FAQ

Q. What's the purpose of this site?
A. If I asked you what the 10 greatest comic books of all time were, you'd probably have a different list than I do. And if I asked 100, or even 1,000 people, we'd probably all have different lists. However, if the same comics keep coming up again and again, we reach some sort of critical consensus, otherwise known as "the canon." And that's the point of Comic Book Canon, to have the most definitive collection of opinions, ranks, lists, etc etc, in hopes to cultivate a list of some of the greatest comic books of all time. 

Q. How did you come up with this ranking?
A. I scoured the internet and compiled as many greatest comic books/graphic novels/runs lists I could find and then put all of them into a ranking algorithm. Based on the scope of the list or the quality of the site some are worth more than others, but I want to include as many opinions as I can.

Q. How many lists are included?
A. As of the 2024 list, it is 83 lists. I've already started working on the next update and I have about 400 lists I'd like to add. All of them won't make it onto the next ranking, but eventually they'll all be included. 

Q. When is the next update?
A. I originally wanted to update this every year, but after seeing how long it take to actually change everything over on the website I think my time will be better spent inputting lists and working on the ranking. So the plan is to update the website every two years, which means the next major ranking change won't be until January 2026 unfortunately.

Q. NOTHING until 2026?
A. Well, not nothing. Comic Book Canon will publish smaller lists focusing on specific characters, genres, or publishers. I hope to have something new every few months here. I also plan on having detailed creator biography pages for ever writer or artist that has multiple entries on the list.

Q. Oh, cool. So do you really think this book is better than that book?
A. That's not really the point of the project. Don't get too hung up on the individual placements, think of it more as a collection of really, really, really good comic books that a loooot of people recommended.

Q. How do you count runs compared to single issues or graphic novels?
A. I tried to include all storylines from one writer or artist's run in a single entry. So for example, The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past are combined into Chris Claremont's X-Men. However, Claremont's God Loves, Man Kills is counted as a separate entry because it was a non canon event that took place outside of the month to month series he was doing at the time.

Q. If that's the case, what's up with Ghost World, why is it a different entry from Eightball?
A. Honestly, this one just slipped by me and has already been corrected for the next release.

Q. So same thing with Jimmy Corrigan and The Acme Novelty Library?
A. Yup, same thing with Jimmy Corrigan and The Acme Novelty Library?

Q. This list seems entirely dominated by American comics, what's up with that?
A. Yea, I get that. This was actually the biggest piece of feedback I got after publishing the first ranking. For the next update I have already started to work in more international sources, opinions, and lists, in hopes to give a more well-rounded top 100. I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate manga into the rankings. As of now, the only manga that appears on this ranking are titles that have appeared on general comics list, I have yet to include any manga exclusive lists. I am still trying to work out if it makes more sense to combine manga into western comics or to compile and maintain two separate lists.

Q. This sounds like a cool project, do you plan on doing this for any other mediums?
A. Nope, there's already a bunch of sites that do this and have actually been a great help. I reached out to them for advice on the rankings and they were all incredibly helpful.

Q. Where can I find these rankings?
A. Here they are
They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? - an aggregate ranking  of 16,015 Greatest Movies of All Time lists
They Shoot Zombies, Don't They? - an aggregate ranking  of  over 3,700 Greatest Horror Movies of All Time lists
TreasureTV  - an aggregate ranking of  over 4000 Greatest Television Shows of All Time lists
Acclaimed Music - an aggregate ranking  of over 1,450 Greatest Albums of All Time lists
Play That Game - an aggregate ranking  of over 1,300 Greatest Video Games of All Time lists
PWNRank - an aggregate ranking  of over 85 Greatest Video Games of All Time lists
The Greatest Books - an aggregate ranking  of  240 Greatest Books of All Time lists

Q. Good work with all of this, how can I help?
A. Thanks for asking, there's a few way you can help. Tell a friend, get someone who's not into comic books into comic books. If you'd like to have a more physical way of helping shoot me an email at comicbookcanon@gmail.com, I have over 400 lists to input and would love help with data entry. I would never expect anyone to, but if you'd like to support financially feel free to donate at https://ko-fi.com/comicbookcanon. Whatever gets donated goes 100% back into CBC. In all honesty it will literally just cover the cost of having to pay for the website.

Q. Last question, this website is based on critics' and reviewers' opinions, but what are your favorite comics?
A. Oh wow, thanks for asking. My three favorite comic books are Sandman: The Dream Hunters, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, and My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. Some other titles that I love are Marvels, The Crow, and Y: The Last Man.