The Best Comic Book Single Issues of All Time

A man haunted by dreams of a woman he's never met discovers the heartbreaking truth about reality-altering cosmic events. One of the most emotionally powerful single issues ever published.

The issue that transformed The Sandman from a horror comic into a literary masterpiece. Dream sits on a park bench feeding pigeons after reclaiming his realm, while his sister Death shows him the beauty and purpose in her eternal duty. The first appearance of Death changed comics forever.

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' pre-Watchmen collaboration. A parasitic plant traps Superman in a dream of Krypton never exploding - giving him the family and home he always wanted. Waking means losing everything. A meditation on desire, sacrifice, and what it means to be a hero.

A bitter scientist steals Ben Grimm's appearance and powers to destroy Reed Richards, but when faced with Reed's selfless heroism, sacrifices himself to save the man he hated. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's meditation on heroism, jealousy, and redemption - proving comics could be literature.

Dr. Manhattan's origin, told in fragmented, non-linear time as he experiences it. A watchmaker's son becomes a god after a lab accident, but perceives all moments simultaneously - past, present, future happening at once. Moore and Gibbons' masterclass in using the comic medium to depict perception itself.

Bullseye hunts Elektra through the streets of Hell's Kitchen in a near-silent battle that ends with her impaled on her own sai. Frank Miller's brutal, cinematic storytelling redefined what superhero comics could be - a tragedy told through shadow and violence that still resonates decades later.

A dying Superman spends his final days doing as much good as possible. Contains the iconic scene where he saves a suicidal teenager with simple words of comfort. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's definitive statement on why Superman matters - not for his power, but for his compassion.