The International Best Comics Poll was first published at The Hooded Utilitarian in August of 2011. The material remains available at that site. I conceived, organized, and edited the project. I'm cross-publishing my posts and the participant lists here for personal archival purposes. Links to essay contributions by other writers will go to saved versions of The Hooded Utilitarian pages on www.archive.org.
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The following lists were submitted in response to the question, "What are the ten comics works you consider your favorites, the best, or the most significant?" All lists have been edited for consistency, clarity, and to fix minor copy errors. Unranked lists are alphabetized by title. In instances where the vote varies somewhat with the Top 115 entry the vote was counted towards, an explanation of how the vote was counted appears below it.
In the case of divided votes, only works fitting the description that received multiple votes on their own received the benefit. For example, in Jessica Abel's list, she voted for The Post-Superhero comics of David Mazzucchelli. That vote was divided evenly between Asterios Polyp and Paul Auster's City of Glass because they fit that description and received multiple votes on their own. It was not in any way applied to the The Rubber Blanket Stories because that material did not receive multiple votes from other participants.
Terry LaBan
Cartoonist, Edge City, Cud
• (1.) Thimble Theatre, starring Popeye, E. C. Segar
• (2.) The Zap Comix Stories and “Whiteman Meets Bigfoot,” R. Crumb
Counted as a vote for The Counterculture-Era Stories, R. Crumb
• (3.) Works, Osamu Tezuka
Counted as a 0.25 vote each for Black Jack, Buddha, Hi no Tori [Phoenix], and Kirihito Sanka [Ode to Kirihito]
• (4.) Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, Justin Green
• (5.) Bloom County, Berkeley Breathed
• (6.) Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz (between 1955-1970)
• (7.) The Donald Duck and Uncle $crooge Stories, Carl Barks
• (8.) The Editorial Cartoons, Pat Oliphant (1960s-1980s)
• (9.) Two-Fisted Tales, Harvey Kurtzman, et al.
Counted as a vote for The EC Comics War Stories, Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis et al.
Nicolas Labarre
Writer, A grands traits
• The Authority, Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch
• Black Hole, Charles Burns
• Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
• Cerebus, Dave Sim & Gerhard
• Chichi no Koyomi [The Almanac of My Father], Jiro Taniguchi
• Gasoline Alley, Frank King
• Gaston LaGaffe, André Franquin
• The Locas Stories, Jaime Hernandez
• The Long Tomorrow, Dan O’Bannon & Jean “Moebius” Giraud
• Les Phalanges de l’ordre noir [The Black Order Brigade], Pierre Christin & Enki Bilal
Blaise Larmee
Cartoonist, Young Lions
• Christina and Charles, Austin English
• Exploding Head Man, Jason Overby
• Jessica, Jason Overby
• KE7, Hall Hassi
• 1981, White Shasta
• Obligatory Artifact, Jason Overby
• 2001, Blaise Larmee
• 2101, Jason Overby
• The Whale, Aidan Koch
• Young Lions, Blaise Larmee
Carol Lay
Cartoonist, Way Lay
• Alias the Cat, Kim Deitch
• The Donald Duck and Uncle $crooge Stories, Carl Barks
• Doonesbury, Garry B. Trudeau
• The EC Comics edited by Harvey Kurtzman
Counted as a 0.5 vote each for The EC Comics War Stories and MAD #1-27, Harvey Kurtzman, et al.
• Krazy Kat, George Herriman
• Li’l Abner, Al Capp (through the 1950s)
• The New Yorker Cartoons, Charles Addams
• The Political Cartoons and Sculptures, Paul Conrad
• Thimble Theatre, starring Popeye, E. C. Segar
• The Zap Comix Stories, R. Crumb
The Counterculture-Era Stories, R. Crumb
COMMENTS
Here are some faves, not necessarily in order of preference…just a list.
Jeff Lemire
Cartoonist, Essex County
• The Alec Stories, Eddie Campbell
• All-Star Superman, Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely
• Cages, Dave McKean
• The Fourth World Stories, Jack Kirby, with Mike Royer, et al.
• From Hell, Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell
• George Sprott, Seth
• Hicksville, Dylan Horrocks
• Ice Haven, Daniel Clowes
• The Swamp Thing Stories, Alan Moore & Stephen R. Bissette, John Totleben, Rick Veitch, et al.
COMMENTS
Honorable Mentions: Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli; Black Hole, Charles Burns; Clumsy and Unlikely, Jeffrey Brown; A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories, Will Eisner; DC: The New Frontier, Darwyn Cooke; Scalped, Jason Aaron & R. M. Guéra; Skim, Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki; 3 Story, Matt Kindt; Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons.
Sonny Liew
Illustrator, My Faith in Frankie; cartoonist, Malinky Robot
• (1.) The ACME Novelty Library, Chris Ware
Counted as a 0.25 vote each for “Building Stories,” Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Quimby the Mouse, and Rusty Brown, including “Lint”
• (2.) I Never Liked You, Chester Brown
• (3.) “Here,” Richard McGuire
• (4.) Neji-Shiki [Screw Style], Yoshiharu Tsuge
• (5.) Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
• (6.) Yotsuba&!, Kiyohiko Azuma
• (7.) Town Boy, Lat
• (8.) Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller, with Klaus Janson & Lynn Varley
• (9.) Eightball, Daniel Clowes
Counted as a 0.2 vote each for Caricature: Nine Stories, David Boring, The Death Ray, Ghost World, and Ice Haven
• (10.) When the Wind Blows, Raymond Briggs
Alec Longstreth
Cartoonist, Phase 7
• (1.) The Donald Duck and Uncle $crooge Stories, Carl Barks
• (2.) The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck, Don Rosa
• (3.) Bone, Jeff Smith
• (4.) Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud
• (5.) King-Cat Comics and Stories, John Porcellino
• (6.) Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
• (7.) Tintin, Hergé
• (8.) The ACME Novelty Library, Chris Ware
Counted as a 0.25 vote each for “Building Stories,” Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Quimby the Mouse, and Rusty Brown, including “Lint”
• (9.) The Mickey Mouse Newspaper Strips, Floyd Gottfredson
• (10.) Spiral-Bound, Aaron Renier
Jay Lynch
Cartoonist, Bijou Funnies
• Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, Justin Green
• Humbug, Harvey Kurtzman, et al.
• MAD #1-27, Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, et al.
• The Zap Comix Stories, R. Crumb
Counted as a vote for The Counterculture-Era Stories, R. Crumb
John MacLeod
Cartoonist, Dishman
• BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Harold Sakuishi
• Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
• The Fourth World Stories, Jack Kirby, with Mike Royer, et al.
• Love and Rockets, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez
Counted as a 0.5 vote each for The Locas Stories, Jaime Hernandez, and The Palomar Stories, Gilbert Hernandez
• Nijusseiki Shônen [20th Century Boys], Naoki Urasawa
• Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz
• Pogo, Walt Kelly
• Rip Kirby, Alex Raymond
• Terry and the Pirates, Milton Caniff
• Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Matt Madden
Cartoonist, 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style; co-editor, The Best American Comics series; instructor, School of Visual Arts
• The Collaborative Works, José Muñoz & Carlos Sampayo
Counted as a vote for The Alack Sinner and Le Bar à Joe [Joe’s Bar] Stories, José Muñoz & Carlos Sampayo
• The Comics and Sketchbook Works, Gary Panter
Counted as a vote for The Jimbo Stories, Gary Panter
• Corto Maltese, Hugo Pratt
• Ice Haven, Daniel Clowes
• "Gloriana,", Kevin Huizenga
• Works, Edmond Baudoin
• Works, R. Crumb
Counted as a 0.333 vote each for The Book of Genesis Illustrated, The Counterculture-Era Stories, and The Weirdo-Era Stories
• Works, Hergé
Counted as a vote for Tintin, Hergé
• Works, Jaime Hernandez
Counted as a vote for The Locas Stories, Jaime Hernandez
• Works, George Herriman
Counted as a vote for Krazy Kat, George Herriman
• Works, Saul Steinberg
Larry Marder
Cartoonist, Beanworld; erstwhile Executive Director, Image Comics
• Bone, Jeff Smith
• The Conan the Barbarian Stories, Roy Thomas & Barry Windsor-Smith, with Sal Buscema, et al.
• The Fantastic Four, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, with Joe Sinnott, et al.
• The Fourth World Stories, Jack Kirby, with Mike Royer, et al.
• “Grieving Lincoln”, Bill Mauldin
• The Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Stories, Jim Steranko, with Joe Sinnott, et al.
• “Superman Red and Superman Blue”, Mort Weisinger, Leo Dorfman, and Curt Swan, with George Klein
Counted as a vote for The Superman Stories, Mort Weisinger & Curt Swan, Wayne Boring, et al.
• Thor, including “Tales of Asgard,” Jack Kirby & Stan Lee, with Larry Lieber, et al.
• Up Front, Bill Mauldin
• The Zap Comix Stories, R. Crumb
Counted as a vote for The Counterculture-Era Stories, R. Crumb
COMMENTS
This is my list today.
It might have been a different list if I compiled it yesterday or tomorrow.
Do I think this is the list of the best comics ever?
Not really.
But this is the list of some of the things that stuck with me, influenced me, and made me whatever sort of cartoonist I am today.
Thanks for asking.
MariNaomi
Cartoonist, Kiss & Tell
• Bottomless Belly Button, Dash Shaw
• I Never Liked You, Chester Brown
• The Insect God, Edward Gorey
Counted as a vote for Works, Edward Gorey
• Jizz, Scott Russo
• Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, Art Spiegelman
• Paying For It, Chester Brown
• Peepshow, Joe Matt
• Real Stuff, Dennis P. Eichhorn, et al.
• Slutburger, Mary Fleener
• You’ll Never Know, C. Tyler
COMMENTS
Here are the top-ten comics that blew me away… This was really, really difficult, and does not include mini comics. Nor does it include any of my friends, many of whom produce amazing comics, but because I know them I feel like I'm biased.
Vom Marlowe
Contributing writer, www.HoodedUtilitarian.com
• (1.) Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz
• (2.) The Sandman, Neil Gaiman, et al.
• (3.) Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
• (4.) Raburesu [Loveless], Yun Kouga
• (5.) Furûtsu Basaketto [Fruits Basket], Natsuki Takaya
• (6.) Gensômaden Saiyûki [Saiyuki], Kazuya Minekura
• (7.) Life in Hell, Matt Groening
• (8.) Junjo Romantica, Shungiku Nakamura
• (9.) Sono Yubi Dake ga Shitte Iru [Only the Ring Finger Knows], Satoru Kannagi & Hotaru Odagiri
• (10.) Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston & Harry G. Peter
COMMENTS
This is a mix of my favorites, what consider most significant, and what I think are the best. A bit of all of them, really.
Benjamin Marra
Cartoonist, The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd
• American Century, Howard Chaykin, David Tischman, and Marc Laming, with John Stokes
• American Flagg!, Howard Chaykin
• The EC Comics Line, Maxwell Gaines, Founder
Counted as a 0.25 vote each for The EC Comics Science-Fiction Stories, Al Feldstein & Wallace Wood, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, et al., The EC Comics War Stories, Harvey Kurtzman & John Severin, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, et al., MAD #1-27, Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, et al., and “Master Race” and Other EC Comics Stories, Bernard Krigstein, et al.
• The Fantastic Four, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, with Joe Sinnott, et al.
• The Fourth World Stories, Jack Kirby, with Mike Royer, et al.
• Lobo’s Paramilitary Christmas Special, Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, and Simon Bisley
• Marvelman [Miracleman], Alan Moore & Garry Leach
• The Spirit, Will Eisner
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird
• Tintin, Hergé
Scott Marshall
Cartoonist, The DIY Comic, Dregs
• The Cage, Martin Vaughn-James
• The Fantastic Four, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, with Joe Sinnott, et al.
• Kozure Ôkami [Lone Wolf and Cub], Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima
• MAD #1-27, Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, et al.
• The Micronauts, Bill Mantlo & Michael Golden, et al.
• Scary Go Round, John Allison
• The Spirit, Will Eisner
• Tintin, Hergé
• Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
COMMENTS
God, so many more I could name; hopefully somebody else will do so...?
Robert Stanley Martin
Writer, Pol Culture; contributing writer, www.HoodedUtilitarian.com
• The Alec Stories, Eddie Campbell (especially Graffiti Kitchen and The Fate of the Artist)
• Black Hole, Charles Burns
• Blueberry, Jean-Michel Charlier & Jean “Moebius” Giraud
• Breakdowns and “Two-Fisted Painters”, Art Spiegelman
• Feiffer and Sick, Sick, Sick, Jules Feiffer
• From Hell, Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell
• Fugaku Sanjûrokkei [Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji], Katsushika Hokusai
• Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz
• Watchmen, Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
• "Yanagi no Ki [The Willow Tree]," Moto Hagio
Counted as a vote for A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, Moto Hagio
Chris Mautner
Contributing Writer, Robot 6, The Comics Journal
• (1.) Thimble Theatre, starring Popeye, E. C. Segar
• (2.) Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz
• (3.) The Weirdo Stories, R. Crumb
• (4.) Little Nemo in Slumberland, Winsor McCay
• (5.) Krazy Kat, George Herriman
• (6.) Dick Tracy, Chester Gould
• (7.) Quimby the Mouse, Chris Ware
• (8.) Hi no Tori: Uchû-Hen [Phoenix: Karma], Osamu Tezuka
• (9.) “Browntown” and “The Love Bunglers,” Jaime Hernandez
Counted as a vote for The Locas Stories
• (10.) Poison River, Gilbert Hernandez
Counted as a vote for The Palomar Stories
COMMENTS
In no particular order and with the understanding that this list fluctuates on an almost daily basis, here’s my personal top ten.
Joe McCulloch (Jog Mack)
Writer, Jog the Blog; contributing writer, The Savage Critics, www.comiXology.com, The Comics Journal
• La Comète de Carthage [The Comet of Carthage], Yves Chaland & Yann Lepennetier
• Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise, Gary Panter
• “The Last of the Summer Wine,” Eddie Campbell
• “Minnie’s 3rd Love or: ‘Nightmare on Polk Street’,” Phoebe Gloeckner
Counted as a vote for A Child’s Life and Other Stories, Phoebe Gloeckner
• Rogan Gosh, Peter Milligan & Brendan McCarthy
• Neji-Shiki [Screw Style], Yoshiharu Tsuge
• “I Guess (Thrilling Adventure Stories)”, Chris Ware
• Untitled [“The New Adventures of Measles” short from Measles #2], Gilbert Hernandez
• “What Makes a Hero?”, Steve Ditko, with D.C. Glanzman
COMMENTS
Please delete all other entries you have received, as these are the correct selections.
Sheena McNeil
Contributing Writer, Sequential Tart
• Black Bird, Kanoko Sakurakoji
• Doragon Kishidan [Dragon Knights], Mineko Ohkami
• Ekkusu [X/1999], CLAMP
• Garfield, Jim Davis
• Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Jhonen Vasquez
• Kizuna: Koi no Kara Sawagi [Kizuna: Bonds of Love], Kazuma Kodaka
• The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle, Peter B. Gillis, Renea DeLiz, and Ray Dillon
• Poison Elves, Drew Hayes
• Rôdosu-tô Senki [Record of Lodoss War], Ryo Mizuno, et al.
• Tank Girl, Jamie Hewlett & Alan Martin
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