CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART I: COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS

Ten Crazy Items Found on Batman’s Utility Belt

Fifteen Alliterative Comic Book Names Created by Stan Lee

Five Weirdest Members of the Green Lantern Corps

Nine Great Nonwhite Comic Book Characters (Plus One Interestingly Diverse White Guy) BY GREG PAK

Six Cameos by Clark Kent and Lois Lane Outside DC Comics

Top Six Characters Known for Sitting Around BY PETER DAVID

Nine Great Superhero Pets

Top Twenty-five DC Comic Book Characters

Top Twenty-five Marvel Comic Book Characters

Six Awesome Commie Villains from the Early Days of Marvel

Three British Comic Characters You Yanks Probably Don’t Know BY KIERON GILLEN

Six Fellow Superheroes Who Wolverine Has Stabbed at One Point or Another

Six Awesome and Incredibly Weird Powers of Superman

Four Great Characters from Grant Morrison’s Run on Doom Patrol BY JOHN ROZUM

Three Memorable Characters Who Have Wielded Thor’s Hammer

Six Tragic Superhero Romances

Six Great Young Heroes BY MARC SUMERAK

PART II: COMIC BOOK WRITERS AND ARTISTS

Five Complaints Comic Book Creators Snuck into the Comics Themselves

Three Underrated (and Influential) Comic Book Artists of the 1960s BY GABRIEL HARDMAN

Top Five Comic Book Creator Runs

Four Artists with Bizarrely Unique Styles BY SKOTTIE YOUNG

Three Unusual Ways That a Creator Has Broken into Comics

Three Very, Very Strange Comics Written by Alan Moore

Three Awesome and Unusual Uses of Color by an Artist BY FRAZER IRVING

Top Ten Comic Book Writers of All Time

Top Ten Comic Book Artists of All Time

Four Things Not to Do When Trying to Break Out as a Comic Book Artist BY MIKE DEODATO

Four Instances of Comic Book Creators Being Lampooned by Another Creator

Four Writers Who Broke Boundaries (and How They Inspired Me to Do the Same) BY J. M. DEMATTEIS

Three Pop Culture Icons with Connections to Jack Kirby

Four Comic Book Creators Who Have Received Death Threats over Their Work

Three Underrated Comic Book Runs BY JAY FAERBER

Four Noteworthy Art Swipes by Bob Kane

Six Standard-Raising Comic Book Artists BY JIMMY PALMIOTTI

Five Comic Book Creator Easter Eggs

PART III: COMIC BOOK STORYLINES

Nine Goofiest Moments in the First Twenty Issues of Batman

Five Successful Retcons (Plus the Worst Retcon of All Time)

Six Ways That Aquaman’s Finny Friends Have Helped Him Out

Five Most Iconic Comic Panels in Marvel Comics History

Five “WTF?” Moments in Comic Book History BY MARK MILLAR

Four Strange Moments in Star Wars Comic Book History

Top Five Comic Book Storylines

Five Comic Book Depictions of the Vietnam War BY JASON AARON

Five Stupidest Superhero Origins

Three Amazing Postapocalyptic Comics BY JEFF LEMIRE

Eight Weird Transformations Superman Underwent Due to Red Kryptonite

Eight Significant Lies and Deceptions by Professor X

Three Underappreciated Sci-Fi and Fantasy Comics BY ERIC TRAUTMANN

Four Goofiest Moments in the First Twenty Issues of The Fantastic Four

Six Near-Death Incidents for Aunt May

Top Ten Comic Book Battles of All Time

Five Best Stories Starring Peter David’s Very Badass Gray Hulk BY ZEB WELLS

Ten Most Memorable Moments in DC Comics History

PART IV: BEYOND THE PANELS (COMIC BOOK COVERS, ADS, AND OTHER EPHEMERA)

Four Strange Comic Book Ads from the 1950s

Six Awesome Roy Lichtenstein Paintings Based on Comic Book Panels

Five Strangest Responses to Superman Fan Mail

Four Strange Comic Book Ads from the 1960s

Nine Iconic Green Lantern Covers BY GEOFF JOHNS

Six Notably Recalled Comic Books

Three Great Pre-Eisner Graphic Novels from Before 1950 BY FRED VAN LENTE

Four Strange Comic Book Ads from the 1970s

Six Great Silver Age Comic Book Covers BY DAVE GIBBONS

Four Strange Comic Book Ads from the 1980s

Three Strange Public Service Announcements

Four Strange Comic Book Ads from the 1990s

Five Best Comic Strips of the Past Thirty Years BY PAIGE BRADDOCK

Top Ten Most Iconic Covers in DC Comics History

Four Strange Comic Book Ads from the Twenty-first Century

PART V: COMICS AND CULTURE

Five Comic Book Inventions That Eventually Became Real

Six Musicians Who Have Written Comic Books

Five Items and Phrases That Surprisingly Came from Comics

Six Bob Dylan References in Comic Books BY SCOTT ALLIE

Four Comic Books Produced by the U.S. Military or the Central Intelligence Agency (Plus, How Jack Kirby Played a Role in a CIA Operation)

Six Instances of Archie Comics Vigorously “Protecting” Its Intellectual Property

Seven Pro Athlete Nicknames That Came from Comics

Three Celebrities Who, Beyond All Reason, Starred in Their Own Comic Books (and One Group Who Did That Made Perfect Sense) BY MARK WAID

Seven Bands That Got Their Names from Comic Books

Eleven Celebrities Who Have Guest-Starred in Comic Books

Four Obscure References in Watchmen

Five Easter Eggs Within Superhero Video Games

Five Best Superman References on Seinfeld

Four Strangest Superhero Products for Kids

Eight Celebrities Who Guest-Starred in Comics…Without Their Permission

Seven Songs About Comic Book Characters

PART VI: COMIC BOOK MOVIES AND TV SHOWS

Fifteen Actors Who Were Offered the Role of Superman (and One Surprising “Actor” Who Auditioned for the Part)

Five Movies You Might Be Surprised to Learn Were Adapted from a Comic Book

Ten Highest-Grossing Comic Book Movies of All Time

Ten Highest-Grossing Comic Book Movies (Adjusted for Inflation)

Five Most Awkward Sex Scenes in Comic Book Movies

Nine Easter Eggs in DC Superhero Films

Six Notable Goofs from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man Films

Four Movie Superheroes Who Were Not from Comic Books

Eight Examples of Comics Reverse Adapting Ideas from Superhero Films and TV Shows

Ten Ridiculous Rules That the 1990s Spider-Man Cartoon Had to Follow

Five Famous Characters Who Were Created in an Animated Series

Eight Easter Eggs in Marvel Superhero Films

Four Interesting Ways That Actors Lost Out on Superhero Roles

Four Pilots for Superhero TV Series That Never Got Picked Up

Five Odd Superhero Cartoon Adaptations That Nearly Happened

Sixteen Stan Lee Movie Cameos

List of Comic Book Artist Names Along with Issue Numbers