Top 5 Personally Influential Comic Series and Storylines

Amazing Spider-Man: Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Run

The original 38 issues of volume one of Amazing Spider-Man and Amazing Fantasy #15 changed the world forever when they were first printed and I think for anyone reading it today, it remains a classic. I originally read the run in the black and white Essentials Collections when I was growing up. I remember reading this series over and over the years and have bought the stories in many different forms. The groundwork is all laid out here for everything that you know and love about Spidey. Villains like the Green Goblin, Sandman, Chameleon, Kraven the Hunter, Doc Ock, and so many other supporting characters are included in the story, and the set up of a teenage superhero with real life problems is very relatable. I still think this is a gold standard in the pantheon of superhero storytelling, and every comic fan should read this.

Preacher

I first read Preacher as a teenager. A friend at the comic store I had just started helping at told me it was one of his favorite series and let me borrow his trade paperbacks. If you are reading this and have also read Preacher, you know that it is a mind blowing series. I remember the couple of weeks waiting on each new trade and being entertained, horrified, uncomfortable, happy, laughing, sad and having tons of thoughts on the subjects the story contained. I held off reading it again for a couple of years to let what I read originally process even more. Since then, this series has also become a cyclical reread. Preacher is a work of comic book art, and even though it may not be for everyone, it is a pure work from its creators which still stands up no matter when you read it. Though not for the faint of heart.

Watchmen

This may be a cliché pick for a comic book fan, but is a work that is often cited as watershed – I agree! I first heard about Watchmen after reading my first Alan Moore comic (V for Vendetta). I remember my mom buying me the trade paperback from a local Barnes and Noble and sitting with it for days reading every little part. If you have never read Watchmen, the series isn’t just comics, but includes prose, articles, and book excerpts to help flesh out the world and themes. I remember sitting in bed going “wow” - I knew there was a TON I was missing on my first read. After reading it over again, I’ve found you can find something new or see an aspect or angle that you never felt or thought about before. Favorite characters will change, and maybe even their (or your) philosophies. Dave Gibbons’ amazing artwork and Alan Moore’s incredible writing deserve a place on this list for sure.

Death of Superman

I first read the Death of Superman not in comics, but in the novelization by Roger Stern. One summer during my childhood, I visited a used bookshop where my grandfather lived in the plains of Colorado, and stumbled across that silver S symbol on the black hardcover. As a Superman fan my entire life, I had to check this out. When I read the inside synopsis and saw it was about the…DEATH…of Superman, I asked my family if I could get it. After purchasing it I went straight back to my grandpa’s house. I started reading and loved the story. Getting back home weeks later, I found that it was based off of a comic series, and again asked for help finding it. I was able to find three mass produced trades that were made for bookstores and begged my mom to get me the entire set – she did! I read those over and over again. Since reading the book as a kid, to having the trades, to collecting all the issues when I started to work in comics retail all the way to getting art drawn by some of the original artists on the comics in a prized passion omnibus of the storyline. This storyline in the history of comics has a very split feeling. For a Superman fan and kid growing up, this was my first Avengers Endgame like story, and I still remember the sense of awe it brought me.

X-Men Original: Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Run

Like the Spider-Man run, along with the Essential Spider-Man Collections, I was also given the original five X-men run written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (in black in white, too). I remember loving this run and these new characters for their weirdness and the message of equality included. These human beings are born different and a lot of the world hates them for it and only that. Still, heroes emerge. I still am a huge fan of the X-men to this day but I am so happy that I was introduced to them through comics, because it changed the way I looked at the world and shaped my vision of how comics characters and worlds could be. They taught me comics could be fantastical and over the top for entertainment, but only if the messages and stories are kept achingly true. I would carry around the first essential volume of X-men to and from school for years - it was the only book I ever had confiscated numerous times, but I didn’t care! A lifelong fan of X-men had been born.