Daredevil (1964)

Daredevil debuted in Marvel ComicsDaredevil #1 (cover date April 1964), created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with character design input from Jack Kirby, who devised Daredevil’s billy club. When Everett turned in his first-issue pencils extremely late, Marvel production manager Sol Brodsky and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko inked a large variety of different backgrounds, a “lot of backgrounds and secondary figures on the fly and cobbled the cover and the splash page together from Kirby’s original concept drawing”.

Writer and comics historian Mark Evanier has concluded (but cannot confirm) that Kirby designed the basic image of Daredevil’s costume, though Everett modified it. The character’s original costume design was a combination of black, yellow, and red, reminiscent of acrobat tights. Wally Wood, known for his 1950s EC Comics stories, penciled and inked issues #5–10, introducing Daredevil’s modern red costume in issue #7.

Castlevania – The Belmont Legacy (2005)

It is 1576, and the legend of the Belmont family’s vampire-hunting prowess still echoes through the Romanian countryside. While Christopher Belmont celebrates his nuptials, dark forces conspire to raise Count Dracula from his unholy slumber. With this ancient evil unleashed once more, young Belmont must to prove he is worthy of the Belmont legacy. Based on the smash-hit Konami videogame series.

Superboy V1 (1960’s)

Four years after his debut, Superboy became only the sixth DC superhero to receive his own comic book when Superboy #1 (March–April 1949) was published. The series became the first new DC superhero title to succeed since World War II. Superboy saw the debuts of the first Superbaby story, (about Clark’s adventures as a super-powered toddler), and of Clark’s two closest friends: Lana Lang, who also serves as a romantic interest for Superboy; and Pete Ross, who later discovers and helps protect Clark’s secret identity. Other notable stories to appear in Superboy include the story of the first Bizarro and the first appearances of Legion of Super-Heroes members Mon-El and Ultra Boy.

Micronauts V1 (1977)

The Micronauts began life as comic book characters thanks to a fortuitous accident on Christmas 1977. Marvel Comics writer Bill Mantlo’s son Adam opened a new present, a line of the Mego Corporation‘s Micronauts action figures. Seeing the toys, Mantlo was instantly struck by inspiration to write their adventures. Convincing then Editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to get the comics license for these toys, Mantlo was hired to script their series.

The first series of the Micronauts ran from January 1979 to August 1984 and included 59 issues and two Annuals. The series was written by Bill Mantlo and featured art by Michael Golden. Other artists on the series included Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, Rich Buckler, Pat Broderick, Val Mayerik, Keith Giffen, Greg LaRocque, Gil Kane, Luke McDonnell, Mike Vosburg, Butch Guice, and Kelley JonesMicronauts, along with Moon Knight and Ka-Zar the Savage, became one of Marvel’s first ongoing series to be distributed exclusively to comic book stores beginning with issue #38 (Feb. 1982).

Spawn (2010’s)

By issue #191 in May 2009, with estimated sales of 19,803 copies, Spawn had dropped below Top 100 titles sold monthly to comic shops as reported by Diamond Comic Distributors. As of August 2010 Spawn no longer was ranked in the top 300 sales figures chart reported by Diamond Comic Distributors. On the day of its release in 2011, issue #200 sold out. This issue featured work by Greg Capullo, David Finch, Michael Golden, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Danny Miki, and Ashley Wood. A second printing was released the next month. Despite its remarkable sales, it received a negative review from IGN.

The Flash V4: New 52 (2011)

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC’s continuity. In this new timeline, DC Comics relaunched The Flash with issue #1, with writing and art handled by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. As with all of the titles associated with the DC relaunch, Barry Allen appears to be about five years younger than the previous incarnation of the character. Superheroes at large have appeared only in the past five years, and are viewed with at best, suspicion, and at worst, outright hostility. In this new continuity, Barry’s marriage to Iris West never took place, and he is instead in a relationship with longtime co-worker Patty Spivot. In this new series, the Flash draws deeper into the Speed Force, enhancing his mental abilities while still trying to get a full grasp on his powers, which he doesn’t yet exert total control over.

As revealed in issue #0 of this series, Barry Allen’s father was placed in prison for the murder of his mother. While the evidence seems to indicate his father’s guilt, Barry makes proving his father’s innocence a priority. The murder occurred shortly after Barry returned victorious from a school spelling bee, and Barry placed the trophy he won on his mother’s grave in her memory. Barry is also part of the main cast of the relaunched Justice League series, making his debut in the series’ second issue.

Fantastic Four (1980’s)

John Byrne revitalized the slumping title with his run. Originally, Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art. Sienkiewicz left to do Moon Knight, and Byrne subsequently became writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to the comic; eventually Bob Budiansky became the regular editor. Byrne told Jim Shooter that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said “that’s my paranoia. I look back and I think that was Shooter trying to force me off the book”. Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series. One of Byrne’s changes was making the Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman: assertive and confident. During this period, fans came to recognize that she was quite powerful, whereas previously, she had been primarily seen as a superpowered mother and wife in the tradition of television moms like those played by Donna Reed and Florence Henderson.

Terminator: Secondary Objectives (1991)

The Terminator: Secondary Objectives is a four issue comic series set after the The Terminator. Secondary Objectives is the second part of four. The series was published in July 1991 by Dark Horse Comics.

After the first attack on Sarah Connor, she has fled out in the desert near Mexico City. Later in 1984, another terminator switches to its secondary mission, to track down and terminate the now pregnant Sarah Connor. Another terminator arrives to assume the primary mission of protecting the genesis of Skynet. But help is coming; Mary, Ed Astin and I825.M, a re-patriated terminator hybrid cyborg.

The series was written by James Robinson, pencilled by Paul Gulacy (who also did the cover art) and inked by Karl Kesel.

Superman / Batman (2003)

Superman/Batman was a monthly series published by DC Comics that features the publisher’s two most popular characters: Superman and Batman. Superman/Batman premiered in August 2003 and was an update of the previous series, World’s Finest Comics, in which Superman and Batman regularly joined forces.

Superman/Batman explored the camaraderie, antagonism, and friendship between its titular characters. Jeph Loeb, the series’ first writer, introduced a dual-narrator technique to present the characters’ often opposing viewpoints and estimations of each other, which subsequent series writers have maintained. Before the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the two iconic characters were depicted as the best of friends. Frank Miller‘s landmark series The Dark Knight Returns was the first DC story that depicts the heroes at odds with each other, as opposed to pre-Crisis incarnations. This dynamic became DC Universe canon with John Byrne‘s The Man of Steel, a Superman reboot published in 1986.

Avengers V1 (2010’s)

The Earth has been STOLEN! The sky burns while mysterious cosmic objects crash down from above, wreaking havoc across the world – and the Avengers are the last line of defense between Earth and the mysterious forces threatening to tear it apart. It’s time to ASSEMBLE almost everyone who has ever been an Avenger! All of the Avengers you know and love come together to face threats beyond any they’ve faced before – including the Black Order and the Lethal Legion. These two teams of powerful villains bent on destroying each other have arrived on Earth, and they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. And when the mysterious Challenger faces off against the Grandmaster, can the Earth survive the destruction they unleash? The Avengers are engaged in a game of cosmic proportions, but they don’t know the rules…and not everyone will survive! Plus: Who is Voyager? Valerie Vector, the forgotten founding Avenger, is revealed. And fan-favorite Avenger, Hulk, returns to the fold as the stakes in the battle for Earth become clear! Tension is high and peril is imminent, but there’s no option to surrender for the relentless Avengers!