Kingdom Come (1996)

 

 

This was a timely story even back in '96, but it's even more timely now. Set in a future where the first generation of super-heroes are retired/old, it's a classic telling of what happens when the younger generation lacks the ethos and hero-ness of the former. Writer Mark Waid really taps into the essence of what it means to be a hero, and artist Alex Ross is at the top of his game with his lifelike magnificent artwork. Interesting that this would be my #1 choice, given that I really wasn't a DC fan in my childhood. Of course, you'll see that all that changed in the mid-eighties, as I graduated from college and the more "adult" comics became the norm.