Shelfdust Is Counting Down The Top 50 First Comic Book Issues

Everyone loves a good jumping on point and there’s no better place to start a new comic that with a good old #1 issue. The problem is, there’s so many of them out there. How do you tell the good ones from the bad ones?

Well, apart from browsing through the archives of this fair website, there’s finally another solution in Shelfdust’s The Top 50 First Comic Book Issues countdown. Steve Morris, the proprietor of Shelfdust, has called upon the power of over 100 comics book critics/bloggers/vloggers/podcasters, which includes yours truly, to cast their vote for their favourite #1 issues.

Steve has tallied the votes and will be counting down the results ten at a time every Monday in December. At the time of writing this, rankings 50-31 have been revealed and it’s and it has been a wild, unpredictable ride.

And you know what, that’s a great thing. Best comics lists can be prone to being predictably boring in their inclusions because they’ve been scored based on issues that are “important.” On the other hand, Shelfdust’s list is based on what #1 issues were the voters’ favourites, which has so far resulted in an interesting collision of personal tastes.

You might disagree with some of these inclusions. Hey, you might discover a few comics that could be your future favourites of yours. That’s the fun of a list like this.

Find out what made the Top 50

I was lucky enough to be invited to join this project too! If you’re wondering what my favourite #1 issues then keep on reading to find out what I voted for.

American Vampire #1 cover by Raphael Albuquerque.

Thor: God of Thunder #1: Written by Jason Aaron; art by Esad Ribic; coloured by Dean White; letters by Joe Sabino; and published by Marvel Comics.
American Vampire #1: Written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King (back-up); pencils by Raphael Albuquerque; coloured by Dave McCaig; letters by Steve Wands; and published by Vertigo Comics.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1: Written by Frank Miller; pencils by Frank Miller; inks by Klaus Janson; colours by Lyn Varley; letters by John Costanza; and published by DC Comics.
Infinity Gauntlet #1: Written by Jim Starlin; pencils by George Perez; inks by Josef Rubinstein and Tom Christopher; colours by Max Scheel and Ian Laughlin; letters by Jack Morelli; and published by Marvel Comics.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War #1: Created by James Stokoe; and published by IDW Publishing.
Paper Girls #1: Written by Brian K Vaughan; Art by Cliff Chiang; colours by Matt Wilson; letters by Jared K. Fletcher; and published by Image Comics.
X-Men: House of X #1: Written by Jonathan Hickman; art by Pepe Larraz; colours by Marte Garcia; letters by Clayton Cowles; designed by Tom Meuller; and published by Marvel Comics.
Hawkeye (2012 series) #1: Written by Matt Fraction; art by David Aja; colours by Matt Hollingsworth; letters by Chris Eliopoulos; published by Marvel Comics.
Saga #1: Written by Brian K Vaughan; Art by Fiona Staples; and published by Image Comics.
Daredevil (2011 series): Written by Mark Waid; pencils by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin; inks by Joe Rivera; colours by Javier Rodriguez and Munsta Vicente; letters by Joe Caramagna; and published by Marvel Comics.

Daredevil (2011 series) #1 by Paolo Rivera.

And as a bonus, here are the comics that might’ve made the list if I had remembered them when I was casting my vote:

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1: Written by Ryan North; art by Erica Henderson; colours by Rico Renzi; letters by Clayton Cowles; and published by Marvel Comics.
Stray Bullets: Killers #1: Written and art by David Lapham; and published by Image Comics.
Archie Vs Predator #1: Written by Alex de Campi; pencils by Fernando Ruiz; inks by Rich Koslowski; colours by Jason Millet; letters by John Workman; and published by Dark Horse Comics.
Kill or Be Killed #1: Written by Ed Brubaker; art by Sean Phillips; colours by Elizabeth Breitweiser; published by Image Comics.
KaijuMax #1: Written and art by Zander Cannon; and published by Oni Press.

How many of these will make the list? We’ll have to wait and see.