I didn’t read comics during most of the ’90s, so I don’t have the nostalgia — or, venom — for titles from that decade that so many fans do.
So, reading the Comic Book Bin‘s list of the Ten Most Important Comic Books of the 1990s is a lot like browsing a compilation of the best French novels of the 18th century: The names are familiar, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you anything about them.
However, I’m sure the list will give scholars of the Foil Age much to discuss:
10. Authority #1 (DC/Wildstorm)
9. Daredevil #1 (Marvel)
8. Solar #0 (Valiant)
7. Astro City #1 (Image)
6. Magnus #1 (Valiant)
5. Marvels #1 (Marvel)
4. X-Men #1 (Marvel)
3. Superman #75 (DC)
2. Spawn #1 (Image)
1. Harbinger #1 (Valiant)
The writer, Andy Smith, includes explanations for each entry, which may or may not help his cause. (“Harbinger was the Pulp Fiction of the comics industry — an indie critical and commercial smash hit that changed all the rules and broke down the door for a host of independent talent.”)
There’s an “also-ran” list that shows a little more variety, with books like Bone #1, Preacher #1 and Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
I have a difficult time accepting the Valiant books in the top ten list (three of them?), given that the company no longer exists. One would think if the books were so wonderful and influential, they might still be around.
June 29th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
That’s, um, wow…
I can see the argument for a lot of the titles on the list. It depends on how you define important, from an artistic or industry point of view. Depending on how you look at it, something like Superman #75 either goes to the top or the bottom of the list, and he seems to focus on the collectors market. From that point of view, I’d add the first issue of Wizard itself, for doing its part to promote a certain facet of superhero comics that I think did have big impact on comics in the 90s.
But I’m hard pressed to come up ANY criteria that puts Harbingers #1 on the top of the list. From an industry point of view, does Ross Richie say he wants to model Boom Studios on the Valiant model? Are Geoff Johns or Mark Millar pointing to Harbingers as a big influence on their work? “The first story line (Children of the Eighth Day) deserves to be uttered in the same breath as the masterpieces of the art form; Watchmen, Maus…”?
Holee crap!
Even from a collector’s point of view, is Harbingers #1 really more important than X-Men #1 with it’s six alternate covers? Or Spawn #1? Shouldn’t the most important comic of a decade launch a title and company that survived at least half that decade?
June 29th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Phht. He left out Planetary, which first appeared in 1999. A better book than all of the above, combined. Hell, it didn’t even make his also-rans list, while a half-dozen other lame-ass Valiant titles did. Turok? Please.
Preacher and Planetary, by virtue of their quality, were more important than most of the books on that list.
June 29th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Maybe I’m remebering things wrong, but didn’t Harbinger #1 have a print run of somewhere in the neighbourhood of like under 50,000 copies? At a time when the Image titles were regularly selling in the million + range, that’s not that successful.
June 29th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
Who knew that X-O Manowar was one of the most popular characters created in the last 15 years? Not me! (Or anyone else but a worshipper of Valiant comics, which Andy Smith seems to quite clearly be.)
June 29th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
Well, it’s important – not successful.
Valiant was a company that started at 50,000 copies (Jesus Christ I wish that was still considered low) and rose up to become the third largest comic publisher in America in terms of market share. They used really innovative marketing techniques to get their books out there.
The books were terrible but I don’t think anyone can fault them for their success. I wonder how close they came to Marvel and DC in terms of market share and if any company since the sixties has ever come as close to them.
June 29th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Ok, I’m going back on what I just posted mainly because of the article’s reasoning behind making Harbinger #1.
All of his stats for that entire list is based on Wizard Magazine and that’s not the kind of opinion I can side with.
Valiant is still one of the most incredible comic companies of the modern era, despite their implosion (because, again, the books sucked – good marketing takes you so far).
June 29th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
Jason, Valiant was actually pretty good for a short while. The company built it’s rep and audience on the back of Jim Shooter who in short order created an astonishingly well put together superhero universe. once Shooter was gone though, the quality, aside from a few titles, crashed. Valiant should be on the list, but not quite so much and one of their books chould be the issue of Captain N with Joe Quesada’s first comics work, as a colourist.
Also, this “the Authority was not art” meme really needs to stop, no matter what Warren Ellis says about it. The Authority is utterly brilliant and a masterpiece.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
I don’t know, Joe – I thought the early issues were good too until I went back and read them. They were just very grass roots, Stan’s soap box and gimmicks type of marketing and we all bought it.
But, either way, I support them 100% as an important and inspiring company in terms of competing. But not as a company that produced good books.
July 12th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
I always thought Valiant comics were awesome, until I read them. So, so bad…
July 29th, 2007 at 11:11 am
what about ‘the MAXX’? wouldn’t he be on anyone’s top ten, for the 90s comic boom?
February 25th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
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Generic cr zolpidem tartrate….
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