I Think I Can Manage is a weekly column by retailer Steven Bates, who runs Bookery Fantasy, a million dollar retail operation in Fairborn, Ohio.  This week, Bates gives his 'top comic book quotes.'

Recently, the American Film Institute (AFI) revealed their Top 100 Movie Quotes, culled from a century of motion picture history.  Many were obvious and quite familiar, such as Rhett Butler's 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn' and Taxi Driver Robert 'Travis Bickle' Deniro's 'You talking to me?'  Others were less ingrained in the public's subconscious - can you recall the film that gave us 'What a dump?' - or had been so badly mangled over the years by misquoting comedians we were surprised to hear the original.  Casablanca (which made the list six times!) offers a prime example; nowhere in the film does anybody say 'Play it again, Sam.'

Looking over AFI's list, it got me to thinking about famous quotes from comic books.  With a history at least as rich and as diverse as film, comics have given us several popular catchphrases, witty retorts, and quotable quotes, for many more years than movies, which didn't 'talk' until Al Jolsen sang jazz in 1927 (prototypical comic books had been in existence for nearly 100 years by this point).  Characters often needed a word or phrase to identify them, give them continuity for the reader.  Other times, a caption or word balloon might strike our fancy enough to recall it later, and it gets passed into our lexicon.

I'm listing, in no particular sequence other than the order in which I remembered them, my nominees for the Top Comic Book Quotes.  Anyone so inclined can track down and write in identifying the first appearance of each quote.

Here's my list of the Top Comic Book Quotes:

• Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot.
• SHAZAM!
• Up, up, and AWAY!
• Avengers Assemble!
• In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight.   Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power -- Green Lantern's light!
• I'm the best there is at what I do . . .
• Flame on!
• It's clobberin' time!
• Holy moley!
• Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound ... It's SUPERMAN!
• HULK SMASH!
• Face it, tiger ... you just hit the jackpot!
• What, me worry?
• Me am Bizarro #1.
• Titans Together!
• Keep on truckin'.

I'm sure I missed a few hundred other great quotes.  Now, if you disagree with any of my choices, or would like to suggest others I missed, please e-mail ICv2 with your favorites.  Here's lookin' to you, kids.