TBS Cheryl Rainfield's Top Ten Comic Books (Author of Scars)

Top 20 Comic Books That I Love (and yes, they’re all super-hero comics. I wanted to be Superman when I was a kid being abused.  I wanted to have bullets bounce off me, to have no one be able to hurt and torture me the way they did, and to be able to fly away from it all).

1)      BatGirl (as Cassandra Cain—there was SO much I identified with here, including being trained with mind control and abuse as a child)

2)      CatWoman (with her lesbian friend and her trying to do the right thing)

3)      Superman (married to Lois)

4)      DareDevil (incredibly good writing, during the period Matt is outed as DareDevil)

5)      Spider-Man (incredibly good writing, at least when I was reading it)

6)      Sensational She-Hulk (she was strong and funny)

7)      Invincible (at least until the hero father betrays his son and wife and world)

8)      Astro City (beautifully written and illustrated, except I couldn’t read the Dark series—I needed the hope in the others)

9)      The Matriarch

10)   Chase

11)   Power Pack (the original series in 1984; I love the kids being super heroes—exactly what I wanted to be when I was a kid. And I love their sweetness, which is missing from the new ones.)

12)   Wonder Woman

13)   The Trouble Makers (short run, but loved the kids and teen super heroes and the depth in them)

14)   The Good Guys (short run, but I *loved* the teen super heroes with depth)

15)   Madrox (to me it’s like multiplicity/dissociation and splitting, and I can identify)

16)   Manhunter (a strong woman going after the bad guys)

17)   White Tiger (written by Tamora Pierce! I loved this. And oh how I hope I can some day write a comic book with a strong girl character!)

18)   Emma Frost, the mini series with her as a teen. It gave me compassion for her

19)   Fused (short run)

20)   Phantom Jack (short run)

These are all comic books that I have enjoyed and loved, and that fed me in a soul and creative way. They all felt well-written or had things I needed in them, heroes that cared about others and tried to make the world a better place, and had powers to do that. I guess you can tell . . . I love comics! (smiling)