Every day in November we will reveal the greatest stories ever told starring a particular character or written/drawn by a particular creator (and throughout the month, you'll get daily chances to vote for NEXT week's lists). These lists are voted on by YOU, the reader!
Here is the list of characters/creators featured so far (along with the rules on how to vote).
Today's list is the Greatest Jason Aaron Stories Ever Told!
Enjoy!
10. Ghost Rider #33-35 "Trials and Tribulations"
In this series of stories from the end of Jason Aaron's Ghost Rider series (before he came back for a mini-series to wrap everything up), drawn by the great Tony Moore, we learn the history of the Spirit of Vengeance in America before Johnny Blaze - and it is AWEsome! Also, Danny Ketch fights a Demon Trucker. How can you NOT want to read a comic book like that?
10. Scalped #25-29 "High Lonesome"
In this story arc, undercover FBI agent Dashiel Bad Horse (undercover at the same reservation where he grew up) is recognized by a con man that Dashiel had arrested a few years back. The con man then blackmails Dashiel into helping him rob the reservation casino or he will blow Dashiel's cover. Things take a series of twists and turns from that point on. In this collection, we also learn the background of the FBI Agent Nitz, who is devoted to bringing down the Chief of the reservation by hook or by crook. Here, we learn his motivations.
8. Joker's Asylum: Penguin #1
This one-shot issue (drawn by Jason Pearson) shows the lengths that the Penguin will go to to take down anyone who laughs at him, even when doing so might lose him the love of the first woman who ever truly loved him.
7. PunisherMAX #1-5 "Kingpin"
Aaron and artist Steve Dillon launch the new MAX Punisher series by exploring how the mob concocts a fictitious "Kingpin" to help lay a trap for the Punisher. However, the man chosen to play the part, Wilson Fisk, has his own ideas of whether the role is for real or not.
6. Wolverine #62-65 "Get Mystique"
After the events of the Messiah Complex, Wolverine decides to kill Mystique once and for all. In this four-parter with art by Ron Garney, Wolverine and Mystique go at it in a deadly form of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. We also learn about their past together.
5. Scalped #12-18 "Dead Mothers"
A drug addict is killed on the reservation and Dashiel promises her children that he will solve their mother's murder. But her oldest son wants to take matters into his own hands. Dashiel takes the case very personal and tries to form a bond with the son. But can Dashiel keep his promise?
4. Scalped #6–11 "Casino Boogie"
While the two-parter in issues #4-5 was probably the first real sign that Scalped was a special comic book, the issues that make up Casino Boogie made it abundantly clear. Each issue spotlights a different cast member, and the lush details that Aaron and artist R.M. Guera give to all of the characters is amazing. They are fascinating as they are compelling. And just when you are truly invested in all of their lives - Aaron kills one of them off in dramatic fashion. Striking stuff.
3. The Other Side #1-5
In this mini-series, Aaron and artist Cameron Stewart depict the horrors of the Vietnam War from the perspectives of a U.S. Soldier and a Vietnamese one. However, the term "The Other Side" has another meaning in this series, as the series takes a supernatural twist.
2. Scalped #30-34 "The Gnawing"
A number of the plots in the series come to a head in this storyline, where Chief Red Crow finds himself dealing with the fallout from the dramatic decisions that he made at the end of "The Gravel in Your Guts" and Dashiel finds himself placed in a very precarious position with the FBI and Red Crow.
1. Scalped #19-24 "The Gravel in Your Guts"
This collection tells two stories, one of which, the two-part "The Boudoir Stomp," had its own votes - but the majority of voters just said "The Gravel in the Guts," so I guess I "have" to include them together as they are in the trade paperback. The Boudoir Stomp is a darkly fascinating character study in Dashiel and his love interest, Carol, the daughter of Chief Red Crow. Meanwhile, Red Crow is given the task of attending to the soul bundle of a dead friend. He has to do no evil for a year or else the soul of his dead friend will not make it to heaven. Can Red Crow live up to this burden? It is a fascinating dilemma and one that Aaron milks for a lot of pathos. The art is by Davide Furno for the first part and RM Guera is back for the rest of it.
Okay, that's the list! Agree? Disagree? Let me know!
I tried to be as vague as I could with the Scalped descriptions for those of you who have still not yet read it! But as you can see from the list, it is really, really REALLY good!