DC Comics is celebrating 2010 as their 75th Anniversary, so I figure we might as well celebrate their history a little here, too!
So each day for the rest of this month I will be posting the most memorable moments from the history of DC Comics. When all is said and done, there will be 100 moments (posted in no particular order). Once I've finished posting them on July 31st, you folks will have a week to pick your Top 10 moments out of the 100 options and then on August 7th I'll begin posting your choices for the Top 75 Most Memorable Moments in DC Comics History!
For each moment, I'll give a quick explanation of the moment and why it is so memorable. Remember, we're not just talking about COOL moments, just the kinds of moments that are still talked about decades after they occurred, and WILL be remembered for decades to come. To wit, people don't really remember the plot of Action Comics #1, but they will always remember the opening of the issue (with the rocket being launched from a dying planet). Those are the kinds of things we're talking about here.
Note: There will almost certainly be spoilers of past comics as the days go by! Any comic published by DC is eligible, so long as the moment occurred WHEN DC was publishing it (so, for instance, no Captain Marvel stories are eligible that came out before DC began publishing Captain Marvel).
I'll start us off with four moments today, and starting tomorrow, it'll be six a day! Here is a link to the master list of all moments featured so far!
Enjoy!
1. Baby Superman speeds away from his dying home planet in a rocket ship (Action Comics #1)
One of the most iconic visuals in comic book history, courtesy of Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
2. Green Lantern learns a difficult lesson (Green Lantern Vol. 2 #76)
In Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' first issue of Green Lantern (where Green Lantern began teaming up with Green Arrow), Hal Jordan is shown how out of touch he is with the plight of typical Americans at the beginning of the 1970s - this helps spur Jordan to travel across the country with Green Arrow re-discovering America.
3. Batman shoots a vampire (Detective Comics #32)
Matt Wagner basically built an entire mini-series around this issue. The sight of Batman using a gun (for the first time ever) is still one that sticks in people's minds (hence Neal Adams using it for the cover of Batman Odyssey). Bob Kane, Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff were the creative team on this issue.
4. Darkseid revealed as the "big bad" of the Great Darkness Saga (Legion of Super-Heroes #293)
(Click on either page to enlarge)
After a number of issues teasing who the mastermind was behind the Great Darkness Saga, Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen's reveal that it is Darkseid, alive in the future, was inspired.
Check back tomorrow for the next six moments! Feel free to recommend moments you think should be featured on the list by e-mailing me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com or dropping me a line on our Twitter page (twitter.com/csbg) or on our Facebook page (facebook.com/comicsshouldbegood).