Favorite Modern Runs

[Relstuart, Mod+]

For a bit of Friday fun I thought I'd ask what modern runs in the past seven (ish) years did you think were really good? What are your top five? What do think has lasting quality?

I am breaking down mine by publisher -

Marvel:
Hickman's Fantastic Four
Brubaker's Captain America/Winter Solider
Aaron's Thor God Butcher
Lemire's Old Man Logan
Abnett & Lanning's Cosmic saga
Honorable Mentions: Gillen's Darth Vadar and Journey Into Mystery (kid Loki), Hickman's Avengers, and Remender's Uncanny X-Force.


DC:
Geoff John's Green Lantern
Grant Morrison Batman
Gotham Central (may not fall in date range)


Image:
Birthright
Descender
Black Science
Velvet
I Hate Fairyland
Honorable Mentions - Eclipse by Kaplin, Remender's Seven to Eternity, Rucka's Lazarus, Autumnland by Buseik, and Millar's Starlight


Dark Horse
Blacksad
Black Hammer
Fire and Stone/Prometheus (Alien Library Edition)
Conan by Busiek
Usagi Yojimbo Saga


IDW
Ragnarok by Simonson
Parker by Cooke
Locke and Key

I love Fantagraphics but nearly everything I buy from them is printing non-modern material. :) I also realize I haven't followed DC very well as I didn't have enough material to fill out five options.

[Donovan]

Great topic, Relstuart!

D.C.:
Snyder's Batman
Snyder's Swamp Thing
Tomasi's Batman and Robin
Morrison's Multiversity
Batman Europa?

Vertigo:
Sweet Tooth...short list!

Image:
Velvet
Outcast
Deadly Class
Manhattan Projects
Saga
Honorable mention: Tokyo Ghost, Alex + Ada

Not a big Marvel reader unfortunately. Haven't found my niche yet!

[Rob]

Top 5 or so for each publisher, included ongoings and limited runs/miniseries...

Marvel:
Brubaker's Captain America
Jason Aaron's Thor (first 25 issues. Digging the Jane Foster run, but I am so far behind I wouldn't feel right listing it here)
Lemire's Old Man Logan
Waid & Co.'s Daredevil
Gillen's X-Men run doesn't get as much love as it deserves
Honorable Mention: Wilson's Ms. Marvel

DC:
Snyder & Capullo's Batman
Lemire's Green Arrow
Manapul & Buccellato's run on The Flash
Simone's Batgirl (bring on the hate!)
Morrison's Batman
Honorable Mention: Lemire's Animal Man
**Note: outside of the Bat-family, I didn't care much about DC proper until The New 52 came around**


Vertigo:
American Vampire
Sweet Tooth
New Deadwardians
Sweet Tooth
Scalped

Image:
The Fade Out
Velvet
Kill or be Killed
Saga
Lazarus
Honorable Mention: Airboy


Dark Horse:
Black Hammer
The Black Beetle
Leaving Megalopolis


IDW:
Locke and Key
TMNT (even though I am so far behind, I love what I have read)


Valiant:
Quantum & Woody
The Valiant
The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage
I have been enjoying Lemire's Bloodshot Reborn a lot


Anything else from other publishers would either fall under the OGN umbrella or I just so happened to stop reading the series consistently.

I am also positive this list will change after I post this...oof.

[The Lion's Share]

Some awesome choices here! There's too many to list!

[The Lion's Share]

Marvel:
Hickman's Fantastic Four
Aaron's Thor God Butcher/Bomb
The Ultimate’s
Hawkeye
Uncanny X-Force


DC:
Snyder's Batman v 1-3
Wonder Woman - Azzarello
Superman unchained

Vertigo:
Sweet tooth
Doom Patrol
Lucifer


Image:
Injection
Kill or be Killed
The Fade out
Outcast
Manhattan Projects

Dark Horse:
MGMT
Dept. H
BPRD

Boom Studios:
Irredeemable

Oni Press:
The Sixth Gun

Dynamite:
Battlefields

Valiant:
X-O Manowar
Harbinger
Bloodshot
Archer and Armstrong
Rai

IDW:
Locke and Key

[Blindzider, Moderator]

I'm terrible at placing things in their correct year, so someone can correct me if something is too old.

Marvel:
Hickman's FF
Brubaker's Captain America
Fraction's Hawkeye
Remender's Uncanny X-Force
Aaron's Thor God Butcher/Bomb

DC:
Morrison's Batman
John's Green Lantern

Vertigo: (these are probably too old)
Scalped
Preacher

Image:
Deadly Class
Black Science
Velvet
The Fade Out

Boom Studios:
Irredeemable

[Rob]

Blindzider wrote: "I'm terrible at placing things in their correct year, so someone can correct me if something is too old.

Marvel:
Hickman's FF
Brubaker's Captain America
Fraction's Hawkeye
Remender's Uncanny X-For..."

Preacher is a bit old, but Scalped came to an end less than five years ago.

[Ooh_jim]

Very much preaching to the choir by sounds of it, but:

Marvel:
Hickman's F4, FF, Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Wars
Remender's Uncanny X-Force
Fraction's Hawkeye
Ewing's Ultimates
Waid's Daredevil
DnA cosmic saga
Slott's Silver Surfer
PAD's X-Factor (started in '06, but carried on through 2013).

Honorable mentions: Fraction's Defenders, Remender's Uncanny Avengers, Ellis/Wood/Bunn/Lemire's Moon Knight, Kot's Secret Avengers, Superior Foes of Spider-Man, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vision, Lemire's Old Man Logan, Aaron's Mighty Thor

Image:
Saga
Sex Crims
Casanova
The Wicked + The Divine

IDW:
Locke & Key

Dynamite:
James Bond

Top Shelf:
March

[Nickviola]

Alphabetically....

Image
Black Science (remender/scalera)
East of West (hickman/drogatta)
Low (rememnder/tocchini)

Independent
Copra (fiffe)

Marvel
Hawkeye (fraction/aja)
Uncanny X-Force (remender/great people)
Wolverine & the X-Men (aaron/great people)

Valiant
Harbinger
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior
X-O Manowar

[Blindzider, Moderator]

Should we turn this into an annual best of thread?

Each January we do a "Best of 20XX"?

[Reece]

Blindzider wrote: "Should we turn this into an annual best of thread?

Each January we do a "Best of 20XX"?"

I could go along with that if we are focusing on collected editions released that year. I don't keep up on single issues, so I would have no idea what is the best currently being released.

[Fluffyroundabout]

That's a great idea

[Donovan]

Yeah I only included collected editions in my list, not even trades. But a "best of" would be really cool.

[Blindzider, Moderator]

Good points about it covering only collected editions released that year. Are we too far to do a 2016? I know my memory can't handle it. :)

[Nickviola]

I think a favorite collected series from each publisher for last year and so far this year could be fun?

[Relstuart, Mod+]

I haven't thought about this in a while. Looking at modern Marvel series my top ten modern runs would probably still contain some of the same things I mentioned last time. However, I have some additions:


1. Captain America by Brubaker
2. Fantastic Four by Hickman
3. Daredevil by Bendis and Brubaker
4. Gillen's Journey Into Mystery (kid Loki story)
5. Planet Hulk
6. Uncanny X-Force by Remender
7. Books of Doom by Brubaker
8. New Avengers by Bendis
9. Vision by Tom King
10. Avengers by Hickman
10. Abnett and Lanning's cosmic run (the Nova run was my favorite but the Guardians of the Galaxy was also excellent, the modern movies are based on that run).



While I like what I've seen of Hickman's start on X-Men I feel like it's too early for me to give that run a top ten spot yet. I haven't read Ultimate Spiderman by Bendis yet. The Brubaker Iron Fist run was also very good and it's hard not to include as is Aaron's God Butcher/Bomb portion of his Thor run.

[Erik, Moderator]

Books of Doom was not on my radar

[Blindzider, Moderator]

I’d like an OHC of books of doom (unless one already exists.). I really enjoyed that.

[Relstuart, Mod+]

Blindzider wrote: "I’d like an OHC of books of doom (unless one already exists.). I really enjoyed that."

I really enjoyed Books of Doom. It's an origin story for Doom by Brubaker. It's only 5 or 6 issues long so it is relatively short. I believe it is only available in single issues and standard size HC. The hardcover is really expensive on the secondary market ($80 to $100). They should do an OHC but not sure the chances are good that they will.

Erik, I'd be curious what your top modern comic book runs would be. :)

[Erik, Moderator]

I’ll compile a list but need to give it some thought given the parameters of it being Marvel and I’m going to extend it to past 10 years.