Welcome to the Comics Should Be Good Top 100 Comic Book Runs poll!

The first Runs poll was back in 2008. We're on an every four years schedule here.

It's time to vote for your top ten all-time favorite comic book creator runs.

Here's the deal. You folks all vote in the comments section here up until 11:59 PM Pacific time, September 30th. I'll tabulate all the votes and I'll begin a countdown of the winners starting October 9th.

Sound good?

Okay, here are the guidelines!

1. Vote in the comments section below, making sure to include that classic word "ACBC" somewhere in your comment so your vote will be marked invisible.

2. You're going to be voting for ten runs in total here. Vote for TEN - if you vote for less than ten I won't count your ballot.

3. Rank your ten favorite comic book creator runs from #1 (your most favorite) to #10 (your 10th most favorite). I'd prefer it if you actually numbered your entry, #1-10. It's easier for me to count. On that note, please also avoid listing them like this "1) 2) 3) 4)," because 8 with a ) after it transforms into a smiley face in the comments section (this one 8) ). Just plain ol' "1. 2. 3." works best.

Here's a template you can use as a guide:

TOP TEN CREATOR RUNS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

4. Your top choice will be given 10 points, your second choice 9, etc.

5. Make sure to include ACBC in your ballot.

6. The run must last at least nine issues of an ongoing comic book. So no mini-series. However, series that were canceled early do count. So you could vote for Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen's Nextwave run, for instance. Or Dan Curtis Johnson's Chase run. Just not Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. Or Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Daredevil (I allowed Born Again last time, but now I think it fits better on the storyline list and not the run list). Or (and this is a change from last time) Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All Star Superman, as it appears as though they never intended to go past 12 issues. I'll make an exception and allow Steve Englehart's Detective Comics run, even though it technically falls an issue shy. Plus, Alan Moore, Gene Ha and Zander Cannon's Top 10 was not always meant to be 12 issues, so it would count (especially since they had the Smax mini-series and the 49ers Graphic Novel).

7. If you said to me, "Hey, Brian, do you think it is fair to refer to the current Daredevil series as 'Mark Waid's Daredevil'?" I would say, "No way. The artists on that title are extremely important. It would be misleading to characterize it as 'Mark Waid's Daredevil.'" However, with that being said, for the purpose of this poll, that's exactly how we are going to handle things. Some books have had just way too many artists work on them to try to split them into smaller runs. So if a writer is the sole consistent part of a run, you can count the run as, say, "Mark Gruenwald's Captain America" or "Peter David's Hulk" without having to choose an artist to pair them with.

8. If an artist is a co-plotter on the book, though, that's different. So, for instance, you have to split Marv Wolfman's run on the New Titans into "Marv Wolfman/George Perez's New Teen Titans" and then "Marv Wolfman's New Titans" for the work Wolfman did once Perez left the book. Similarly, Stan Lee/Steve Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man is one run while Stan Lee/John Romita's Amazing Spider-Man is a separate run. There is no "Stan Lee's Amazing Spider-Man" run. Last time around, I forced people to split Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men run into each artist pairing (Claremont/Smith, Claremont/Romita Jr., etc.). This time around, I'll just make it based on the artists he co-plotted the books with. So you can vote for Claremont/Cockrum First Run, Claremont/Byrne, Claremont/Cockrum Second Run and then Claremont Solo for the next decade or so (Jim Lee eventually began co-plotting with Claremont, but only late in their run and it just seems easier to split it up as "Byrne, Cockrum, Everyone Else." The only other notable example that springs to mind is Paul Levitz's Legion of Super-Heroes. It would be Levitz/Giffen and then Levitz solo as two separate runs. If I'm forgetting another notable example, please let me know.

9. Runs can span more than one title. For instance, Jim Starlin's Warlock run began in Strange Tales and then continued into Warlock. Also, Geoff Johns' Green Lantern run has spanned a mini-series and two ongoing series so far. Grant Morrison's Batman run has spanned three ongoing series and a mini-series. Brian Michael Bendis' Avengers run has spanned six ongoing series (Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, Avengers and New Avengers).

10. Again, mini-series and maxi-series do not count. Squadron Supreme does not count. Watchmen does not count. One-shots do not count. The Killing Joke does not count. Seven Soldiers does not count. There will be a storyline poll that will get to all of these stories in the future. Now, though, we're just talking about runs as opposed to specific storylines. You might like 10 more individual stories than you liked anything from, say, Brian K. Vaughan's Y the Last Man run, but you might like his run as a whole more than other runs. Speaking of Y the Last Man, books like that that did have a general "ending" in mind count as ongoing series. Preacher, Lucifer, Ex Machina, Starman, Sandman, Fables, Hitman, Scalped, 100 Bullets, The Boys - they all count as ongoing series and qualify as "runs" for this poll.

11. Series of mini-series, like BPRD. Hellboy and Fear Agent count as a run.

12. Runs split up by time are two separate runs. Larry Hama's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is two runs. As is Peter David's X-Factor.

13. Series of graphic novels count. We'll count each graphic novel as two comics for the sake of ease. So Scott Pilgrim would count.

14. Warren Ellis' Stormwatch is one run. Warren Ellis' Authority is a separate run. I recently asked Scott Dunbier (the editor of the title at the time) if he considered the two books separate runs and he said yes, he did. So I'm going with that (and not just because it fits my personal view! Although, yes, mostly because it fits my personal view).

15. I will make various decisions in the interest of fairness. Ask your questions about the voting in the comments and I'll give you answers.

Remember, please include the following word: ACBC - on your ballot. It will make it so your ballot appears invisible to other readers, so only I can read it (and count your vote secretly).

Most importantly, have fun!

Now vote! :)