picking up a few single issues to sample, could someone recommend issue numbers?