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books, has his own title, and has had multiple mini-series. Since being rescued from obscurity, as an X-Man, Logan has been handled in a four issue series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, and another telling his origin, by Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert. The Weapon X miniseries written and drawn by the original Conan the Barbarian artist Barry Windsor-Smith is not just beautifully rendered, but a shining example of the sequential storytelling that comic books should be. These books each add to the expanding tale of a character

Alan Moore created the Watchmen from a group of virtually unknown heroes. He then had to change the names and the look of his group because his project would have ended any plans by DC to use the characters elsewhere. That aside, the Watchmen is widely regarded as the greatest graphic novel of all time. As comic books go this merger of words and art is among the best you will find. But Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' super heroic dystopia is not for everyone. Thankfully you are not limited to this book if its not your cup of tea, coffee, or Mountain Dew. Mr. Moore can flat out write! He could make a grocery list interesting enough to covet. He turned Marvel Man (more recently called Miracle Man) a British knock off of Captain Marvel (as in SHAZAM!) into a richly realized, human character who finds he has powers that put him on par with the gods of mythology, and someone is out to kill him. He also created the League of Extraordinary Gentleman using fantastic characters from the literature of the past. If your tastes run more towards horror and suspense Alan Moore also spent several years at the helm of the Swamp Thing, giving this strange creature a depth and versatility few could have imagined.

Walk into any comic book shop and you can browse for, or ask assistance in finding a certain title. Of course any title that has been ongoing for a number of years (with few exceptions) will have changes in the creative team working on the book. The quality may improve or decline. It will usually be a matter of opinion. These things are very subjective. The collectors' mentality is to simply collect all the issues. But there are story arcs or periods in the life of an ongoing title that will stand out, some for that book, while others will light the horizon for the entire comic book continuum, regardless of the publisher. If you walk into that same comic shop and specify Frank Miller's Daredevil or Darknight, J. Michael Straczynski's Spider-Man or Rising Stars, or Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson's Astro City, they will be glad to show you what is available. But don't stop there. If you appreciate graphic storytelling you can ask for virtually anything by Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man), Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come, Justice), or Brian K. Vaughn (Runaways, Ex Machina). Neil Gaiman, possibly the hottest writer on the planet has written for both Marvel and DC. His landmark DC/Vertigo series The Sandman was a brilliant mixture of fantasy and horror. One issue even won the World Fantasy Award for best short story of the year!

There are plenty of other writers and artists who have shown brilliance with different comic book characters, but what is most important first is to get the right mindset. If you want the best comic books around now or the classics from previous years or decades, it is most important to know the creators of the books. Find the creators who are/were the best in their time or those who were ahead of their time.

Learn more about this author, Rick Newton.
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