My top ten, in random order:
  • Alan Moore's Watchmen - The quintessential comic book deconstruction and the essential reading guide for comic books fans after 1986. Moore takes the absurdity of costumed heroics and redefines the genre by combining it with the grittiness of real life. The ultimate must-read for any comics fan.
  • Neil Gaiman's Sandman - The flagship title for DC's Vertigo line. Influenced by the work of Moore (especially his work on Swamp Thing) and defined by Gaiman's own unique narrative flair, the adventures of Morpheus and his Endless family helped to define a generation and continue to captivate new readers who are still discovering them.
  • Mark Millar's The Ultimates - This book is to this decade what Watchmen was to the '80s. It manages to perfectly capture the times and weaves the world of superheroics in almost seemlessly. Super soldiers and metal men don't seem as far-fetched in this context and the combination of Brian Hitch's art makes for a story that is truly epic.
  • Warren Ellis' Planetary - Practicing elements now popular on television before they were, in fact, popular on television, Warren Ellis managed to craft a complex story with a defined beginning and end that spans the whole of popular culture as well as comic-dom. Pulling in ghosts, aliens, ninjas, mad scientists, conspiracies, and all other manner of dark elements, Ellis sets the stage for a fascinating story drawn by one of the industry's finest artistic talents - John Cassaday.
  • Mike W. Barr's Camelot 3000 - Combining Arthurian legend and classic sci-fi elements, Barr brings a story that proves that good comics don't have to involve superheroes to be dubbed classic. Recreating an epic tale on a universal scale helped to propel this classic tale of good vs. evil to one of the most hottly anticipated comics of the '80s.
  • Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Simple in theory, but epic in execution, Moore's League combines characters and comics from classic Victorian literature into one grand tale. Beyond that, even, Moore manages to keep all characters true to form and character throughout: Hyde is evil, Griffin is sadistic, Nemo proud, Quatermain skilled though old, and Mina steadfast. This alone, more than any other element of this multi-faceted gem, makes League worthy of this list.
  • Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns - Say what you will of Frank Miller's current work - unless you're saying it's good, you'd probably be right - his Dark Knight forever redefined Batman for the world. From skilled detective to demon of the night, Miller's startling recreation captured the gritty comics movement of the eighties and brought it to the mainstream DC lineup, changing the face of one of its classic heroes forever.
  • Warren Ellis' Authority - Much in the same way Moore did it in the '80s, Ellis used this book to redefine superheroics for the twenty-first century. Heroes took a more proactive approach, fighting battles on an epic scale that most heroes wouldn't be able to consider, much less overcome. Ellis simultaneously made heroes stronger, more fallible, and more human. Kudos.
  • James Robinson's Starman - Though I'm just starting out on this series myself, I have to admit, it's pretty great. Seeing the creation and realization of a new hero right before my eyes helps to cement this series in my mind as one of the greats.
  • Grant Morrison's JLA - Morrison reinvented the world's greatest superteam to include the world's greatest superheroes. A novel concept but, until that point, one that had not been explored. Morrison made the JLA great again, pitting them against global threats and making them, once again, the elite team of the DCU.