Top 5 Single Issue Comics

CageNarleigh

So I recently moved into a roommate situation. One of my roommates is newly 21 and sort of naive (everything I do is evidently, "so smart dude") but he's a cool guy nonetheless. Anyway, I come home from work the other day and slap down 'Sinestro' #1 - #3 on the coffee table because I need to re-read it for a review on my podcast later that night. He picks it up and flips through it (first asking permission, cool). Then he goes, "What's the best comic you've EVER read? Like this one." (meaning single issue).

I had NO idea what to say.

ZERO.

I could suggest trades and collected story-lines that are INCREDIBLE for days. But the reality is that someone who is kinda nebulous about comics isn't going to be all that intrigued by being presented with a TOME of comics to read their first try.

I mean, I could think of a few good comics. But they're all suited to my tastes and superheroic preferences. Which could work. (I actually immediately thought of 'Brave and the Bold #33: Girls Night Out') But maybe he wouldn't "see" it.

This is a guy who, until I moved in, hadn't seen Thor. Watched it, loved it. So he wanted to watch Thor 2. I made him watch Avengers (which he also hadn't seen). Watched it, loved it. He knows I podcast about GL. He's talked to me about comics before. He told me the other day that there are people at work who read comics but he told them, "Dude, if you just MET my roommate, you have no idea." So, to this guy, when it comes to comics...I'm evidently the end all be all.

Now I found the CGS Top 5 Single Issue Stories episode (Episode 1184) but I was curious about what YOU guys think are the best 5 single issue comics of all time.

Can be one and done, can be part of an over arcing storyline. No OGN's (no trade formats remember?). Oversized issues (annuals and prestige formats) OK.

I'm not necessarily looking for suggestions to give my roommate. And I'm not looking for UNIVERSALLY considered great issues. Just YOUR Top 5 of all time.

Cause I was stumped. I imagine you all have a mental list you can rattle off. lol

CageNarleigh

(I asked the same question on Twitter and got a few responses I'll include here.)

@lanterncast (all new 52) 5 Justice League 23 4. Sinestro 1 3. Forever Evil 5 2. Batman 13 1. Green Lantern 20

— JJ the Juice Man (@boltsman38) July 20, 2014

@lanterncast Astro City #1/2: The Nearness of You. It holds all 5 spots because it is the only comic ever to make me actually tear up

— DeWayne Feenstra (@DeWayneFeenstra) July 20, 2014

nweathington

I don't think I can narrow it down to just five without thinking about it for more time than I have. And even then the list would change depending on how I was feeling on a given day.

I don't know if this would qualify, as it’s 62 pages long, but the one-shot Batman Adventures: Mad Love would definitely be on the list. And perhaps DC: The New Frontier #1 as well with its incredible opening sequence. Maybe Bone #2 with the fantastic Rat Creatures chasing Bone scene. Maybe Cerebus #46 just because I love the Marx Brothers. Maybe The Tick #... ahh, you can pick pretty much any issue from that first series. Maybe Doom Patrol #34 from the Grant Morrison run, perhaps the greatest romance comic ever written. Alan Moore’s Superman Annual #11 probably needs to be on the list. I could go on and on.

Give me a couple of years, and maybe I could narrow it down to my definitive top five, but I doubt it.

playdohsrepublic

In no particular order and not of all time, just what's come to me at this moment:

Hawkeye #3 (The car chase one)
Chew #27 (POYO!)
Amazing Spider-Man #248 (The kid who collects Spider-man)
Almost any issue of Planetary
Daredevil Vol. 3 #7 (the bus accident one)

fredzilla

playdohsrepublic said:

Amazing Spider-Man #248 (The kid who collects Spider-man)

This is the first one I thought of.

Off the top of my head I would also include:

And some DC love...

RepoMan

Hmmmm I'd have to really think about this one. It'll give me a good reason to go through my scattered collection. Although just giving it a quick thought, I might put the Amazing Spider-Man 9/11 tribute issue on my list. Fun topic!

jaydee74

in no order, here are some issues that I simply love.

Mr_Cosmic

Incredible Hulk #82 - Dear Patricia



A beautiful stand alone story with stunning art.

phansford

This is one of those things that almost has to go by genre or even periods (ie: Silver Age, Bronze, Modern). If its for all comics, all-time….. I don't know how you exclude FF #51 "This Man…. This Monster!" OR Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #4 "Lord Ha-Ha's Last Laugh."

Torchsong

Sure, I'll play:

5 - Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 - Beyond the Silent Night



They killed my favorite character from when I was a kid reading my sisters' old comics. This was also before the days of the Internet when things got spoiled. I walked into the comic book store, saw the cover, my jaw dropped and I just shook my head in disbelief.

4 - Uncanny X-Men #166 - Live Free or Die



I don't know that I've ever anticipated a book as much as I did this one because holy crap there was no way in hell the X-Men were getting out of this one. NO. WAY! Of course they did, but dude, the build-up had me RUNNING to my convenience store every day looking for this issue to come out.

3 - The Maxx #11



"I'm through begging, Julie." - Arguably the most powerful scene in comics. Julie leaves, taking Maxx's reality with her.

2 - Y: The Last Man #60 - Alas



I'm not a fan of how the series ended, but there's a series of panels in this single issue that if you've ever had a pet in your life, and you don't weep openly, you're made of stone.

1 - New Teen Titans #34 - Endings...and Beginnings



Last page. Oh...my...god...NO! Again, benefited from not having an internet around to spoil things three months before they happened.

SolitaireRose

When I think single issue stories…well, there are a lot of them that work for me, but here are the ones off the top of my head:

1) Fantastic Four 51: This Man, This Monster. Right after the Galactus Trilogy, a simple story of Reed Richards, The Thing and a scientists who is consumed with jealousy over Richards’s fame.

2) Swamp Thing #21 – Anatomy Lesson – Alan Moore, with one story, shows why he was one of the best writers in comics. He completely blasts apart the old Swamp Thing mythos, sets a new path into horror and tells one hell of a scary story.

3) New Gods #8 – The Pact. Kirby finally gives the backstory on The New Gods in a story that reads like an old myth. It feels like a story Homer would have told, and will make you interested in knowing where the saga goes from there…and was relentlessly cribbed by hundreds of stories afterwards.

4) MAD #22 – Will Elder issue. This issue of MAD, the comic, was a spotlight on Bill Elder, and shows just how great and timeless the Kurtzman run of MAD was. Mixed in with reprints of Elder’s best parody stories are TONS of gags and other things highlighting Elder’s skill, humor and ability. 60 years later, it’s still one of the funniest comics ever printed. To be honest, you can pretty much throw in any EC comic as a great single issue.

5) Fell or Moon Knight by Warren Ellis – ANY issue. Ellis is one of the few people working in comics now that can pack a full story in a single issue….and I doubt anyone can convince me that his Moon Knight isn’t him using up the plots for Fell he didn’t get to. All of them are action and a solid single issue story.

mwhitt80

SolitaireRose said:

When I think single issue stories…well, there are a lot of them that work for me, but here are the ones off the top of my head:

1) Fantastic Four 51: This Man, This Monster. Right after the Galactus Trilogy, a simple story of Reed Richards, The Thing and a scientists who is consumed with jealousy over Richards’s fame.

2) Swamp Thing #21 – Anatomy Lesson – Alan Moore, with one story, shows why he was one of the best writers in comics. He completely blasts apart the old Swamp Thing mythos, sets a new path into horror and tells one hell of a scary story.

3) New Gods #8 – The Pact. Kirby finally gives the backstory on The New Gods in a story that reads like an old myth. It feels like a story Homer would have told, and will make you interested in knowing where the saga goes from there…and was relentlessly cribbed by hundreds of stories afterwards.

4) MAD #22 – Will Elder issue. This issue of MAD, the comic, was a spotlight on Bill Elder, and shows just how great and timeless the Kurtzman run of MAD was. Mixed in with reprints of Elder’s best parody stories are TONS of gags and other things highlighting Elder’s skill, humor and ability. 60 years later, it’s still one of the funniest comics ever printed. To be honest, you can pretty much throw in any EC comic as a great single issue.

5) Fell or Moon Knight by Warren Ellis – ANY issue. Ellis is one of the few people working in comics now that can pack a full story in a single issue….and I doubt anyone can convince me that his Moon Knight isn’t him using up the plots for Fell he didn’t get to. All of them are action and a solid single issue story.

That is a great list.
I love Anatomy Lesson, and Fell is one of my favorite comics ever.

The Pact is a great issue; it was probably the best issue from 4th World. My favorite issues may have been Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #141 (the Don Rickles issue) or New Gods issue #6 which had the best art of Kirby's 4th World (the 2 page spread of the Glory Boat was awesome). It's been a few years since I've read those Omnibi so I'm 90% sure those are the right issues.

playdohsrepublic

SolitaireRose said:

5) Fell or Moon Knight by Warren Ellis – ANY issue. Ellis is one of the few people working in comics now that can pack a full story in a single issue….and I doubt anyone can convince me that his Moon Knight isn’t him using up the plots for Fell he didn’t get to. All of them are action and a solid single issue story.

You know, I hadn't realized before, because I don't think of him like this, but Warren Ellis is a master of single issue storytelling. My previous pick was "almost any issue of Planetary" and I was so close to adding "almost any issue of Transmetropolitan".

Edit: Add "Global Frequency" to that list.

SolitaireRose

mwhitt80 said:

SolitaireRose said:

When I think single issue stories…well, there are a lot of them that work for me, but here are the ones off the top of my head:

1) Fantastic Four 51: This Man, This Monster. Right after the Galactus Trilogy, a simple story of Reed Richards, The Thing and a scientists who is consumed with jealousy over Richards’s fame.

2) Swamp Thing #21 – Anatomy Lesson – Alan Moore, with one story, shows why he was one of the best writers in comics. He completely blasts apart the old Swamp Thing mythos, sets a new path into horror and tells one hell of a scary story.

3) New Gods #8 – The Pact. Kirby finally gives the backstory on The New Gods in a story that reads like an old myth. It feels like a story Homer would have told, and will make you interested in knowing where the saga goes from there…and was relentlessly cribbed by hundreds of stories afterwards.

4) MAD #22 – Will Elder issue. This issue of MAD, the comic, was a spotlight on Bill Elder, and shows just how great and timeless the Kurtzman run of MAD was. Mixed in with reprints of Elder’s best parody stories are TONS of gags and other things highlighting Elder’s skill, humor and ability. 60 years later, it’s still one of the funniest comics ever printed. To be honest, you can pretty much throw in any EC comic as a great single issue.

5) Fell or Moon Knight by Warren Ellis – ANY issue. Ellis is one of the few people working in comics now that can pack a full story in a single issue….and I doubt anyone can convince me that his Moon Knight isn’t him using up the plots for Fell he didn’t get to. All of them are action and a solid single issue story.

That is a great list.
I love Anatomy Lesson, and Fell is one of my favorite comics ever.

The Pact is a great issue; it was probably the best issue from 4th World. My favorite issues may have been Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #141 (the Don Rickles issue) or New Gods issue #6 which had the best art of Kirby's 4th World (the 2 page spread of the Glory Boat was awesome). It's been a few years since I've read those Omnibi so I'm 90% sure those are the right issues.

The Glory Boat was up there, but if I wasn't careful, I could have made this an all Kirby List with Mother Delilah from Boy's Ranch, Captain America's Bicentennial Battles and so on...

And DAMN that Don Rickles two parter was weird. WEIRD SQUARED!! Such a strange story, and a deep look into how Kirby's mind worked.

mwhitt80

SolitaireRose said:

The Glory Boat was up there, but ifan all Kirby List with Mother Delilah from Boy's Ranch, Captain America's Bicentennial Battles and so on...

And DAMN that Don Rickles two parter was weird. WEIRD SQUARED!! Such a strange story, and a deep look into how Kirby's mind worked.

The Don Rickles issues were out there. I love that there were multiple issues surround Don/fake Rickles. The Forever People was his most series of the bunch though, which is saying a lot bc his jimmy olsen stories were pretty insane. But I think you are right about the Pact being the best single issue of the 4th world saga.

I'm with you about filling out the list with just Kirby issues but it would leave out stuff like Antomy Lesson or Fell. Tomorrow I'm going to look through my collection and do a list. Including finding a single issue of Fell.

RickM

Mr_Cosmic said:

Incredible Hulk #82 - Dear Patricia



A beautiful stand alone story with stunning art.

That one is very good.

Also, this one:

RickM

Also:

Caliban

Caliban

TheOriginalGMan

1) Marvel Presents #3 (1975):

The conclusion to the Defenders / Guardians of the Galaxy crossover as the GotG complete their liberation of Earth from the Badoon Empire



2) Avengers #164 (1977)

Count Nefaria puts the Lethal Legion (Living Laser, Whirlwind, and Power Man) on enough PEDs to make Barry Bonds jealous. The superpowered trio then lays siege to Avengers mansion in the beginning of a classic 3 issue arc

3) Avengers #159 (1977)

Graviton's 1st appearance. As he beats the living crap out of the Avengers, Hank Pym leaves the field of battle to return to Avengers mansion where he risks the Vision's life in order to revive him from a coma. Vision then flies up into Earth's atmosphere, makes himself diamond hard and lands like a sack of cement on Graviton, ending the threat.

4) Infinity #4 (2013)

Still fairly recent, so won't get 2 "spoilery" but Thor makes the greatest hammer throw in the history of hammer throws in order to turn the tide vs the Builders.

5) Secret Society of Super Villains #1 (1976)

Black Adam, Black Manta, Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, Copperhead, Gorilla Grodd, Lex Luthor, Mirror Master, Shadow-Thief, Sinestro, Star Sapphire, etc, etc. all join together to form a group capable of taking on the JLA? Sign me up!

Hex

Certainly not top 5, but stand-alone issues I enjoyed;

Always loved this kitty Pryde solo Christmas issue - X-Men #143


Avengers #198; classic Perez artwork, with a classic Avengers line-up vs. a giant shogun robot. How can you say no?


This issue of FF (#275) featuring "illicit photos" of She-Hulk was fun


New Mutants Special Edition #1; The kids' first field trip to Asgard. Art Adams at his best.


Squirrel Girl... 'nuff said

WetRats

fredzilla said:

That *was* a great issue.

Hex

fredzilla said:

I like the Spider-man cartoon version of that story as well (it is a little girl instead of a boy). I watched it last year with my girls and tried to explain it to them after it was over.

and yes... there were tears.

WetRats

I agree with @nweathington that five is an absurd number to limt to.

That said, here's the first five that come to mind.

CageNarleigh

WetRats said:

I agree with @nweathington that five is an absurd number to limt to.

Agreed, but "Top 5" is the most commonly used format for lists such as this one. You're welcome to provide more than just 5 options. I'm probably going to see if I can find most of these to try out anyways. The more great comics, the better!

playdohsrepublic

Here's another great single issue: