4. Starman
(DC Comics)
Starman, by James Robinson, Tony Harris, and Peter Snejbjurg is my favorite thing DC Comics has ever published. It's protagonist, Jack Knight, is one of my top five favorite characters of all time. I"¦love"¦ Starman.
A little backstory: the series revolves around the Knight family, specifically father Ted Knight (an aging inventor who operated as the superhero Starman back in the 1940s), older son David Knight (who has always looked up to his father and has decided to become the new Starman), and younger brother Jack Knight (a misanthropic antiques dealer who finds the Starman name and costume dumb). On page one of issue one, David is murdered on his first night as Starman. As a result of this, Jack decides to bring David's killer to justice, and in the process begins a journey that will turn Jack into the hero he has always secretly wanted to be, while at the same time, repairing his relationship with his father and changing the path of his life for good.
Starman has made me laugh, made me cry, and its stories about the past and future make it an 80-issue celebration of everything great about comic books. And with a little effort, a film adaptation of it could give the DC cinematic universe the sense of history and heroism that defined the comics.
