You voted and now we continue our countdown of your votes for the top comic book one shots and "done in one" stories!
Enjoy!
15. "Silent Interlude" G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero #21 (1984)
Regular G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama dazzled a generation of fans with this one-off issue that Hama also penciled (with finishes by Steve Leialoha). The concept was that Scarlett was captured by Cobra and was being held chained up in a remote castle that was supposedly impenetrable and Snake Eyes shows up to save her. However, the issue was done without dialogue.
For such a popular series with a young audience, having a silent issue was a major shock and blew the minds of a number of young readers.
The action is taut and Hama even manages to add in a bunch of intriguing character work to the silent issue, like the shocking revelation that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have some shared past...
It is not overselling it to say that this issue changed the direction of G.I. Joe comics (and G.I. Joe the property as a whole) forever. The cover was also brilliant (Ed Hannigan and Klaus Janson drew it).
14. "In Mortal Combat With...the Sub-Mariner" Daredevil #7 (1965)
This epic Wallace Wood and Stan Lee joint sees Namor, the Sub-Mariner, decide to sue the human race for their treatment of Namor’s people. Namor is arrested as soon as he shows himself, but Matt agrees to represent him and has Namor agree to stay in prison while the case is being settled. However, the evil Attuma is using Namor’s absence to take over control of Atlantis. So Namor can’t stick around. The United States military tries to keep him in New York City, but that is not going to go well. Daredevil figures that only he can prevent a massive battle in New York City will only hurt innocents, so he decides that the only way to save lives is for him to fight Namor and force Namor to retreat away from the city. Sadly for Daredevil, this is Namor we’re talking about here, so he has no chance of defeating him. But in classic Marvel underdog fashion, Daredevil keeps at it, earning Namor’s respect…
What an amazing sequence.
13. "Ramadan" Sandman #50 (1993)
In this beautiful tragedy by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell, Caliph Haroun Al Raschid is the King of Baghdad, which is a city filled with the greatest of wonders, which Haroun shows to Morpheus when he summons Dream to his world...
However, the King knows that his world is not meant to last forever. He knows that eventually the sands will take it and his time will be forgotten. So he decides to enlist Dream's help in making sure that this wonderous city lasts forever. Of course, this being a tragedy, the method in which the city's wonders are preserved is not going to be what Haroun expects.
Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='The countdown continues with #12-11!']
12. "Return to Krypton" Superman #141 (1960)
Jerry Siegel, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye came together to tell one of the highlights of the Silver Age for Superman comics, with the incredibly bittersweet return to Krypton. The story opens with Superman being sent to check out an alien creature and in a slight fracas, he is sent back in time. He ends up on a pre-exploded Krypton. Robbed of his powers by Krypton’s sun, Superman ends up getting involved as an extra in a science fiction film (where he catches the eye of the female star of the film) and then meeting his own parents, who had just gotten married. They set him up with the aforementioned actress and he tries to fight it, knowing that she is doomed to die, but he just cant't fight love. Check out the emotion that is DRIPPING over these pages by Siegel, Boring and Kaye...
After a number of attempts to help his father save Krypton, Superman eventually accepts his fate and decides to live out the rest of his time on Krypton with his parents and his new love. This is not to be, of course. Such a beautiful tragedy. It is filled with such rich pathos for a Silver Age comic. One of Siegel’s very best works and it is probably the best story that Wayne Boring ever drew and Wayne Boring drew a whole pile of awesome comic book stories.
11. "Pizza is My Business" Hawkeye #11 (2013)
In this extremely clever issue by Matt Fraction and David Aja, we see the world of Clint Barton and Kate Bishop through the eyes (and nose) of their dog, Lucky, the famous "Pizza dog," the dog that Clint saved at the beginning of the series and who loves to eat pizza.
A murder has occurred and Lucky is solving it, but he is doing so from HIS perspective, so he obviously doesn't speak or understand English, outside of a few familiar words like his name. So we see past scenes from a new angle as well as a journey where symbols and smells are the guiding force behind how Lucky sees the world...
Meticulously thought and out and designed, this was a shocking issue when it was first released.