With Finale Fever running rampant on TV, whether in be in the send-offs to beloved BSG or warhorse ER just last night, not to mention the drumbeats for regular season finales, it puts us in mind of the following question: what are your favorite final issues ever?
I suppose that we could include mini-series in here, but I tend to think toward the notion of particularly satisfying last issues of long-form series. It’s a hard call for me to make personally, but I’m leaning toward the last issue of Y: The Last Man for this one.
How about you, readers?
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am
Hm, might have to go with the last issue of Lucifer. A perfect–and actually satisfying–wrap-up for one of Vertigo’s most complex series.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:03 am
Starman. Get in the car and drive.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 am
While the finality of it is pretty suspect, I’d lean toward the “final” issue of Geoff Johns’ FLASH monthly. Perfect ending for Wally. Too bad they had to step on it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:43 am
Mark Millar’s close to Swamp Thing. Perfect.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:49 am
My three favourites (don’t make me choose) are the endings of Starman, Preacher and Y: The Last Man. All three are more perfect than the endings of any Tv show…except for Angel.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 am
Preacher. Just the perfect end for that story.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
keep driving.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
I would have to go with Y also, but Transmetropolitan is certainly up there as well. And here’s to hoping that the last issue of 100 Bullets lives up to the Vertigo pedigree of last issues.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 am
Preacher and Starman are great…but my favorite last issue by far is Hitman - there’s just such a sense of inevitability that it was never going to end any other way for Tommy and Natt.
Also, Ennis’ final issue of Punisher Max capped off that series for me - I know it’s not the final issue, but it may as well be.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
I have to agree that Y: The Last Man’s last issue was enormously satisfying. Preacher pulled it off really well too, especially considering that when it came out, I read the issue to last believing it to be the final one. The next issue was desserts.
The most recent last issue I can think of that I really loved was All-Star Superman.
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
PaD’s “Captain Marvel”. What’s the point of being near-omnipotent if you can’t tie up all loose ends and be literal with ending up in comic limbo?
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm
The final issue of Bone was fantastic. Especially the last bits, doing a great call-back to the first issue.
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Preacher, definitely.
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Not a last issue of a series, but of a run: Peter David’s wrap-up on Incredible Hulk…#467, I believe.
Also, his “Hulk: The End” a few years later made a nice postscript to everything he’d already written. Nicely closed, with a chilling “the Hulk can never be happy” theme to it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Transmetropolitan, all the way. But I think Brian K. Vaughan’ll probably outdo himself for Ex Machina.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Have to agree with Hitman…very solid and emotional end to a series.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I have to agree with RWE. The last issue of BONE is probably was probably the most satisfying to me especially the treasure chest / stale pastry gag. That had me in tears from laughing.
Probably the finale that had me in true tears was Tellos. I never saw it coming and given how life has worked out, no other book has touched me in the same way.
As far as the ‘Big 2′ I would have to say for Marvel how Volume 1 of the New Warriors ended…I wasn’t ready for the story to end…and I practically was driven to anger when I found out it was over.
And at DC I would say how DC ‘ended’ the Legion books at ZERO HOUR in End of an Era. Bittersweet, touching and the tie ups made perfect sense.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I agree with Starman. A very fitting ending.