Those are idiotic ways of keeping the character alive even though they died in the last issue.
-She died in the Pheonix Saga but was later said to have been placed in cryo sleep by the Phoenix who took her place.

-She died during a battle with the Hell Fire club in the mid 90's when she was shot simultaneously by several Sentinels but transferred her mind into the body of the White Queen. Ironically she was later able to transfer her mind back into her previously dead body and awake unscathed.

-Then she was killed by Wolverine in order to activate the Phoenix force so that she could save them from being hurled into the sun during the Morrison run. Then the Phoenix / Jean was killed by the Magneto / Xorn guy.

The Phoenix force brought her back during the Phoenix End Song where I believe she was killed again, not sure.

I don't think it's so cut 'n dry to JUST PICK one over the other...

Dark Horse and Image have some great titles, but none I really read often enough to be my favorite. I was always into Marvel as a kid, and grew up with Spider-man and X-men, never really understanding most of the DC Heros. But now I'm catching up on all the cool DC stuff I missed. They really do take different approaches. Marvel goes with the really "human" heroes, when Stan Lee made all their personal lives just as interesting as their super lives. DC goes the complete opposite, having God-like heroes like old Olympus, which is also pretty cool if written correctly. Normally, I'd choose Marvel, but I hardly pick up any Marvel book nowadays (Everything's Secret Invasion...and I'm just not into that...) so I'll have to give the nod to DC...for now...

'Nuff said.

Marvel.More original characters and stories.

I like them both but my favorite comic book character is Batman hands down.

Even if I don't like DC, I have to say that Batman is kinda cool but I won't ever admit it...

DC, I like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and the rest of the Justice League. They are all classic characters and are cool in their own right. Plus DC has Vertigo and from that you get Sandman, Swamp Thing, Y The Last Man, and a lot of other really cool titles.

Marvel has some good stuff too but once you get outside of X-Men, Spiderman, and a couple other mainstay characters, they have a ton of really lame second and third string characters and villians that are even worse.

Marvel

Way to quote Stan the Man, Moo2u !

I am torn...because I've went through exactly what you described. I grew up with Marvel comics, and my favorite superhero will always be Spider-Man. Not for his backstory and relatability (I developped that as I grew up), but for three specific reasons deeply rooted in my childhood impression of the character. First off, he's a smartass and he loves to taunt his ennemies. I loved how infuriated the villains got as Spidey kept wisecracking, even when they had him on the ropes. Second, he swung on a thread and stuck on walls, which I thought was really amazing. And thirdly, he had a really distinctive costume, with giant eyes and a full face mask. I also loved the X-Men and Moon Knight, which were my other two favorites. I still have those cheap translated comics my mom bought in flea markets. For this reason, Marvel sticks close to my heart. I recently read the main Civil War storyline, which I thought was an amazing piece of comic book writing...Marvel has such a great stable of heroes, it's hard not to give it any credit.

And yet, nowadays, I find myself drawn to the DC heroes...especially since they have this kind of ''grandeur'' about them, just as you described. I loved Batman because of the TV series, the Animated series and the movies, but I slowly rediscovered Superman, Captain Marvel, Flash, Green Arrow the whole Justice League. As an historian, I love old stuff, and DC is the stuff from which comic book history is made. I ate up great books like Superman : Red Son, Death and return of Superman, Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, Batman Year One, The Long Halloween, etc. I am also reading some old Golden Age stuff...this really makes you understand how far comics have gone since the 30s. I have heard bad things about Countdown, which is a shame since 52 was great. I wonder if Final Crisis will be any good...Infinite Crisis felt like beating a dead horse, and it makes little sense to me why they would unmake the continuity they tried to build so hard with Crisis on Infinite Earth, but I digress. Secret Invasion seems more interesting, but since I am in the process of discovering all it has to offer, DC gets my vote, not for the current stuff, but for all the great TPBs I have yet to read (like Superman : Birthright or Some Green Arrow/Green Lantern).

I don't really read comics but I do enjoy the Marvel characters better then DC.

as the guy who asked this questions originally i'm gonna have to post(OMFG i'm so awesome)
anyway, i'd go for marvel because, with a few exeptions, they have made the best characters EVUR

I never really liked the whole notion of following one company. It all comes down to the comics. I might buy from one more than the other, but I read independents like Dynamite and Image as well.

When I go to comic conventions, I like hanging around the Indy people. They're generally nice and their work is pretty good and also cheap. The only thing keeping a lot of them down is that they can't market themselves properly and get the recognition that some of the bigger companies get.

Marvel.

No one dies for good in the Marvel universe. No one.

I could say the exact same time for DC.

At least the Marvel Universe hasn't brought back pivotal characters in the Spider-Man franchise like Gwen Stacy or Uncle Ben.

not yet. you mean to say not yet.

Gwen was brought back for Ultimate Spider-Man and Uncle Ben is mentioned from time to time. This is just so they can retain the rights to the characters. That's why comic characters come back from the dead so much. When the copyright runs out, they bring the character back so the character can't become public domain.

If you haven't seen a superhero in a while, chances are that they will make a return.

Valiant. Just kidding(I did like Valiant tough). Oh, DC.

Gwen Stacy was in Ultimate Spider-Man that was mentioned earlier and Uncle Ben came back in the House Of M I believe...

Also, Jean Grey in every way, shape or form should stay fucking dead.

Darkhorse!

Usagi Yojimbo and Hellboy