>Lets change this topic a little. You have to compile a Greatest
>Post-1980 stories ever told, much like the Greatest Golden Age stories
>ever told volume. What would you select ? 
>
>Here are my  choices: 
>
>5) Detective #500 "To Kill a Legend"

That was in Greatest Batman Stories, if that's an issue.
>
>6) Books of Magic (original mini) #3: "The Land of Summer's Twilight"

The first one I actively disagree with.  A fine issue, and a good read, but it
doesn't get on my Greatest list.  If I've got limited slots for both horror
and Gaiman, I'd rather have "Hold Me" in there.  See below.
>
>8) Invisibles #12 :"Dead Man's Game" (I think that's the title):

"Best Man Fall." Good story, but there's other Morrison I'd take first.
>
>10) Hellblazer #97 : "This Rough Beast": Paul Jenks produces a master
>character analysis of Constantine, uses fantasy and fable and (rather
>unusually for Hellblazer) ends on a reverent note.

I like Jenks, and his Constantine, but there are other Hellblazer's I'd pick.
This issue disn't ring best of the 80&90s to me.
>
> -- One issue of the Question, although I can't decide which one. 

The Mikado.  I think it's a very strong self-contained story that captures the
feel of the series very well.

My picks?

I'd have to keep "Anatomy Lesson," "The Sound of Her Wings," "The
Coyote Gospel," and "Who is Donna Troy?"  Just can't do without them.
They're seminal post 80's work.  I'd add:

Question 8 "The Mikado" Denny O'Neil & Rick Magyar:  A very good self
contained tale with all the moral ambiguity of the series.  The strong runner
up here was "Epitath for a Hero" in issue 15.

Swamp Thing Annual #2, "Down Amongst the Dead Men" Alan Moore Stephen Bissette
and John Totleben.  More than any single issue, this issue signals the revival
of DC's horror line, with the essentials unchanged to this day.  And the
revival of the Horror line which becomes Vertigo is one of the seminal events
of the 1980's DC Universe.  Runner up here is the last issue of American
Gothic, but there's too much baggage from the extended storyline.

Just for contrast I'd throw in the Blue Devil annual from around the same
time, which was essentially a spoof of the Moore piece (although perhaps not
intended directly as one).  All of the DC occultists are played for laughs and
the whole thing provides an eerie "there but for the grace of God go I" sort
of reflection.  If this had sold and ST annual #2 hadn't, there would be no
Vertigo.  I don't have the precise info on this little gem, since my copy was
destroyed years ago.

There should be a Legion story in here.  Maybe Levitz  and DeCarlo's 
"The Greatest Hero of them All" (the death of Superboy).  It's a pretty good
story, and if nothing else demonstrative of the continuity troubles that
hounded the LSH in this period.  Something from "End of an Era" would be good
here, but brings some ZH baggage, and is drawn out more.

One of Byrne's Man of Steel stories or early Superman stories should be in
there.  I don't follow Superman, but there *must* be a good story in there
somewhere.  I'll tenatively put the "Superman meets Lex Luthor" story from Man
of Steel in here, since it shows the redefinition of one of the longest
running conflicts in the DC Universe.  And I liked it when I read it.

Gaiman and McKean's "Hold Me" Hellblazer 27.  A beautiful touching ghost
story.  Huh?  Gaiman turns the expectations of the reader about both the genre
of the book and the hard heart of JC on their head beautifully and stylishly.
Spectacular.

JLA Annual #2, Geffin, DeMatteis, Willingham & Rubenstein. "Hit or Miss"
Picked primarily as a reference funny JLA story of the 80's.  I don't follow
the series, although I was a sporadic reader at the time.  The story's funny,
and entertaining, and reflects the funny heroes take that was taken in JLA in
the 80's.  There may be better choices.

I'd end the book with Case and Morrison's last issue of Doom Partol, "The
Empire of Chairs."  This is the way one should end a series.  Morrison's 
fond farewell to his Doom Patrol characters that was done right.

A lot of this is balanced by some desire for balance in showing what was going
on in the 80's.  The list of Ted's favorite comics of the 80's would be much
different.  I think Abhijit's a little heavy on the horror/vertigo stuff,
although I note that I'm not light there.  Although people who read more of
the genres may have better choices for the more superhero-ish stuff, I think
it should be it should be represented.  A best of the 80's without a funny 
JLA story would miss some of the era, for better or worse.

If I could justify another Hellblazer story, I'd throw Hellblazer 42, Ennis
and Simpson's "A Drop of the Hard Stuff" in there like a shot.  The Magic
Stout issue is one of my favorite Hellbalzer stories, even though I don't care
much for Ennis' Constantine.

If we're allowed Milestone, I'd want Buck Wild's funeral in there, as well
as a Static, maybe the "Virgil loses his virginity" story.

"Any supposition that the Second Crisis in Animal Man ties in with the
 dereconstruction of the universe in Legion?" -- Jim Drew