If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics.

This week we're counting down the five of the coolest, weirdest, and meta-est creator cameos in the history of comics! Going all the way back to the earliest days of the medium, comics creators have reveled in inserting themselves, their friends, their editors, and even their rivals into the pages of their comics, sometimes just as an inside joke, sometimes as meta-textual commentary, and sometimes for reasons that don't make sense to anyone. This video looks at five examples of appearances by creators that frankly stretch the definition of "cameo," but I think you'll agree that "comics where the creators or their editors or both are characters who interact with the protagonists" is neither snappy nor alliterative.

Show notes:

  • The specific story from number five is here, but you should probably start here. Other books mentioned in this section of the video include this one, this one, and this one.
  • You can find the story from number four here, and the other stories mentioned in that section here.
  • The story from number three is available digitally here, and the super-weird story mentioned at the end is here. The weird but nevertheless heartwarming story mentioned at the beginning of this section is here.
  • The bonkers story in second place is not currently in print or even available digitally for some reason. You can see Chris Sims writing about it here, though.
  • If you haven't read the story in the number one position, you need to jump on that immediately. You can find it here and the other story mentioned in this section here. You'll want both of them.

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