The Edmonton Geek Society: 100 Things I Love About Comics

When I first stumbled across the wide world of comic bloggers about five months ago, one of the first ones I read was Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin. I was skimming through the archives when I came across an article he wrote in February 2005, entitled 100 Things I Love About Comics! This was based on a couple of comics by Fred Hembeck, and it quickly grew into a meme of surprising proportions. I was only sad that I was unable to put up my own list without looking faintly ridiculous (Hey, look at me doing a meme that died off a half a year ago!). I suppose you could say that I could have just written my list of 100 for myself, but that's much too silly to reply to. So, so silly.

To my delight, Mike put up another list of 100 things he loved on the 14th, and I saw my opening. So I took some time over the past two days to think of a hundred things I love about comics. At 27, periods of lagging interest and low income have limited what I've been able to buy, beg, borrow, or otherwise consume in terms of comics, but this is what generally makes me happy about comics. A character, a series, a writer, an artist, a situation, a line of dialogue, a webcomic, whatever: 100 examples of why I love comics. Just in time to be late for Valentimes Day.

1. The Absorbascon

2. Neal Adams

3. The Adventures of Barry Ween: Boy Genius. (The last 5 pages of the last series made me cry like a baby.)

4. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

5. "And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, with great power there must also come -- great responsibility! "

6. Animal Man #5 - "The Coyote Gospel"

7. Asterix & Obelix

8. Astro City Vol. 2 #14-20 - "The Tarnished Angel"

9. Atlantis Attacks! (It's not actually very good, but it's the first comics crossover I remember reading, and it never fails to put a smile on my face.)

10. The Authority #1-12

11. Barbara Gordon. (Whether she's Batgirl or Oracle, my biggest comics crush - because she's a big geek at heart like me. Plus, red hair.)

12. Batman: The Killing Joke

13. Beaucoup Kevin

14. Beta Ray Bill

15. Betty & Veronica's trip to West Edmonton Mall. I swear to god, there was a comic where they go to W.E.M., and if I can ever find it, I will buy it for sheer kitch value.

16. Berkeley Breathed

17. Blue Beetle & Booster Gold. (The dynamic duo of my childhood.)

18. Bob The Angry Flower

19. Bone by Jeff Smith

20. The Books of Magic

21. Mark Buckingham on Batman: Shadow of the Bat

22. Calvin & Hobbes

23. Captain America & The Falcon (both series)

24. Captain America: Red, White & Blue

25. The comics spinner we got at work. Part of the continuing reintroduction of comics into the mainstream.

26. A Contract With God

27. Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

28. The Dark Knight Returns

29. DC - The New Frontier

30. DC's old-school bullet logo.

31. Deadman: Love After Death

32. Diesel Sweeties

33. "Don't mess with me lady. I've been drinking with skeletons."

34. Warren Ellis

35. Garth Ennis

36. Fables

37. Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

38. Green Lantern / Green Arrow. (Look, I know it's cheesy, you know it's cheesy. But I absolutely LOVE it.)

39. The Green Lantern Corps

40. Hellboy

41. HeroClix. (The game that lets me team up Mr. Terrific and Mr. Fantastic! For anyone who wanted to write superhero comics but just weren't good enough.)

42. Hitman

43. "I have an orgasm every five minutes. Please do not tell my father."

44. "I'm a nasty piece of work, chief. Ask anybody."

45. Jack Hawksmoor

46. JLA #36-41 – "World War Three"

47. JLA #42-46 – "Tower of Babel"

48. John Constantine: Hellblazer

49. Jughead's Double Digest. (When I was very young, I loved Jughead. A guy who loved hamburgers and hated women? My role model.)

50. Justice League of America #100-102 - "The Unknown Soldier of Victory"

51. Kilowog

52. Kingdom Come

53. Jack Kirby