1) Krazy Kat by George Herriman 2) Peanuts by Charles Schulz 3) Pogo by Walt Kelly 4) Maus by Art Spiegelman 5) Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay 6) Feiffer by Jules Feiffer 7) Donald Duck by Carl Barks 8) Mad by Harvey Kurtzman & various 9) Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by Justin Greene10) The Weirdo stories of R. Crumb11) Thimble Theatre by E.C. Segar12) EC's "New Trend" war comics by Harvey Kurtzman & various13) Wigwam Bam by Jaime Hernandez14) Blood of Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez15) The Spirit by Will Eisner16) RAW, edited by Art Spiegelman & Francoise Mouly17) The ACME Novelty Library by Chris Ware18) Polly & Her Pals by Cliff Sterret19) The sketchbooks of R. Crumb20) Uncle Scrooge by Carl Barks21) The New Yorker cartoons of Peter Arno22) The Death of Speedy Ortíz by Jaime Hernandez23) Terry and the Pirates by Milton Caniff24) Flies on the Ceiling by Jaime Hernandez25) Wash Tubbs by Roy Crane26) The Jungle Book by Harvey Kurtzman27) Palestine by Joe Sacco28) The "Mishkin" saga by Kim Deitch29) Gasoline Alley by Frank King30) Fantastic Four by Jack Kirby & Stan Lee31) Poison River by Gilbert Hernandez32) Plastic Man by Jack Cole33) Dick Tracy by Chester Gould34) The theatrical caricatures of Al Hirschfeld35) The Amazing Spider-Man by Steve Ditko & Stan Lee36) Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson37) Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau38) The autobiographical comics from Yummy Fur by Chester Brown39) The editorial cartoons of Pat Oliphant40) The Kinder-Kids by Lyonel Feininger41) From Hell by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell42) Ghost World by Daniel Clowes43) Amphigorey by Edward Gorey44) Idiots Abroad by Gilbert Shelton & Paul Mavrides45) Paul Auster's City of Glass by Paul Karasik & David Mazzacchelli46) Cages by Dave McKean47) The "Buddy Bradley" saga by Peter Bagge48) The cartoons of James Thurber49) Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud50) Tantrum by Jules Feiffer51) The "Alec" stories of Eddie Campbell52) It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken by Seth53) The editorial cartoons of Herblock54) EC's "New Trend" horror comics by Al Feldstein & various55) The "Frank" stories by Jim Woodring56) Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer by Ben Katchor57) A Contract with God by Will Eisner58) The New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams59) Little Lulu by John Stanley60) Alley Oop by V.T. Hamlin61) American Splendor #1-10 by Harvey Pekar with various62) Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray63) Hey Look! by Harvey Kurtzman64) Goodman Beaver by Harvey Kurtzman & Bill Elder65) Bringing Up Father by George McManus66) Zippy the Pinhead by Bill Griffith67) The Passport by Saul Steinberg68) Barnaby by Crockett Johnson69) God's Man by Lynd Ward70) Jimbo by Gary Panter71) The Book of Jim by Jim Woodring72) The short stories in Rubber Blanket by David Mazzucchelli73) The Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick74) Ernie Pook's Comeek by Lynda Barry75) Black Hole by Charles Burns76) "Master Race" by Bernie Krigstein & Al Feldstein77) Li'l Abner by Al Capp78) Sugar and Spike by Sheldon Mayer79) Captain Marvel by C.C. Beck80) Zap by Crumb & various81) The "Lily" Stories by Debbie Drechsler82) "Caricature" by Daniel Clowes83) V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd84) Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker85) The "Willie and Joe" cartoons of Bill Mauldin86) Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse87) The New Yorker cartoons of George Price88) Jack Kirby's "Fourth World" comics89) The autobiographical comics of Spain Rodriguez90) Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean91) Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons92) "Pictopia" by Alan Moore & Don Simpson93) Dennis the Menace by Hank Ketcham94) Space Hawk by Basil Wolverton95) Los Tejanos by Jack Jackson96) Dirty Plotte by Julie Doucet97) The Hannah Story by Carol Tyler98) Barney Google by Billy De Beck99) The Bungle Family by George Tuthill100) Prince Valiant by Hal Foster
― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 13 April 2003 08:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― jewelly (jewelly), Sunday, 13 April 2003 08:07 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 13 April 2003 08:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
― jel -- (jel), Sunday, 13 April 2003 09:08 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew L (Andrew L), Sunday, 13 April 2003 09:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 13 April 2003 10:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
You'll also notice that there is a high proportion of Fantagraphics comics. I guess we could put that down to their liking to read the kind of thing they like to publish, rather than any personal bias.
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 10:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Sunday, 13 April 2003 10:45 (twenty-one years ago) link
― jel -- (jel), Sunday, 13 April 2003 10:52 (twenty-one years ago) link
― jel -- (jel), Sunday, 13 April 2003 10:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 11:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Sunday, 13 April 2003 12:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
― OleM (OleM), Sunday, 13 April 2003 12:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
- V For Vendetta (it was GOOD & all, but...)- Chris Ware's _Acme Novelty Library_ getting love @ #17 (see above comment)- NO BLOOM COUNTY!- NO DARK KNIGHT! (I guess this shouldn't be all that shocking, but I remember it being rather impressive, and since even _Watchmen_ got its token placement near the bottom of the list, I figured Frank would receive some love, too)- is Kirby's "Fourth World" really that good?
― David R. (popshots75`), Sunday, 13 April 2003 15:20 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 16:39 (twenty-one years ago) link
But there are a few vitruoso pages in some of the early books that probably earned him a place on the list by themselves.
― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 13 April 2003 16:51 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 17:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
I want reprint editions of more of these things, dammit (why can I find no Kurtzmann work?)
― Millar (Millar), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:05 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
I just counted: I've met 16 of the people listed above covering over a quarter of the entries, including high entries for Kurtzman, the Hernandez Brothers, Spiegelman and Eisner.
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:39 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:46 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew L (Andrew L), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:56 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:58 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew L (Andrew L), Sunday, 13 April 2003 18:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
And Martin: Everyone in every field was doing Best Of Century lists in order to get the public to buy their product (what publisher was it that did that best books list? for example). I dunno, I'm not saying it was wrong of Fantagraphics to do it or anything...
― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
I think if I'd still been publishing the closest the UK came to TCJ (not very close!), I'd have done one of these polls too. I wouldn't have expected anything I'd been involved with to appear!
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
Was your comics [magazine?] mostly focused on the Kirby-esque comics or did you wander into "art" comics/strip comics as well?
― Chris P (Chris P), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:17 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
Clearly you two are aliens.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Millar (Millar), Sunday, 13 April 2003 19:44 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew L (Andrew L), Sunday, 13 April 2003 20:09 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Sunday, 13 April 2003 22:06 (twenty-one years ago) link
Total absence of Superman and Batman = some kind of statement, surely?
― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 13 April 2003 23:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
If _Dark Knight Returns_ sees no love from this list, I can't think of any other Batman tales getting love (except, um, _The Killing Joke_, in case folks think there's not enough Alan Moore representation on the list).
Ned & Sean are on my side re: Bloom County = WE ARE RIGHT. Maybe.
― David R. (popshots75`), Sunday, 13 April 2003 23:32 (twenty-one years ago) link
I actually don't have a big problem with the top 10 on this list, though there's plenty of other stuff I'd have liked to see included.
― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 13 April 2003 23:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
Also I don't understand Ghost World being so high up while Optic Nerve not being on there at all, especially since I feel they are very similar, except OPtic Nerve didn't get the star casting.
― Carey (Carey), Sunday, 13 April 2003 23:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 14 April 2003 00:28 (twenty-one years ago) link
But, then, all those old Warner Bros. cartoons (circa 1930-40) are peppered w/ oodles and oodles of pop cult references, and when the cartoon works, knowing who Peter Lorre is (for instance) doesn't make one bit of difference.
― David R. (popshots75`), Monday, 14 April 2003 00:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Carey (Carey), Monday, 14 April 2003 02:18 (twenty-one years ago) link
Christina Aguilera playing with Opus dolls in a wrestling ring = the FEAR.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 14 April 2003 02:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Carey (Carey), Monday, 14 April 2003 02:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
The Far Side? Did I miss it?
― jm (jtm), Monday, 14 April 2003 02:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
Overrated stuff in the top 10: 3, 4, 5, 6, 9. All of these are good, so I'm not terribly agitated, but none are in the same class as Segar's Popeye dailies.
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 14 April 2003 11:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
I'd agree that Pogo and Feiffer are overrated on that list; I haven't read enough Nemo to judge, and I don't know anything about 9. But you think Maus is overrated? Yes it's almost as obvious a chioce as Krazy Kat for top 10 inclusion but what's your specific beef with it? I'm curious.
― Chris P (Chris P), Monday, 14 April 2003 14:14 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 14 April 2003 14:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
I do think Maus was very good, but I think people were overly impressed simply because a comic dealt with such issues. It's the old performing dog thing. That is unfair, but I don't think it has any of the formal and experimental interest of a lot of Spiegelman's best work. I may also react against it because when I interviewed him he was very inclined to use the "but it's the Holocaust! How dare you!" stratagem against any criticism. I think its use of animals has very severe problems. I would certainly have it in my 100, but far lower than fourth place.
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 14 April 2003 17:06 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 08:07 (twenty-one years ago) link
but there are a number of single panel things up there, herblock's editorial cartoons, most of the New Yorker cartoons so don't understand the reason for leaving Larson out
― H (Heruy), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 09:20 (twenty-one years ago) link
For not unobvious reasons, I vote Tintin in Tibet.
― Captain Haddock (Captain Haddock), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 09:39 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 09:47 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 16:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― kieran, Tuesday, 15 April 2003 18:29 (twenty-one years ago) link
― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 20:41 (twenty-one years ago) link
― H (Heruy), Tuesday, 15 April 2003 20:56 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Leee (Leee), Wednesday, 16 April 2003 04:21 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Colin Saunders (csaunders), Wednesday, 16 April 2003 06:38 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Chris P (Chris P), Wednesday, 16 April 2003 17:12 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dave Fischer, Thursday, 17 April 2003 05:08 (twenty-one years ago) link