The ILC Favourite Characters Of All Time

(96 points)

http://www.dogmaticblog.com/images/blog_images/constantine.jpg

John Constantine is the ultimate "Mary Sue" character - pretty much everyone who writes him infects him with their own habits and concerns, and no surprise as he's the perfect vehicle to live out both yr coolness fantasies and yr bastard ones: unlike most Mary-Sues he allows writers to explore self-disgust as well as self-glorification. He's also - albeit intermittently - one of the only convincing British characters in US comics, which may explain a lot of his votes.

Greatest Moment: Despite a 200+ issue ongoing series (not bad for someone designed to look like Sting!) his biggest impact is still his first dozen or so appearances, as the plot device and Greek chorus behind "American Gothic". Alan Moore's concept of an outsider who sees how the bits fit together has been ripped off umpteen times since but these appearances are still the freshest. Swamp Thing #46, the CRISIS tie-in issue, might be the best crossover issue of all time and shows how well the guy works in a shared universe.

That's one of my favourite aspects of him, which is why my favourite moment is still the big scene in Books Of Magic.

(99 points)

http://www.austinbooks.com/images/DCArchiveWESpirit17.jpg

Leaving aside the visual mastery and narrative genius of Will Eisner, Denny Colt still stands as a classic character. The Spirit contained everything we would love about adventure heroes in the years to come. Like James Bond, he knew the importance of a well-tailored suit. Like Indiana Jones, he usually took more punches than he threw. He was occasionally cruel to those he cared about, but he always maintained a stoic sense of duty. In a lot of ways, he was camp before camp was cool. (Huk-L)

Greatest Moment: "The Post-War Strips" sez Huk.

As for the Spirit--it's one of my favorite comics, but does anyone actually like the Spirit? I've never wondered what would happen to him, what he was like, etc. He just seemed like an automated "Main Character" for Eisner to send out into gigantic diminishing points of perspective and multi-colored postmodern metafictions.

but this could be any noir hero no? philip marlowe, the continental op...

Also - this is true of the Surfer too - a "good character" isn't just down to the writer! How the character stands, poses, moves, looks, smiles are just as important and that's where the Spirit picks up points and votes, surely.

The Spirit contained everything we would love about adventure heroes in the years to come

what i meant was a lot of those qualities were also contained by heroes who were the spirit's contemporaries.

(103 points)

http://www.zeuscomics.com/images/covers/she-hulk-v4-3.jpg

She's big. She's green. She's the smartest gal in the room. She hates clothing. (Huk-L)

A nothing character that lots of people have done a surprising amount with. (Pete)

Greatest Moment: defeating Blizzard with the power of booze (Mark C)

And the good Eisner-written stories from the Spirit totally pwn everything he did post-retirement obv.

Maybe tomorrow, though...

You're pretty much right -- this would have been circa '42-'45, when Eisner diverted his attentions from comic books to beating the Nazis, albeit using comic books to do it, using them as instruction manuals for GIs. Still, Lou Fine was drawing El Spirito, and since he was one of the three best Golden Age artists, that's no bad thing.

David

23. Heathcliff (Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats)

(4,602 points)

http://www.shoutfactory.com/img/detail/heathcliff.jpg

Imagine Garfield -- but funnier!

22. Juggernaut/Cain Marko (X-Men)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ea/Juggernaut.PNG

Greatest Moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV_3cBmAHjA

http://es.geocities.com/beatlescomicsmelgar3/notbrand8b.jpg

He's got a pot. On his HEAD. A pothead, gettit?

Greatest moment: beating the Meatles. Whoops, meeting the Beatles.

Wimpy is probably best know for
his consumption of hamburgers,
and anything else if hamburgers
are not available. Here is his famous,
"I would gladly pay you Tuesday
for a Hamburger today." line.
-- David R

if calvin's dad isn't top 5 there's something wrong somewhere!!
-- J.D.

(not to give anything away JD but i sorta kinda address the "calvin's dad" issue in my comments --- albeit in a way that will possibly disappoint you!!)
-- mark s

REPENT THE END IS NIGH, FOR WHEN SONIC THEE HEDGEHOGS COMiCS REACH THEE ISSUE 200 THEE END SHALL BE UPON US

-- the eunuchs, Cassim and Mustafa, who guarded Abdur Ali's harem