![]() ![]() I’m sure you’ve noticed, but mainstream comics tend to have a gender-equality issue. Zack Smithįirst Appearance: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1 You wouldn’t want to mess with Tommy Monaghan … but you probably wouldn’t mind having a beer with him, either. The crew takes out a bizarre litany of terrifying targets, including zombie dolphins and a T-Rex, while trading stories over endless games of poker. Garth Ennis’ most underappreciated creation, this sunglasses-wearing assassin (whose Catholic upbringing only lets him take out “bad” people) and the regulars at Noonan’s Sleazy Bar are the motliest crew in comics, prone to mocking superheroes - Batman finds himself on the receiving end of some undigested Indian food, Green Lantern gets stuck with a bar tab and Lobo…you don’t want to know. Michael Burginįirst Appearance: The Demon Annual Vol. Bigby Wolf may give the Fables series much of its punch, but Flycatcher is its undeniable heart. Still, some arcs stand out, such as the journey of Flycatcher (also known as the Frog Prince or Prince Ambrose) from humble janitor to an Adversary-thwarting king. The series is so well-written and the characters so well fleshed-out … if you don’t belong here it’s likely just because Willingham hasn’t gotten to you yet. ![]() Tyler Kaneįrankly, if you’re a recurring character in Bill Willingham’s Fables, there’s probably an argument to be made to put you on this list. We’ve seen him take on many different forms since Swamp Thing #1 in 1972 - an old man, a demon from Hell, Swamp Thing himself and the recent protector of The Rot (or basically everything that’s dead) - but the same always remains for Alec Holland’s fly-infested foe: he’s a brilliant manipulator with a soul of pure darkness. Anton Arcane, like Spider-Man’s Venom, is terrifying because he doesn’t take a form you can just kill or send to a supervillain prison. It’s not often that heroes get to stare into the eyes of the villains who killed them - okay, maybe it is - but there was a special brand of evil in the heart of Swamp Thing’s nemesis. We guarantee that any one of these heroes, villains, lovers or fighters has earned their immortality in comic book history. Quantifying characters from such a wide range of genres and eras was undeniably difficult, but a good story is universal. With so many stories and characters out there, what still resonates and drives us to the comic store every Wednesday? The Paste staff decided to dig deep into their long boxes to identify the faces who shaped some of the most compelling narratives in sequential art. Arguably, we’re in a golden age: the legacy characters of Marvel and DC have the support of the largest companies in the world, while any writer or artist can transform their own compelling cast into a creator-owned foundation, stewarding the most innovative intellectual properties forward (hello Saga and The Walking Dead). Within those approximate 80 years, comic book stories and the avatars within have graduated from the scrutiny of child psychologists to multimedia empires that annually generate billions of dollars. When you flip through a comic book, you’re looking at a medium that has existed for less than a century.
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