1980's

The explosion of new publishers in the comics industry immediately marked the 1980’s as a creative high point. New publishers were coming out of the woodwork boasting new creator owned series by some of the top names in the industry and by new ‘up and coming’ creators. Among the many comics and publishers are Capital Comics (Nexus and Badger), Pacific Comics (The Rocketeer, Groo and Jack Kirby’s Captain Victory), First Comics (American Flagg! and Jon Sable, Freelance), Comico (Mage and Grendel), Eclipse Comics-actually the late 70’s but they didn’t really get going until the 80’s (Miracleman, Zot! and DNAgents) and of course Dark Horse Comics. It is a bit sad that along with many others I have not named here, none of the new publishers that appeared in this period exist today except for Dark Horse.

The breakthrough works of many creators came from the 1980’s. Matt Wagner, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Steve Rude, Dave Stevens, Mike Grell, Scott McCloud, Frank Miller and John Byrne were new or not previously well-known creators when they hit it big time in the 80’s. The most significant event of the 1980’s is almost certainly the entire year of 1986. Specifically late 85 to early 87, but let’s not get nit-picky. The list of classic series and graphic novels that started up in this 18 month period is absolutely jaw-dropping. Miracleman by Alan Moore debuted in the US from Eclipse comics (it had previously been started in the UK in the magazine Warrior) and would later be written by Neil Gaiman after Moore departed.

Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns redefined the character of Batman for the modern world and inspired or informed every comic book movie since. Maus by Art Spiegelman told the story of Spiegelman’s own family during the Second World War and later earned a Pulitzer Prize for Letters in 1991 once it was collected. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons became one of the most celebrated mainstream comic books in history and earned a place on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest English language novels of the 20th century. Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli revitalized a character that had not been done well since Miller had left the title a few years earlier and would not be done well again for several more years but this book is a masterpiece. The Man of Steel by John Byrne rebooted Superman post-Crisis and was the basis for the entire next decade of Superman stories. Speaking of Crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths just squeaks in the time frame of this list and was the defining basis for everything DC for the next three decades.

More from Moore, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow by Alan Moore was also published. This was the only Crisis era story to address the pre-Crisis Superman, and is a hallmark of the era. And to round out this list, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli brought us Batman Year One. A redefined origin for Batman and a story that seemed fresh and new for a modern world. That list is not only good comics, it is an essential list for any comics fan. You almost cannot call yourself a true fan until you have read these books as all are important to the medium and in several cases, to literature itself. The fact that these are all from the same few month period is more than a little amazing; must have been something in the water.