Our love for comics might have started when we were kids, but it's persisted well into our non-kid years. And being the adults that we are now, with our attendant adult tastes, we sometimes like our comic books to have...let's call it "mature content." After all, stylized violence seems weird when it's all THUD! and no blood.

That's why we maintain a love for books that manage to juggle it all: great writing, great art, and no-holds-barred material when the time is right. You can keep your tights and sterile fights; we'll stick with the comic books that put the "ill" in "illustration." And we've rounded up The 40 Most Violent Comic Books Ever in anticipation of this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con; read up now, impress a booth babe with your detailed knowledge later...

CLICK HERE TO START THE COUNTDOWN...