Since the 1930s, the American comic book industry, led by Marvel and DC, has ballooned into a powerhouse of fiction, with the various franchises created, such as Batman and Superman, having become multi-billion dollar properties. From the outset, the industry has been shaped, revolutionized and improved by a series of comics, creative teams and iconic runs. This can happen for a variety of reasons, from sales dominance to influence on a new generation of storytellers.
The comic book industry has undergone a variety of distinct phases and ages, beginning with the Golden Age as superheroes surpassed pulp magazines, leading to the current Modern Age. Sometimes, a comic can have a profound effect without maintaining particular popularity, while others have retained a seminal status with new generations. Either way, it’s hard to deny the lasting impact of some comics.
10 Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars
Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck and John Beatty
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars follows the epic battle between the heroes and villains of the 616, as a cosmic entity, the Beyonder, transports them to a faraway planet known as Battleworld. Pitched in an epic war of good versus evil, the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine and Hulk take on iconic foes like Doctor Doom, Ultron and Kang the Conqueror.
Secret Wars is often cited as the first true event in comic book history, with its story rippling through Marvel continuity for years to come, most famously Spider-Man’s black suit leading to the creation of Venom. Interestingly, the black suit was actually pitched to Marvel by a reader, making it one of the most successful pieces of fan art in comic book history.
9 The Dark Knight Returns
Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley
In 1986, Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s Dark Knight Returns took readers to a future Gotham City, where Bruce Wayne had retired as Batman. However, with the city experiencing an unprecedented level of violent crime at the hands of the Mutant gang, the hero makes his comeback, challenging the gang’s leader to put an end to their chaos.
The Dark Knight Returns wasn’t just a commercial success, it led to an explosion in prestige-format character explorations, not to mention a wave of “old man” style comics. Without Miller’s handling of the character, it’s uncertain whether evergreen stories like “Old Man Logan,” Peter David’s “Maestro” Hulk comics and other classics would exist.
8 Crisis On Infinite Earths
Marv Wolfman and George Perez
In 1986, DC released Crisis On Infinite Earths with a sole mission: to simplify their continuity and offer a clean slate for a new generation of readers. This was achieved on multiple fronts, from the return of classic heroes who had been moved to Earth-2, to the destruction of alternate worlds and the death of major heroes, paving the way for younger successors. By all accounts, the event was a ringing success.
The story itself follows the arrival of a major super villain, the Anti-Monitor, who begins destroying entire universes within the multiverse. In response, a Monitor assembles a team of heroes from a variety of different worlds to repel the villain’s assault, and protect as many worlds as they can. The event, which had tie-ins across a multitude of ongoing titles, made DC the most exciting publisher of the late ’80s, and even explained the addition of the newly-acquired Charlton heroes.
7 Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Watchmen takes place in its own continuity, and explores a retired team of superheroes, the Watchmen. After a former member, Comedian, is murdered in his apartment, the masked detective Rorschach takes the case, exploring what happened to his old teammate. As he probes deeper into the mystery, he uncovers a conspiracy with horrifying implications, and attempts to bring the man responsible to justice, no matter the cost. Moore’s story helped popularize the wave of darker stories that followed, such as Preacher, Sandman and Hellblazer.
Watchmen is a significant comic book not for its characters or even sales, but rather the impact it had on the industry, whether that was writers, publishers or readers. It prompted a new generation of creative teams to focus in on character and genre deconstruction more than ever, exploring what makes a superhero tick. The influence of Moore’s script can be found in the modern day writings of everyone from Tom King and Christopher Cantwell to Mark Millar and Geoff Johns.
6 The X-Men #1
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The world of Marvel Comics is today defined by its focus on relatable superheroes who experience quintessentially human struggles, despite their extraordinary abilities. While the concept was touched on in the earlier Fantastic Four comics, it was through the X-Men that the company defined its core formula. Through the Mutants, a long line of writers, beginning with Stan Lee, were able to explore themes of ostracism, prejudice and discrimination, even if that became more fleshed out in later runs.
Uncanny X-Men #1 introduced the world to a variety of iconic Marvel heroes, such as Beast, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) and Cyclops, not to mention Charles Xavier. Lee and Kirby’s collaboration on the series gave Marvel its flagship team comic, something that’s still a sales powerhouse today, far surpassing the comic success of even the Avengers.
5 Flash #123
Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson
The Silver Age was heralded by the creation of Barry Allen as the new Flash, with DC effectively erasing Jay Garrick from their main continuity. This, as well as the creation of Hal Jordan a few years later, was done to reel in a new generation of comic readers, who wanted more science fiction, action and energetic designs. In Flash #123, the company explained that the older heroes hadn’t been erased at all, but rather moved to another world, Earth-2, thereby establishing the first comic book multiverse.
In 2024, the use of a multiverse in comics is so common readers take it for granted, but the concept simply didn’t exist for superheroes before Flash #123. Though the scientific theory had been explored years before, applying the idea to the DCU proved to be a stroke of genius, and it would later offer publishers an unprecedented degree of creative freedom. While some may lament the overuse of the idea, it’s hard to deny that it’s a dominant force in modern-day superhero stories.
4 All-Star Comics #3
Gardner Fox, Everett E. Hibbard, Bernard Baily, Ben Flinton, Martin Nodell, Sheldon Moldoff, Sheldon Mayer and Howard Sherman
In 1941, DC made comic book history through the creation of the Justice Society of America, the industry’s first superhero team. Made up of Spectre, Doctor Fate, Atom, Hawkman, Hourman, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott and Sandman, the team’s first meeting sees each member recount his best adventure. While the story itself was far from revolutionary, the idea of moving towards a team dynamic gave DC something unique.
All-Star Comics #3 doesn’t mark the debut of any of its characters, but assembling a team of superheroes when the industry had always been defined by solo stories made a big difference. The story would lay the foundations for Fox’s later creation of the Justice League, which even featured the updated versions of classic mantles Green Lantern and Flash. Superhero teams are abundant in comics today, but they owe everything to the JSA.
3 Detective Comics #27
Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Just one year after the success of Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1, DC released Detective Comics #27, where the world was introduced to Bruce Wayne: the Bat-Man. In his breakout first story, the character investigates the murder of a chemical mogul, sparing the victim’s son a wrongful arrest and finding the true culprits.
As great as Superman is, the unprecedented and unmatched sales dominance of Batman is undeniable, as he’s become the unofficial flagship character of DC Comics. With enough comic book appearances to form the second largest publisher behind Marvel, The Dark Knight has helped carry DC to the top sales spot for many years, also elevating new characters through shared appearances. Having defined the street-level vigilante archetype, the influence of ‘Tec #27 can be found in series from Daredevil and Question to Midnighter and Punisher.
2 Fantastic Four #1
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In 1960, Stan Lee had grown tired of writing the same formulaic tales that were all flash and no substance. As he would tell the story, he was on the brink of quitting his job at Marvel when his wife, Joan, suggested that he write a comic the way he wanted to. As she explained, if the company hated it and fired him, it wouldn’t matter since he was going to quit anyway. Teaming up with Jack Kirby, Lee co-created The Fantastic Four, a team of otherwise ordinary and relatable characters who formed a superhero family.
While many look back on X-Men as the turning point in Marvel history, it wouldn’t have been possible without the earlier success of Fantastic Four. Not only did the comic completely reshape the landscape of Marvel Comics, it shifted the focus towards character development, team dynamics and built the enduring legacy of the Lee/Kirby partnership. Without this debut issue, the 616, as readers know and love it today, simply wouldn’t exist. It worth noting the parallels to Kirby’s own co-creation at DC, the Challengers of the Unknown, which had an undeniable influence on the series.
1 Action Comics #1
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
In 1938, long-time creative partners Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster turned in the debut of Superman in the main story of Action Comics #1. In a time before the superhero genre even existed, and comics were dominated by detectives and cowboys, their tale of an alien hero saving the innocent from injustice was nothing short of experimental. While they had toyed with the idea of superheroes in their Doctor Occult stories, it was through the Man of Steel that the modern superhero mythos was born.
Action Comics #1 follows the origin story of Superman, from the death of Krypton to his discovery as an infant by the Kents. Walking readers through his life, from a child learning the limits of his abilities to the reporter Clark Kent, almost everything that defines superhero comics today sprang from this issue. Famously, the character’s future wasn’t even certain until the sales figures came in months later, proving the character a major hit. While some people may prefer Batman, Spider-Man or Wolverine, none of it would have been possible had the Man of Tomorrow not been a hit.