Welcome to our annual Top 100 Comic Book Runs poll! This year, you're voting on your favorite comic books runs of all-time!

The first Runs poll was back in 2008. The second was in 2012. The third was in 2016. 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 e-mail me your votes until 11:59 PM Pacific time, October 31st. I’ll tabulate all the votes and I’ll begin a countdown of the winners starting some time early November.

Sound good?

Okay, here are the guidelines!

1. E-Mail me your ballot at brianc@cbr.com. DON'T POST YOUR BALLOT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION!

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. Similarly, I'd prefer if you clearly mark your e-mail subject heading like "Top 100 Comic Book Runs Vote."

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. 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. Or 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). Basically, we're looking to differentiate runs from storylines, as storylines are the topic of next year's poll (Watchmen is great. Feel free to vote it your favorite storyline next year, but it isn't a run this year).

6. Some books have had just way too many artists work on them to try to split them into smaller runs. It is unfair to categorize these runs just by their writers, as the artists are just as important, but for the sake of ease, that's just how we're going to have to do things. 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. Again, we acknowledge that that is inherently messed up for the artists. I don't know how else you can do it, though.

7. 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. Chris Claremont's time on Uncanny X-Men is split into three eras. Claremont/Cockrum (this was really two separate runs, but for the sake of ease, I'm counting it as one run), Claremont/Byrne, Claremont Solo (everything after Cockrum's second run - 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.

8. 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 spanned a mini-series and two ongoing series. Grant Morrison’s Batman run spanned three ongoing series and a mini-series. Brian Michael Bendis’ "Avengers" run spanned six ongoing series (Avengers, New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Dark Avengers, Avengers and New Avengers). Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four run was over two titles. Dan Slott's Spider-Man run was over four ongoings. All of the Dawn of X books don't count for Jonathan Hickman's X-Men run, but House of X and Powers of X do count towards it (so just go "Jonathan Hickman's X-Men run," I'll know what you mean).

9. 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 still 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.

10. Series of series of mini-series, like BPRD, they count as a run. So, for instance, Hellboy and Fear Agent could count as runs.

11. 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.

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

13. Warren Ellis’ Stormwatch is one run. Warren Ellis’ Authority is a separate run. I once 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).

14. I will make various decisions in the interest of fairness. Ask your questions about the voting via e-mail or on Twitter or Facebook (be sure to mark your e-mail's subject heading with something to make it clear that you are asking a question and are not voting).

Most importantly, have fun!

Now vote!