Longbox Graveyard #100

This week I celebrate one-hundred consecutive Wednesday blogs here at Longbox Graveyard! To mark this anniversary, I thought I’d look at great “Issue #100” superhero comics covers of the past.

There are two criteria for making my list:

1. There has to be a nod to “#100” or “Anniversary” on the cover. One-Hundred is a big number — I’m making a big deal out of it here at Longbox Graveyard, and I expect my comics covers to do the same! This eliminates some older books from consideration. For example, Action Comics #100 might be worth more than my house, but the cover doesn’t note the anniversary nature of that issue.
2. It has to be an attractive cover! Or at least a significant cover. Better if it is both!

It’s actually harder than you’d think to find decent #100 covers. There aren’t many comics that make it to #100, in this or any era, and the covers aren’t always great when they do. But for better or worse, here are Longbox Graveyard’s Top Ten One-Hundreds!

10) Superman #100

All right, it’s kind of your Dad’s idea of what a comic book cover should look like, but it’s Superman — he gets a pass. Plus, you get a montage of past anniversary issues, like that thrilling time Supes let a lion bite him in issue #50!

9) X-Men #100

I’m not a fan of the “face-off” composition (and something similar was used to much worse effect for Defenders #100), but it’s cool to see the old and new teams on the same cover. Just looking at the match-ups, my money is on the new kids (unless Marvel Girl abruptly evolves into Dark Phoenix).

8) Master of Kung Fu #100

A pretty decent Mike Zeck cover for a series that didn’t have a lot of superior covers, and also the least likely anniversary issue in this round-up. I love Master of Kung Fu, and I’m just glad I live in a world where it lasted one hundred issues, even if that world was thirty years ago.

7) Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos #100

I confess I’ve never read this issue — and I didn’t think a lot of Sgt. Fury when I reviewed the early series here at Longbox Graveyard — but this is a pretty dynamic cover. I love the juxtaposition of the old and new Fury.

6) Iron Man #100

Iron Man wasn’t always a Marvel A-Lister, and he beat the odds by making it to issue #100. I sense a bit of defiance in old Shell-Head — “It’s my 100th issue — deal with it!” This is the only issue in my list that uses the number “100” as an iconographic part of the cover design.

5) Batman #100

Similar to the Superman cover, above, but this cover checks in at #5 because … Batman. Also because Joker, Robin, and driving a pink motorcycle through a hoop of fire.

4) Captain America #100

Captain America gets his close-up, with a whole pack of Avengers in support. Fun fact — this issue #100 is also an issue #1 (kind of), as this marked the transformation of Tales of Suspense into Captain America (which is why you won’t find a Silver Age-era Captain America #1).

3) Avengers #100

It might be the “Mightiest 100th Issue of All!” but Avengers #100 rates no better than a bronze medal here at Longbox Graveyard. Still, any day is a good day to shout, “Avengers Assemble!”

2) Conan #100

This issue almost doesn’t qualify, given it’s subtle “anniversary” branding, but it’s a terrific cover and may be the last great issue of Conan the Barbarian ever published. The only real “down beat” anniversary issue on my list.

1) Amazing Spider-Man #100

I left Spider-Man off my Top Ten List of Marvel Characters (and have been paying for it ever since), so maybe I’ll recover some karma by naming Amazing Spider-Man #100 my top #100 cover of all time. Plus this story has “the wildest shock-ending of all time!” … and that isn’t just hyperbole!

Despite the caption, the gimmick ending of Amazing Spider-Man really was kind of a cop-out, and Spidey would shortly return to his normal, two-armed self. Cop-outs are a part of comics, after all, and I’m not above using them here at Longbox Graveyard (as my many Panel Galleries will attest). Cop-outs or no, I genuinely value this blog and the many readers who have honored me with their loyal readership these past two years. Thanks so much!

Let me know what you think of my choices for the top #100 covers of all time in comments, below … and a Longbox Graveyard No-Prize goes to the first reader who can correctly identify the artists of each of these covers!

(All covers sourced through CoverBrowser.com)

NEXT WEDNESDAY: #101 Sgt. Rock

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