Today Mark Waid, one of the greatest American comic writers out there, turns 50. Mark has written some of the most amazing stories in comics at all the major companies, while providing great panel stories, an encyclopedia of comic knowledge, and generally fan friendly attitude that is always appreciated. While the man has easily written atleast 50 noteworthy stories worth listing, we’re going to celebrate his anniversary of life with just his top 5 (one for each decade)!

5. Ruse (Crossgen)

Ruse was a 26-issue on-going series from the now defunct comic publisher, Crossgen. The first 12 issues were written by Mark Waid and certainly stand out as the best of the series. Ruse took place on the planet of Arcadia, with a Victorian-era backdrop, and told the Sherlock Holmes-esque tales of the detective, Simon Archard. Simon, who has photographic memory and a strong talent for solving mysteries, goes around solving crimes in a somewhat Conan-Doyle style with one major twist, Magic is abound in Arcadia. This, mixed with Archard’s assistant, the cute and magical Emma Bishop, drives the stories that Waid so beautifully penned. The fairly stand alone mysteries of the series were always amusing and well thought out, over the underlying plot that placed Archard against his rival, Malcolm Lightbourne, and enemy, Miranda Cross. The series featured art by the talented Butch Guice, and even won an Eisner award back in 2002 for best coloring. Well after Crossgen’s fall, the series was talked about amongst fans with a near cult following. This eventually led Marvel to reviving the series, when the company gained the rights to Crossgen’s comics, for a 4-issue miniseries in 2010 that had Waid return to the title. As far as mystery comics go, this one was quite exemplary with witty and often hilarious dialogue from the mind of Mark Waid.

4. Flash: The Return of Barry Allen (DC Comics)

The Return of Barry Allen was an enthralling tale that ran through issues #73-79 of the second volume of DC Comics’ The Flash. With Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, having died years earlier in Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was a huge surprise for fans of the time to see the character’s return. But this storyline did more than put together the Flashes of three different eras (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and, the current Flash of the time, Wally West), as it introduced the start of the Speed Force concept and the large speedster family with the first DCU appearance of Max Mercury. The Flash family would eventually expand under Waid, with the creation of Impulse (Bart Allen, who would later become Kid Flash, Flash, and then back to Kid Flash). But the story really came down to just two characters: Wally West, who finally stepped up and came to terms with replacing his uncle as The Flash, and Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash, who **SPOILER (admittedly a 10+ year old spoiler)** was pretending to be Barry. At the heart of it, this was an origin story for Professor Zoom who, through the always complex use of time travel, first became the Reverse-Flash and found a hatred towards speedsters in this storyline. But this was also a very empowering and memorable storyline for Wally West fans, as we truly see Mark at the best of his Flash run in making Wally THE Flash of the era. Greg LaRocque, the artist of this storyline, also did a bang up job in capturing the storyline visually before venturing off to draw the Fighting American series.

3. Irredeemable (Boom Studios)

Imagine if one day Superman, the world’s most powerful super hero, finally snapped and went on a massive killing spree. That is the basic concept behind Irredeemable, told in its own universe with characters completely designed by Mark Waid. The series, from Boom Studios, currently has 34 issues out and is set to conclude at issue #37. It has been nominated for several Eisner and Harvey awards and has spawned a spin-off series called Incorruptible. So what is it about exactly? Well, the series opens up with the Plutonian (our Superman allegory) murdering the series’ equivalent of Batman and his family. From there, the ex-hero goes on a rampage, destroying cities and murdering any heroes that would get in his way. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Plutonian’s old super hero team, the Paradigm, are gathering to find a means to defeat their ex-comrade. This series does not pull its punches, with violent murders, unbelievably twisted acts, unexpected betrayals, and more shocks than you can likely handle. Mark really puts himself out there in this series, having easily earned the description that was put on so many T-shirts promoting the series, “Mark Waid is Evil”. Few titles truly get to explore the what-ifs fans always ask, and when they do they are rarely ever this good.

2. JLA: Tower of Babel (DC Comics)

In speak of ‘What-if’ scenarios that fans always want to see, one of the most classic questions that comic book fans ask is “who would win in a fight between Batman and…?” This incredible storyline from the pages of JLA #43-46 answers that question, and the answer is “Batman, always”. In Tower of Babel, someone is taking out the members of the Justice League almost to expertly, with detailed knowledge about each hero’s weaknesses. It doesn’t take long before the Dark Knight puts two and two together to realize these were all his plans, designed as fail-safes in case any of the heroes turned evil, that are incapacitating the Justice League members. As the evil Ra’s Al Ghul uses Batman’s plans against the allies of Gotham’s greatest son, Batman himself must find the means to save and rally his friends against the immortal who already has begun plans to conquer the world. Those of you who haven’t already read this classic Justice League tale might still be familiar with it, thanks to the recent Justice League: Doom movie that is loosely based off the work. This was Waid at just absolute fanboy best, basically informing us all how Batman would defeat each and every heroes of the League. The art by Howard Porter looks great and the concepts Waid forms for each hero’s defeat are just perfect. This storyline shows that Mark Waid not only knows his comic characters, but also can write just want the fans want to read!

1. Kingdom Come (DC Comics)

Unquestionably Mark Waid’s greatest comic story, Kingdom Come takes comics to a new level. A 4-issue mini-series painted by Alex Ross, Kingdom Come tells the elseworld tale of a dark alternate future for the DC universe. Here, Waid and Ross have designed a future for every major character in the DC comics world and beautifully provide essays of how each character’s life has unfolded in minor details of costumes and dialogue throughout the series. The series is narrated by the minister Norman McCay, an aging pastor and friend of the original Sandman who now must aid the Spectre in judging the Earth. This is an Earth where Lois Lane has died and Superman has run away to find solitude when a group of young and brash heroes accidentally fail in there mission, causing Captain Atom to explode and wipe out millions in the mid-west due to nuclear fallout. When an aging Superman is finally coaxed to return and aid Wonder Woman and Batman in fixing the problems of a new generation of heroes, things only tend to get worse in this epic tragedy. Heroes fight heroes in a storyline predating Marvel’s Civil War, and far more breathtaking. Every page of this series seems to be so much more than it is, with each detail capable of sharing more than a thousand words about the characters involved and events unfolding. This is undoubtedly a must read for any comic book fan, let alone fans of DC or Mark Waid.

While these 5-titles are some of Mark Waid’s best, it was not an easy decision to come to these choices. Waid has produced many fine comics, and written quite a few that are deserving of placement on this list. Comics such as his creator owned Empire series, Superman:Birthright, and current Daredevil run are absolutely brilliant and I found myself heavily fighting as to what made it in the top 5 or whether I should actually try for a top 50. I say this because it shows just how great of a writer Mark Waid is, in that he could easily fill a list of 50 amazing comics written by him that still stand above countless comics written by other creators. I also say this because even his best works exceed 5 storylines, and choosing just 5 and what order to put them in is a rather complicated task. Undoubtedly some of you might disagree with my choices, as you feel strongly for the creator’s works and just how awesome many of them can be. So in the end let us simply appreciate Mark Waid and his amazing comic stories, wish him a heartfelt Happy 50th Birthday, and hope he has many more Birthdays ahead, allowing him the years to write many more great comics for us to enjoy.

For more about Mark Waid, check out his official blog, entertaining twitter account, and detailed Comic Database entry.