Favorite Comic Stories, Pt. 3

8) The Gamma Bomb storyline from Incredible Hulk #330-345. This was Peter David's debut storyline on the series, and it may still be his strongest. This story saw the rise of "Joe Fixit" (the gray Hulk), the cross country search for gamma weapons that brought the Hulk into conflict with some of the most original and frightening villains he's ever faced, all of which effectively tested his strength and more importantly, served as vehicles for character exploration. Long time supporting characters like SHIELD agent Clay Quartermain, Doc Samson and Rick Jones got their moments in the spotlight and came across as real, complex human beings, often for the first time. The art by Todd McFarlane was revelatory as well, coming years before his defection from Marvel and his subsequent rise at Image.

9) The entire run of John Byrne on Fantastic Four (#232-292, approximately) Every once in a while you come across the perfect marriage of creator and characters, and for me, this was Byrne's relationship with the FF. Byrne's classical approach to superheroes combined with updating and amplification of the character relationships and motivations really struck home with me (and most people). He did terrific takes on classic villains like Dr. Doom and the Mole Man, took the FF to Hell in a couple of unforgettable issues with some truly chilling images, played with story format and perspective, and, of course, delivered some state of the art "old school" superhero pencils (backed, I believe, by some equally great Terry Austin inks).

10) The Brand Corporation storyline from Amazing SpiderMan (Amazing SpiderMan 234-236).
Probably an unlikely entry here, but this is a classic example of the "SpiderMan caught between two villains" story that I've always really enjoyed. It's got a lot of elements that always work for me, including the origin of a villain who's really not so much evil but obsessed and wronged, an evil corporation with influences reaching seemingly everywhere, and a hapless SpiderMan trying desperately to keep a lot of people from killing each other, innocents, and himself. Backed up by the usual energetic and eye pleasing art of John Romita, Jr, this is a three parter that I'll always remember.

There's obviously tons of other multi part stories that I could have included here. My very unscientific method was just thinking of stories on the fly, those that came to mind first were obviously considered first, and then chosen totally on the basis of my personal fondness and enjoyment.

Tomorrow (I hope), I think I'll try to take a break from comics and concentrate on...

The Yin and Yang of YouTube