My "Best Of", Vol. 1

So I was reading a few "best of" lists, and seeing a few things I've quite enjoyed over the years pop up got me thinking about a few of my own personal "best ofs". So, assuming my tastes are as valued by an anonymous reader as they are by myself, here's a list of comic books that were I stranded on the deserted island and not driven to madness through a lack of nourishment and exposure to the sun, I'd be content re-reading until being rescued at some later date.

Deadpool (volume three) #1-25, by Joe Kelly, Ed McGuinness, Pete Woods, Walter McDaniel, and others

I'm thrilled that Marvel Comics has finally gotten around to collecting this run, since it's pretty much the gold standard of comic book serialized storytelling for me. Not only did writer Joe Kelly and artists Ed McGuinness, Pete Woods, and Walter McDaniel define Deadpool so effectively that the character has remained a headlining title character since this series began back in late 1996, but they told a story that rivals the best of TV's long-form storytelling back before it was the norm for TV or comics. And the best thing is they did without the slightest hint that it was the plan all along, or without compromising Deadpool's character, a feat all the more impressive when you realize the story ended with Deadpool saving the world from an other-worldly "menace" (curious what I mean, then read the books). The upswing in Deadpool's popularity thanks to his well-received current series and appearance in the Wolverine film has given Marvel a perfect opportunity to get around to reprinting the entire run (preferably in their popular omnibus format), especially since the last collection ended just shy of the acclaimed and as-yet unprinted eleventh issue that "inserted" Deadpool into an old issue of Spider-Man. Either way, it's great that folks are checking out these old issues through the reprints or original issues, since it's worthy of the attention.

X-Force (volume one) #116-129, by Peter Milligan, Mike Allred, and others

I've written about the Milligan-Allred X-Force before so sorry if I'm repeating myself, but these issues are so subversively brilliant that I can say enough good things about them. Sold as a media satire told through superheroes with Peter Milligan's razor-sharp wit and the old-school style of Mike Allred, the brilliance of this run for me was how strongly I felt toward the characters by the final issue. As their layers were peeled back during the highly enjoyable run, the fact that the characters that seemed shallow and self-involved were as fully realized as any character I've ever seen elevated the series to a special place, and made me kick myself for not following the run more regularly as it was first coming out (I stopped four issues in, only coming back to the series after seeing the cast profiled in Marvel's Handbook series). The run continued for an additional twenty-five issues as X-Statix, but these first fourteen are the cream of the crop for me (admittedly because of the death of one of the leads at the end of this series, a character whose absence was so keenly felt that the first year of X-Statix devoted two issues to the character, as though to admit the creative team was as aware of the void as the readership was).

Well, that's the first part of my "Best Of". I'll add the rest of my ramblings soon.