Ratings

 I'll give every entry two ratings from 1 to 5 stars. The first one is for the quality/enjoyment level of the story, and the second one is for its historical/cultural/narrative significance. Now I'll explain my thought process.

For the quality rating, it goes like this:

• 1 Star: Pretty much unreadable bullshit. A story with a 1-star rating is borderline offensive to the sight and to the mind, and it basically fails as a story in most aspects. Either that or I personally didn't enjoy it at all.
• 2 Stars: A good old bad story. It's not terrible but for most people, it's just not worth reading. This rating could also go to a 1-star story with some kind of redeemable quality.
• 3 Stars: The very definition of mid. The kind of thing that you might like, but it's usually not worth going out of your way to read. Maybe even a bad story that still manages to be enjoyable.
• 4 Stars: Just a good story. Not much to explain here.
• 5 Stars: Something special. There are many things a story can do to get a 5-Star rating, although none of them are easy. This rating could maybe be granted to a perfect story, but I don't think that's a thing, so "pretty close" will have to do. Perhaps a story would have to achieve some kind of change to get it, either in the world or the reader. Maybe having that certain "spark" that so few stories have and that's so hard to put into words would grant it. And who knows? Being really entertaining might just be enough. I guess we'll try to find out along the way.

As a rater, I tend to avoid extremes and stay close to the middle. I give 5-star ratings very rarely, and 1-star ratings even more so. Anyway, keep in mind that rating works of art is a very subjective thing, so if you disagree you're more than welcome to state your opinion in the comments, in a civilized manner of course.

Now, for the cultural significance rating, it goes like this:

• 1 Star: No cultural significance whatsoever. Hypothetical example: A story in which Spiderman fights a one-off villain that's never mentioned again, with his usual gadgets, and the status quo of his life doesn't change in any way.
• 2 Stars: Maybe a minor character gets introduced, or maybe an event that will be only so important happens. Probably not worth reading if you are interested only in the continuity and not in the story itself. Hypothetical example: A story in which Spiderman fights a one-off villain that's never mentioned again, he invents a new gadget he'll use once in a while, and has a meaningful conversation with Aunt May.
• 3 Stars: Somewhat important. "Big", but not quite major characters get introduced or relatively important events happen. For continuity buffs, probably read it, but it should be fine skipping it. Hypothetical example: A story in which Spiderman fights Rhino for the first time, he invents a new gadget he'll use once in a while, and has a meaningful conversation with Aunt May.
• 4 Stars: Pretty important. Recurrent characters get introduced, major events happen and you finish the story thinking "Wow, stuff happened" or something along the lines. For continuity fans, it's worth the read. Hypothetical example: A story in which Spiderman fights the Green Goblin for the first time, he invents a new gadget he'll use often, and reveals his secret identity to Aunt May.
• 5 Stars: Very important. Major character introductions or major plot developments happen, and maybe even world-altering events transpire. For continuity buffs, it's almost a mandatory read. Hypothetical example: A story in which Spiderman fights Venom for the first time, he invents a new gadget he'll use often, and reveals his secret identity to the world.
• 5+ Stars: That rare issue that forever changed the medium as a whole. Reserved for the introductions of the biggest characters, the kind of name even your grandmother has heard. Either that, or stories that shaped the medium, their company, or their respective universe in a meaningful way. Chances are continuity buffs have already read it. Hypothetical example: Amazing Fantasy 15.

Keep in mind that this second rating in no way reflects the quality of a given story, and while I do tend to enjoy a story more if there's a sense of progress or importance to it, I'll try to be impartial in that way. Also, this rating still has some subjectivity (Who can actually say with absolute certainty who's more important than who?), but it's mostly objective. But then again, I'm no expert, so if you disagree feel free to explain your perception of cultural significance in the comments.