Back in 2010, I posted on my old site a series of articles on the best books of the prior decade.  I’m reprinting those posts for posterity now that that site is gone.  I have not updated the entries on the list or the guest writers’ material, but I have ranked the list now. I’m sad that I don’t know to import the many, many comments received on the original posts (which ran as a series), but I’m hoping I’ll get at least a few new ones now. Here’s the post:

Since I started writing about comics, I’ve become acquainted with a few folks who share this passion. Since the decade is winding down, we thought a retrospective of funnybooks for the past 10 years was in order. But how to ensure that it isn’t just our narrow interests that are reflected? How to capture the breadth of some of the brands we don’t read, like westerns, war books, and most D.C. comics? Easy. We asked our friends.

THE CONTRIBUTORS

Over the course of this multi-post articles, you’ll find the selections of me, Ekko, your regular emcee, as well as the following distinguished luminaries:

Chris Daly is the proprietor of Les Enfants Terribles, which is primarily a music site, and the author of semi-regular articles about comics for Berkeley Place.

Ekko is me.

Greg Hatcher does the weekly “Fridays With Hatcher” at CBR’s Comics Should Be Good, and has taught comics and cartooning for fifteen years as part of the AfterSchool Arts program in Seattle Public Schools. He picked ten books for this post, with disclaimer: “Well, you have to bear in mind two things — one, I don’t read everything. And two, my tastes tend to skew towards adventure material.” He added that he’s a Grant Morrison fan “but the comics that really blew me out of my chair in the 2000s weren’t from Mr. Morrison.” He concluded: “I could keep going for another ten, easily — comics are in a great place creatively right now and there’s a lot of good stuff out there if you’re willing to look outside the capes-and-tights crowd a little.”

Mike Raicht is the co-writer, with Brian Smith, of “The Stuff of Legend #1 and 2,” with amazing art by Charles Paul Wilson III and beautiful design and coloring by Jon Conkling and Mike Devito. It comes out through Th3rd World Studios. You can order it directly from Th3rd Wolrd by going to www.th3rdworld.com and then clicking on their STORE. You can also check out MIKE RAICHT’S CREATURE FEATURE #1-3, tales of 70’s and 80’s horror from some of today’s best writers (Chris Yost, Moore and Reppion, CB Cebulski, Stuart Moore, Brian Smith) and some great up and coming artists. A fun little horror anthology where humor and horror collide. In December, you can find him in What If? World War Hulk #1 and Batman: 80 Page Giant. But as the editor of this website, I’m gonna take the liberty to say that “Stuff of Legend” is tremendously good and you should check it out.

Miguel Rodriguez runs TheHeroBlog.com, which has superhero news updated daily. He “read[s] a lot of comic books.” You should check him out.

Joey B. is a reader from Pennsylvania who offered a few of his favorites.

Mysterious Comic Book Guy has nothing to promote, and he writes for a Major Comic Book Blog. He doesn’t want to let on that he’s writing for this little blog, but he’s a cool dude. So we welcome him.

John Barringer has been reading comics for over 13 years now and is currently the creator and contributor to A Comic Book Blog.

Let’s begin!

40. 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley (2000)

Seen the movie? No? Good. The book is much better. Back in the 1980s, Miller was one of the first to turn superhero stories into something adult, tackling child abuse, drug addiction, love and murder with maturity and depth, without sacrificing excitement. He was also the prime mover from drawing comics the Marvel way to making them gritty, and not suitable for all ages. Then, all the way back in 2000, Miller managed to combine history, myth, and fact, seamlessly, into a brilliant and beautiful work of art. Hardcover independent comics aren’t so strange now, but this was one of the first.

-Ekko

39. Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse by Ben Templesmith (2004-2006)

Originally started as intermittent serials in Lo-Fi Magazine in 2004; those were collected by IDW Publishing and released in comic book format in 2006; subsequent new mini-series have come out since then on IDW.

You may know Templesmith from some of his arguably more well-known works like 30 Days of Night, but Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse is by far my favorite work of his. Templesmith adds a lighter, more comical touch to this storyline, and it pays off in spades. The comics revolve around an ancient parasitic worm that takes over dead bodies as he currently resides on Earth. Though he seems only to want a beer and a smoke while he hangs out at an interdimensional strip club run by Medusa, time and again alien invasions largely caused by our intrepid anti-hero’s earlier misdeeds seem to interupt him. Obviously, he’s surrounded by a colorful cast of characters, including a robot that continually bitches about not having any genitalia, assorted ghosts and a hot stripper-turned-bodyguard. Oh, and they’re often plagued by sexually deranged, hideously deformed, piss drunk leprechauns. That’s OK, I’ll give you a moment to read the last couple of sentences again. The stories are further cemented by Templesmith’s incredible artwork, a mixture of pencils and watercolors that’s stunning to the eye. Sure, it’s a bit creepy, too, but that’s part of the charm.

-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

38. Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert (2003)

Ultimates is great, yeah, because it’s cool to see what might have happened if the coming of the capes had been more recent, in a modern world.  In 2003, Neil Gaiman, with the help of the son of the greatest comic book arist of the prior era, answered the question what if superheroes had come to be during the formation of the The New World.  Gaiman is one of my favorite writers of all time, and seeing him take on The Marvel Universe is just plain brilliant.

-Mysterioius Comic Book Guy.

37. Planet Hulk/World War Hulk by Greg Pak/Aaron Lopresti/Gary Frank/John Romita Jr. (2006-2007)

Hulk usually sucks. Face it. I know a lot of folks praise Peter David’s run on it, but I wasn’t a huge fan. Really, nobody’s ever made the green giant seem interesting. Or even plausible. Pak and Lopresti/Frank/Romita Jr. went the opposite direction of everyone before them. Rather than take Banner seriously, they took him over the top, off the planet and back again to fight every single Marvel hero. Exciting, hilarious, and old-fashioned rock-em-sock-em fun, which is much appreciated in this world of Serious Comic Books. Incredible Hercules is pretty good stuff, too, and Ed McGuiness’ work on Red Hulk is beautiful. But the two trades, Planet Hulk and WWH, present one of the best stories of the Century.

-Joey B

36. Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom by Mike Mignola (2004)

A trade published in 2004 that really should be called “The Best of Hellboy,” one of the greatest indie comic series of all time. It’s got some great early stories (like the two-pager, “Pancakes,” from 1999, which is my absolute favorite) and later weirdness like “Heads” and “Box of Evil.” Is it cheating to include a book that came out this decade but reprinted stuff from the 1990s? Maybe. But I’m pretty sure some of these stories also came out in the 2000s, so suck it up. Plus, nobody even picked Hellboy and I thought he oughta be represented.

-Ekko

35. Superboy’s Legion by Mark Farmer and Alan Davis (2001)

A two-issue mini on D.C.’s “Elseworlds” banner, Superboy’s Legion tells the story that would have happened if Jor-El drove drunk, programming his baby refugee’s rocket to hit an asteriod instead of Earth, where it sat until the millionaire who funded The Legion of Super-Heroes (in our reality) found it. It’s a cool story, and since most What If?s suck, it’s worth a vote from me.

-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

34. Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales and Michael Bair (2004)

It goes without saying that superheros live in a different reality. A reality where saving the Earth from mutants, aliens, or mad scientist is a common occurrence. It’s what makes them great, but what can also make them unrelatable. Once in awhile though comes a story that places our favorite heroes in a reality so close to our own that it can leave us shocked and speechless. Identity Crisis, through it’s horrific murder mystery, literally sent shock waves through DC Comics that can still be felt today. Out of all the “Crisis” titles it was the first, the events in the story helped fuel one of DC’s biggest events ever (Infinite Crisis), and the level of humanity that Brad Meltzer put all our heroes at has yet to be forgotten. Over the last decade a lot of great stories have been told and a lot of new titles and ideas have sprung forth, but no single story may have had the impact that Identity Crisis did; on the industry, the characters, and the reader.

-John Barringer of A Comic Book Blog

33. Blankets by Craig Thompson (2009)

The powerful and beautiful coming of age of the author himself. A truly American story, and a brilliant and beautiful graphic novel. It’s also got some disturbing depictions of molestation and the role of the church, leading it to be frequently banned from libraries.

-Ekko

32. Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius by Chris Eliopoulos (2007-2010)

Joe Queseda deserves praise for trying to lighten the darkness of the MU by producing some kid-friendly books that are smart and show the breadth of characters available—and that kids and adults can read together without either being bored or embarassed. And Franklin Richards is the flagship of this brand. Chris Eliopoulos’ Calvin-and-Hobbes artistic style is the perfect tone for this Dennis the Menace meets science fiction fantasy. Recent issues have lagged—perhaps Mr. Eliopoulos is burning out—but it is the book that my kids most look forward to when I return from the comic shop. Indeed, the entire Marvel Adventures line deserves praise. Wolverine First Class is another generally praise-worthy addition to the adult/kid canon—especially the issue with Shang Chi. I’ll even throw X-Men First Class in here, too, but that book was pretty uneven overall (and Uncanny X-Men First Class is even worse). Oh, and the other really cool thing about Franklin Richards is that it ties into the Marvel Universe . . . Sort of. They’ve had Skrull Invasion stories, more as a reference than in Marvel continuity. A truly fun book.

-Ekko

31. Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven (2008-09)

Much like with The Dark Knight vision of Batman in his old age, Millar and McNiven did the unthinkable–amidst the clutter of about 372 different Wolverine titles and teams, they made a completely original Wolverine story set in the future towards the end of Logan’s life. At the outset, all the reader knows is that there was a massive wore of the capes and the villians won. Something so heinous happened to Logan that he hasn’t popped his claws in decades. Logan has retreated to life as a farmer, raising a small family of his own. When the Hulk’s kids show up to collect their rent money, Logan is forced to accept the proposal of a blind Hawkeye to run him cross country in the Spider-mobile for an as-yet-to-be-explained mission. And it just gets more and more kick ass from there. This title spun out of Wolverine and essentially became its own mini; Dark Wolverine took its place from there. The only complaint on this book is the fact that it’s taken FOREVER to complete. As of this writing, the final issue still doesn’t come out for a week. Seriously, though, I might go so far as to call this one the book of the decade. It’s certainly in my top three.

-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

30. Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson (2002)

What if Superman was a Russian? Obviously not canon, but lots of fun and a fantastic idea.

–Joey B.

29. The Chronicles of Wormwood by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows (2006-2007)

Not to be confused with Templesmith’s work, Ennis’ book shares nothing but the word “Wormwood” and an obvious affection for the derangedly bizarre. In this story, we have a good guy Anti-Christ (Danny Wormwood) who hangs out with a mentally damaged Jesus (suffered a severe beating from the cops when he tried to come back and preach peace) and a talking rabbit (Jimmy) who likes to start on-line flame wars, particularly with Star Wars fans. Danny’s dear old Pop wants him to take up the whole evil incarnate family business, but Danny’s not too interested, instead just fine with his life as a cable TV exec. The story focuses on the push from both Satan and the sex-depraved Pope to enact the final battle between Good and Evil. I would tell you what God’s role in the whole thing is, but it would ruin one of the most blasmosphly funny things you’ll ever read. Not for the faint of religion, the book takes a larger look at the hypocracy of the church and religion in general. As twisted as anything Ennis has ever written, I found this one, too, to have a lighter, more comical side that made it enjoyable on levels not typically found in his books. Now, just reading the thing might get you ex-communicated, but isn’t that half the fun? Perhaps not as much fun as when Wormwood uses his power of making one thing happen permanently daily to turn a bartender’s nose into a penis (a recurring character, natch), but you’ll need to read the rest to decide that for yourself.

-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

28. Civil War by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven (2006-07)

I know I’ve complained endlessly about the effect Civil War has had to darken the Marvel Universe, and what a mistake it was to kill Cap. But, on the other hand, it was a pretty terrific story. I just hated how it ended. But the fact that I hated it so much, for so long, shows how much Millar made me care. No other Marvel event has ever mattered so much, or been this good. None of the spin-offs mattered much, but if you feel compelled to get one I’d recommend the Wolverine Civil War trade by Guggenheim and Ramos. It tells the tale of how Nitro finally got caught after killing all those kids–the spark that started the whole war. I’m sure this will be the most controversial pick of this list, but I’m standing by it.

-Ekko

27. The Middleman by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine (2005-07)

This book is just pure fun, awesome in a box. The story is impossible to summarize really. But it managed to take everything I always loved about the sheer adrenaline rush of Silver Age superhero adventure comics and put it all between two covers, without giving up any of the sophistication of modern technique and the added bonus of doing it all with humor, style and wit. The television show, the single season of which is now on DVD, is also very highly recommended. Best translation of comics to screen…. well, ever.

-Greg of Fridays With Hatcher

26. Ultimates 1 and 2 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch (2002, 2004)

The entire Millar run (Ultimates 1 and 2) has been bound in a phonebook-sized hardcover that sells for about a hundy. It’s worth every penny. The art, from pencils to colors, is brilliant. It feels like the book is constantly in motion. And the story is the best Marvel movie never made, treating the heroes like they’re real, from “crazy Thor” to “racist Cap,” the book never lags, never slows down, and never gets old. Most people like U2 better than U1, and I admit that U2 had more of a “story” to it, but U1 is where the seeds are planted: It’s more about getting to know and understand these characters, who don’t act anything like what we’re used to. Cap is a bully. The Wasp is a great leader, but terribly insecure. Iron Man is, well, basically an asshole. And Nick Fury is a nanny. The Ultimates deconstructed Marvel myths in a way that Ultimate Spider-Man, which was a great book, too, never even tried to do.

-Ekko

Ultimates 2

I am of the opinion that the original Ultimates was one of the best series of the decade. So why didn’t it make my list? Because Ultimates 2 blew it out of the water. Of all the titles I listed here, this was my favorite of the decade. It has action, strong writing, superb character development, mystery, great art, outstanding dialog…basically, anything that I raved about in my above picks – this book pulls them all together and wraps a nice big bow around them.

Is Thor literally insane? Is Tony Stark just drunken idiot? Is Captain America the biggest loser in history? Can Banner live with the blood he has on his hands? Mark Millar takes this dysfunctional team, rips them apart, then forces them back together to tackle the greatest threat the world has ever known. It’s an exhilarating ride and it represents everything that is great about the comic book medium.

-Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

25. Robin: Year One by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty (2001)

At the beginning of the century, Dick Grayson had been around so long, he wasn’t even Robin anymore. As a legend, Batman’s sidekick had been presented in countless TV shows, cartoons, comics, novels, and gay jokes. Let’s face it, he was getting stale. He needed a relaunch. But another lazy retelling wouldn’t do.

That’s when Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty teamed up to tell the tale of an orphan becoming the ward of Gotham City’s most frightening character. The nice thing about Robin: Year One is that it doesn’t spend a lot of time on Batman. It’s truly about Robin: What it was like for him to lose his parents and get adopted by a creepy millionaire, how his early days with Alfred were less than easy, and how Dick Grayson managed to stay chipper—or at least, happier than his dark, brooding patron. It’s a nice companion piece to Frank Miller’s All Star Batman and Robin. Unlike the Miller stories, though, this one has a less-than-melancholy mood. It’s nice to see a Batstory with optimism.

-Ekko

24. Jonah Hex by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti (writers), with various artists (2005-2009)

I love adventure comics and tough spaghetti Westerns and this book combines the best of both. The rotating cast of star artists like Darwyn Cooke, Luke Ross, and Tony DeZuniga among others tend to obscure the fact that the writing from Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti is some of the best I’ve seen in mainstream comics, just in terms of pure craft.

-Greg of Fridays With Hatcher

23. Nextwave by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen (2006-07)

A sick and twisted 12-issue series about a group of weird Marvel heroes many of us had never heard of: Monica Rambeau, the “Captain Marvel” of Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars; Tabitha Smith X-Force; Machine Man; and a few others. It’s more spoof than story–they work for H.A.T.E.–Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort—and U.W.M.D.–Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction. Funny, violent, angry and did I say funny?

-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

More on NEXTWAVE here.

22. Global Frequency by Warren Ellis and various artists (2002-2004)

I wish this had run more than twelve issues. but they are twelve AMAZING issues. Warren Ellis’ terrific science-fiction spin on the old “Mission: Impossible” premise was probably my favorite thing he did in the last decade, and when you’re talking Warren Ellis that’s a very tough competition. Ellis is one of the few writers in comics that takes care to get the science more or less right in his science fiction and it doesn’t slow him down at all — he’s got one of the wildest conceptual minds in comics.

– Greg of Fridays With Hatcher

Read Earth’s Mightiest review of this amazing book here

21. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adelard (2003-2010)

I am obsessed with Zombies. So much so I’ve worked on two separate books dealing with the subject. (Zombie from the Marvel MAX line and Deadworld: Frozen Over from Desperado Publishing) Every single time this book comes out I am compelled to put it at the top of my stack and find out what’s happening with Rick and the gang… and to be honest I keep waiting for Rick to buy it. And that’s why I keep coming back to it as my favorite. I never know what’s going down next.

-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend

20. All-Star Batman & Robin by Frank Miller and Jim Lee (2005-2008)

At this point in the history of the cape, it seems like every conceivable iteration of the character has been tried, from the kiddie-friendly cartoon version on Super Friends to the much angrier, “adult” Dark Knight of the 90s. So what did Frank Miller decide to do when given the opportunity to handle the series yet another time? He said screw it all and completely re-launched the thing. And what a re-launch it has been! Clearly realizing the utter inanity of someone dressing up in bat pajamas and running around town saving innocent folks from baddies, ASBAR seems to be written somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but that doesn’t take away from how brilliant the series has been so far. This Bruce Wayne is certifiably crazy, going days without showering or shaving in his pursuit of justice. When Dick Grayson’s parents die, a sympathetic Wayne doesn’t show up on the scene and take him under his wing. THIS Batman shows up and literally kidnaps the kid. The other superheroes introduced thus far can’t stand him. An even more goodie-goodie Superman finds his actions reprehensible, and Wonder Woman hates all men. When Bats has Robin damn near kill Green Lantern simply to see if the kid is any good, well, let’s just say we’ve clearly moved into new territory here. Add to the mix that Jin Lee is doing all the animation, and you will quickly see why this is the Bat Signal that bears watching.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

Also picked by: Ekko and Mysterious Comic Book Guy.

19. Exiles by Various creators (2001-2008)

I’m a bit biased on this one. I was an assistant on this book and then eventually took over as Editor. I also wrote an Exiles special called Exiles: Days of then and now. But that being said, this book is still one of my favorites to go back and read. Especially those first two or three years of the book. It was a place where anything could happen and in those first few years of the book anything did. We killed characters, brought new ones in, destroyed worlds, killed heroes, saved civilizations, got rid of the main character, Blink, and then brought her back. It was a book I was proud to be a part of and I think a lot of the run still holds up today. In an era of crossovers and big events, Exiles had those every month, and to experience the whole Marvel Universe all you had to do was read this one book.

-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend

Sure, this title is really just an excuse to string together a bunch of “What If”?s. But what sets this series apart from its alternate-reality-visiting sibling is Judd Winick’s character development amidst an ever-revolving team roster. You never know when one of your favorite (or least favorite) members will be sent back to their own reality – making the team dynamic very…dynamic. Heroes that seemed like bit players suddenly become leaders, and leaders who you thought were staples suddenly disappear. Truthfully, this title is hit and miss throughout its run. But the high points definitely outweigh the lows. The big payoff comes around issue 70 with the “World Tour” storyline. Our band of heroes jump from alternate reality to alternate reality in an attempt to stop the evil, body-snatching Proteus. New Exiles join, established Exiles die, and the team feels the ramifications of their losses for some time.

-Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

18. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2007)

The autobiography of a woman who grew up in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. The story is important for Westerners to read and understand, but is also universally powerful and beautiful.

-Joey B

17. Daredevil: Yellow and Hulk: Gray by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (2001 and 2005)

Before this relaunch of the Daredevil series, the character’s origin was a rare example of an origin that had not been told and retold to death. But the comic series had been cancelled, a victim of bad sales and lackadaisical creative teams. There’s nothing really new here, but it’s told through a series of letters from Matt Murdock to Karen Page, deceased, the first woman he loved. It’s touching and powerful, and provides insight into DD that even Frank Miller had never bothered with. Continuing on the path of psychological exposition is Hulk: Gray, which retells the origin of The Strongest One There Is via a series of conversations between Banner and his shrink, Doc Samson. And both series feature the art of Tim Sale, who is particularly adept in Hulk: Gray, at juxtaposing an almost cartoonish Bruce Banner against his monstrously thick giant alter ego. Actually, you won’t go wrong with any of Loeb and Sale’s “color” books. All good stuff. These two are just my personal faves.

-Ekko

16. True Story Swear To God by Tom Beland (2002-2010)

Amazingly, an indie autobiographical comic that’s not about an urban slacker. Beland tells a touching love story about how he met and married Lily Garcia from Puerto Rico, and does it without ever getting mushy or sappy… a romance comic even the most macho guy would be okay with reading. I think Beland is one of the best old-school cartoonists to emerge in the last decade and the fact that he writes, draws, inks and letters his book all by himself gives his work an organic feel that nothing else on the stands can match.

-Greg of Fridays With Hatcher

15. Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughn and Tony Harris (2004-2010)

Realisting politics and realistic sci-fi combine in a non-action comic that has more tension than most roller-coaster ride, bash-and-smash books. After the 9-11 attacks, Mitchell Hundred–the world’s first and only super-hero–becomes the Mayor of New York City.

-Joey B

14. Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Michael Lark, Terry Dodson and David Mack (2001-2006)

Under Bendis’ watch, Daredevil (who had become so lame that his title was nearly cancelled) took down the Kingpin and went to jail. A run that was unpredictable, brilliant, powerful, and character-changing. When he left the series, nobody thought it could get better. Then along came Brubaker who freed DD from prison via The Iron Fist, in a great bit of cross-promotion (Brubaker was trying to revive the 1980s green-tighted karate character). Frank Miller’s Daredevil was one of the best books of the 1980s, and this decade the hero returned (after that miserable movie misstep). Brubaker left the book with issue #500, a few months ago, and it remains to be seen if the new creative team can fill the shoes of their predecessors. Never before has a single comic book undergone a complete creative-team-change and remained so powerful.

-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

13. Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (2002-08)

And finally, a book that doesn’t revolve around super powers! Unless you count “being the only human male on earth to survive a deadly pandemic” as a super power.

Our hero, Yorick, finds himself to be the last man standing, quite literally, after all the other males on Earth mysteriously die. “One man to billions of women” may sound like a dream ratio to some, but it’s more of a nightmare to Yorick, whose goal of reconnecting with his long-distance lover is constantly thwarted by…having to save humanity.

This series is a definite page-turner, so if you like the first collected volume, you may as well pick up the remaining nine, because it never lets up.

-Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

12. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (2006)

A dark, powerful, insightful memoir about the daughter of a closeted homosexual college professor who has sex with his students, among others. Definitely not a “fun read” but quite important to evolve the medium. I would rate this book on the level of Maus in terms of its importance.

–Joey B

11. New X-men #114-154 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly (and other artists) (2001-04)

Starting with issue 114 and running through issue 154, Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely turn the book’s focus away from “mutant super-team” and instead zero in on the X-men’s roles as teachers at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. We quickly find that the threats from within the school are worse than the threats from without. Drug use, rebellious youth, Emma Frost, the death of a couple of major characters, and the tragedy at Genosha all play a part of this epic run.

-Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

10. Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith (2007)

The creator of the wonderful Bone series tries his hand at the manchild hero. The great thing about Shazam! is the innocent silliness attached to his legend: Villains are worms, his sister is also his rival, and his best pal is a talking tiger. Smith embraces this without letting it be corny or contrived. This is, hands down, one of the greatest books to read to children because, as an adult, you’ll appreciate some of the complexities and humor that will be over the heads of littler ones who will smile at the characterizations and marvel at the artwork.

-Ekko

9. The Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction and David Aja (2006-2008)

David Aja is awesome. I will pick up whatever he is working on, but if you have him choreographing bad ass fighting between the Iron Fist and anybody else I am completely sold. Then Fraction and Brubaker decided to put together a story worth reading with flashes of Iron Fists past that made me want to learn more. I loved it, especially The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. Just a really amazing job of building on a character and making him compelling to a reader who had never been interested. It all started with Aja, though. Can’t wait to see what he does next.

-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend

8. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Bryan Lee O’Malley (2004-2010)

In a few months, you’re probably going to be sick to death of Scott Pilgrim, since Michael Cera is going to play him in the upcoming movie adaptation, but before you let that sour you on the comic, book, I’m here to tell ya, it’s something else. The indie comic out on Oni Press deals with a slacker in a band who has to fight the the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his new girlfriend. O’Malley draws the entire thing in a pseudo-80s video game/manga style, and completes the gag with continuous video game nuances throughout, such as the boyfriends essentially acting as the boss level at the end of each book. His sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either. Here’s hoping the movie doesn’t suck.

-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

7. Green Lantern by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Ethan Van Sciver (2003-2010)

I’ve written about this run at much further length, so let me see if I can condense that. Quite frankly, currently the best book in the DC universe, and it has been for about the last two year. Starting with the Sinestro Corps Wars, continuing through Prelude to Darkest Night through the on-going Blackest night, Johns has shaken up the entire Corps. The Guardians essentially are losing it, re-writing the Book of OA in an attempt to prevent what has been written in its pages from coming true. As the Yellow Rings start a power war, these new rules include the ability for Greens to kill their enemies. Concurrently, a new ring arises for each color of the spectrum with new corps of their own. All this leads to an all-out battle with the black rings. The kicker? Those black rings reanimate the dead. As you can imagine, old heroes literally are crawling out of their graves to fight DC’s mightiest. Blackest Night hasn’t come to its final conclusion yet, so we’ll have to see where it goes, but it’s been an excellent ride so far.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

Also picked by . . .

Over the course of the last 5 years, writer Geoff Johns took my least favorite Green Lantern and made him my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always thought Hal Jordan was OK. But Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner each had more appeal when stacked up against Jordan’s 2 dimensional personality. Starting with “Green Lantern: Rebirth” and continuing on through the current “Blackest Night” storyline, Johns rebuilt Hal into a more complex character, retooling the entire Green Lantern mythos in the process. His post-Sinesto Corps. retelling of Hal’s origin is one of the best origin updates I’ve read.

– Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

6. The Death of Captain America by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting (2001-2004)

In 2004, the Captain America series was hurting. The dark tone of the post-9/11 Volume 4 (under the “Marvel Knights” banner) showed promise initially. Unfortunately, Marvel decided to turn the series back into a more traditional hero book – meaning more action, less development. It died shortly thereafter. Enter Ed Brubaker. He had a vision and, thankfully, Marvel was smart enough to let him run with it. Sales skyrocketed with the “Death of Captain America” – which was one of the best kept secrets in comic book history. Few people saw it coming. (By the way – when it comes to hero death, I much prefer this “surprise” method to the over-publicized “Batman R.I.P.” method.)

But just killing a major character isn’t enough to get a title on my “Top of the Decade” list. You’ve got to have solid plot to back it up. And this book has it in spades. It’s also got one of the better developed casts of supporting characters in mainstream comics today. There are so many instances in the comic world where a title doesn’t live up to the hype surrounding it (I’m looking at YOU, Final Crisis). This is not one of those instances.
Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

Also picked by . . .

Marvel has tried many times to “rebirth” Captain America. Roger Stern and John Byrne did a decent job in the 1980s, and I also liked DeMatteis and Zeck’s run, but Brubaker’s relaunch is the one to beat. First, he took Cap’s supporting cast and gave them depth and history, particularly Bucky, who he showed to be a covert assassin even back in the days of WW2, making his transition to Winter Soldier seem inevitable. And he was able to portray Steve Rogers as a man out of time, cynical and depressed about the state of the country, without going to the extremes that Mark Millar did in The Ultimates. And surely nobody has ever had a longer, clearer concept of an extended story arc than his careful plotting of Caps 1-50. It’s becoming clear, in Captain America Reborn, that Brubaker new from page one where he was headed with this character, including both Cap’s death and rebirth. A word about the art: Much of what made Brubaker’s concept work is the noir-y art of Mr. Epting–it was dark enough to capture the mood of a hero who was so much bigger than those around him, trapped in a time that no longer embraced idealism. The reason I used a page from the book to illustrate this entry, is to show how Epting can tell a tale through panels in a way that few others can. I don’t know why Brubaker didn’t use Epting for Captain America reborn, but I’m definitely sad about it.
-Ekko

5. All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly (2005-08)

I love Frank Quitely. He is my favorite artist and combined with what I believe are some of Grant Morrison’s best superhero stories, this book is one I go back to every few months just to check it out. The ultimate Superman experience and I’m not a huge Superman fan. I love it and wish I could do something as cool with a character that can be just difficult to make fun.

-Mike Raicht, author of The Stuff of Legend

4. The Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday (2004-07)

After falling in love with Firefly, I became a big Joss Whedon fan. It’s not that the man can do no wrong – he can – but when he does right, he’s unstoppable. Whedon’s run on the Astonishing X-men, the first year in particular, is some of his best work to date.
What makes these 25 issues sing (#1-24 and a “Giant-Size” finale) is that Whedon does relationships just as well as does action. “Fastball specials” and space aliens by themselves are pretty kick-ass, but couple them with the evolution of the Kitty/Colossus love story (decades in the making) and the Emma/Kitty cat-fights (new, but oh-so vicious), and you’ve got a complete package.
– Miguel of TheHeroBlog.com

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the greatest serialized television dramas ever on a network, and Astonishing X-Men is one of the greatest X-series in history. Joss Whedon brings all of his Buffy-level humor and his Firefly-level “thinking man’s science fiction” to bear here, with astounding results. I have never–ever–read a story about computers becoming sentient that made more sense than this one. And I’ve never read an X-Men series that had such humor and heart–say what you want about Marvel’s mutie books, but they’re pretty bleak. And Cassaday’s art cannot be oversold.
-Ekko

3. Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (2006-2010)

True, this book continued to deliver beyond 2010, but since each story is self contained, we can put the first five volumes on this list. There is no better crime comic around.

It’s brilliant.

-Mysterious Comic Book Guy

2. Punisher MAX #1-60 by Garth Ennis and various artists (2005-2008)

When my comic dealer first recommended I pick up the trades of Garth Ennis’ run on Punisher, I thought the same thing I imagine most people would. The Punisher? Really? Isn’t he arguably the worst character in the entire Marvel Universe? At best, he’s the poor man’s Batman, so why would anyone give a flying fig for his exploits? Once Ennis took over the book, however, all that changed immediately. For those of you not familiar with Ennis’ work, he tends to have a very distinct style–very dark, very violent and very intense. That’s not to say he can’t be funny as hell, too, but that’s not what he went with on the Punisher.

Quite frankly (pun intended), Ennis made the Punisher one of the grittiest crime books out there. His Punisher didn’t interact with Capes at all, but instead took on everyone from the Mafia to Soviet spies. Sure, Frank Castle’s actions and abilities still bordered on the superhuman, but Ennis apparently has never cared much for those kind of stories. Above all else, these stories are INTENSE. People die, more often than not in a graphic manner. Think the Sopranos amped up about ten degrees, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Ennis did with Frank Castle. Seriously, one of the most compelling reads I’ve had in years.
-CD of Les Enfants Terribles

1. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli (2009)

The tale is not complicated: Asterios Polyp is one of the most celebrated architects in the world, but he’s never actually built anything. When a crisis occurs, he has to build his life back up.

I can’t help thinking there’s a bit of meta here–David Mazzucchelli to this point was best praised for his work on other peoples’ scripts (notably Batman: Year One and Daredevil). Yet with this book he proved himself to be worthy of his own accolades, creating the best book of the decade.

Simply one of the best-looking, best-told character pieces of all time. It’s a thick graphic novel but well worth taking the time tow read through, slowly, savoring…

-Ekko and Mysterious Comic Book Guy