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The "Comic Budgets" thread got me to thinking.....

If I had to cut back to only 10 books, what would I settle in on? At first I was thinking, "Gee, I'd need to get various Marvel/DC books to keep up with those universes."

Then again, a lot of the books I would be getting in that event are frankly not my absolute favorite books. So I thought I'd look at it another way. What are the 10 books that I am enjoying MOST right now? If I had to really cut down to 10, those are the ones I'd be best off cutting back to, for maximum comics enjoyment.

So, list your "Top 10" on this thread (no particular ranking order is necessary) and throw in a couple of "back-up" titles, since sometimes things don't exactly come out monthly, so you may have some extras you can pick up in any given month when delays happen.

Wow! I went through my list and marked down all my "favorite top of the stack" books and there were 25 books, so I obviously had to trim that down quite a bit.

My Top 10 (not in any ranked order)
1) Walking Dead
2) Invincible
3) Fables
4) Action Comics (as long as Geoff Johns is writing it)
5) Green Lantern (as long as Geoff Johns is writing it)
6) Justice League of America
7) Justice Society of America
8 ) Daredevil
9) Nova
10) Invincible Iron Man

Extras:
* Fell (this comes out very infrequently, I could probably grab this when it does come out)
* The Sword (fill this in when either Walking Dead or Invincible ships late and does not take one of my slots up in a month)

Interesting things:
* Even though I have ALL the issues of Amazing Spider-Man, I would not be consuming 3 of my monthly slots picking this book up. I'd have to hope to go back and pick these up down the road after my budgetary crisis was over.

* I like Bendis & Avengers, but I would not be getting any of these titles. New & Mighty both read as Secret Invasion appendices, and are not able to be read standalone, so they would not make the cut.

* I like Captain America, but the title focuses on a character who is not "My Cap", so as nicely written as it is, I could skip this one.

* Ultimate Spider-Man, like Cap, is a great book, but not the "real" Spider-Man to me, so I could skip it.

Just 10 comics a month?

Man, that would require seriously deep cuts.

My Top 10 (not in any ranked order)
1) Action Comics
2) Birds of Prey
3) Booster Gold
4) Captain America
5) Fables
6) PS 238
7) Teen Titans
8 ) Green Lantern
9) Justice League of America
10) Justice Society of America

There are two limited series I'd also want to keep getting:
1) Sword
2) Project Superpowers

The other title I really enjoy but would not make the cut would be Walking Dead.

Basically, Marvel would be pretty much dropped.

Keep in mind that I'm getting around 30 or more comics a week so cutting back to 10 a month would require tossing out a bunch of really good titles.

I'd also have to seriously consider switching to trades if I had to cut down that far.

On the upside, I'd have a lot more time to be reading the back issues I have...

Trinity
True Story Swear To God
Fell
Toupydoops
Comic Book Comics
Jughead
Daredevil
Pretty much anything with Paul Azecata art
would probably add Jeff Parker/ Fred Van Lente Adventure titles

I don't really have any top ten titles right now. Trinity is up there right now, I like the frequency, I like that I get a big chunk in the box. Doctor Who and Gargoyles used to be on there, but I realised I was paying for properties over quality, in my opinion, and I couldn't support them out of fondness.

If limited I would add some titles that are just fun without much investment in continuity and what not, hence Jughead and the Adventure titles. And this is not really definitive at all. There are things at San Diego that piqued my interest, and every month there are things I leave behind in Previews with the idea that I will get them in trade.

Hmmm..... I guess mine would be

My Top 10 (not in any ranked order)
1) Justice Society of America
2) PS238
3) Fables
4) Manhunter
5) Justice League of America
6) Echo
7) Nova
8 )Trinity
9) Action Comics
10) Booster Gold

Punisher Max
Punisher War Journal
New Avengers
Mighty Avengers
The Boys
Powers
Astonishing Xmen
And 3 spots for Avatar's books. I average 3-5 Avatar books a month.

Frank Castle wrote:Punisher Max
And 3 spots for Avatar's books. I average 3-5 Avatar books a month.

But you buy all those variant covers......would you settle in & just get the wraparound covers? Those are the ones I tend to favor....

1) Flash
2) Green Lantern
3) Justice Society of America
4) Justice League of America
5) Action Comics
6) Madame Xanadu
7) Rann/Thanagar Holy War (this would be were I could rotate minis)
Daredevil
9) Amazing Spider-man
10) True Story Swear to God

JLAFan wrote:

Frank Castle wrote:Punisher Max
And 3 spots for Avatar's books. I average 3-5 Avatar books a month.

But you buy all those variant covers......would you settle in & just get the wraparound covers? Those are the ones I tend to favor....

Damn you, you saw right through me.

I do like the wraps a little more, I guess it would just be a game time decision on which one is better.

1. Doktor Sleepless
2. Gravel
3. Hellblazer
4. Ghost Rider
5. The Living Corpse
6. Nightwing
7. X Force
8. Simon Dark
9. Madam Xanadu
10. Green Arrow/Black Canary

There are other Mini's I would get over some of the ongoing in that list but I wasn't going to count them as they have an expiry date.

Lord Shaper wrote:1. Doktor Sleepless
2. Gravel
3. Hellblazer
4. Ghost Rider
5. The Living Corpse
6. Nightwing
7. X Force
8. Simon Dark
9. Madam Xanadu
10. Green Arrow/Black Canary

There are other Mini's I would get over some of the ongoing in that list but I wasn't going to count them as they have an expiry date.

Interesting to see Nightwing and Green Arrow/Black Canary on your list.

I'm enjoying both of those books. But to cut back to just 10 books a month would require even titles I enjoy like those to be cut. They did make it past the first round for me only to get replaced by PS 238 and Teen Titans.

My Top 10 (not in any ranked order)
1) The Goon
2) Batman
3) Green Lantern
4) Captain America
5) Justice Society of America
6) Nova
7) Guardians of The Galaxy
8 ) Booster Gold
9) Daredevil
10) Astounding Wolf-Man

Thanks, these lists are helpful to me. I'm getting back in to reading comics from a few years on break. I'm looking up all these titles as good suggestions. I've also been listening to the latest CBP podcasts, thanks John and Bob.

One thing that would make it easier for the newbies, please list the publisher along with the titles, mostly just for the alternative publishers. Another thing that would be good to write a line or two about why you like these titles the most. Only your top three titles as it may take too much time to write about all ten.

I don't have a top ten yet as I'm establishing what I like. Right now, I'm really liking Hellboy, Conan, Fables, X-Force, Astonishing X-men, and Amazing Spider-Man.

As you wish, Ian!!!

1) Walking Dead (Image) - The zombie book that's more about the survival in a "world gone mad" than about mindless zombie gore. Seriously good human stories in a post-apocalytic setting.

2) Invincible (Image) - Out-super-heroing Marvel & DC. Less continuity cluttered and just plain fun

3) Fables (Vertigo) - What if fairy tale characters were real, and were really interesting? After the War is over, Willingham promises it finally going to get really good! Everything up until now has been a prologue.

4) Action Comics (DC) - Geoff Johns is telling some of the best Superman stories in a decade or more

5) Green Lantern (DC) - Geoff Johns again, bringing back what I always loved about GL. Cosmic-scale adventure & adversaries for a guy whose ring is the most powerful weapon in the universe.

6) Justice League of America (DC) - DC's biggest & best heroes all under one roof! If I'm just going to get a few comics, I get some serious bang for my buck here.

7) Justice Society of America (DC) - More of DC's "big guns", but more of the Golden Age legacy. Written by Geoff Johns, these stories are worthy of the heroes they are presenting to us.

8 ) Daredevil (Marvel) - Ed Brubaker is telling some really good stories from the gritty "street side" of the Marvel U. Kind of like a crime noir novel with a guy in red tights.

9) Nova (Marvel) - A visit to the "cosmic" side of the Marvel U, I really like these stories that pick up about where the Annihilation stuff left off.

10) Invincible Iron Man (Marvel) - Matt Fraction is telling some really entertaining stories in a somewhat less continuity cluttered series that is reader-friendly for someone who hasn't much more familiarity with Iron Man than seeing the movie.

1) The Goon (Dark Horse) - Started off as a humor book, but as gotten more serious as the series goes on while keeping its trademark humor. Also, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous.

2) Batman (DC) - Grant Morisson is the current writer and has been bringing the wacky Batman stories of the Fifties back into continuity. For a fifties Batman nerd like me, it's a blast, but the stories are still solid if you haven't read the past issues being referenced.

3) Green Lantern (DC) - Great writing and art, a solid superhero book. Exciting storyarcs with little things here and there that allude to big things to come.

4) Captain America (Marvel) - Same as above.

5) Justice Society of America (DC) - Large cast of characters with their own personalities with an emphasis on the enduring legacy of superheroes.

6) Nova (Marvel) - Cosmic fun. While most Marvel books take place on earth, Nova has an entire universe of stories to tell.

7) Guardians of The Galaxy (Marvel) - Same as above, only with a team of cosmic heroes including Rocket Raccoon.

8 ) Booster Gold (DC) - Time travel through the DC universe.

9) Daredevil (Marvel) - Makes you care about the man behind the mask.

10) Astounding Wolf-Man (Image) - Superheroes + Werewolves + Vampires. Nuff said.