Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Lardy's Roundtable (Gym'll's Ed.): Grant Morrison

I included up to 50 because I thought it really rescued "Conspiracy" with some "wow" factor! I mean Time Trapper v. Infinite Man? Gnarly! Yeah, the buildup was murky at best, but I liked that ending...a lot!

On the other hand, there was very little to like at all about 51-63. "Magic Wars" has to be my least favorite Legion story of all time! And everything leading up to it was basically unreadable.

That's a nice, even way to put it. I've found recently that a lot of 5YL detractors have softened on their verbiage a lot in recent years, and it's appreciated.

Harras's Avengers was dark? That's intriguing!

True, there has been a lot of idealizing of "the greatest generation" in all media. I think Robinson mixed some counterpoint in there, though, with the Ragdoll atory and elsewhere. I think he humanized Ted Knight pretty well.

Jack definitely evolved over the series and got more and more likeable.

I definitely read X-Cutioner's Song as I was still a regular X-patron at the time. It must not have made any kind of impression on me as I can recall no real details of it. Didn't it involve the Stryfe/Cable thing? It's possible I was too burned out on crossovers by that time that I didn't give it a fair chance. Care to share some thoughts about what made it so great for you?

I haven't read Lee/Kirby Thor, but I can't imagine I'd like it more than what Simonson did. I really miss Walt being an active creator...

(LOVED Simonson's FF, too, btw!)

ROM--kewlest book no one ever talks about? I've never read a page of it except, I think, the last issue which was a Secret Wars II crossover. Who wrote ROM? Was it one writer sticking with it thru that whole run? I remember hearing some whispers back in the day about it being good. Could you share a little more?

The entirety of AC made my master list. My favorite individual arc was the Steeljacket arc, but I've always loved the AC world, Busiek's writing on it (easily his best work) and Brent Anderson's terrific art. I think the erratic publishing probably hurt it making the Top Ten.

How can it be second-fave if it's number 4, pal?

Is this the Millar/Quitely run or the Morrison/Hitch run? Some other run? I haven't read any Authority, so I'm a little curious.

"Crass"? "Vulgar"? "Ultra-violent"? Sounds like fun!

Aw!

These are all somewhere in my Top 50. I'll have to give more thought to why they missed the Top Ten.

Shameless Plug alert! Now might be a good time to re-read Pages 8 through 10 of the All Avengers Thread, where I reviewed the Harras era in detail. End Shameless Plug

Even though the only issues collected are those which tie into Operation: Galactic Storm (two volumes, absolute must-haves), the rest of the issues are cheap and well worth acquiring -- the only ones to skip are the fill-ins: # 340, 352-354, and 370-371.

Ted was definitely a fully-rounded character. But the Ragdoll story felt to me like an isolated incident; even though I think Watchmen is overrated, I do feel that Moore did a far better job than Robinson at showing both the best and worst of that generation.

To me, it was a sizzling good action tale which also communicated the rage of my then-teenage generation far better than any lame grunge anthem ever did. It was beautifully structured and all the beats were perfectly timed, thanks to Nicieza being in the drivers' seat instead of Liefeld & Lee & Portacio, none of whom could plot their way out of a paper bag. And even though it was overflowing with characters, they all served a purpose and they all acted like themselves. Best of all, the odious Cable died...*cough*...well, temporarily, at least. I think of The X-Cutioner's Song as the Anti-Maximum Carnage -- the former stands the test of time, the latter was lame even back in the day.

I remember taking long looks at the covers to that series but never picked it up. What issues comprised Moench's run? As one of the more under-the-radar titles mentioned here, I'd appreciate it if you told us a little about it.

Never read it, though I've heard it's an essential Moore work. Was this originally published as a GN, series or miniseries?

Yes, very enjoyable. I'm not sure it'll ever be in my Top Ten or Top Twenty though. As consistently entertaining as it was, maybe it's just that there weren't enough "big" moments. For instance, I always thought Atom Smasher should've died at the end of Dark Reign. When I turned the page and found out Albert actually hadn't died, it felt like a cop-out. I have nothing against the character, but his dying there felt so "right" in the story's context. I dunno. I do love me some Johns JSA, though.

Never read BatO. Did you eventually, later, pick up the back issues to see what happened next?

I'd never choose one just for the art, but as I recall, there were some pretty great stories interspersed in there. As a kid, I loved B&B and DC Comics Presents and how they gave me the opportunity to meet lots and lots of characters, month in and month out. And of course, these titles embodied the art of the done-in-one story that was the norm back then.

Wonderful, wonderful crack! *shlkurp*

I actually forgot about this one when compiling my possibles. Wouldn't have made my Top Ten anyway, but that series is definitely held in high regard for me. Boomerbutt, the Wall, etc. are all much missed in that great mix.

This is definitely on my list of runs to buy in trade form. I've read the first 20 or so issues as B&W reprints, and they are beyond excellent. I look forward to reading the whole thing.

Random thoughts:

I’m having trouble coming up with my top 10. For instance, I love Avengers runs by Harris/Epting (essentially my ‘welcome to the modern age of comics, Cobie’), by Roger Stern (arguably the best written in its history) and Steve Englehart (which just has an ‘oomph’ that might make it my fave), but I certainly can’t include all three in my top ten. Not when there are so many other great runs that stand so firmly in my mind. I’m having even more trouble with Spider-Man—Ditko and Romita Sr.’s runs must be on my list. But it’ll be hard not having Stern/Romita Jr. on there, which probably won’t make the cut.

Starman – I do think an important thing Robinson did was a ‘duel’ revelatory commentary on the two generations he spent the most time on. Jack Knight begins as the typical member of Lardy/Stealth/my generation (even if I’m a little younger, it sure still felt like my generation), and as the series goes on, he evolves into a mature, heroic and good human being, albeit very unique, with different points of view and perspectives but still quite heroic in his own way. Ted Knight also begins slightly ‘flat’ in character, the typical Golden Age hero with an immensely iconic heroic status yet without as much real depth—and Robinson evolves him too throughout the series. But this isn’t in a bad way, and in fact, what Robinson does is quite brilliant, using what I like to call the ‘Tolstoy formula’. He takes the idea of the ‘Greatest Generation / Greatest Age of Heroes’ and strips it down to make it much more real and honest, to really show what it was all about, including the flaws, bad things, and real human elements. And through that, he is able to provide some very real and true glimpses into heroism, and even super-heroism. Lardy’s mentioning of Ragdoll is a good one (though I believe it happens in 1980?); particularly because its where Starman (Ted) asks for help from his peers rather than try to defeat Ragdoll himself. The iconic Golden Ager, whose status has developed quite unrealistically over the decades, would simply have rushed in there and beat the bad guy; here, Starman is much more human and realizes if he really wants to be a smart hero, he needs to realize he needs help. It was subtle and well done.

Avengers – Lardy, you MUST check out the Bob Harras/Steve Epting run. I’ve had so much fun talking to Stealth about it these last few years, as it also holds such a place in my heart. It’s the first ‘modern’ comic I read off the stands, rather than read old back-issues of the Silver Age Marvel, which is what I basically did the first several years I read comics. I wrote Bob Harass a letter when I was like 12-13.

Thor – Simonsin’s run really was something, wasn’t it? I just reread most of it this past summer. When I was 16, I read the entire Thor run from his first appearance to his then most recent (the Deodato run). But still, I think the Kirby Thor run is probably the best ever on the comic, and probably Kirby’s best work outside of his Fantastic Four run. Actually, its not really fair to compare both—they are both excellent and Simonsin was doing the impossible: creating a run of equal quality to Kirby without rehashing his old plots (which Marvel basically did all the years in between, and which they have done all the years since to both creator’s runs).

Legion – I would also put the Conspiracy storyline as the last great Levitz run. I also dislike Magic Wars quite a lot.

ROM – like Lardy, I need to check it out!

Zot! – like Lardy, I need to check it out—and also know nothing about it!

Wussy! Everybody else is doin' it!

I struggled with issues like that (particularly with some Spider-man runs), but I figured if one creative team wasn't clearly superior to the other, then maybe neither run really belonged on my list.

Incidentally, I very nearly put Amazing Spider-man 1-40 on my list, despite wanting to limit my runs to ones I'd bought as they happened. Yeah, it mixed Ditko and Romita, but that's exactly the sequence I read them reprinted in Marvel Tales before it stopped reprinting Amazing. I'm not the most Silver Agey guy, but I'd put Amazing 1-40 and Legions run on Adventure as my number one and two very favorites.

Good observations on Ted. I loved Robinson's Ted Knight. He reminds me of my own grandfather who served in WWII and is still going in his '80s.

Okay, okay already...go ahead and ship me the whole run at your own expense, and I promise to read it ASAP. And I'm sure I'll eventually send it back!

Truly, what I remember most about that run as a non-reader was that Harras was trying to "X-Men-ize" the Avengers. Was this a fair description at all? Knowing he was the X-Men editor, it made sense at the time. Plus, I thought, "editor's-turned-writers? Two words: Howard Mackie!

Zot! sounded pretty good, Clee. You almost had me until....

Buzz-Kill!

Seriously, it sounds pretty neat-o. Reading between the lines, you liked the original/color run better? It sounds more interesting when the two Earths were both prominent from what you say.

Hey! Getcher OWN spot!

I don't want to say too much, because you should read it w/o my spoilers. But there are both straight and gay characters, and issues of sexuality are more in the foreground in the later issues than in the earlier ones.

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Seriously, it sounds pretty neat-o. Reading between the lines, you liked the original/color run better? It sounds more interesting when the two Earths were both prominent from what you say.

Well, I prefer McCloud's work IN color, but that's just me. In Understanding Comics, he talks at length about what color conveys best versus what B&W conveys best. So my biases aren't his;In no way would I call the second run an "also-ran." Which you like better depends on whether you like action to dominate (color) or introspection to dominate (b&w). They both have something to offer, and neither is "pure" action or "pure" talking heads.

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...Hey! Getcher OWN spot!

Boy, I just can't please anyone this week, can I ?

I'm quite sure I'm forgetting something, but I wanna give it a shot nonetheless...

1) Sandman
2) Legion 5YL - probably the run I read most often
3) Legion Levitz - most of it anyway
4) Fables - thus far. Hope they will keep up the good work.
5) John Byrnes Next Men - really loved that one, still hoping for a sequel 15 years later
6) Watchmen - maybe even better than 6th rank, but it's been years that I read it...
7) Busiek/Perez on Avengers, perfect Superhero entertainment
8) The classic Squadron Supreme ##1-12 - excellent!
9) Crossgen: Sojourn - an unfortunately unfinished fantasy masterwork
10) X-Men: Age of Apocalypse - have to confess that I'm still very fond of it, even though the ending was not as good as the beginning

There are lots of other runs I really like, like Alan Moores Wildcats, Straczynskis Supreme Power or Rising Stars but all of those started out great, but went nowhere in the end. Same goes for many X-Men or Teen Titans storylines, many of them good, most of them followed by less good ones.

Lesser known mini-series like Perez' "Sachs & Violence", Waids "Empire" or the obscure "Captain Confederacy" deserve mentioning, but didn't make the cut

Ooh, I'd add the X-Men 2099 run to my list. Some great stories, with good art and some characters that are, to my mind, many times more interesting than any other X-team I've seen.

Until the entire world of 2099 was flooded as part of some ill-conceived mega-crossover, and all of the subsidiary titles cancelled, it was the best X-book out there.

It was mostly written by Bill Mantlo and boasted a long run from original artist Sal Buscema. It was a comic (based on a toy) that originally captured the feel of 50's alien paranoia films. (imagine if Gort from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was the hero of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers") Rom was the greatest of the spaceknights (re:Green Lanterns, Lensmen) whose mission was to rid the galaxy of the evil shape-shifting Dire Wraiths. (he'd "banish" them to limbo with his neutralizer, but since they often wore human disguises, people thought Rom was just killing people. So really, it was all just a misunderstanding...)

"Rom" was the first series I "collected" every month rather than just perusing the comics rack and getting whatever seemed cool. It introduced me to the X-Men, Power Man and Iron Fist and contained the very first comic book death that actually meant anything to me. There was also an uber-cool but tragic spaceknight-with-a-deathwish named Terminator, but that's neither here nor there...

To add what was written before, the first ten issues were color, 11 - 36 were b/w. The color issues to me were there to lay the groundwork and show how ideal and innocent Zot's world was compared to ours. (though it certainly had its share of tragedy) Despite the simplicity of the art style, it conveyed a lot of emotion, especially when dealing with Jenny and her friends.

The first ten color issues comprised one big story with a lot of action and fun ideas, punctuated with poignant moments. The b/w issues got more serious and took place mostly on earth with Zot coming to our world. Those issues still had a great sense of fun, but taken as a whole seemed to be a meditation on the struggle to remain hopeful rather than fall to despair.

And yes, there's some romance and sex, (though I would say sexuality rather than "sex") but it was always more heart-felt than prurient. There's a "coming out" issue later in the series that always gets to me when said character desperately asks Zot to know whether or not they would be accepted on Zot's perfect world. The series also boasted one of the most effective death scenes *ever*, a pie-in-the-face contest, a guy named Dekko with the Chrysler building for a head and the scariest villain to ever wear a straw hat.

It's an unfair description, and I speak as someone who was reading both Avengers and X-Men at the same time. Harras had already shown he had the writing chops (remember the wonderful Hercules fill-in issue during Simonson's run? Written by Harras; the deeply moving Jarvis fill-in issue during Stern's run? Written by Harras; the kick-ass Iron Man Annual where Erik Josten became Goliath? Written by Harras) that Liefeld/Lee/Portacio lacked. When Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell took over the writing, they got off to a great start with The X-Cutioner's Song, but then the X-books declined precipitously; it was around this same time that Peter David and Alan Davis left X-Factor and Excalibur.

Avengers, on the other hand, just got better and better, with the most ambitious, ground-breaking storylines since the Englehart era, and with female characters who were far stronger and far more interesting than any of the angsty X-women.

Actually, it was at the same time as Waid was coming alive as a writer; and before either Harras or Waid, there was Ann Nocenti on Daredevil; the only reason her run didn't make the Top Ten was because it's bookended by a very mixed bag of art, but the stretch that John Romita, Jr drew was brilliant (and I'm normally not a Jr fan, but the chemistry with Nocenti was incredible.)

I knew saying that that it would be an unfair description; I just wanted you to talk me through it a little. I can't remember if it was what I heard or what I assumed (or a combination). But casual glaces of Epting's art style at the time were evocative of the Lee/Silvestri styles used on the X-books. A name like "Deathcry" just reeks of Liefeld-style names. And certainly, using the Shi'ar in the Avengers was a novelty at the time. So hopefully, you can see how surface perceptions were altered. It didn't help that it all came on the heels of a string of terrible runs by Simonson (definitely a let-down), Byrne and Hama that ran me off Avengers and made me reluctant to ever come back! (not until Busiek/Perez--and our opinions differ on that one)

Did Harras write Avengers thru Onslaught?

And yeah, there are plenty of exceptions to great editors-turned-writers. Louise Simonson was a decent example, too. And Nocenti's Daredevil definitely ROCKED while she was paired with JRJR! Typhoid Mary was AWESOME! Unfortunately, sporadic one-offs, good or no, didn't really translate into my subconscious and help Harras have some "bank" with me.

Yeah, I remember the ads for the toys and realizing Rom was a toy tie-in. I always assumed the series was mostly set off-Earth. Was it actually mostly Earth-based?

Thanks for the additional info. It sounds almost like Michael Allred by the way of Terry Moore in my imagination. Definitely seems like something I should check out some day.

Thanks Drake...i was coming here to make a similar post

Lardy, yes it was mostly set on Earth...there was a story arc in the mid 20's where Rom returned to his home world, but he came back to earth afterwards. Once the Wraiths were eradicated on Earth he returned home again and the series ended. There was also a backup feature early in the run that featured stories of the Spaceknights before Rom came to Earth.

That style was running rampant through the whole industry at the time. Some artists adapted better than others. I think Epting managed to incorporate the dynamics while keeping his own style; same with Barry Kitson during his later issues of L.E.G.I.O.N.

I run hot and cold with Deathcry. She was definitely "Exhibit A", so to speak. But then I always remember with great amusement how Busiek would say how she was his least favorite Avengers because she was a bunch of X-Men cliches. As if Silverclaw wasn't a bunch of X-Men cliches? Pot, kettle, black! Even if it was unconscious on Busiek's part.

Well, sure, but I think it's a sad commentary on how narrow-minded fan perceptions had become since the days of the Kree-Skrull War, which was loaded with characters and concepts which had been introduced in the Fantastic Four. No one ever complained about that, but when the Shi'ar apppeared in the Avengers, they complained. Why should the X-creators be the only ones to play with those cool Dave Cockrum-designed toys?

Well, here's another analogy: Harras was to Avengers as Geoff Johns was to Green Lantern.

Not quite. Shortly after Epting left, he began co-plotting with Terry Kavanagh. By the time of The Crossing they were co-writers. After that, Harras left altogether (he'd become EiC), then Ben Raab wrote a few issues, then Mark Waid wrote # 400 and the Onslaught tie-ins (not Waid's finest hour.)

Oddly, Barry's style has never really seemed derivative of any other artist to me. If anything, I occasionally spot artists that seem derivative of Barry. In any case, as good as Barry's art was from the start, it's only gotten better over time. Same goes for Steve Epting--he and Brubaker are developing into one of the all-time best teams in comics! (Oddly, I could say the same abour Bru and Sean Philips and possibly, Bru and Michael Lark! Brubaker sure has some synergy with his artists!)

Yeah, and it's not as if Kurt created any new Avengers who've really stood the test, right? Triathlon?

I did enjoy Kurt Busiek's run a lot more than you did, though, Stealth...especially up until Perez left. The whole Kang thing that took place afterward was definitely a bloated clusterfuck, but I loved Kurt with Perez. Yeah, it was a total nostalgia-fest that didn't really advance the Avengers, but after all that Heroes reborn crap, I felt a nostalgia-fest was actually what was needed. And, GOD, I love me some George Perez!!!

I really don't disagree at all. But given Harras's background as X-editor, it seemed a little iffy. Wasn't there some direct X-title crossovers in there, as well?

No offense, intended, Stealth, but that's debatable. While I'm sure there may have been arguably a level of quality comparable to Johns, I'm not sure I've seen enough evidence to show that Harras's influence and legacy on Avengers can hold up to what Geoff's influence and legacy will likely be to GL once he leaves.

It seems that Harras's legacy has been stomped all over by subsequent creators...biggest piece of evidence being Heroes Reborn coming almost directly on the heels of Harras's run.

I'm not arguing that Harras's stuff was good or even great, but the comparison to Johns seems inappropriate given what fandom at large perceives to be significant or important in the larger picture. Not fair, but sadly true.

It's kinda like comparing Sandman and Shade. Shade is my favorite of the two Vertigo properties by a MILE; I'd argue that it was better 'til I turned blue in the face. But Shade languishes in relative obscurity in the shadow of Sandman's eternal (and certainly not undeserved) lovefest. What I or others feel will likely never change that.

Care to give me the broad strokes of the lineup Harras used? I remember Sersi being prominent. What were some other great stories, other than Galactic Storm? Did West Coast/Force Works continue to run concurrently through the whole Harras run?

So...has the Cobester decided he just can't narrow it down?

I forgot to mention in that another huge draw was the Nemesis back-up that ran for a while in the back (and occasionally intersected with the main book). Those were great and made Tom Tresser a favorite (I was already on-board for Suicide Squad, but when they brought Nemesis in, it sealed the deal). Sadly he's a character who's lost his shine.

One of the most memorable comic moments I have from my youth was the issue where Tom gets a device attached to his chest that allows the villain to control his heart rate. The issue ends with the villain setting the device to max and Tom clutching his chest as his heart is about to explode. As a kid growing up with a heart condition and always under threat of impending surgery, that issue really freaked me out.

Lardy, when I said that Harras was to the Avengers as Johns was to Green Lantern, all I meant was that he ratcheted up the quality of the book after a disastrous change in direction (Avengers = Simonson run/Green Lantern = Emerald Twilight) and a subsequent long stretch of bad stories. Recall that I compared Harras/Epting Avengers to TMK Legion, another run with a small but passionate following that's also been ripped into shreds and tossed into a corner where it sits largely ignored.

Now, where the lineup and the stories of the Harras era are concerned, the only character he brought in who wasn't already there was Crystal, who was feeling guilty due to her extramarital affair and its repercussions, and sought redemption through being an active superheroine. The rest of Harras' core lineup was a variety of characters who had come into the team during its lost years: Black Widow as chairwoman, Sersi, Black Knight, and Hercules. All four characters shined like they never had before. Later, Harras returned Hank Pym to being Giant-Man, in a new costume that was something of a nod to Dave Cockrum's Collosal Boy costume; this was the best Hank of all time. Vision was the one "iconic" Avenger who played a major role during the Harras years, and, once again, Harras corrected what previous creators had screwed up: returning him to his original colors so that he didn't look like a bottle of sour milk, and have him recover the humanity which had been stripped from him. Harras also created Magdalene, a Marvel analog of Big Barda, the second Swordsman, and Deathcry, all of them with great potential, certainly greater potential than Triathlon or Silverclaw. The backbone storyline of the Harras/Epting era was the ongoing battle against the alternate-universe villain Proctor and his Gatherers, which I thought was really cool because I love alternate universes and because the love triangle between Sersi, Black Knight, and Crystal was the best of its kind since the love triangle between Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Mantis. There were also battles against a band of renegade Kree (Cobie's favorite Harras arc) and a strange race of warmongers called the Brethren, as well as the best Arkon story of all time. And yes, there was an Avengers/X-Men crossover, Bloodties, and even I'm hard-pressed to defend it, except that the vivid characterization of Crystal (whose daughter is kidnapped by the Acolytes) manages to make it worthwhile.

I thought I'd add footnotes to some of my choices that I haven't already talked about in the thread.

That would be # 14-28 and Annuals # 1 and # 2. While I think the book had some excellent moments in its first year, it's really the second year and the beginning of the third year where the creme de la creme is, in my opinion. Grant & Kitson (and sometimes Grant alone) were much better plotters than Giffen, who had left after # 12, and they tightened the book's focus and steadied the tone. The origin of The Durlan and the battle against the Khunds and the origin of Stealth and the alternate-future story in Annual # 2 together form the peak of the book's entire run. After that, there were too many new characters and a loss of focus, although there were still some great moments all the way through # 51.

Ever since the mid-90s, the phrase "pop explosion" has been attached to a lot of books that have left something to be desired (worst offender IMO: Grant Morrison's JLA.) The first 25 issues of the original New Warriors book are the first and truest pop explosion in superhero comics, a big, brash, and colorful introduction of the music video sensibility into American superhero comics, starring a wild pack of young fresh-faced characters. I would put these 25 issues next to the Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne X-Men and the Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans for sheer exhuberance and inventiveness and the agony & ecstasy of being young and free and facing down a cold, cruel world. Bagley left the book after # 25, and Nicieza should have as well, because the rest of his run consisted of "smashing his own toys," most disappointingly in the things that happened to Namorita. Like the Titans, the Warriors have consistently failed to spark an effective revival; they were of their moment, but what a moment!

Like Simonson's Thor, this is a run that actually improved on the work of the orginal visionaries -- in Thor's case, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby; in Dreadstar's case, Jim Starlin. I've been very critical of Starlin in other posts of mine, but I like and admire a lot of the work he did during the 70s and 80s. The thing about Starlin is he's all about abstractions, which was fine for the relatively concise Captain Marvel and Warlock stories he did in the 70s, but left something lacking in the more ambitious scope of Dreadstar, and while I like Starlin's Dreadstar (I even like Starlin's final dozen or so issues, which he didn't draw, and which most people seem to dislike), I think Peter David fleshed out the sketchy characters and sped up the pace considerably, and that his stories were much better structured and much more action-packed than Starlin's, while still delivering the requisite larger-than-life cosmic thrills. This run is why I wish that Peter David would get a shot at Fantastic Four.

1) Mike Grell – GA Ollie's adventures took a real-world, Marvel style approach. Despite the costume, GA was more vigilante than super-hero. Ollie's fight against corporate greed and urban crime was often paralleled by his inner turmoil. It wasn't grim and gritty, just real and palpable. This book broke from the cohesive universe, reflected a style similar to Miller's Darevdevil or Brubaker's Cap.



2) Chris Claremont – X-Men I give Chris credit for building and shaping the Marvel Universe through this book. He raised the mutants to a level of popularity only recently topped by the Avengers push. We all have favourite characters, a legion of them sprung from his pen. True, some were created by Cockrum, some by Byrne, but Chris fleshed them out, made us want to read more and more about them.



3) Warren Ellis/Raney/Hitch – Stormwatch/Authority Take a stagnant title, characters no one seemed interested in reading, and give them new life. Then take a successful book and refurnish it, bringing budget movies to comic books. It was a fun ride, lots of energy, big explosions, and even a hint of morality. Mark Millar owes his career to this title; it started the blockbuster comic book.



4) Doug Moench/Kelly Jones – Batman Moench gave us a creature of the night Batman. It was psychological and superheroic. Jones wrapped it all in a creepy look that fit the urban legend that was Batman. Doug tried mixing prose and comics much the same way Morrison tried. It was eerie and experimental, and it was Batman.



5) Bill Wilingham – Fables I don't know if this counts as a run, seeing as how Willingham created it and continues to create it. I can't imagine someone else writing it now. Sure, the occasional fill in, but it's all his. It's a great read, funny sometimes, grim and moody others. It can tell a fairy tale story, or shock you with the modernization of a beloved character (see Cinderella.) There's a reason this book is so well received in and out of comic fandom.



6) Jerry Ordway – The Power of Shazam Here was another example of DC trying to give their line a little diversity. Ordway gave us Cap, Mary, and Jr mixing the aw-shucks of the 50's with the cynicism of the 90's. It found a way to pay tribute to the golden age of comics, and still give you a story that didn't feel dated or stunted.



7) James Robinson – Starman Yeah everyone seems to acknowledge this book, and there's a reason for that as well. Jack is the everyman hero of his day. If comic books started in the 90's, this would be the Spiderman.



8) Matt Wagner – Grendel Evil wins. This book is that simple. This is the true Anti-Batman. Rich, traveled the world honing his skills, criminals are a cowardly & superstitious lot – it's all there. Grendel is about a man making his own way in life, flaunting convention (much like the creator) and doing what he deems necessary. Imagine giving in to your inner demons, letting that devil on your shoulder win – not just once, but all the time.


9) Matt Wagner/Steven Seagle - Sandman Mystery Theatre This book combined super heroes and pulp noir, revitalizing an old character, without the standard modernizing update. We got super-heroics sometimes, pulp crime fiction others. Here's an example of grounding comic books in reality, using the heyday of comics as the setting.


10) Kyle Baker - Plastic Man This was a fun book. Comics have lost some of the fun and adventure that first brought in readers, with each new Age, things seem to have become more dramatic (melodramatic even) and less funny. Baker brought that in spades. This wasn't the tongue in cheek humour of the JLI, just sheer goofy and entertaining.

Fantastic Four: Lee and Kirby – A groundbreaking series. No pretense. Genuine. Comics are supposed to be fun. This was fun and imaginative. Kirby became the master and never looked back.

Superman/Action Comics: Curt Swan – Month after month, year after year. Flawless and beautiful. The man could meet a deadline. He defined the look of THE comic book icon. An accomplishment that will never be matched.

Sandman: Niel Gaiman: Ultimately comic books are about storytelling, right? Gaiman had a story to tell. Grand and literate. It could have been told in any number of mediums. He chose comic books and raised the bar.

X-Men: Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne – Stylish and commercial. These guys brought a freshness and excitement that pushed medium forward, set the standard for a new generation and made comics cool. .

Swamp Thing: Wein and Wrightson – A short and timeless run. The concept was simple. The execution was flawless. I can’t describe the feeling that comes over my body when I hold an issue of the original Swamp Thing in my hands. It’s almost spiritual.

Teen Titans: Wolfman and Perez: They mixed a little bit of old with a little bit of new and came up with a compelling formula. For the first few years, this was the comic book that you just had to run out and get each month.

Legion of Super-Heroes: Giffen and the Bierbaums – Layered, complex and interesting. Messy, at times. You had to work to make sense of it. The effort was worth it. When you finally got it all unwrapped the book was all heart. You found your childhood friends and you couldn’t have been more proud of them, or of yourself for sticking with them. A totally unique experience.

Green Lantern: O’Neil and Adams – A brief run that made a difference. Sure it got attention for being socially relevant, whatever that means. In the end, it stands out for humanizing Hal, Ollie, Dinah, and Roy in a way that no comic book characters ever had been before. Adams work is gorgeous and lush.

Hawkworld: Truman, Ostrander, and Nolan – A personal favorite that probably won’t make many fans or critics lists. A civics lesson mixed in with some kick ass science fiction in each issue. Dirty laundry, scandal, mature content, flawed characters, social injustice, and a search for meaning. It never all came together but the books always felt important to me. These guys were trying to say something and I applaud the effort.

Kamandi: Kirby – This is the book that introduced me to the King. It’s not looked on as his best work. Frequently dismissed as clichéd or silly. Not so, for me. I found it imaginative and accessible. The images are forever etched into my mind.