GoCollect Blog: Comic Stories You Can't Miss! Episode 5 (comic-stories-you-cant-miss-episode-5 )

There are a lot of different ways to approach comic book investing and speculation. Some people tend to focus on covers, others on print runs, and others still on first appearances. With so many different ways to engage with the hobby and the boundless creativity that the medium affords, trying to predict which characters will make it big, which covers will catch people's eyes, and which low print books could become collector's items down the line can be incredibly difficult. Difficult, but not impossible. One variable that can really help illuminate things is the quality of the storytelling. Let's look at some awesome comic stories!

For all of my talk about considering the wider entertainment industry or minimizing risk, a lot of my success with buying and selling comics has just come from reading a lot of comics on Marvel Unlimited and buying the ones with great stories.

It is important to remember that writers often use classic and acclaimed stories as jumping-off points, making them solid investments for comic and/or movie-based speculation. Over the course of this article series, I will try to highlight some of my favorite Marvel comics, explain why they resonated with me, and hopefully get you to check one or two of them out along the way.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

One of the primary challenges of superhero narratives is figuring out a way for audiences to empathize with and relate to these larger-than-life characters. In this regard, few stories can be considered more successful than Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

There are few experiences more universal to childhood than the sense that you are smarter than everybody else and things would be so much better if only the adults were to listen. MGDD takes this damn-near ubiquitous feeling and makes it a central plank of the overall narrative, as it is revealed that Lunella is the most intelligent person in the world. She is, quite literally, smarter than everyone else!

This idea may sound simplistic, and in the hands of lesser creators it may have fallen flat, but such is not the case with Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, and Natasha Bustos. These three do an incredible job of exploring the very real downsides of such tremendous intelligence and anchoring the story to the very real trials and tribulations of childhood, albeit in a highly exaggerated form (Lunella's pet dinosaur eating her homework is an absolutely genius story beat).

In today's day and age, where cynicism so often seems to rule the day, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a welcome breath of fresh air, as the love and earnestness with which each panel is so clearly composed work to create a truly beautiful story that constantly reminds the reader of all the joy and whimsy that still exists in this world.

Secret War

There is a very wonderful irony that Secret War, a book about a clandestine operation with seismic consequences that can never be made public, set so many big things in motion, but is often forgotten about by fans. In this exquisitely written story, writer Brian Michael Bendis calls his proverbial shot and tells the readers exactly what they can expect from him over the next few years as the chief architect of the Marvel Universe.

There is a huge tension between freedom and security. There are major conspiracies boiling under the surface that could rock the foundations of the Marvel world. Luke Cage is the coolest character ever.

Each of these elements, to varying degrees, defines the Bendis era of Marvel and is a key component of this story. In this effort, Bendis is aided by artist Gabriele Dell'Otto, whose transcendent mastery of the comic medium renders the story with such beauty and profundity that every page is nothing less than a feast for the eyes. Secret War is a truly excellent book that both gloriously stands on its own and sounds the clarion call for what the next era of Marvel storytelling will look like.

Brand New Day

I am an avowed hater of Marvel's decision to retcon Mary Jane and Peter's marriage in One More Day. I believe it was a childish, absurd decision that had more to do with editorial's personal preferences than any real storytelling considerations. All of that being said, I love Brand New Day, the 102-issue mega-arc that immediately followed One More Day.

So many of the best modern Spidey stories, elements, and characters were born during this arc, including (but not limited to): Mr. Negative, Menace, Grim Hunt, New Ways To Die, Anti-Venom, Agent Venom, American Son, The Gauntlet, Joe Kelly's heartbreaking Rhino story, Shed, Unscheduled, Character Assassination, 24/7, Jameson as Mayor, and Dan Slott's transformation take on Doctor Octopus.

Brand New Day is certainly not without its flaws, but overall it was one of the longest periods of sustained, high-quality storytelling that Spidey had ever enjoyed. This is even more impressive when you consider the book was coming out three times a month and being written by a stable of writers, who had to work in concert to tell their own stories and help build out larger narratives. The funny thing is that most of these stories really didn't require a Peter Parker who was single.

Beta Ray Bill

Few comics have ever knocked me on my ass quite as hard as Beta Ray Bill #1. What writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson accomplishes in that issue is nothing short of breathtaking, in just 22 pages, he somehow finds a way to make his subject, a horse-faced alien Viking space god (there's a phrase I bet you never thought you'd see), into one of the most relatable, human characters in all of comics.

And it is through this incredible emotional fidelity that Johnson is able to make Bill's mission throughout the rest of the series so much more nuanced than it might have otherwise been. Readers are able to see that this is no garden variety cosmic adventure, but rather a reflection on Bill's own damaged conception of who he is and how far it is from who he wants to be. If you are the kind of person who likes smart, character-driven storytelling, this book is for you.

Secret Wars: Old Man Logan

The original Old Man Logan story is absolutely brilliant and a lot has already been written about it. Frankly, I do not think I can contribute much more to the conversation. That is why, instead of talking about the original, namesake story, I am discussing the Old Man Logan mini-series launched as a part of Secret Wars. One of writer Brian Michael Bendis' greatest gifts is the ability to craft a story that will showcase an artist's particular talents.

That gift is on strong display in this series, as artist Andrea Sorrentino churns some of the most incredible comic book artwork I have ever seen. The masterful use of shadows, expressive colors, and brilliant panel layouts all combine to render a story that is an absolute delight to look at from start to finish.

Helping to facilitate all of this is Bendis' world-hopping plot (providing Sorrentino with lots of different wild locales) and signature gift for dialogue, which helps to punctuate some of the artist's most evocative drawings. The Old Man Logan of Secret Wars will never be in the same conversation as the original storyline, but that doesn't mean it's not still an incredible comic.