I'm not the superhero guy that I used to be but I still have my opinions and will stridently advocate for the one costumed vigilante nearest and dear to my heart.
I made a previous comment but decided to delete it because it was all over the place.
I liked your list. It was excellent. It would be too hard for me to make a list like this because the whole thing just made my mind race.
I could make a top 20 of X-Men alone.
I wouldn't know how to make a list. My personal favorites? Or the most influential that allowed me to have my own personal favorites?
One thing that is certain. Mark Grayson from Invincible would be my no. 1 favorite superhero. Any many characters from that comic would make my personal top 20. I mean if it were my own personal favorites it would be mostly Invincible, and Watchmen characters probably.
I am a big fan of the Watchmen and my favorite thing about your list was your writeup on Rorschach. I don't feel like he is a very healthy character to relate to, but that's the thing...he is relatable. He certainly has PTSD, at least thats how I think Alan Moore wrote him.
Most comics are about kind of a power trip and the Watchmen deals a lot with what it's like to cope with powerlessness.
Invincible a comic that supplanted Watchmen as my favorite super hero comic focuses on the all the negatives of being a super hero, of what it would be like to live in a world with a bunch of super heroes everywhere. It takes the tropes of Marvel and DC and instead of subverting and twisting the takes them to their logical conclusion. One caveat to my recommendation is that Invincible is very, very violent. It's by Robert Kirkman of "The Walking Dead" fame and it's better than the Walking Dead comic. Although the Walking Dead comic is good as well.
Thanks Kenny. Greenlight if you want to ever write on Watchmen or Invincible. I've seen it previously and based on your recommendation will make an effort to check it out. Sally and I still need to get our San Bernardino library cards...
The show Invincible is good. It pretty much follows a lot of the comic, with some minor changes to kind of clean up the plot.
The comic itself is 144 issues and gets stronger and stronger as the comic progresses. The artwork is initially kind of crude, the comic is an interesting take on something like Spider-Man mixed with Superman but nothing particularly special.
Then there are twists and the stakes are repeatedly raised and it repeatedly surprises you, gets weirdly philosophical.
I would argue that the show is probably the best introduction to the comic, just because it kind of brings the rough edges of the comic to life in a more organized and understandable way.
I read the comic before the show came out but didn't even stick with it. The show motivated me to finish it and I am extremely glad I did.
I would describe it as something that is designed to really appeal to super hero comic lovers. It's like reading comics for the first time all over again. In Spider-Man when he is trying to rescue a child or a pregnant woman or something from say falling from a tall building you know he will succeed, because the comic will not "go there" Invincible does. Absolutely nothing is certain anything no matter how violent or depressing could occur at any moment.
The comic and the show are colorful and vibrant as well as funny. But ultimately you really don't want to be living in a universe with super heroes and you really don't want to actually be a super hero in the Invincible universe.
Go ahead and make a top 20 of X-Men alone and do them as personal favorites. A quirky, idiosyncratic list with unique reasons for your placements tends to be more interesting than attempting to be objective and rank them by the overall cultural phenomenon.
Ooh that is a VERY solid list too, John. You should do that as a piece, either at your site or you're welcome to debut here with it.
I was considering John Constantine - he's sort of a natural fit for me - but my problem is just that I haven't read him enough! His comic series was one I always meant to get to but just haven't yet! I guess I really should.
Blade is also certainly a great character - especially Blade 2 I remember being a stand-out movie in that series.
Conan is a particularly clever choice, and I'd be curious to read your reason for that high of a placement. Did you ever watch the Conan cartoon? I LOVED that show so much as a kid. Not including him I suppose is an oversight on my list. Now that I think about it, I would probably include him somewhere in the 15ish range on my list, but you might persuade me to position him in a stronger slot.
May I add that this kind of list would keep my mind spinning for a long time just because there are so many significant super heroes. Also what qualifies? Also is this just my personal preference or their importance in developing the medium and their influence?
I tried to think about what my list would look like, I would need to think for a really long time.
I made a previous comment but decided to delete it because it was all over the place.
I liked your list. It was excellent. It would be too hard for me to make a list like this because the whole thing just made my mind race.
I could make a top 20 of X-Men alone.
I wouldn't know how to make a list. My personal favorites? Or the most influential that allowed me to have my own personal favorites?
One thing that is certain. Mark Grayson from Invincible would be my no. 1 favorite superhero. Any many characters from that comic would make my personal top 20. I mean if it were my own personal favorites it would be mostly Invincible, and Watchmen characters probably.
I am a big fan of the Watchmen and my favorite thing about your list was your writeup on Rorschach. I don't feel like he is a very healthy character to relate to, but that's the thing...he is relatable. He certainly has PTSD, at least thats how I think Alan Moore wrote him.
Most comics are about kind of a power trip and the Watchmen deals a lot with what it's like to cope with powerlessness.
Invincible a comic that supplanted Watchmen as my favorite super hero comic focuses on the all the negatives of being a super hero, of what it would be like to live in a world with a bunch of super heroes everywhere. It takes the tropes of Marvel and DC and instead of subverting and twisting the takes them to their logical conclusion. One caveat to my recommendation is that Invincible is very, very violent. It's by Robert Kirkman of "The Walking Dead" fame and it's better than the Walking Dead comic. Although the Walking Dead comic is good as well.
Thanks Kenny. Greenlight if you want to ever write on Watchmen or Invincible. I've seen it previously and based on your recommendation will make an effort to check it out. Sally and I still need to get our San Bernardino library cards...
The show Invincible is good. It pretty much follows a lot of the comic, with some minor changes to kind of clean up the plot.
The comic itself is 144 issues and gets stronger and stronger as the comic progresses. The artwork is initially kind of crude, the comic is an interesting take on something like Spider-Man mixed with Superman but nothing particularly special.
Then there are twists and the stakes are repeatedly raised and it repeatedly surprises you, gets weirdly philosophical.
I would argue that the show is probably the best introduction to the comic, just because it kind of brings the rough edges of the comic to life in a more organized and understandable way.
I read the comic before the show came out but didn't even stick with it. The show motivated me to finish it and I am extremely glad I did.
I would describe it as something that is designed to really appeal to super hero comic lovers. It's like reading comics for the first time all over again. In Spider-Man when he is trying to rescue a child or a pregnant woman or something from say falling from a tall building you know he will succeed, because the comic will not "go there" Invincible does. Absolutely nothing is certain anything no matter how violent or depressing could occur at any moment.
The comic and the show are colorful and vibrant as well as funny. But ultimately you really don't want to be living in a universe with super heroes and you really don't want to actually be a super hero in the Invincible universe.
Go ahead and make a top 20 of X-Men alone and do them as personal favorites. A quirky, idiosyncratic list with unique reasons for your placements tends to be more interesting than attempting to be objective and rank them by the overall cultural phenomenon.
Fun concept.
20) Jonah Hex
19) Moon Knight
18) Lobo
17) Rorschach
16) Venom
15) Professor X
14) Iron Man
13) Blade
12) Captain America
11) Sandman (Dream)
10) Wolverine
9) Deadpool
8) Thor
7) The Punisher
6) Groo the Wanderer
5) Superman
4) Spider-Man
3) Hulk
2) John Constantine
1) Conan the Barbarian
Ooh that is a VERY solid list too, John. You should do that as a piece, either at your site or you're welcome to debut here with it.
I was considering John Constantine - he's sort of a natural fit for me - but my problem is just that I haven't read him enough! His comic series was one I always meant to get to but just haven't yet! I guess I really should.
Blade is also certainly a great character - especially Blade 2 I remember being a stand-out movie in that series.
Conan is a particularly clever choice, and I'd be curious to read your reason for that high of a placement. Did you ever watch the Conan cartoon? I LOVED that show so much as a kid. Not including him I suppose is an oversight on my list. Now that I think about it, I would probably include him somewhere in the 15ish range on my list, but you might persuade me to position him in a stronger slot.
May I add that this kind of list would keep my mind spinning for a long time just because there are so many significant super heroes. Also what qualifies? Also is this just my personal preference or their importance in developing the medium and their influence?
I tried to think about what my list would look like, I would need to think for a really long time.