Please ignore the freaky-looking SuperJoker cover, for behind it lies a short story that provides a very interesting look into the psychology of Lex Luthor. And no, Joker doesn't gain Superman's power or anything as droll as that. John Byrne, despite what one may think of him these days, is always full of great and unique ideas and this issue demonstrates that.

The lead story has Joker making a visit to Metropolis to pit his wits against Superman, who had just made his debut and is still a novice superhero (remember this was barely a year after Byrne's 1986 Man of Steel reboot). And Joker does this by kidnapping Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Lois Lane and have them hidden away in lead-lined coffins all around Metropolis. I won't spoil the end of the story, but Byrne offers a clarification on how Superman's powers and limitations work in an entertaining manner.

However, the reason why I included this issue in this list is because of the seven page backup story that features Lex Luthor (at the time still a beloved billionaire philanthropist, and his true colors are not known to the public at large yet) going to a diner in 900 miles from Metropolis and offers one of the waitresses there $1 million to live with him for a month. It is an exploration of morals, human frailties, and how truly a rat bastard Luthor is.

This issue is reprinted in the Superman: The Man of Steel vol.5 trade paperback.

This 48-page one-shot contains two stories. The lead story is a very unconventional team-up between Supergirl and Mary Marvel, and the second spotlighting Buzz, Linda Danvers' demonic maybe-boyfriend, and one of Linda's angelic sculptures.

The lead story is a favorite of mine as there are no supervillains or cosmic threats or any other superhero conventions in the story (although it does feature a quick fight between Supergirl and Mary Marvel). Instead, the focus of the story is young Mary Bromwell (Mary Marvel's alter ego) running away from home and winds up in Leesburg, Supergirl's hometown and base of operations.

Being a runaway, Mary attracts the attention of a cop who happens to be well respected in the community and is a close family friend of Linda Danvers (Supergirl's secret identity). Suddenly the scene erupts with Mary Marvel swearing holy vengeance against the police officer and Supergirl swoops in to prevent Mary from making what may be a huge mistake.

This is in essence a child abuse story, where even the otherwise nice men fall prey to their weaknesses and take advantage of their positions to sexually abuse their young charges. But writer Peter David does not make it so clear-cut where it is never explicitly shown or stated that Mary Bromwell was indeed sexually abused or had taken the concern from a police officer out of context. Touching such concepts in a superhero comic is something not many writers can do, and credit has to be given to Peter David for being able to craft a compelling story.

The second story, illustrated by Jennifer Graves, is relatively simplistic in comparison as we see Buzz up to his usual mischief in downtown Leesburg while Linda tries to sell some of her sculptures to earn some extra cash. It's a simple 'day in the life' kind of story that, whilst charming, does not bring anything new to the table.

I recommend seeking this issue out based on just the strength of the lead story.

I was a latecomer to Jim Lee's WildStorm line. Sure, I was there for the very beginning when Jim Lee was still at Image Comics and StormWatch and WildC.A.T.s were very much typical superhero titles. By the time Jim Lee sold WildStorm to DC Comics in 1998, I had stopped reading comics and missed out on the brilliance of The Authority or Wildcats the first time around, although I would eventually pick up the trade paperbacks.

I would (regretfully) make the same mistake again with WildStorm's mature readers Eye of the Storm line, and I missed them altogether. Thankfully I managed to pick up the entirety of The Authority (the average Robbie Morrison/Dwayne Turner version) and StormWatch: Team Achilles at bargain prices last year.

Following the dissolution of the original StormWatch in StormWatch vol.2 # 11, the United Nations funded superhero team metamorphosed into the holier-than-thou Authority, much to the chagrin of the UN. With the WildStorm version of Earth going through one disaster after another, the United Nations initiated another version of StormWatch, a crack military team comprised of both superhumans and ordinary humans, led by the non-superpowered former I.O. agent Ben Santini.

One of the superhumans in the team is Jukko Hämäläinen. Hailing from Finland, his sole superpower is to literally feel the pain of other humans nearby. Unfortunately, living in a bustling metropolis like New York City is not doing him any wonders. This issue features his origins, where and how he got his powers, the disastrous events that rendered Finland a lifeless wasteland in the WildStorm Universe, and where he got his scars from. It's all ghastly and horrific, and writer Micah Ian Wright definitely pulls no punches.

Credit must also be given to artist Tomm Coker, who appears to be channeling Jae Lee for this issue, bringing the stark, terrible imagery to life with his fine lines and ink splotches. It is not hyper detailed in the same way artists such as Bryan Hitch or John Cassaday are wont to do. Instead, he relies on abstract shadows to convey the mood of the story and it is a hauntingly beautiful success.

This issue is reprinted in the StormWatch: Team Achilles vol.2 trade paperback.

When Marvel Comics celebrated their 25th anniversary in 1986 (no, I shan't go into a long diatribe on how they are celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2009), then Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter decided to launch the New Universe line to commemorate the event. Introducing eight new ongoing titles from veteran creators such as Archie Goodwin, Tom DeFalco, and Mark Gruenwald as well as at the time new artists such as Kyle Baker, Mark Texeira, Ron Frenz, and Paul Ryan, each of these titles took place in a more realistic setting where everything up to late 1986 happened exactly as in real life until something known as the White Event happened.

Suddenly, people with unnatural abilities (known as paranormals) appeared, with no explanation as to how they gained these abilities other than knowing the mysterious White Event being the focal point from whence all these began.

The apparent flagship title of this line as Star Brand, written by Jim Shooter himself with art by John Romita Jr. The protagonist is Kenneth Connell, an unambitious mechanic living in Pittsburgh who's more interested in chasing skirts than anything else. The White Event happened while he is dirtbiking in the nearby forest, and he chances upon the charred corpse of an alien being and he is given a tattoo known as the Star Brand by an enigmatic older man. From this tattoo, Connell gains abilities such as flight, invulnerability, surviving in extreme environments, and generating non-radioactive nuclear blasts.

The first seven issues of this series made up the introductory arc, which had Connell coming to terms with his abilities, his first encounters with other paranormals, and the impact the Star Brand has on his life and relationships. However, my favorite issue happens to be issue nine, where Ken Connell visits Dr Lucian Ballard's clinic after having multiple sleepless nights.

Lucian Ballard is a recurring character in Nightmask, another New Universe title which has introspective teenager Keith Remsen gaining the ability to enter the dreams of others. Using Remsen's abilities, his Nightmask alter ego enters Connell's dream where he encounters a 1960s comic book environment (with artist Keith Giffen emulating Jack Kirby's style!) and everyone speaks in the same bombastic language Stan Lee used in early Marvel Comics titles.

It's a blast to see this retro sci-fi take on the Star Brand, and Cary Bates and Keith Giffen managed to make it work within the context of the story as well as not undermining the realism espoused by the New Universe line. It's not all fun and games as the true nature of Connell's sleepless dreams is revealed as well as his reconciling with himself the thing that has been nagging his subconscious. It's pop psychology 101 wrapped in a faux Lee/Kirby tale.

The Kingpin is more prominently known as a regular recurring villain in the Daredevil mythos. However, it should be noted that Wilson Fisk made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man # 50.

Anyone familiar with the character of the Kingpin knows how often and indiscriminately he gets rid of nonperforming henchmen. This issue focuses on Tom Cochrane, one such member of his organization and what happens to him and his family when he fails the Kingpin. Despite the seeming simplicity of the plot, writer Greg Rucka weaves an interesting tale as we see the psychological effects this has on Tom Cochrane as he witness his last hours on Earth and a final noble act by Wilson Fisk as gratitude for Cochran's years of service.

This issue is an absolutely engrossing read that made me have confidence in the Tangled Web series, especially after the misfire from Garth Ennis and John McCrea's first three issues. It's a shame this series only lasted 22 issues, but they were exceedingly good for the most part, featuring work from the likes of Zeb Wells, Kaare Andrews, Jim Mahfood, Peter Milligan, and many others.

This issue is reprinted in the Spider-Man's Tangled Web vol.1 trade paperback.

The almost unthinkable happened in 1996 when Marvel Comics and DC Comics decided to do a major crossover event, aptly named DC vs Marvel (or Marvel vs DC, depending on who published the issue) where the Marvel Universe literally crosses into the DC Universe. All hell ensued, thanks to Peter David, Dan Jurgens, and Claudio Castellini and it was even partially interactive with fans being able to vote for the outcome of five critical matches.

Well, by the end of the third issue both universes merged and a new Amalgam Universe emerged. During this time, both DC and Marvel suspended publication of that week's output and pumped out a bunch of one-shots under the Amalgam Comics imprint featuring titles such as Super Soldier (Superman + Captain America), X-Patrol (Doom Patrol + X-Force), and Spider-Boy (Superboy + Spider-Man). The first batch of 12 one-shots published was successful enough for them to release a second wave in 1997, featuring second appearances of the more popular characters as well as introducing additional ones (i.e. Generation Hex (oddly enough Generation X + Jonah Hex), Iron Lantern (Green Lantern + Iron Man), and Challengers of the Fantastic (Challengers of the Unknown + Fantastic Four).

This issue was from the second wave and it introduced the talents of José Ladrönn, who would go on to collaborate with Joe Casey and James Robinson on Cable before creating Hip Flask with the assistance of Joe Casey and Richard Starkings. With a unique art style that is very much influenced by the late, great Jack Kirby with the muggy faces and energy crackles and whatnot, mixed with the intricate techno-details one would usually associate with Geof Darrow. Well, what I am trying to say is this is a darn good looking book.

This issue is basically Spider-Boy absconded to the 21st century by a teenage super-team known as the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099 (Legion of Super-Heroes + Guardians of the Galaxy, but set in the year 2099), which as a concept is so totally awesome and fanboy-ish! In the space of 22 pages, Roger Stern, Karl Kesel, and Ladrönn introduce dozens of mixes of classic Legion of Super-Heroes characters with members of the Guardians of the Galaxy (among others) and it will utterly delight any old-school fan of the 30th century Marvel and DC Universe.

This issue is reprinted in the Return to the Amalgam Age of Comics: The Marvel Comics Collection trade paperback.

Of all the original Image Comics titles, Todd McFarlane's Spawn was the one I was least interested in, although it did become the second Image title I sampled (no thanks to Alan Moore's lackluster story in Spawn # 8). Anyhow, I was very impressed with this issue, which was one of many issues of Spawn I fished out of the discount back issue bins at Splash Page Comics after being away from comic book collecting for years. And I credit it to writer Brian Holguin.

Brian Holguin was responsible for the issues of Spawn that utterly engrossed me, as the series' direction moved away from violent anti-hero tales to a more horror, urban legend-centric theme. Spawn is more of a guest character in these stories, although there are multiple plot threads running across multiple issues.

This issue in particular struck a chord in me, which has Spawn rescuing a little girl from her physically abusive stepfather who'd go berserk whenever interrupted from his drunken stupor in front of the television. It is unfortunately a recurring theme these days in the newspapers, but despite the horrors in the story, it has a feel good note as Spawn serves as a conduit for the reader's fantasies to mete out justice to these hateful people.

Coupled with a gorgeous cover and equally eye-catching interior artwork by Greg Capullo (in my opinion the best Spawn artist ever - yes, even better than Todd McFarlane himself), this is a great comic. As a side note, the cover for this issue was made into a diorama by McFarlane Toys.

This issue is reprinted in the Spawn Collection vol.5 trade paperback.