Ongoing series are the backbone of the comic industry, but miniseries have been used to tell the best stories ever. DC Comics has used the miniseries format to great effect over the years, especially when it comes to 12-issue books. 12-issue stories have proven to be perfect for really bringing a story to life. The length allows the creators to really flesh things out and play with concepts in a way a shorter miniseries doesn't.
The comic industry would be a very different place without the 12-issue miniseries format. DC's creators have found ways to use this format in groundbreaking ways, producing stories that fans and critics alike love.
10 The Shade Brought The Fan Favorite To The New 52
The New 52 gets a lot of hate, but there are some great stories as well. One of those is The Shade, by writer James Robinson and artists Cully Hamner, Darwyn Cooke, Javier Pulido, Jill Thompson, Frazer Irving, and Gene Ha. Robinson popularized the former villain in Starman, and his New 52 series dug into the character's origin like never before, as the Shade tried to find out who tried to kill him in the present by exploring the mysteries of the past.
Robinson worked with a murderer's artists on the series, producing a book that thrilled readers as few other New 52 books did. The Shade's tale fits well into a 12-issue series and this book is a forgotten gem.
9 All-Star Superman Is The Crown Jewel Of Superman Stories
All-Star Superman, by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, is an undisputed classic. It's widely considered to be the greatest Superman story of all time, with many going so far as to say it's the greatest superhero comic ever. Following a dying Superman as he endeavors to make the world a better place before he goes, it's casually brilliant.
Morrison and Quitely have always been a near-perfect team in their prior work and All-Star Superman is the series that saw them reach perfection. It mixes themes and ideas from every era of Superman to create a story that shows why the character is still the greatest superhero ever created.
8 Omega Men Takes A Look At Insurgency Through A Superhero Lens
Few current creators have used the 12-issue format as well as writer Tom King. Readers saw this in Omega Men, with art by Barnaby Bagenda. Following the titular group as they battle against the oppressive regime controlling the Vega Sector, it takes a different look at freedom fighters than fans are used to.
King took a warts-and-all approach to Omega Men. Sure, they were fighting a terrible foe, but their methods were extreme. It showed the real way insurgencies work and that even justified ones are terrible and bloody affairs. Bagenda's art is the icing on the cake.
7 Strange Adventures Takes A Hard Look At The Realities Of War & Heroism
Sci-fi comics have provided some wonderful narratives over the years. A great recent superhero sci-fi comic is Strange Adventures, by writer Tom King and artists Mitch Gerads and Doc Shaner. Focusing on Adam Strange and his wife, Alanna, upon their return to Earth after saving Rann from an alien race called the Pyykts, who show up on Earth, it digs into war and heroism like few other stories.
Strange Adventures moves between the present, drawn by Gerads, and the past, drawn by Shaner, revealing the torments of the war against the Pyykts and what Strange did to win. It's a harrowing look at how the realities of war can affect a person, especially someone who is lauded as a hero.
6 Rorschach Is A Taut Mystery Thriller
Watchmen sequels don't have the best reputation, so when writer Tom King and artist Jorge Fornes' Rorschach was announced, many fans were leery of it. However, the book was in good hands. Instead of telling a story that everyone expected, King and Fornes used the investigation of an assassination attempt by someone dressed as Rorschach years after his death to talk about extremism in the US.
There are so many parallels to the real world and how people are radicalized in Rorschach. King eschews the fan service other Watchmen sequels provide and tells a story that only uses the trapping of the classic. Fornes' art is brilliant throughout, bringing everything to gritty life.
5 Crisis On Infinite Earths Is A Perfect Event
Crisis On Infinite Earths is the blueprint for every event comic that came after it. Written by Marv Wolfman with art by George Pérez, the battle against the Anti-Monitor, with the fate of the entirety of creation at stake, was a blockbuster that changed the DC Universe for decades. It's a superhero spectacle of the highest order.
Crisis On Infinite Earths is a picture of two collaborators at the height of their power and the trust that DC had in them to set the stage for the next phase of the publisher's existence. It stands up still, despite being almost 40 years old, and is a must-read for every DC fan.
4 Camelot 3000 Is Brilliant
Camelot 3000 is a critical darling that many modern fans haven't read yet. Written by Mike W. Barr with art by Brian Bolland, the book revolves around King Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, and the Knights of the Round Table reincarnating in the year 3000. They aren't alone, though, as Morgan Le Fay also has been reincarnated and the two sides begin a battle for the future.
Camelot 3000 is an early 80s DC classic. It isn't as widely known as some of its other mature-readers-only brethren of the era, but it's definitely worth a pick up by any fan. Barr and Bolland make an amazing team and this is a tale for the ages.
3 JLA: Year One Laid Out The Post-Crisis Origins Of The Justice League
The Justice League has had multiple origins because of DC's continuity reboots. The post-Crisis origins of the team are a favorite of many fans and that's all because of JLA: Year One, by writers Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn and artist Barry Kitson. It adapts parts of the original Silver Age origin of the League, substituting Black Canary for Wonder Woman, but shows the whole thing in a modern light.
Waid, Augustyn, and Kitson are a brilliant team and their collaboration is what makes this book so great. Waid and Augustyn used their encyclopedic knowledge of DC history to recontextualize the League's origins, while Kitson's pencils combined the classic and modern brilliantly.
2 Watchmen Is A Masterpiece
Watchman is widely considered the greatest comic ever. Writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons' masterwork changed superhero comics forever, injecting maturity into a medium that often rejected it. Everyone knows the story of Watchmen; it's a good story, but what truly makes it special is the way that it is executed.
Moore and Gibbons used various storytelling methods to make a story that is pretty run-of-the-mill, a hero betraying his compatriots for misguided megalomaniacal reasons, into something that was unprecedented for its time. Many books have tried to be Watchmen, but none have succeeded.
1 Mister Miracle Uses Superheroes To Talk About Depression
Writer Tom King is a master of comic storytelling. Mister Miracle is a brilliant example of that. Joined by frequent collaborator artist Mitch Gerads, the story opens with Mister Miracle slitting his wrists. It only goes on from there, with the war between Apokolips and New Genesis heating up and Miracle and Barda stuck in the middle of it.
Mister Miracle dug heavily into depression and how it affects a person, before completely turning it around. It's an amazing story that anyone battling mental illness understands at an instinctual level, with King and Gerads giving the best of their career work on the book.