That's all I'm promising you, all you're getting, and all you are allowed to complain about in the comments section.
Top 21 Essential Marvel Runs I've Read:*
1. Wolfman and Colan Tomb Of Dracula
2. Lee, Kirby, and Sinnot Fantastic Four
3. Gerber, Brunner, Colan, and Infantino Howard the Duck
4. Lee and Romita, and friends Amazing Spider-Man
5. Lee and Ditko Dr. Strange
6. Lee and Ditko Amazing Spider-Man
7. Claremont and Smith Uncanny X-Men
8. Claremont, Cockrum, and Byrne Uncanny X-Men**
9. Duffy and Gammil Power Man/Iron Fist
10. Gerber and Sal Buscema Defenders
11. Lee and John Buscema Silver Surfer
12. Gerber, Kane, Sal Buscema, and friends Marvel Two In One
13. Lee, Kirby, Steranko, Colan Captain America
14. Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Severin; just the whole bullpen, okay? Hulk
15. Thomas and Windsor-Smith Conan
16. Lee, Severin, and Everrett Dr. Strange
17. Fleisher and Leialoha Spider Woman
18. Thomas, Colan, and friends Dr. Strange***
19. Lee, Thomas, Kirby, Toth, Roth X-Men****
20. Monech and Trempe Godzilla
21. Lee, Kirby, Heck Ant Man*****
Top 21 Characters I'd Pay For As DLC In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
1. Hercules
2. She-Hulk
3. The Falcon
4. Blade******
5. Molly Hayes/Princess Powerful
6. Beast
7. Nightcrawler
8. Black Widow
9. Captain Britain
10. War Machine
11. Namor
12. Bullseye
13. Stan Lee
14. Beta Ray Bill
15. Machine Man
16. Sleepwalker
17. Gorrila Man
18. Shadowcat
19. Amadeus Cho
20. Daken*******
21. Cannonball
15 Favorite DC Comics Runs By Writer
1. JLA by Morrison
2. Batman by Miller
3. Batman by O'Neil
4. All Star Superman by Grant Morrison
5. Fourth World by Kirby
6. Manhunter by Goodwin
7. Batman by Morrison
8. The Flash by Waid
9. Justice League International/Europe by Giffen and DeMatties
10. Robin by Dixon
11. 52 by Johns, Rucka, Morrison, and Waid
12. Orion by Simonson
13. Batman by Wolfman***********************************
14. Animal Man by Morrison
15. Detective Comics by Grant
11 Favorite Indie/Non-Superhero/Slice of Life Graphic Novels
1. Locas by Jaime Hernandez
2. Ice Haven by Dan Clowes
3. 32 Stories by Adrian Tomine
4. American Splendor by Harvey Pekar and friends (the one with Paul Giamatti on the cover that tied in to the movies and was like a greatest hits; I was bitterly disappointed with "the Quitter")
5. Ghost World by Dan Clowes
6. From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
7. Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim
8. Stagger Lee by by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix
9. The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
10. Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware*x/2
11. Louis Riel by Chester Brown*V*
*Do not say "You forgot!" Just don't. These are all the Essentials I've ever read. If it's not here, I either read it in another format, don't have it yet, or don't care.
**Yes, I consider this all one run.
***I don't like this run at all, but I consider it just not for me.
****I count this all as one (crappy) run. The only redeeming quality of this collection is the Bruce Timm cover. The X-Men didn't get good until Thomas and Adams got a hold of them. Unless Arnold Drake's run was better than I expect. That's my big hole in the X-Men. Yes, I've read the '90s. I grew up then. In theory.
*****I read Ant Man's origin and realized I never wanted to read another Hank Pym Ant Man story ever again, so this really shouldn't count, and is also why I hate Hank Pym (so much!) and think he should die in a fire.
******Only if his costumes are from Captain Britain and MI-13 and Tomb of Dracula, though.
*******So I could send him charging to his death while I laugh. Or, as I call it, "the Gambit Method"
*********************************** I forgot that Marv wrote Batman when I was a youngin', and introduced one of my childhood faves, Tim Drake. Man, I'm kind of sad with what they've done to poor Tim Drake, even if I like Damien as Robin a lot. So, anyway, something else of his I like besides ToD.
*x/2 I mean, it leaves me cold and I will never read it again, but it is a technical marvel. I will never doubt that Ware's a master craftsman, I just don't enjoy his work. Craft only goes so far in my book if I wish your lead characters would all be eaten by Devil Dinosaur.
*V* I stopped reading it before the end, but what I read was great!