Fantastic Five

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. Comic fans and video game fans are two groups that share an awful lot of overlap, and webcomics like Penny Arcade and artists like Zac Gorman, have made all kinds of comics about video games for the internet, but what about actual comic books? In a previous video, we told you about five video games that deserved comics, but this week, it’s all about some of the very best video games that have made the leap from consoles to comic pages.

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. These days, if people remember that they still make newspaper comics at all, they probably think of gag-a-day humor strips, like Garfield, or one of the few remaining soap opera strips, like Apartment 3G, or whatever Mark Trail is. But in the 1930s and '40s, the adventure strip ruled the roost. Two-fisted men and women sockin' jaws, flyin' planes, and rightin' wrongs, three panels at a time. This video counts down five of the best, most exciting, and most beautifully rendered adventure strips of all time.

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 into 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 and pop culture. Previously I told you about Marvel's five worst events, but this week, instead of laughing at their failures; I'm going to applaud their greatest storytelling successes! This week we're looking at some of the very best Marvel Comics events!

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. With a heavily anticipated and equally hyped reboot (or de-boot? or lateral-move-boot?) debuting this week, we thought we'd take a look at comics' frequent tendency to hit the reset button, with a specific focus on times when things turned out, you know, pretty okay! Whether it was because a certain character or story was in particularly dire straits and needed a mulligan, or because time and hindsight allowed an already good idea to be refined, these five examples show that dramatically reconfiguring a comics series is not always necessarily a bad thing.

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 and pop culture. This week we're looking at some of the most bizarre licensed properties that have ever made their way to your local comic shop!

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. Since the 1980s, big, universe-spanning event comics have been the tentpole of the publishing strategy of both Marvel and DC. Sometimes these stories result in classics of the superhero genre that remain beloved favorites of fans and critics alike for decades. Sometimes that, well, sometimes that doesn't happen. We're trying to focus a little more on the former than the latter this time. Here are five stories from Detective Comics Comics that smashed all the toys together until they broke, but, like, in a good way.

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 and pop culture. This week we’re covering the only thing some comic fans love as much as comics: toys!

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. I maintain that of all major superhero characters, Captain America has the highest number of good stories per capita; that there are so many solid Captain America runs that if you were to just pick an issue at random, you have a better than average chance of hitting a good story. And so, with a new Captain America movie preparing to score a billion dollars at the box office, here are a handful of tips on stories that you can look to if the movie has you seeking out more hot Cap action.

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 the bats are out of the belfry as we look at five of Batman’s greatest team-ups!

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. Stan Lee somewhat famously did not care for the concept of kid sidekicks, and so with the exception of Bucky (created, of course, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, not Lee), Marvel doesn't have many notable kid sidekicks. But for some reason, the House of Ideas has animal pals, sidekicks, partners and henchmen in spades. In fact, there are so many, I suspect I will never hear the end of the litany of favorites I "forgot" even though I cheated and put ten entries on my top five list.