3. Invincible (Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker & Ryan Ottley)
Not so much a singular run as it is an impeccably written ongoing saga, Robert Kirkmans creator owned Invincible has been going strong for 100+ issues, not counting the excellent spin offs and related books like Guarding The Globe or Tech Jacket, with no sign of slowing down in sight. Telling the tale of neophyte superman Mark Grayson, Invincible does what every good teen hero book does but somehow manages to do those things even better. It also tackles things we havent seen in a teen superhero book before. The themes range from high concepts like selfish altruism, the fallibility of heroic ideals and the assumed importance of all life to more mundane concerns like the connection between feelings of powerlessness and sexual performance, all while maintaining a humorous, primary-colored tone that never feels forced or out of place. The characters in this world feel more real than almost any other superhero comic Ive read. Ever. Whether theyre dying, triumphant, crying or laughing it actually matters to the reader in a way youd have to experience firsthand to fully understand. Ryan Ottley brings something intangibly great to the art, which is perfect for Kirkmans post-pop culture scripts. The book is just the right mix of angst, humor, violence and earnest expressions of love and heroism. Invincible is what more comics should have been like in the 90s: the legacy of Golden Age values acted out in a modern context for a very different generation of fans. Invincible is basically Spider-Man for the iPad Set. Yeah, I said it.