shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 16, 2020 9:26:50 GMT -5
On the Fourth Day of Christmas, my hero brought me back, the Titans and a Judas Contract... 9. Marv Wolfman
Primarily selected for New Teen Titans and Tales of the New Teen Titans (1980-1985)There was a time when Wolfman was my hero. The New Teen Titans was the first comic franchise I was ever truly passionate about. In fact, it was only a few Classic Christmases ago that I wrote about how Wolfman was directly responsible for making me a comic fan for life. He was less interested in selling the immediate plot, and more interested in defining characters and relationships over the long term, and that has come to be my favorite thing to seek out in comics as a result.  Having returned to the New Teen Titans only recently, I am disappointed to discover that neither the writing nor characterizations hold up as well as I'd remembered, but it's still great stuff, and the impact it had upon me in my more impressionable years cannot be diminished. I've gone on to enjoy a few other Wolfman works--mostly Tomb of Dracula and Nightforce—but New Teen Titans is the single work that truly qualifies him for inclusion on my list. |
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Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Dec 16, 2020 9:42:52 GMT -5
#9 – Denny O'Neil ( Batman and Detective Comics [various issues 1969-1980], Amazing Spider-Man [various issues 1980–1981])  Denny O'Neil had a hand in writing so many great comics during the Bronze Age, but it's primarily his work on DC's Batman and Detective Comics series throughout the '70s that has got him the number 9 position on my list. Under O'Neil's pen, the two flagship Batman titles began to get much darker and more mature than they had been in the 1960s, becoming not unlike a pair of sinister Gothic horror comic titles in some respects. He removed Robin from the series by sending him off to university and gave us a much more introspective and vengeful Batman in stories that often dealt with the psychology of Bruce Wayne and his villainous adversaries. During his run, Batman comics became grittier and more experimental, with a darker urban setting. As such, O'Neil's influence on the modern-day version of Batman is incalculable. The same can be said for the Joker too, since O'Neil changed the Clown Prince of Crime's personality and psychology in a major way. Prior to O'Neil, the Joker had mostly been portrayed as a goofy, troublesome, criminal prankster, but starting with the 1973 story "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!" (Batman #251) he became a sadistic, deranged killer – a portrayal that has remained consistent right up to the present day. O'Neil also revived Two-Face and created the wonderful, death-dodging villain Ra's al Ghul and his gorgeous, seductive daughter Talia. Unfortunately, I've never read any of O'Neil's legendary run on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, but I did like his short time on Amazing Spider-Man, during which he introduced Madame Web and Hydro-Man. But for writing some of my favourite Batman comics and for making the Caped Crusader cool again, thanks Mr. O'Neil. From Batman, issue #251 (1973)... 
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Dec 16, 2020 9:45:22 GMT -5
He removed Robin from the series by sending him off to university and gave us a much more introspective and vengeful Batman in stories that often dealt with the psychology of Bruce Wayne and his villainous adversaries. During his run, Batman comics became grittier and more experimental, with a darker urban setting. As such, O'Neil's influence on the modern-day version of Batman is incalculable. I thought it was Frank Robbins and Julie Schwartz who were behind that transition. Granted, O'Neil carried it to the next level. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2020 9:49:26 GMT -5
On the fourth day of Christmas Santa brought to me the works of the early part of Brian Michael Bendis' career...  Works that garnered him favorite status: Powers, Torso, Fire, Goldfish, Jinx, Daredevil. Alias, Ultimate Spider-Man Why I like his work: I discovered Bendis with Powers, when someone recommended Who Killed Retro Girl to me, which I read and loved, and then reading Ride-Along sealed the deal for me. For a while I was reading all the Bendis I could get my hands on, and grooving to most of it. Until he came aboard Avengers. That killed his must read status, and I wasn't sold on a lot of his Marvel stuff, but I still checked out any of his creator-owned stuff. I like the Mamet influence on his work, quick cuts between scenes, the rhythm of his dialogue, and really digging into his characters' heads without resorting to thought balloons, revealing the inner character through outward expressions of dialogue and actions. His pacing in his early stuff was really good (later stuff not so much), and pulled the reader through the stories. He works best with solo characters or smaller casts (the Christian/Deena pairing, Ness, Matt/DD, Spidey, etc.) where he can really focus on characters, but as the cast gets larger the quality of the work (and my interest) decline, mostly because his appeal is digging into characters and that gets diluted with larger casts, so he goes for bigger and more shocking plot twists in those cases, which rarely works and plays against his strengths. When he does a book in his wheelhouse, he excels, when he does stuff outside that wheelhouse (like most of his later Marvel work including events), his work suffers. I'll still check out creator-owned stuff he does and books in his wheelhouse, but I've given up on him doing stuff outside that wheelhouse. But, man, I still love some of the stuff he's does and it has stood up with me. If I were to recommend one work to introduce a reader to Bendis: Powers (1st series) #7 Ride-Along guest starring Warren Ellis as a writer who goes for a ride-along with Christian and Deena.  -M |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2020 10:18:29 GMT -5
#9 - Tom Tully (Various UK comics) Around the age of 8-9, I started to take notice of the people behind the comics. Prior to that, I am certain I probably assumed comics fell out of the sky fully-packaged. I began to notice one name: Tom Tully, When I see him mentioned, his work on Roy of the Rovers (a football strip) and countless sports comics are mentioned. But as much as I like them, he did so much else, all of which was solid. He wrote Johnny Red, a British WWII pilot who ended up working with the Soviet Union against the Nazis. He wrote various strips that had an impact on my childhood. However, he may well have been the first writer whose retrospective work I wanted to check out. So as reprints became more ubiquitous, and various publishers opened up their archives, I did my best to delve into his “back catalogue”, e.g. The Steel Claw (60s) and Janus Stark (late 60s/early 70s). So this is why he made my list. When a writer’s work is so compelling that you seek out their earlier stuff, what more of an endorsement can there be? Here’s Johnny Red, known as the “Red Devil”: 
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Post by DubipR on Dec 16, 2020 10:21:14 GMT -5
#9- Ed BrubakerSelected Works: The Fall, Scene of the Crime, Gotham Central, Criminal, Daredevil, and more  I love good old fashion hardboiled crime noir; be it books or films. Having Ed Brubaker on this list is a no-brainer. From cops to bent people, Brubaker's flair for crime explodes with each project he does. I first became aware of his work when Scene of the Crime came out and loved the hell out of that mini. From there I followed his work to almost every project. Co-creating Gotham Central with Greg Rucka, the take of having a Batman book with not much Batman in it, focusing on the police department made to engaging reading. Then taking over Daredevil from Bendis and brought even more dirty and grime back to Matt Murdock. His creator owned projects are some of the most engaging and kunckle-busting reads for the past 20 years. 
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 16, 2020 10:55:52 GMT -5
On the Fourth Day of X-mas... 9. Dick DeBartolo (Mad Magazine)  No way I couldn't include "Mad's Maddest Writer." DeBartolo appeared in more consecutive issues of Mad than any other writer (or writer/artist for that matter). He wrote over 250 film and television parodies. In many ways DeBartolo was Mad Magazine and more than just one of the Usual Gang of Idiots. DeBartolo was also a contributor to the game show Match Game and is credited with creating the type of innuendo questions that got the 1962 version of the show "un-cancelled" and made the 1973 version such a huge success. And really...you have to love a guy with that mustache. And I leave you with a bit from Mad #154's The Cowkids with the late, great Jack Davis.  |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 16, 2020 11:01:35 GMT -5
On the fourth day of Classic Comics Christmas I give unto thee... The Author of Four Great Horror Comics(well really more but you know how the song goes...) Nancy A. Collins Anybody who knows me even a little bit knows that I'm a serious horror junkie and in that vain Collins' work was a match made in heaven because she writes vampires, ghost, ghouls and things that go bump in the night better than just about everyone else. I first encountered her when I had chicken pox in elementary school, stuck home until I was non-contagious I had a lot of time for reading and since I couldn't go to the library my mother did, I asked for new vampire books and received Sunglasses After Dark and since then I've always been a fan.
So what (specifically four) comics has she done to get on my list? For starters her run on Swamp Thing is the best the book ever was. That feels like a "There I said it..." post in these neck of the woods due to the love Alan Moore usually gets but her run from #110-138 was far superior in every way simply because not only was she a talented horror writer who really got how to establish a mood but she had spent a considerable time in Louisiana and so could bring a much more authentic feel to Swampy's setting than anyone else. Up next was the sadly truncated Dhampire: Stillborn which was to be the first of a series of dark horror fantasy comics about a half vampire coming to terms with his supernatural life. Vertigo published the first amazing chapter but sadly no more were forth coming with a change in editorial scrapped the book in 1997. Thirdly, though media tie ins often get a bad rap and the Predator comics were never half as good as the Aliens books at Dark Horse, Collins was once again able to insert her southern flair into a project by setting her Predator tale during the Civil War in Predator: Hell Come a Walkin giving her the opportunity to give us some really life like sounding Confederate soldiers the chance to face off with our favorite hunter from the sky.Lastly comes the comic adaptation of her first Sonja Blue novel(the book that started my love affair) Sunglasses After Dark which while originally published in 1995 I only actually got to read a few years back when it was finally collected by IDW as the original by Verotik was nearly impossible to get.
So with all that love why only ninth? Well, as prolific as she is as a novelist her contributions to comics have sadly been much fewer in number making her impact on the medium unfortunately muted. But what she has done has been stunning so if you haven't tried her go out and do it pronto! |
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Crimebuster
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Post by Crimebuster on Dec 16, 2020 11:08:03 GMT -5
9. Robert KanigherThere are two Bob Kanighers, almost literally as I understand it. Bad Kanigher is responsible for a lot of terrible Wonder Woman stories among other things. But I love Good Kanigher. Good Kanigher gave us Sgt. Rock, The Unknown Soldier, The Losers, and Enemy Ace. Not to mention the War That Time Forgot, Mademoiselle Marie, and basically their whole line of war books. Viking Prince. Metal Men. Sea Devils. The Haunted Tank. Heck, he co-created the Barry Allen Flash! He also gave us some other stuff I absolutely love, like his run on Lois Lane (which also featured what to me seems like his most personal creation, Rose and Thorn), Ragman, Lady Cop, and some of his romance comics, like Young Love #104, the Mary Robin series in Young Love, and the Bonnie Taylor series in Young Romance. Good Kanigher!! 
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Post by thwhtguardian on Dec 16, 2020 11:08:07 GMT -5
He removed Robin from the series by sending him off to university and gave us a much more introspective and vengeful Batman in stories that often dealt with the psychology of Bruce Wayne and his villainous adversaries. During his run, Batman comics became grittier and more experimental, with a darker urban setting. As such, O'Neil's influence on the modern-day version of Batman is incalculable. I thought it was Frank Robbins and Julie Schwartz who were behind that transition. Granted, O'Neil carried it to the next level. Yeah, as much as I love Denny(and I really do! He just missed my list) he does tend to get the credit that Schwartz and Robbins more accurately deserve for turning Batman into a more modern comic book hero. Granted he did put a whole lot f work into molding him into that grittier, trauma driven character that we think of when we think Batman these days, but in a lot of ways he was just running with the baton that was passed to him. Still, his run was great though I ultimately liked Englehart's just a little more. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Dec 16, 2020 11:16:33 GMT -5
He made my short list, and I wondered if I should be embarrassed about that. Thanks for explaining him as well as you did! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 16, 2020 12:32:39 GMT -5
He made my short list, and I wondered if I should be embarrassed about that. Thanks for explaining him as well as you did! Good comics are good comics and even the best writers had some bad material. Kanigher's Enemy Ace is some of the finest material you will find in comics and his Wonder Woman is some of the worst. Some times a writer is inspired and other times he picks up a paycheck. I think Michael Caine said it best, in his Golden Globe acceptance speech for The Cider House Rules, when he said he had been a working actor for X number of years; and, as a working actor, he had done a lot of crap. Everyone in a creative field has work they aren't proud of...it's both part of the learning curve and financial survival until something better comes along. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 16, 2020 12:57:35 GMT -5
9. Chris Claremont
Black Panther: It was good seeing you again. It's strange, but... suddenly I find myself thinking...
Storm:...of what was, and what might have been. I, too.
Narrator: That had been a special, unique moment in both their lives... a moment which-- once denied-- can never truly be recaptured.
--"Cry-- Vengance!", Marvel Team-Up #100, Marvel, 1980
Reverend Stryker: Human?! You dare call that... thing-- human?!?
Ariel: More human than you! Nightcrawler's generous and kind and decent! He had every reason to be bitter, every excuse to become a demon as much inside and out. But he decided he'd rather learn to laugh instead! I hope I can be half the person he is. And if I have to choose between caring for my friend and believing in your god... then I choose... m-my friend!
--"God Loves, Man Kills", Marvel Graphic Novel #5, Marvel, 1982
Havok: How can we even call ourselves a team anymore, just the four of us left, living out in the middle of nowhere, what good are we to anyone? How does this further Professor Xavier's dream-- remember, the one that brought us all together-- of a better world, where mutant and human can live together in peace? Listen to me-- "mutant and human"-- as though being the one precluded the other. It's like we perpetuate the prejudice, even as we try to fight it. Well, I've had it folks. I've paid my dues-- we all have, with the scars to prove it. I say, the time's come to call it quits.
Dazzler: You mean, just give up and walk away?
Havok: Why not, Dazzler? Roma offered us that option when she resurrected us. We were fools to turn her down. Maybe it's not too late.
Wolverine: No! No! I don't believe this!
Shadowcat?: Why? 'Cause Havok's making sense? Maybe if you'd been here, Wolvie, you could have argued against it. But you weren't.
Colossus: Roma said the Siege Perilous was ours to use. I simply never imagined we would need to.
Dazzler: It feels like... we're running away.
Psylocke: Sometimes, Alison... that is for the best.
Colossus: Will we meet again in our new lives?
Psylocke: Their new lives, Tovarisch. Anything is possible.
Colossus: Da svidanya, Elisabeth.
Psylocke: Farewell, Piotr Nikolievitch Rasputin.
--"Fever Dream", Uncanny X-Men #251, Marvel, 1989
Also recommended: Wolverine, New Mutants, Excalibur, Black Dragon
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 16, 2020 12:59:00 GMT -5
On the fourth day of Christmas Santa brought to me the works of the early part of Brian Michael Bendis' career... Well phrased. With that caveat, he'd have easily made my list as well. |
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Post by MDG on Dec 16, 2020 13:48:12 GMT -5
Jan Strnad
I know Strnad mostly from his work with Richard Corben. Though they worked on series, but I was a big fan of their one-offs like Kittens for Christian and To Meet the Faces you Meet.
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