AVENGERS ARENA by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum and Kev Walker

This book is so angsty and brutal, I love it. Arcade is a great villain who’s been criminally underused IMO, and this series put him on the map as someone who should be taken seriously. Hazmat and Mettle were one of my favorite couples, and although as an editor I’m always leery of quick deaths, Mettle’s death at the end of issue #1 (spoiler!) was an utterly irresistible cliffhanger. I also really fell in love with Cammi (here and in the follow-up series AVENGERS UNDERCOVER), and a huge part of that can be attributed to Kev Walker’s wild skills. I’ve had the opportunity to work Kev since reading this book, and he’s one of the most thoughtful, careful artists I know.

UNCANNY X-MEN by Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo

Everyone who responds to this poll is probably going to mention HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X as their favorite X-Men books of the decade, and that’s fair. But this book got me so pumped. The twist on Cyclops took a character that I’d never really liked and somehow made him… work. His motivations made sense to me for the first time. Plus, we’re talking about Bachalo here. His take on Magneto’s powers, the crazy detail he put into every page… I love all of it. This series also produced one of my favorite annuals, drawn by Andrea Sorrentino, which told a heartbreaking story about one of my favorite X-Men of this period, Tempus.

Lindsey Cohick

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (2011) #622-645 by Kieron Gillen et al. is one of my favorite Marvel runs of the decade. I picked it up when I was a Marvel fan but not yet a Marvel editor, and at the time it was unlike any Super Hero comic I’d ever read. Gillen’s rich storytelling, steeped in British as well as Norse mythology, gave new life (literally) to an age-old character by reincarnating Loki as a child. In so doing, it explored deep questions of damnation and redemption, delivering heart-wrenching pathos mixed with Gillen’s tongue-in-cheek tone that suited the God of Mischief so well. With art by Doug Braithwaite, Stephanie Hans, and more, the story jumped off the pages and hit me right in the feelings. Not to mention, it also introduced one of my favorite fictional animals, the adorable hellhound, Thori! This run is a must-read for fans of Loki, fans of Marvel, fans of murder-dogs, and fans of good storytelling.