Favorite comic book story arcs.

[GalvaTRION]

So yeah, post em', argue, bitch, etc.

City at War
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
vol.1 # 50-62

Back in the day, I was a big, big TMNT fan. Forced the parents to spend hundreds of dollars on so many damn toys, movies, bed sheets, curtains, food tie-ins, bodily care products, etc. I began getting into comics seriously in my early teens, reading Spider-Man, Transformers Generation 2, Spawn, and the Archie TMNT Adventures series. However, I had never been to a comic shop. Ever. Had no idea they existed until dad visited a friend who happened to own one. After some searching, I stumbled upon issue 58.

Up to that point, I had no idea that the turtles were originally a black and white comic book, independent, and not for kids (which isn't to say there was tits and gut-wrenching violence, it just wasn't intended for kids). The story arc- which I have yet to read in it's entirety due to the issues eluding me (this will hopefully change shortly)- shows the turtles in the way that I like them best. They're not superheros. They're just characters thrown into fucked-up situations.

Agh, gotta go. Get back to this later.

You guys turn.

[Johnny Unusual]

I got to say the entire run of Grant Morrison's New X-Men.  It was really underrated and introduced lots of cool ideas to the X-Men universe, as well as one of the best plot twists ever.  Too bad Marvel decided to ret-con it.  Seems like there was no reason to in my opinion.  But I especially like the idea of Mutant culture, which mixes different elements from different movements, cultures and subcultures.  Personally I thought it was really cool.

[mrbasehart]

I know it was a little messy, but I enjoyed the Death of Superman arc.  Doomsday probably shouldn't have been the one to "kill" Supes, but I thought the aftermath, with all the fake Supermen, was really interesting. 

I also enjoyed the Hal Jordan/Parallax storyline.  Killing the entire Green Lantern Corps? That's bad ass.

[NinjaComic]

Oh yeah, I loved Enmerald Twilight from Green Lantern.  Good stuff and that cover with Hal having all those rings and that twisted grin, priceless.

I also loved The Return of the Mask.  Walter is awesomely creepy.

[Nick]

I don't get into a lot of comics, mainly because I never know where to start. I'll see a comic and it will be labeled "Issue 25, Volume 12," and I won't get, because I know I'll be lost. And sometimes the universes get confusing with all the heroes running into each other and all these heroes and neyyaahh. But I do enjoy comic stories, when I know what's going on.

[Fortis]

The Dark Phoenix...dang, I didn't get enough comic books when I was a kid.

[Tyrant]

Well, the title doesn't deal with story arcs the same way superhero comics do, but I'd have to say my favorite right now are the most recent events in Walking Dead (which could be loosely considered an arc). Unlike most zombie titles, Walking Dead doesn't feature the main characters somehow trying to stop the zombies, or find cures or causes for the zombies, or running into a military installation to find out why there are zombies, etc. It's an ongoing chronicle of normal people just trying to survive.

 Thusly, it reads more like a soap opera where changes to the story gracefully roll into other changes and events aren't so rigidly divided. At any rate, the most recent events revolved around the main characters finding some measure of safety in a prison compound, but through a series of events, they're discovered by the leader of a small town (who, of all characters ever shown in WD, comes the closest to being considered 'evil') nearby who wants all the resources in the prison for said town, if not outright moving the population of the town into it for more safety. The story evolves from mere competing for territory to outright hatred and vengeance on the part of the town leader against the main characters, resulting in a bloody showdown that reached its climax in the last issue. Pivotal characters (some around since the first issues) have been killed and the prison sanctuary invaded by zombies.

 I'll add that Kirkman is a brilliant writer and doesn't insult the reader by being predictable by any fashion. His mantra with Walking Dead is that "no one is safe", even main/popular characters, and it makes for a very tense, engaging read.

[orionpaxxx]

I really loved the Fall of the Mutants that crossed between X-Men, X-Factor and New Mutants. And it was the reinvention of Arch-Angel!!

[a pretty girl is like]

I loved the early '90s Walt Simonson run on The Fantastic Four.  He had the FF romping and stomping all over and outside of time.  There's Kang, Galactus, a Celestial,  a time sled named Rosebud II, dinosaurs, a robot Stalin and Dr. Doom returns for one of the best fights in comic history .  The time battle between Doom and Reed Richards in issue 352 is an absolute masterpiece.

Another one I really like is The Kindly Ones storyline from The Sandman. I think the story started somewhere around issue 55 and runs about a dozen chapters altogether.   It has Neil Gaiman bringing together and tying up various plot points starting from the very beginning of the series. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It ends with Dream dying because it's the right thing for the story; he deserves his punishment.

[TeamRAD]

Venom single handedly brought me into the world of comics, but The Death of Gwen Stacy cemented my residency in it.

Arguably, I enjoyed it even more so in Busiek's Marvels.

/end Gwen Stacy love-fest

[mrbasehart]

I loved the early '90s Walt Simonson run on The Fantastic Four.  He had the FF romping and stomping all over and outside of time.  There's Kang, Galactus, a Celestial,  a time sled named Rosebud II, dinosaurs, a robot Stalin and Dr. Doom returns for one of the best fights in comic history .  The time battle between Doom and Reed Richards in issue 352 is an absolute masterpiece.

I also really liked Byrne's run on the FF, successfully managing to make an interesting character out of She-Hulk. 

[Johnny Unusual]

I loved the early '90s Walt Simonson run on The Fantastic Four.  He had the FF romping and stomping all over and outside of time.  There's Kang, Galactus, a Celestial,  a time sled named Rosebud II, dinosaurs, a robot Stalin and Dr. Doom returns for one of the best fights in comic history .  The time battle between Doom and Reed Richards in issue 352 is an absolute masterpiece.

Another one I really like is The Kindly Ones storyline from The Sandman. I think the story started somewhere around issue 55 and runs about a dozen chapters altogether.   It has Neil Gaiman bringing together and tying up various plot points starting from the very beginning of the series. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It ends with Dream dying because it's the right thing for the story; he deserves his punishment.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Well, I don't think it's so much the idea that he needs to be punished, though he has been cruel and merciless at times, but rather, I feel it's because he needs to die and he knows it.  He's bringing about change, which is something that he has sort of fought against for much of the series.  He knows that he needs to replace himself with something with something better.  If anything, I think that he sees his death as both scary yet freeing.  And it is indeed a great story.

[gbeenie]

Any of the arcs in Matt Wagner's Grendel series are terrific in and of themselves; the fact that they add up to tell what is, in my opinion, the greatest sci-fi epic comics has ever produced is an added bonus.

The "Death of Stinky" storyline in Peter Bagge's Hate!

"The Tornado's Path" from Brad Meltzer's excellent run on Justice League of America.

[Johnny Unusual]

I just finished The Inivisibles.  Still not entirely sure what it's about but nonetheless... WOW!

[BathTub]

I just finished The Inivisibles.  Still not entirely sure what it's about but nonetheless... WOW!

Hah right, that pretty much sums up the Invisibles. I don't know how it ended, but I read all the way to the end!