100 Comics, Part 9
June 10th, 2010 by Samodean

(Read this for an explanation of the Top 100.)

Enemy of the State
Wolverine (v3) #20-31
2004
Story: Mark Millar
Art: John Romita, Jr.

Wolverine was created to be the ultimate weapon, and it’s been a long time since he was used as such. He travels to Japan and is ambushed by the Hand, a clan of ninja assassins. In the battle, Wolverine is killed (yes, he can die, he just gets better) and brainwashed to take out his fellow heroes. He battles the likes of Daredevil, the Fantastic Four and even his fellow X-Men. Once he’s freed of the mind control, Wolverine starts looking for revenge. (Collected)

Breakout
New Avengers #1-6
2004
Story: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: David Finch

Throughout their history, the greatest Avengers lineups haven’t been hand-picked. The teams always formed themselves. That’s what happens in “Breakout.” Brian Michael Bendis brings the team that he helped break up back together. A massive supervillain prison break leads to a team-up with Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spiderwoman, Luke Cage and the mysterious Sentry. (Collected)

Marvel Zombies
Miniseries
2005
Story: Robert Kirkman
Art: Sean Philips

Marvel. Zombies. Let that sink in for a minute. First introduced in the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four the Marvel Zombie-verse quickly developed a great deal of fan support, so Marvel gave them their own mini-series. Written by The Walking Dead‘s Robert Kirkman, this is the most hilariously disgusting thing you’ll ever see. (Collected)

The Slavers
Punisher MAX #25-30
2005
Story: Garth Ennis
Art: Leandro Ferndandez

Marvel’s adult-oriented MAX publishing imprint was tailor-made for the Punisher. So many writers tell the typical story of “bad guys are bad, so Frank Castle kills them.” In “The Slavers,” Garth Ennis takes it a bit differently. While the Punisher is handing out his unique brand of “justice” he comes across a young girl. She tells a tale of being sold into slavery by the mob. For once, the villains actually seem to deserve their fates, and they do not die well. (Collected)

Civil War
Miniseries
2006
Story: Mark Millar
Art: Steve McNiven

The superhuman Civil War. After a tragedy, the government passes the Superhuman Registration Act, forcing anyone with powers to register their identities. Some heroes, most notably Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic, support the law. Others found this violation of civil liberties unacceptable and joined the resistance with Captain America and Wolverine. Caught in the middle of this struggle is poor Peter Parker. However, when two armies of heroes fight, who really wins? (Collected)

Annihilation
Miniseries
2006
Story: Keith Giffen
Art: Andrea Di Vito

While the Civil War was happening on Earth, an even bigger event was going on out in space. I’ve said several times before, the outer space group of Marvel books has been under-appreciated over the years. Annihilation brings characters like Nova, Thanos, Quasar and Annihilus together in one giant cosmic epic, with the fate of the universe hinging on the battle. Everything in the outer space comics since Annihilation has just been top-notch writing. (Collected, plus two other volumes)

52
Miniseries
2006
Story: Multiple
Art: Multiple

Coming out of DC’s Infinite Crisis, 52 was a revolutionary miniseries. Published once a week for an entire year, it truly was a wonder of publishing. Thanks to a massive team of writers and artists, the book came out without a single delay. The story follows the year after the Infinite Crisis. All comics published after the event featured the “One Year Later” tagline, leaving the events of that missing year entirely in 52. With Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman gone, the story focuses on the other characters of the DCU, giving some time to lesser-known heroes. (Collected, plus three other volumes)

Planet Hulk
Incredible Hulk (v2) #92-105
2006
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Carlo Pagulayan

Fearing the damage he could one day cause, a group of powerful Marvel figures sent Hulk out into space. They had intended for him to land on a beautiful, lush and, more importantly, uninhabited planet where he could live out his life in peace. Unfortunately, his ship went off course landing him on a planet ruled by a vicious dictator. Weakened from his trip through a wormhole, Hulk found himself vulnerable for the first time and was put into a gladiatorial arena. Over the course of the story, Hulk gets madder and stronger, eventually helping the people overthrow their leader. (Collcted)

The Devil in Cell-Block D
Daredevil (v2) #82-87
2006
Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Michael Lark

It would take something truly phenomenal to follow-up Brian Michael Bendis’ award-winning run on Daredevil. Luckily, Ed Brubaker is phenomenal. When Bendis left off, Matt Murdock had been revealed as Daredevil and put in prison. The big problem? He’s behind bars with dozens of villains he helped lock up. And who’s running around Hell’s Kitchen in the Daredevil outfit? (Collected)

World War Hulk
Miniseries
2007
Story: Greg Pak
Art: John Romita, Jr.

After “Planet Hulk,” Hulk was pissed. And he’s coming home. The Hulk, Bruce Banner completely suppressed, is angrier than he’s ever been, and the angrier Hulk gets, the stronger he gets. He’s coming back to Earth to get revenge on the so-called heroes who sent him away. World War Hulk is, quite simply, six issues of the Hulk kicking the crap out of the entire Marvel Universe. Fun times. (Collected)

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Tags: Avengers, Brian Michael Bendis, Captain America, Daredevil, DC, Ed Brubaker, Garth Ennis, Hulk, Iron Man, John Romita Jr, LUKE CAGE, Mark Millar, Marvel, New Avengers, Punisher, Robert Kirkman, Spider-Man, The 100, Wolverine, ZOMBIES