posted February 13, 2003 04:04 PM            

I'd nominate:

Action 500
Batman 200, 300
Brave and Bold 100
Detective 500
Green Lantern/Green Arrow 100
JLA 200
Superman 300

posted February 13, 2003 08:49 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Not My Real Name:
How 'bout when Action 1000 comes out, DC releases a hard cover reprinting all the "century" issues?

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The only major problem is that while Action #700 was a great story, it was part of a bigger story, that had been running for several months before, and for a few weeks after.

However, if they release a TPB of the Battle and Fall of Metropolis by then, it'll be okay.

posted February 14, 2003 12:38 AM               

JLA #200, on the other hand, was an excellent anniversary issue. It featured most of the members, including J'onn and Green Arrow, who were currently inactive, but excluding Hawkgirl. It had a triple length self-contained story, and featured many popular guest artists drawing the characters for whom they were best known.

posted February 14, 2003 03:28 PM            

JLA 200 is my favorite jam issue with some of the best artists in comics history.

B&B 100 may be a more nostalgic favorite than an issue that holds up but it was rare in those days to have a four-way team-up and the GL/GA/BC characters were at their height due to the O'Neil/Adams run. Aparo's pencils and inks were really sharp back then, too. It might be a good test for a B&B Archives.

posted February 14, 2003 05:01 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Coleo:
I can't think of a DC anniversary issue in years that truly felt like something special. The post-Crisis Superman books are always dissapointments, usually tied heavily into continuity (as with the inane and instantly forgettable Fall of Metropolis story in Action #700). Big milestone issues should be stand-alone stories, and draw on the best talent in comics. Superman #400 and JLA #200 met both critera; they were wonderful to look at and really celebrated the books and characters. These days anniversary issues are usually just missed opportunities. (That said, it sounds like DC actually tried something different with Action #800. I look forward to reading that one.)

Cole

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Probably the last major landmark issues that wasn't drowned in storyarcs and the like was, IIRC, Batman #400 and Detective #600. And those were over 13 years ago.

Even when a bunch of titles hit the #100 mark about 8 years ago (Superman, WW, GA, JLA, and Flash), all the involved titles either started or ended major storylines with the anniversary issue.

The early-to-mid Eighties had a good spurt of anniversary issues. In 1983, Brave and the Bold #200, Legion #300, Adventure #500, Detective #526 and Action #544 were the first issues that featured a unified 'Anniversary' banner across the top in a bronzed shiny texture. With the exception of Adventure #500 (a digest that featured all Legion reprints), each isue from that bunch had a distinctive and memorable story that was selfcontained or stand-alone, that celebrated the longevity of each title.

I was always partial to the covers that were collages of other covers (Brave and the Bold #150, SLoSH #250, WFC #250, Action #500, and a couple others I may have forgotten). GL/GA #100 and B&B #150 stand out because they ran an issue-by-issue checklist of every story and writter/artist team that had worked on the title.

posted February 14, 2003 09:34 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by greene:
My favorite 'anniversary' comic is "Blondie" no. 200 (Oct. 1972 - Charlton), due to the cover. It's a double-framed portrait (envision the "My Little Margie" series opening)...

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