My Top 5 Comics Of The 90's
Hey guys, I’m back up here on Planet-M. This week I’ve got something more 90’s, now for those who remember that decade of comics it was a time of over exaggerated muscles, the rise of artists, the founding of Image comics and then the crash of the comic book industry by the end. But despite the all things that occurred in the course of a decade the 90’s did produce some comics that I am glad to say I have read, so today we have the My Top 5 comics of the 90’s. Just to clarify these picks are based on my own opinion.
5: WildC.A.T.S by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi
Why: Well to start this was one off, this was one of the first comics printed under the Image comic’s logo and one of the most popular, drawn by Jim Lee with the writing of Brandon Choi, WildC.A.T.S was a good series with the story centring around a team of heroes fighting in a centuries long alien war. I will admit the plot was a bit confusing at first, but it had colourful artwork that allowed you to view the scope of the world the characters inhabited, good story arcs and memorable characters like Grifter, Zealot and Spartan.
4: Spawn by Todd Macfarlane
Why: Well with the first Spawn it was brilliantly laid out, it sets up Spawns character and it doesn’t reveal too much at once, its dark and Macfarlane’s art really brings out the gothic side of 90’s superhero aesthetic. The book later even gives a reason for the guns and weapons by introducing the necroplasim timer, meaning Macfarlane was able to give his character basically omnipotent powers, but only a certain amount of time to use them, so the character would have to embrace his past experience as a mercenary and in doing so would bring many more of his past memories to the surface as he walks the line between good and evil. Spawn is truly an interesting comic, so I can see why the first issue was successful as it sold 1.7 million copies and why people continue to be interested with it today.
3: Spider-Man 2099 by Peter David and Rick Leonardi
Why: Okay now we have 2099, this comic book universe is set in a reality where the world is not run by governments, but by various corporations like Alchemax that are corrupt and unjust to the people around them. This universe really managed to produce a few good characters and one of them was Spider-Man 2099 Miguel O’Hara, the first issue (like most) acts as Miguel’s origin which is different as Miguel is more a victim of others corporate greed and wants to find a cure for himself and that’s what leads him to getting his powers.
The series goes on to show the great power, great responsibility aspect of Spider-Man in Miguel as he realises he turned a blind eye to others pain and the injustice caused by Alchemax (the very company he worked for) and eventually accepts being Spider-Man and tries to help people. This series was very well written as it didn’t just copy and paste the Spider-man origin into the 2099 setting (as they did with Punisher 2099, but worse), but they worked to make it different, through its own style and its own setting.
2: Spider-Girl by Tom DeFalco and Pat Oliffe
Why: I actually started reading this comic out of curiosity because when I started reading it I was new to comics and had no idea that there was a Spider-Girl so I decided to pick up the book and I have to say it was really good. Basically the story is about May Parker (the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane) years after Spider-Man retired (so what could have been, thanks again One More Day) and her taking up the mantle as Spider-girl.
This was something entirely new to me as her family knew she was a Superhero, so the usual excuses given by the secret identity were thrown out when it came to the home front, so all the responsibilities are from living up to her father’s legacy and her own issues like school and a social life. Some of the characters that were around in Spider-Man’s stories are still there and it is interesting to see what they are all doing in this world now that they are all older. The writing was good from the start, the art was up the task and it was refreshing to see a character whose story later came to an end.
1: X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee
Why: What happens when the series defining writer Chris Claremont is teamed with (at the time) rising star artist Jim Lee, well you get X-Men, not The Uncanny X-Men, just the X-Men. I have to say I’ve always been a fan of the X-Men from the 90’s cartoon to the comics today. The story is well written and in line with continuity as Chris Claremont was the writer who constructed the X-Men universe (although I wasn’t too fond of him making Magneto a villain again) and the Artwork is vibrant and colourful with a cinematic feel to it as each panel feels fast and well-constructed, this also works in the aesthetics of the characters as no X-Men uniform looks the same and it gives each character a unique look.
The reason to me this is the best comic of the 90’s is not because the comic sold 8.1 million copies, it’s because this is one of the best examples of how a company should construct one of its most popular comics with a good writer with great ideas and an artist capable of putting those ideas to the page.
Well that’s it for this week, it’s great to back after 2 weeks, and I’d like to thank Alan Brown for inspiring this week’s blog entry and if you have any suggestions for any comic related Top 5’s then please leave them in the comments below. Thank You for Reading.
