Recently, very recently in fact, I've become completely burned out on superheroes. Mostly this stems from an insistence by both fans and creators alike that superhero "storytelling" be a list of checkmarks to fulfill. Simultaneously, I've gained a greater respect for the art, realizing that comic books are a unique medium because of the tension negotiated between the pictures and the text.
After reading a book of Frank Miller interviews from The Comics Journal, I stumbled upon TCJ's Top 100 Comics of the 20th Century. Of course, only four of the titles were superhero comics. I've taken it upon myself to branch out and try new things, having drifted from the kind of independent books I used to ferret out and hit a wall in terms of artistic experimentation. What I mean is, on my own terms I've had a lifetime of comics that went something like this: X-Men->Batman->Sandman->Hellboy->Bone->Strangers in Paradise->Cerebus.
I'd hit a limit on growth until discovering this list.
Krazy Kat by George Herriman +
Peanuts by Charles Schulz +
Pogo by Walt Kelly +
Maus by Art Spiegelman +
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay +
Mad Comics by Harvey Kurtzman and various +
Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by Justin Green
The Weirdo stories of Robert Crumb
EC's "New Trend" war comics by Harvey Kurtzman and various +
Wigwam Bam (L&R) by Jaime Hernandez
Blood of Palomar (L&R) by Gilbert Hernandez
The Spirit by Will Eisner +
RAW Magazine, edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly
The Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware
Polly and Her Pals by Cliff Sterrett
The Sketchbooks of Robert Crumb
The New Yorker cartoons of Peter Arno
The Death of Speedy Ortíz (L&R) by Jaime Hernandez
Terry and the Pirates by Milton Caniff
Flies on the Ceiling (L&R) by Jaime Hernandez
The Jungle Book by Harvey Kurtzman
The Mishkin saga by Kim Deitch
The Fantastic Four by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby +
Poison River (L&R) by Gilbert Hernandez
The theatrical caricatures of Al Hirschfeld
The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko +
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson +
Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau +
The autobiographical comics from Yummy Fur by Chester Brown
The editorial cartoons of Pat Oliphant
The Kin-der-Kids by Lyonel Feininger
From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
The Idiots Abroad (Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers) by Gilbert Shelton and Paul Mavrides
Paul Auster's City of Glass by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli
Cages by Dave McKean
The Buddy Bradley saga by Peter Bagge
The cartoons of James Thurber
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
The Alec stories of Eddie Campbell
It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth
The editorial cartoons of Herblock
EC's "New Trend" horror comics by Al Feldstein and various
The Frank stories by Jim Woodring
Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer by Ben Katchor
A Contract with God by Will Eisner+
The New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams
American Splendor #1-10 by Harvey Pekar and various
Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray
Goodman Beaver by Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Elder
Bringing Up Father by George McManus
Zippy the Pinhead by Bill Griffith
The Passport by Saul Steinberg
God's Man by Lynd Ward
Jimbo by Gary Panter
The Book of Jim by Jim Woodring
The short stories in Rubber Blanket by David Mazzucchelli
The Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick
Ernie Pook's Comeek by Lynda Barry
The Master Race story by Bernard Krigstein and Al Feldstein
Sugar and Spike by Sheldon Mayer
Zap Comix by Robert Crumb and various
The Lily stories (Daddy's Girl) by Debbie Drechsler
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker
The Willie and Joe cartoons of Bill Mauldin
Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
The New Yorker cartoons of George Price
Jack Kirby's Fourth World by Jack Kirby
The autobiographical comics of Spain Rodriguez
Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The "Pictopia" story by Alan Moore and Don Simpson
Dennis the Menace by Hank Ketcham
The humor comics of Basil Wolverton
Los Tejanos by Jack Jackson (alias Jaxon)
The Dirty Plotte series by Julie Doucet
The Hannah Story by Carol Tyler
The Bungle Family by Harry J. Tuthill
I got a few volumes of Krazy Kat, Pogo, and the work of Harvey Kurtzman from the library, and I'm loving them. I hope to make it through the whole list, as I've maybe only read about twenty of these titles and was only familiar with half of them. I'm most embarrassed to not have read any Love & Rockets, but they're hard to find.
