The Capes and Tights Podcast started as The Maine State of Mind and featured Paul Eaton of Galactic Comics and Collectibles as a regular guest for episodes entitled “The Pull List” in which the crew discussed comic book related topics. Looking back on these episodes we are featuring our “Top-10 Comic Book Story Arcs” list for you here.
Here is a list of my top-10 comic book story arcs. To get the entire list, including Paul’s favorite comic book story arcs, check out the old episode.
#10 // SIEGE
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: December 2009 – May 2010
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Olivier Coipel
Siege deals with the climax of the “Dark Reign” storyline, which saw Norman Osborn become the United States primary defense officer, leading H.A.M.M.E.R. as well as employing his own evil Avengers.
#9 // THE WALKING DEAD: MADE TO SUFFER
Publisher: Image Comics
Dates: October 2007 – April 2008
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Adlard
In Made To Suffer, the Governor has finally found the prison and attacks with amazing force. The group is torn over what action to take. While many choose to stay, others leave to fend for themselves. As the body counts rises and more and more damage is done to both sides, things will literally never be the same again for Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors.
#8 // PLANET HULK
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: April 2006 – June 2007
Writer: Greg Pak
Artists: Carlo Pagulayan, Aaron Lopresti
Planet Hulk ran primarily through issues of The Incredible Hulk starting in 2006. It dealt with the Marvel heroes’ decision to send the Hulk away, his acclimation to and conquest of the planet where he landed, and his efforts to return to Earth to take his revenge.
#7 // MAXIMUM CARNAGE
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: May 1993 – August 1993
Writers: Tom DeFalco, J.M. DeMatteis, Terry Kavanagh, David Michelinie
Artists: Ron Lim, Alex Saviuk, Mark Bagley, Tom Lyle
Maximum Carnage is a 14-part comic book crossover in the Spider-Man family of titles in 1993. It featured Spider-Man, Venom, and a host of other superheroes teaming up to face Venom’s murderous offspring Carnage and his team of supervillains.
#6 // THE WALKING DEAD: ALL OUT WAR
Publisher: Image Comics
Dates: October 2013 – April 2014
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Charlie Adlard
All Out War refers to two separate volumes of the Comic Series. The comic book story arcs cover the war-like conflict between The Militia led by Rick Grimes and The Saviors led by Negan.
#5 // AVENGERS VS. X-MEN
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: October 2013 – April 2014
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman
Artists: John Romita Jr., Olivier Coipel, Adam Kubert
Avengers vs. X-Men (AvX or AvsX) is a 2012 crossover event consisting of an eponymous limited series and numerous tie-in books, involves the return of the Phoenix Force and the subsequent war between the Avengers and the X-Men.
#4 // THE INFINITY GAUNTLET
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: July 1991 – December 1991
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artists: George Pérez, Ron Lim
The Infinity Gauntlet is a six-issue limited series written by Jim Starlin and pencilled by George Pérez and Ron Lim, crossover chapters appeared in related comic books. Since its initial serialization from July to December 1991, the comic book story arcs have been reprinted in various formats and editions.
#3 // SECRET INVASION
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: June 2008 – January 2009
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Leinil Francis Yu
Secret Invasion is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books. The story involves a subversive, long-term invasion of Earth by the Skrulls, a group of alien shapeshifters who have secretly replaced many superheroes in the Marvel Universe with impostors over a period of years, prior to the overt invasion. Marvel’s promotional tagline for the event was “Who do you trust?”.
#2 // HOUSE OF M
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: June 2005 – November 2005
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Olivier Coipel
House of M consists of a core eight-issue comic book limited series and a number of crossover tie-in books. Its first issue appeared in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled storylines, in which the superhero Scarlet Witch suffered a mental breakdown and tried to alter the fabric of reality to re-create her lost children. Magneto, the Scarlet Witch, and her twin brother, Quicksilver, play major roles in the series. Like the 1995–1996 Age of Apocalypse storyline, House of M replaced the Earth-616 as the main reality for a brief time until Scarlet Witch reverted it to normal. The events of the storyline were later indicated to have occurred on Earth-58163.
#1 // CIVIL WAR
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Dates: July 2006 – January 2007
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Steve McNiven
Civil War is a crossover storyline consisting of a seven-issue limited series and various tie-in books. The storyline builds upon events in previous Marvel storylines, particularly “Avengers Disassembled“, “House of M“, and “Decimation“. The series’ tagline is “Whose Side Are You On?”
To get the entire list, including Paul’s favorite comic book story arcs, check out the old episode.
