I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of all the writers featured this month.

Today we look at a writer who soon may be way too famous for this feature (if she isn't already)!

WARNING: GRAPHIC INTENSIVE POST COMING UP!!

Enjoy!

Rutu Modan was born in Tel Hashomer, Israel, and moved to Tel Aviv when she was 10. She graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, and soon became an accomplished artist in Israel, doing work for the Hebrew version of Mad Magazine as well as many other illustrative works (children's books, etc.).

In 2005, she was she was chosen as an outstanding artist of the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation (a major honor).

Her 2007 graphic novel, Exit Wounds, was released to widespread acclaim, and ended up winning the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Novel.

Here, courtesy of New York Magazine, is a snippet of Exit Wounds, which is about a cab driver in Tel Aviv who is accosted by a young soldier who is searching for the cab driver's father, who she believes died in a suicide bombing.

The book is a beautiful character piece of two people (the cab driver and the soldier, who he learns was his father's girlfriend) who act like they live in a world where death is an accepted daily risk, and while they may actually think that they believe it, they really go about life in such a manner so as to protect themselves from the pain of caring. It's a wonderful work of art by Modan, and if this is what she is producing in her FIRST graphic novel, one can only imagine how much better she will get.

For a time, she was doing an illustrated blog for the New York Times. Click here for the archive of blogs. They're equally wonderful.

This is perhaps a bit too much to take from the Times, but eh, it's a great, great story and I think it is worth the risk of "over-taking" by sharing it with you all, so please to enjoy...The Queen of the Scottish Fairies...

That's the month!

I hope you enjoyed this look at a bunch of great current comic book writers!!!

5 Comments

• At February 1, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:

  Hooray!

  Exit Wounds was very good--thanks for the heads up on her Times stuff.

• At February 1, 2009, Crash-Man wrote:

  Heh...I enjoyed that.

• At February 1, 2009, Ariel S. wrote:

  Wow. Simply, wow. I mean, I had heard of Exit wounds before, but that sequence is amazing... and that NY ...

• At February 1, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  That was good stuff.

  I'll have to get Exit Wounds.

• At February 2, 2009, Dunc wrote:

  She's definitely not too well known for me.

  I just lost a very happy hour to that blog and forwarded it ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a writer who popped up in this week's Comic Book Legends Revealed!

Enjoy!

As mentioned in this week's Comic Book Legends Revealed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa got his start as an up and coming playwright, and he still writes new plays today, producing some innovative and acclaimed works.

His plays showed a real appreciation and love for the comic book medium (as well as some severe writing talent), so Marvel Comics hired him to write a Fantastic Four series.

After various shenanigans, Aguirre-Sacasa ended up writing a spin-off called Marvel Knights: 4, with the great artist, Steve McNiven as his co-creator.

I'll admit that I think Aguirre-Sacasa struggled at first. I feel that folks tremendously underestimate the difficulties in transitioning from one medium to another, even for talented writers, and I feel Aguirre-Sacasa took a little time to assimilate himself to comic book writing.

He soon did, however, and Marvel Knights: 4 became a powerful book, filled with beautiful characterizations and most of all, a wonderfully effective sense of mood and setting.

Soon, Aguirre-Sacasa was teamed with another great artist, Darick Robertson, on the box office poison series, Nightcrawler.

While likely doomed at the start, the 12-issue run was delightful, with a great number of offbeat stories and, once again, a great eye for characterization and mood.

Perhaps his biggest title to date was when he was given the reins to Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, which was re-named Sensational Spider-Man (before they announced the re-naming, it was notable that he was writing BOTH of the Marvel Knights versions of regular Marvel heroes - Marvel Knights: 4 and Marvel Knights: Spider-Man!). Marvel Knights: 4 was also re-named at the same time to simply Four (McNiven was long gone by then, Jim Muniz was the artist now).

Aguirre-Sacasa had the legs taken out from him a bit, the same as Peter David, as very quickly, their run on their respective Spider-Man titles became "tag-alongs" of sorts to the main Spider-Man title as well as the Civil War developments, so while both David and Aguirre-Sacasa tried to do some good things, the format was none too inviting.

Since the cancellation of Sensational Spider-Man, Aguirre-Sacasa has been busy on special projects (comic-wise, that is, as he is extremely busy OUTSIDE of comics, as he is on the staff of writers for the HBO series Big Love on top of his continual writing of plays).

He did a nice Young Avengers one-shot...

And he did a really interesting Angel mini-series (where Adam Pollina matched Aguirre-Sacasa, mood-creation-wise bit for bit!).

Currently, he's adapting The Stand for Marvel Comics.

5 Comments

• At January 31, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  Before The Stand, I've never read any of his works, but was blown away by how good he is adapting ...

• At January 31, 2009, Matt wrote:

  I'm glad you decided to showcase him, he's a great writer.

• At January 31, 2009, Matt D wrote:

  Mood, mood, mood, mood, mood, mood, mood.

  That's the name of the game with Sacasa, way more than any other writer ...

• At January 31, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  I think the Marvel Knights 4 book would've done better if it weren't for the horrid clusterfuck behind the scenes. ...

• At February 1, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  I read his two-issue Venom story for Back in Black, and loved it. I also loved his Angel mini.

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a great award-winning writer!

Enjoy!

Derek Kirk Kim's most notable project so far has got to be Same Difference And Other Stories, which began its life as a webcomic on Kim's website (www.lowbright.com) before he received a Xeric Grant in 2002 helping him to publish it.

Top Shelf ended up putting it out, and it really is a notable work.

Kim manages to translate the mundane realities of life into an entertaining narrative, and the book is also notable in how quickly you get to know the characters as well as how easy it is to relate to them, whether their particular problems are ones you deal with (much of Same Difference is about Kim's Korean heritage) or not.

Kim had an interesting, if short-lived, sequel of sorts (in tone, not so much content-wise) to Same Difference on his website for awhile. I don't know if we'll ever see anything more of that (I believe it was called Healing Hands). I'll admit that I was waiting for the collection, so I only read the first few web installments. They were good, though!

Kim's next major work was for DC's short-lived Minx line, and it was called Good as Lily...

It was about a teenage girl being visited by herself as a young girl, her adult self and her elderly self.

I recommended it when it came out, and you can read my review here!

Kim currently is doing an online art journal type thing that is interesting. Check it out on his website here.

I also believe he's working on a new graphic novel as strictly an artist.

1 Comments

• At January 30, 2009, The Dane wrote:

  I was following Healing Hands as it progressed and was really enjoying it. If I remember anything close to accurately, ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a great writer who is also quite an artist!

Enjoy!

Like Raina Telgemeier, I featured Don Rosa in the Month of Art Stars (here is his entry), but as talented as an artist as Rosa is (and he is really an excellent artist), I find his writing to be more of a draw for me in his work than his artwork.

When I think about Rosa's comic book work, the word that often comes to my mind is "balance," in that Rosa seems to have achieved near-perfect balance with his work - he balances writing historical fiction with writing adventure fiction, never letting either one of them overpower the other - he balances writing kid-friendly comics with writing truly all-ages comics, never letting either one overpower the other - and in perhaps his most impressive piece of balance, he manages to balance a meticulous sense of continuity along with a significant sense of fun in his work.

Nowhere is this more evident than in his classic collection, the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.

In case you're unfamiliar with the project, it is a collection of 12 issues of Uncle Scrooge by Rosa where he meticulously details the, well, life and times of Scrooge McDuck, but going by the history that Scrooge's creator, the legendary Carl Barks, laid out for Scrooge in his many years writing Scrooge in the comics.

So what Rosa did here was to take all of the casual remarks made by Barks over the years and turn all of them into a cohesive narrative. Such an endeavor sounds foolishly attentive to continuity, no? However, Rosa never lets the story feel like anything but an engaging adventure story.

Along the way, Rosa makes sure to get in what is a passion of his - historical fiction within the framework of the Uncle Scrooge adventure. Rosa's sense of history is excellent, and the way he works actual history into his stories is inspired.

If it was just this comic alone, I would consider having Rosa on this list, but he has also produced a great deal of entertaining Uncle Scrooge comic books over the years besides that classic storyline.

He has become the definitive heir to Carl Barks' throne as "The Duck Man."

I only wish I had a short story to give you a demonstration of his skills...

16 Comments

• At January 29, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Brian, your spellchecker swapped "thrown" for "throne"...

  Anyway...

  It's writers like Don Rosa and Carl Barks that made Uncle Scrooge by ...

• At January 29, 2009, John Seavey wrote:

  I got to meet Don Rosa last year at DragonCon. In addition to being a great writer and artist, he's ...

• At January 29, 2009, Aqualad wrote:

  Love Rosa. I highly recommend people check out the two-fers that Gemstone has been putting out lately. ...

• At January 29, 2009, DubipR wrote:

  I love Don Rosa. Not only telling engaging stories but his pacing and rythmn don't meander from the overall ...

• At January 29, 2009, Teebore wrote:

  I also got to meet Don Rosa last fall at our local con, and I'll second John's appraisal.

  It was the ...

• At January 29, 2009, joecab wrote:

  Don Rosa's one of those people where I buy EVERYthing they do because it never disappoints. I just wish thew ...

• At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:

  Are these collected anywhere?

  I'd love to pick them up, I was big into these characters when I was wee.

• At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck as well as the companion TPB are both available, Dunc. Well worth checking ...

• At January 29, 2009, Aqualad wrote:

  Hey Teebore, I got one of those prints too! I got the one with Donald surrounded by thousands ...

• At January 29, 2009, Zack Smith wrote:

  Along with Barks, Rosa is the creator who got me into comics.

  Here is how nice a guy Rosa is: A ...

• At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:

  Cool, I'll add them to the wishlist.

• At January 29, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:

  Agree that Rosa should be better known here in the US. But sales on the Gemstone issues are always under ...

• At January 29, 2009, Viking Bastard wrote:

  Being one of those silly europeans, seeing Don Rosa as a 'smaller name' is just bizarre.

  I mean, my mom doesn't ...

• At January 29, 2009, Eivind wrote:

  Viking Bastard, I agree. I went to a convention here in Norway to listen to a Rosa-panel a few years ...

• At January 30, 2009, Aqualad wrote:

  I don't know that he was ever a "superstar" here in America, even in the 80's when you could get ...

• At January 30, 2009, Teebore wrote:

  Aqualad, my wife and I got the print with Donald's headshot in the center, superimposed with smaller headshots showing off ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a great writer who was an incredible editor.

Enjoy!

Stuart Moore first came to my attention, as I imagine was the case for many other readers out there, as an editor. He was an acclaimed editor at Vertigo Comics (He edited Flex Mentallo, Preacher and Transmetropolitan...I mean, damn, do I really need to explain any further? Talk about a freakin' resume!) who Joe Quesada managed to finagle to come over to Marvel Comics, where Moore continued his great work with some of the top comic book talent out there to create some impressive comics for Marvel, as well.

Moore eventually decided to go full-time as a freelance writer, and he has been doing quite a job at it, although with a bit of a lower profile than back when he was an editor.

He had a short run on Firestorm that I quite enjoyed (it introduced the character of Gehenna, who is still a major part of the Firestorm book)...

but that was about it as far as major runs on books go.

Mostly everything else he has done for DC and Marvel has been along the lines of one-shots and fill-in arcs, which is a shame, as he has shown a real eye for both characterization as well as intriguing plots that get the most out of his characters' personalities.

Perhaps his most impressive skill remains his great eye for talent. If you look at the artists who Moore works with on a lot of these projects, he has a real knack for working with great artists.

He did Lone for Dark Horse with a young Jerome Opeña.

His most famous Marvel work may be his one-shot stories with the great C.P. Smith as artist (he is soon to do a Wolverine: Noir mini-series with Smith again)...

He is doing a creator owned series with the highly underrated Jon Proctor called Shadrach Stone, which Moore has a great description of:

SHADRACH STONE is a paranormal adventure story, a sociopolitical allegory, and an occasionally nasty character drama. But mostly, it’s about lies. The lies we tell ourselves to get through the day; the lies our leaders tell us so we’ll fall in line. The lies that become our accepted truths, and the ones that flare and turn to ash before the pure light of truth.

I look forward to Moore projects, but honestly, I hope more of them in the future are closer to Sharach Stone than, say, a placeholder arc on Iron Man. He has the talent to be a major creative force at Marvel, DC, wherever. He just needs the opportunity (which, of course, is always the rub).

Here is his blog.

And here is a workblog for Sharach Stone.

13 Comments

• At January 28, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  Stuart Moore is one of those writers who never blows me away, but is never altogether bad either.

• At January 28, 2009, Professor Fury wrote:

  Hurray for Stuart Moore's Firestorm -- that was a really fun book.

• At January 28, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Notice how only two of the covers actually credit him as "STUART MOORE"??

  Not to belittle him in any way, rather ...

• At January 28, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  I'm tempted to pick up Wolverine: Noir, since I like the Moore/C.P. Smith pairing.

  Plus, Smith's style seems like a ...

• At January 28, 2009, Grico wrote:

  Huh, I got a number of gap filling issues of Firestorm in an auction purchase recently, so i might have ...

• At January 28, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  That Wolverine issue was my first Wolverine book. I love his work. His arc on Iron Man was ...

• At January 28, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  @Dalarsco: I know. That's my point... At first glance, you have no idea which Moore is involved ...

• At January 28, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  Ok, that makes sense. I thought you were talking about them specifically leaving off the first names with someone ...

• At January 29, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  It’s not just the Moores though, there have been few other similar surnames where the cynical part of me reckons ...

• At January 29, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Which was particulary clever, as Grant Morrison had allegedly helped Millar out earlier, it was perfectly feasible that it was ...

• At February 2, 2009, Stuart Moore wrote:

  This was a total shock. Thanks guys, and especially thank you, Brian. See you at the NY con -- FYI, ...

• At February 2, 2009, joshschr wrote:

  It’s not just the Moores though, there have been few other similar surnames where the cynical ...

• At February 3, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  This was a total shock. Thanks guys, and especially thank you, Brian. See you at the NY con — FYI, ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a writer who is a marvelous storyteller!

Enjoy!

I already featured Raina Telgemeier on the Month of Art Stars, for her expressive Lynn Johnston meets Bill Watterson art style, but consarnit, she's just too good of a comic book WRITER not to feature here, as well!

First off, Telgemeier is one of the best comic book adapters that I have seen, as I have little to no interest (closer to no) in the Baby Sitter's Club, and yet I've read and enjoyed her adaptations of the Ann M. Martin books. She just knows how to tell a story beautifully.

However, that is not limited only to ADAPTING comics, because her OWN work is excellent, as well!

Her auto-biographical comic, Smile (about her experiences dealing with tooth problems as a young girl), is coming out soon as a graphic novel (well, 2010, but that FEELS soon!). A comic book about dealing with dental issues sounds totally boring, but Telgemeier manages to make it fun and engaging. It started as a web-comic, which you can still see here (the beginning, at least).

During the Art Stars piece, I shared a great short story by Telgemeier, and it is so good that I am going to share it again, this time as an example of how good of a storyteller she is (and how clever she can be)...

As an extra bonus, here's another short story by Telgemeier...

Check out some more of her comics here!

6 Comments

• At January 27, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  That was funny about the kid who got cash for x-mas and no-body else.

  ;-)

• At January 27, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Nice, Brian!

  Definitely a brilliant all-round writer/artist... And there's not many contenders for that... (in fact, bet you ...

• At January 27, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:

  Her work has a real warmth to it, and I look forward to seeing more. Thanks for giving me the ...

• At January 27, 2009, Joe wrote:

  Not the type of stories I'd intentionally go out and look for, but I definitely enjoy them when I happen ...

• At January 27, 2009, Eldric IV wrote:

  I would lay on the car hood or bring a blanket for the shoulder because I cannot trust the thought ...

• At January 28, 2009, Torsten Adair wrote:

  She has collected her work into minis, which she sells as part of the Comics Bakery. They usually appear ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at the unannounced second part of our two-part feature on writers named Hickman!

Enjoy!

Troy Hickman is mostly known for his cool Image mini-series called Common Grounds, about a coffee shop that superheroes go to on their down time. If you had to pick one other comic to be the comparison point for Common Grounds, it would definitely be Kurt Busiek's Astro City. The heroes and villains of Common Grounds are familiar archetypes except, of course, when they are on their down time, at which point they have all sorts of different personalities and problems.

The comic is also notable in how non-cynical the whole thing is, which is really a trademark of Hickman's work. His work is some of the "nicest" comic book work you will see.

That doesn't mean his work does not have some punch, because it does, it just is done in an old school style of optimism being the main goal.

If you're interested in Common Grounds at all, do note that for the Image series (I believe it specifically was a Top Cow comic), what they did was take Hickman's original mini-comics and have them re-drawn. And when they had them re-drawn, they did not mess around. The original 2004 Common Ground series was drawn by (each issue had two stories in them) artists such as George Pérez, Mike Oeming, Chris Bachalo, Sam Kieth, Angel Medina, Carlos Pacheco, and Ethan Van Sciver contributed a back-up story each issue while Dan Jurgens did the main story for each issue. How impressive is THAT for your first major comic book work?

Common Grounds was nominated for an Eisner Award.

Since then, I've looked for Hickman wherever I could find him, and he's done some fine fill-in work on various titles.

His next big break was last year, also at Top Cow, when he contributed to Pilot Season with a series called Twilight Guardian, about a middle-aged woman (in "our" universe) who suddenly decides she will dress up like a superhero and fight crime.

And again, remember. this is a guy who is NOT cynical, so the comic goes in ways you would not expect. It's a real fun read, and it was one of the two winners last year (which means it will eventually gets its own series).

I'm pleased, as I dig reading Hickman's work, so it's nice to know there's more of it coming!

Here is his blog. I believe he's also doing some writing for Blog@Newsarama.

12 Comments

• At January 26, 2009, Inside Joke wrote:

  Troy Hickman...Troy Hickman...wasn't the villain in Unfunnies named Troy Hickman? It can't be a coincidence, right?

• At January 26, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Great choice! COMMON GROUNDS is brilliant -- finding the TPB in a discount bin at an LCS a few years ...

• At January 26, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Uhhhh ... PILOT SEASON=TWILIGHT GUARDIAN, of course. I hate it when work interferes with my posting.

• At January 26, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  I've heard an awful lot of good stuff about Twillight Guardian... Was it one of the pilots that got ...

• At January 26, 2009, Apodaca wrote:

  Man, J. Scott Campbell is god-awful. Look at the front foot of the running guy.

• At January 26, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  As someone who works in a coffee shop I now must read Common Grounds.

• At January 26, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Blackjak --

  Yep, I believe it finished first in the voting.

• At January 26, 2009, Rhod wrote:

  Common Grounds is one of my fave series ever, so many good stories in only 6 issues.

  I've been hoping there'll ...

• At January 26, 2009, Matt Bucher wrote:

  Absolutely -- Troy is an amazing writer. And I'm pretty positive his work on HOLEY CRULLERS (which was the ...

• At January 26, 2009, Troy Hickman wrote:

  Well, how freakin' cool is that? Thanks, Brian, I do appreciate that tremendously. And thanks to all those who have ...

• At January 29, 2009, Paradox wrote:

  Troy also did some good work for the "City of Heroes" comics, to the point of having one of his ...

• At January 30, 2009, Troy Hickman wrote:

  Seeing my story become part of the CoH game was one of the coolest things I've experienced as a comics ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a writer who is soon going to be a really big name (he might be too big already!)

Enjoy!

I've avoided using Hickman to this point because I wondered if he was too big, but ultimately, he's probably JUST on the cusp of being like a Jason Aaron or a Matt Fraction. Once his new book that he is co-writing with Brian Michael Bendis comes out, Secret Warriors, I imagine we will see more and more of him, which is great, as he is a good writer. Not only is he a good writer, but like quite a few writers that I have mentioned this month, Hickman is a CHALLENGING writer, which I may admire more than I do he actual skills as a writer.

Hickman first came to prominence when he came in second in the first Comic Book Idol competition. At the time, Hickman was "my guy" in the competition, but I also really liked the guy who beat him, Patrick Scherberger. The idea that we got those two guys in the same competition is truly awesome to me.

And as an artist, Hickman might actually be even better than he is an artist - his intricate lines and evocative use of negative space is absolutely stunning.

As a writer, though, Hickman is also great. His main style, so far, has been to tell intensely dense stories where he looks at society through fairly recognizable genre tropes that are, of course, never as simple as they might sound from the first description...

The Nightly News

A man ruined by the media joins a group devoted to "fighting" the media.

Pax Romana

A group of soldiers sent back in time to affect the end of the Catholic Roman Empire.

Red Mass for Mars

Can a small group of people actually save an entire planet?

Transhuman

The politics of becoming more than human.

All simple enough ideas that are never really that simple once Hickman gets through with them.

He's also done short story work in Comic Book Tattoo...

Legion of Monsters...

and just recently, he joined forces with Brian Michael Bendis to launch a new group of (third? fourth?) generation heroes led by Nick Fury.

They had a short story here...

and the series begins in its own book soon.

Expect it to be complicated as all hell, and yet be absolutely awesome.

Here's his website (which may or may not be working right now).

16 Comments

• At January 24, 2009, Dave wrote:

  Hickman was one of the writers I hoped to see here, as his work for Image comics has really been ...

• At January 24, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  I've read both The Nightly News and Pax Romana. I was more impressed with the former than the latter ...

• At January 24, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  What Dave said.

  Hickman is easily one of my favourites working today.

• At January 24, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Hickman is phenomenal, no doubt.

  I'm continually impressed by his willingness to jump from genre to genre with his Image ...

• At January 24, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Has there been any works by Patrick Scherberger?

  He's a staple of the Marvel Adventures line, and he's currently working on ...

• At January 24, 2009, rufusTfirefly wrote:

  God, I'm a huuuuuuuuge fan of Jonathan Hickman. I picked up the first issue of Pax Romana after hearing ...

• At January 24, 2009, stealthwise wrote:

  So Nightly News gets better after the first issue? I read it for free on the Image website and ...

• At January 24, 2009, Craig wrote:

  Nightly News definitely is worth reading. I'm not sure if being underwhelmed by the first issue would change in subsequent ...

• At January 24, 2009, Beacon wrote:

  Nightly News was great. I didn’t discover it until the trade came out but, had I started with the singles, ...

• At January 24, 2009, Jeff Ramirez wrote:

  "Pilot Season: The Core" #1 : another hook written by Hickman.

  Ian A.'s genre-jump observation: very correct. i remember (during ...

• At January 25, 2009, Joe wrote:

  Yo, Brian, you forgot to mention the one-shot he did for Top Cow's Pilot Season "The Core".

• At January 25, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:

  I wasn't originally planning on getting Secret Warriors, but with your endorsement I think I'll at least get the trades.

• At January 25, 2009, Lierson wrote:

  Loved the design of all covers.

  Hickman is the man.

• At January 26, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  A group of soldiers sent back in time to affect the end of the Catholic Roman Empire.

  That should be "effect". ...

• At January 26, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  That should be "effect".

  That is of course I misunderstood the sentence and the soldiers were sent back to influence the ...

• At January 26, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Really didn't realise he'd done much beyond Nightly News...

  Which I loved.

  Dang, time to look for some cheap trades...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at the writer of another great new series!

Enjoy!

Fred Chao has worked as a freelance illustrator and designer for a number of years, but what I'm here to tell you about it his great comic book series that he does for AdHouse Books called Johnny Hiro.

Johnny Hiro is a fun, entertaining and slightly subversive comic book about a young man named Johnny Hiro who keeps getting caught up in crazy action-packed situations reminiscent of famous Japanese genre pieces.

To wit, in the first issue, we learn that Johnny's girlfriend is the daughter of a great 70s' Action Hero, so she is suddenly kidnapped one morning by a giant lizard (think Godzilla) and naturally, Johnny has to save her in his pajamas.

Chao's art is quite good, but the real spotlight of the stories to me is Chao's writing - each issue is formulated brilliantly and has a really interesting way of making fun of old genre tropes while at the same time also CELEBRATING the same tropes. There's a kind, gentle quality to the teasing that goes on in Johnny Hiro.

It's an awfully fun comic, and I believe it was nominated for a bazillion Eisner Awards last year (which was richly earned).

Oh! I forgot the amusing tagline for the book - "Half Asian, All Hero!"

I believe #4 and 5 are due out some time this year!

I look forward to them.

Be sure to check out Fred's website here.

And his blog here!

6 Comments

• At January 24, 2009, Eliot Johnson wrote:

  Even as someone who's read every AdHouse release and loved just about all of them, Johnny Hiro is my absolute ...

• At January 24, 2009, Ariel S. wrote:

  Wow. I have to get my hand on these books...

• At January 24, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  What Ariel said.

  This series sounds terrific.

• At January 24, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  Hmm. I will have to check this out.

• At January 24, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Looks good. Wonder if I can get it in the UK...

  Otherwise, gotta hope it'll be ported to the iPhone...

• At January 25, 2009, Chris Jones wrote:

  There any trades out yet? Probably not...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at the writer of one of the best new series of 2008!

Enjoy!

Brian Clevinger first gained renown for his work on the web-comic, 8-bit Theatre. Here is a link to where you can find the latest strip.

But it is his comic book Atomic Robo, which he writes with artist Scott Wegener (who I featured here during the Month of Art Stars) that I'm mostly talking about now.

Atomic Robo is about a robot built during the 1920s by Nikola Tesla. He has worked for the government in various capacities ever since, mostly handling bizarre cases with a sense of humor. The book is action-packed and often quite funny!

To save myself some time, I'm just going to use the same pages I used before to highlight Wegener's art, only this time I will use them to highly Clevinger's writing!

Cool stuff!

Check out the Atomic Robo site here to see where you can buy Atomic Robo!

Here's Brian's website.

8 Comments

• At January 23, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:

  The word "rollickin'" was invented to describe Atomic Robo. Yes. With the g left off and everything. It rollicks and ...

• At January 23, 2009, JackKing wrote:

  Good choice. I loved the first mini-series.

• At January 23, 2009, Tyson wrote:

  Loved the first mini, waiting for the trade (impatiently!) for the second one. Incredibly well-written (and great art, too). ...

• At January 24, 2009, Manglr wrote:

  I'm still convinced that the giant ant story will be Atomic Robo's legacy to the world. I just don't ...

• At January 24, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Just wanted to say that I picked up Atomic Robo issues #1 & #2 for the iPhone last month. ...

• At January 24, 2009, Red 5 Comics » Blog Archive » CBR Spotlights Brian Clevinger wrote:

  [...] Comic Book Resources just highlighted Atomic Robo’s Brian Clevinger as a ‘writing star’! Today we look at the writer ...

• At January 25, 2009, SCOTT WEGENER » Blog Archive » Obama Sworn In (twice), Diamond Fucks Indie Comics wrote:

  [...] What can I say? He’s a writer. So I’m going to turn the blog over to Brian Clevinger, (recently ...

• At January 27, 2009, xsabin wrote:

  i love Atomic Robo(if i am not mistaken,he is doing a new mini-series)

  kinda sad that you didnt talk about Nuklear ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at the writer of one of Vertigo's better new titles!

Enjoy!

G. Willow Wilson was a journalist for a number of years in Egypt, specifically Cairo.

And it was Cairo that she chose for the setting of her first major comic book work (first comic book perhaps?), in the delightful graphic novel Cairo (with artwork by M.K. Perker).

Cairo showed Wilson's propensity for an interesting (and slightly odd) plot filled with off-kilter characters although, at the same time, clearly steeped in "reality" (the book has a real authenticity, as you might very well imagine it would, as Wilson lived and worked in Cairo for years).

The follow-up project by Wilson and Perker is the current ongoing series Air, which takes the slightly offbeat plot of Cairo and takes it to a whole new level, with an interesting stories of intersecting realities. The first issue did not really get across the coolness of the later issues (including a recent last page twist that was a real blast), so if you were a bit underwhelmed by the first issue, the book improves as the stories get more madcap and surreal.

Wilson is slowly moving into superhero comics, as well, with a one-shot Outsiders story and the recent Vixen mini-series, which has been pretty good so far!

Air, though, is where it is really at - that's where Wilson can really cut loose and do whatever she wants, and the book is all the better for it!

8 Comments

• At January 22, 2009, BrianC wrote:

  I really dug her Metamorpho/Aquaman Ousiders one-shot. She made the new Aquaman likable - not that easy a task. ...

• At January 22, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:

  Good choice, Brian. Air has been a very enjoyable read so far. It's the first Vertigo book I've bought regularly ...

• At January 22, 2009, Nick Marino wrote:

  i'm loving the Vixen mini right now.

• At January 22, 2009, DubipR wrote:

  Another fine selection. I think she's going to be one of the major writers to watch out for as ...

• At January 22, 2009, Travis Pelkie wrote:

  Is the first Air TP out yet? I may get it due to it being $10, and it sounds ...

• At January 22, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:

  Remember though, a lot of Vertigo series take till their second trade to get moving!

• At March 27, 2009, Scooter wrote:

  G. Willow Wilson is a confused idealistic young woman. As a muslim convert, she fails to understand how that ...

• At June 15, 2009, ScottyQuick wrote:

  Thanks for the kafirsplanation, douche.

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a veteran writer who is still doing strong work!

Enjoy!

Louise Simonson originally worked as an editor, although she had some writing work over at Eerie, under her former married name, Louise Jones.

When she began editing at Marvel, she also had some credits here and there...

Although I believe the following comic was her first as a freelance writer under her current married name.

Soon after, she came out with perhaps her best comic book work, the superpowered siblings known as the Power Pack (along with the great June Brigman on art)...

Power Pack was a realistic, heartfelt character piece. The book was so good that the other Marvel creators of the day bent over backwards to help the sales on the book. Chris Claremont had the Pack (or at least members of the Pack) guest star in the X-Men twice. John Byrne devoted a whole five-page sequence in an issue of Fantastic Four to promoting the storyline going on in Power Pack at the time.

Soon, though, Simonson would move on to more popular titles. First, she took over X-Factor...

Then she took over New Mutants from Claremont...

In both cases, Simonson brought her standard character-driven stories to the comics in question. Simonson is ALL about characterization.

When the X-Books became a bit more geared towards the young artists doing the books, Simonson moved over to DC, where she began a long run on a new Superman title, along with artist Jon Bogdanove (the pair had worked together on Power Pack after Brigman had left the book - Bogdanove actually followed Simonson as writer on the title, and did a good job - not as good as her, but still quite good).

These stories were also, naturally, character-driven pieces. She did a lot of work with the supporting cast in the comic, particularly a young boy from the streets, Keith.

She's done a number of different comic work (and novel writing, as well) since then, but just the other day, I saw her writing a new comic! An issue of Marvel Adventures: Super-Heroes.

It was a good book!

I look forward to more work from her.

26 Comments

• At January 21, 2009, Neal K wrote:

  Her X-Factor stuff was some of the first stuff I really got into as a kid (I was probably about ...

• At January 21, 2009, Patrick C wrote:

  She had a long run on Steel also, which I really enjoyed.

• At January 21, 2009, m!ke wrote:

  her run on superman: man of steel was consistently good. even her issues involved in ludicrous storylines (worlds collide), managed ...

• At January 21, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Wow! The Lando vs. Lobot issue was her? That's one of my favourites! Cool!

• At January 21, 2009, Chris McAree wrote:

  Didn't she co-write the excellent "Meltdowns" mini as well?

• At January 21, 2009, Matt wrote:

  Isn't she kind of very well known?

  Anyway, I have a couple of her issues of Power Pack. I don't remember ...

• At January 21, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  Used to read the Mew Nutants. The scene where Doug Ramsay died was one of my favorites.

  Wasn't there another ...

• At January 21, 2009, Tony wrote:

  Man of Steel was always the Superman book I'd look for first in the 90's. Louise and Bogdanove were ...

• At January 21, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  Isn’t she kind of very well known? She hasn't had a regular series from Marvel or DC in about a ...

• At January 21, 2009, Greg McElhatton wrote:

  Louise Simonson's a great writer who definitely needs to be offered more work.

  (One tiny factual correction; Louise Jones isn't her ...

• At January 21, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  D'oh!

  I totally knew that, too, Greg (it came up in an old comic book legends) - my bad! What a ...

• At January 21, 2009, stealthwise wrote:

  Ugh. The scenes with Keith always felt tacked on, and I disliked SMOS the most out of the four, ...

• At January 21, 2009, DubipR wrote:

  Weezie's DC work, especially her Superman writing, is severely underrated. Along with John Bogdonove, the Man of Steel was ...

• At January 21, 2009, Greg Burgas wrote:

  If she's all about characterization, Chuck Dixon must hate her work!

• At January 21, 2009, Random Stranger wrote:

  Power Pack might be the most underrated gem in Marvel history. Simonson did a spectacular job at presenting children ...

• At January 21, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  If she’s all about characterization, Chuck Dixon must hate her work!

  I'll admit, as I was writing characterization so many times, ...

• At January 21, 2009, Mark wrote:

  I can't speak for her other work, but she pretty much killed New Mutants. With a few exceptions, her ...

• At January 21, 2009, S. Adler wrote:

  That Thor comic was really cool. I actually got most of her X-Factor and New Mutants work last and some ...

• At January 21, 2009, omike015 wrote:

  Slight correction: Bogdanove didn't follow Simonson as the writer of MAN OF STEEL. He did two fill-ins (#75 and #85) ...

• At January 21, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  I was referring to him following her on Power Pack, Mike. Looking back, I can definitely see how you would ...

• At January 22, 2009, Colin wrote:

  Great choice. Always loved her X-Factor issues and have only very recently read the first 26 issues of her Power ...

• At January 22, 2009, kirbydotter wrote:

  I love the first couple of years on POWER PACK with June Brigman's art (whatever happened to June? She just ...

• At January 22, 2009, Josh wrote:

  I've usually liked Louise Simonson's writing. her work on X-factor & New Mutants was solid stuff, and she knows ...

• At January 22, 2009, Reno wrote:

  That Star Wars cover is AWESOME. No wonder she married Walt. hehe.

  I remember reading that back during then Weezie was ...

• At January 23, 2009, jimmy conde wrote:

  I agree with DubipR's assessment of Simonson's contribution to the Superman titles. I recently re-read my 'World Without Superman' (a ...

• At January 23, 2009, jimmy conde wrote:

  but yeah, apparently she was a total babe

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a famous artist not so well known for his writing!

Enjoy!

Gibbons broke into comics not just drawing, but doing some writing, as well. In fact, in the very first issue of 2000 A.D., Gibbons writes and draws at least one story.

But more or less, Gibbons became known as an artist, primarily, and that is what he was brought over to the United States by DC to do - draw.

After working with Alan Moore on a few projects, most notably a little project called Watchmen, Gibbons' great creativity as a writer was ALSO given notice by DC Comics, with an acclaimed three-issue mini-series starring Batman and Superman, with great art by Steve Rude.

Soon, Gibbons was hired to do the (at the time, rather notable) crossover between Batman and Predator.

The triumph of Gibbons' work is his brilliant storytelling work, as he weaves plot and characterization particularly well, due in part either to his background as a great artist or his history with the great writer, Alan Moore.

In either event, a Gibbons story, no matter if it is a story of Batman fighting the Predator, is often quite dense with an engaging plot and interesting characters.

That was the case for his (too short!) run on Captain America.

His best work as a writer is easily his original graphic novel for Vertigo, The Originals, which uses the future to basically just tell a story of mods and punks. It is extremely well-crafted.

When working in the midst of an editorial mandate, Gibbons' skills are a bit less useful, but he still managed to do a strong run on Green Lantern Corps (Geoff Johns often co-wrote).

The best issues were the ones that stood apart from any crossover.

I'd love to see some new written work from Gibbons (heck, I'd love new art work from him, too!).

10 Comments

• At January 20, 2009, Custard Mite wrote:

  Batman Vs Predator was one of the first TPB I bought - I waitied every month at my local shop ...

• At January 20, 2009, Dunc wrote:

  I love Batman Vs Predator!

  I got the trade years ago, what a great story. I had no idea it was ...

• At January 20, 2009, Dunc wrote:

  Now that I think about it, Gibbons writing, Kubert on art, Suydam on covers.

  That's a damn fine line-up for a ...

• At January 20, 2009, Filrouge wrote:

  Not mentioning Lobo/The Mask when telling about John Arcudi is bad enough, but no mention either of Aliens:Salvation, drawn by ...

• At January 20, 2009, Sam wrote:

  Don't forget his short in BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE. One of the most memorable stories for me, helped by ...

• At January 20, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  I remember World's Finest. Beautifully drawn by Rude, a fun-filled story full of spot-on characterization by Gibbons.

  Whatever happened to ...

• At January 20, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  Dave Gibbons is a bit hit and miss for me, but when he's on form (like Batman vs Predator and ...

• At January 20, 2009, Colin wrote:

  Great choice. I think Dave Gibbons is a very under rated writer.

  That said a point of accuracy Dave ...

• At January 21, 2009, stealthwise wrote:

  Gibbons on GL Corps was ok, but the series really picked up with that fill-in arc by Keith Champagne, any ...

• At January 24, 2009, Dean wrote:

  "World's Finest" was amazing. Steve Rude drew probably my favorite Superman. The plot was tight and fun. ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a nifty rising star!

Enjoy!

Kieron Gillen worked for a number of years as a journalist, specifically a video game journalist, and soon became one of, if not the, most acclaimed video game journalists out there.

A few years back, Gillen made the move to the comic book world, after doing a comic strip about video games with artist Jamie McKelvie, the pair combined to do the great 2006 mini-series for Image Comics called Phonogram, about a "phonomancer," a music magician, for lack of a better term.

The series was unique and Gillen's voice was an engaging one.

Warren Ellis chose Gillen to do a one-shot with his newuniversal project, and it was a very well-done work (in the context of a one-shot of fairly obscure characters not of his own creation).

What I love about Gillen is that he's also clearly growing as a writer - the latest Phonogram mini-series is leaps and bounds better than the first one, which was already a strong work.

His skills have not gone unnoticed by Marvek, and he's been getting a lot of assignments from them recently, including an upcoming Sabretooth one-shot and an upcoming Beta Ray Bill one-shot.

I look forward to more work by Gillen!

Here's his blog.

9 Comments

• At January 19, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  I don't know that I've actually read anything by Gillen, but he's certainly gotten a lot of acclaim recently. And, ...

• At January 19, 2009, Kieron Gillen wrote:

  Spurrier is awesome. As is Mr Cronin, the sweetie.

  KG

• At January 19, 2009, dudelebowski wrote:

  I agree, Spurrier should be in the list too, he and Gillen and Hickman are the new guy at marvel ...

• At January 19, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:

  Phonogram was good. I look forward to seeing more from Gillen, but I hate seeing so many promising writers ...

• At January 19, 2009, Lierson wrote:

  I won't mind Si Spurrier too, but I'd love to see D. Curtis Johnson get a mention.

  And all success of ...

• At January 19, 2009, Drancron wrote:

  Kieron Gillen is a writing legend. And from who else can I get comics that pay homage to ...

• At January 19, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  I have to agree with Dan Felty here. It's *almost* enough to make me take Robert "Look at Me! Look ...

• At January 20, 2009, Kieron Gillen wrote:

  Mr Kirkman's manifesto really wasn't aimed at guys like Jamie and I. It was specifically addressed at serious sellers. We're ...

• At January 20, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:

  Hooray! I'm looking forward to them!

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at an entertaining writing duo!

Enjoy!

Life-long pals Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman are an interesting pair because they are in the school of people like Joss Whedon and Brian K. Vaughan, who have full-time jobs at fairly major other media sources (Bernardin as a senior editor at Entertainment Weekly and Freeman in the world of TV production, currently as a producer on the Gene Simmons reality show on A&E), so they write comics because, like Whedon and Vaughan, they love writing comics and they're finally at the point in their careers when they can afford to do it in their "spare" time.

But unlike Whedon, Vaughan and others of that ilk (Neil Gaiman, for one), they are not really big names in the comic book industry.

But I doubt that will last too long, with the creative works they keep putting out!

Their approach to comics is very similar to a Whedon or a Vaughan, in the sense that they tend to only get involved in writing a comic if the book suits them, and the result is generally comics that are a bit more creative/challenging than just doing a fill-in arc on some Marvel or DC book.

Their debut series, The Highwaymen, was an engaging action-packed series with a series of interesting twists on the generally accepted tropes of action films.

For AIT/Planet Lar, they did the delightfully fun series Monster Attack Network, a sort of take-off on Damage Control, as these are the guys who are sent in to deal with various monster attacks, like Godzilla (in a similar way to how Damage Control is sent in to the deal with the after-effects of superhero battles). Essentially, they are monster first-responders.

I believe Disney optioned it for a film.

Recently, their series for Top Cow's Pilot Season won one of the two spots during the the second Season (where fans vote for which one-shot they want to see turned into an ongoing series).

Genius was an interesting look at a teenage gangbanger who also happens to be a total savant, so she uses her skills against the miliary.

The pair recently went in a slightly different direction for them when they took the licensed comic, Push, but in this instance, they were given a lot of freedom to do whatever kind of story they wanted (and featured a great deal of their own characters, as well).

Check out Marc's blog here to read about some of the other projects they've got in the works!

7 Comments

• At January 18, 2009, Matt wrote:

  I've been meaning to check out Highwaymen

• At January 18, 2009, Ryan wrote:

  Pilot Season is a top cow thing, not wildstorm.

• At January 18, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  Yeah, I actually even caught that the first time around but forgot to change it!

  Thanks for the reminder!

• At January 18, 2009, comb & razor wrote:

  Looks like I completely missed Monster Attack Network and I am quite intrigued... The cover looks pretty cool, but I'd ...

• At January 18, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Eh...

  Monster Attack Network was fun, but Genius was pretty terrible.

  They hearts do seem to be in the right place, ...

• At January 18, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  "Their," not "they."

  Whoops.

• At January 19, 2009, Travis Pelkie wrote:

  Highwaymen, from what I remember, started out all kinds of awesome then petered out by the end of the series. ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a good Marvel all-ages writer who was featured in this week's Comic Book Legends Revealed!

Enjoy!

Paul Tobin did some comic book work in the early 90s, but it was really 2005 that he really got back into the industry with the neat Oni comedy title, Banana Sunday (under the pen name, Root Nobit), which was drawn by Colleen Coover, who was featured in the Month of Art Stars (click here to see the piece on Coover). Tobin and Coover have a passing familiarity with each other.

Writer Jeff Parker (who is not going to be featured in the Month of Writing Stars because it just seems too obvious - I mean, do I really need to tell people about how cool Jeff Parker is?) encouraged Tobin to try to get gigs at Marvel, and eventually Tobin began getting Marvel Adventures stories, and he has proven to be quite adept at writing titles for Marvel's All Ages line.

What impresses me most about Tobin is the way he seems to write every issue of Marvel Adventures in the same way that he writes an issue of Banana Sunday. Plenty of writers seem to take an entirely different approach when they're working with their own characters than when they're dealing with superheroes, in the sense that they seem to give their characters a heck of a lot more thought. Tobin never seems to do that - his superheroes seem to be just as fleshed out as his own creations, and I really admire that.

Besides that, most of his work tends to be charming, done-in-one tales that work in fun and action seamlessly into intriguing ideas.

A good example of this is his latest issue of Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, with artist David Hahn, which is done totally silent, yet feels absolutely filled with story (and a fun one at that).

He also uses the whole reserve of characters available to him nicely, like having Baron Mordo and Moondragon show up in an FF tale!

He's a great writer and I can't wait until he makes the journey that both Parker and Van Lente did from just the All-Ages titles into more and more work at Marvel!

8 Comments

• At January 17, 2009, Da Fug wrote:

  Re Jeff Parker: I think a guy like Jeff Parker could easily fly under someone's radar name-wise. Not ...

• At January 17, 2009, Chris McAree wrote:

  Tobin and Parker's books include some of the titles I most look forward to each month when my comics arrive!

  I ...

• At January 17, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Another strong choice.

  This month is full of winners.

• At January 17, 2009, Travis Pelkie wrote:

  I liked the couple issues of Banana Sunday that I got, but I got them mostly because of Colleen Coover's ...

• At January 17, 2009, scout1279 wrote:

  Great to see Paul Tobin getting some love. I become more of a fan of his with everything I ...

• At January 18, 2009, Travis Pelkie wrote:

  Oh, he's writing Models Inc? I thought that sounded kinda amusing, and if Tobin's writing it it will probably ...

• At January 19, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  I mean, do I really need to tell people about how cool Jeff Parker is?

  Erm, yes, please!

  Although the name ...

• At January 19, 2009, STWALLSKULL » INTERESTING LINKS: January 19th, 2009 wrote:

  [...] A Month of Writing Stars - Paul Tobin [...]

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a fun comic book writer.

Enjoy!

Scott Beatty is perhaps one of the best examples of a writer falling "victim" to his material, as the majority of Beatty's solo writing work has been on stuff like comic book reference pages (he was a big-time contributor to most of DC's Secret Files comics).

This matches his outside comic book writing, where he has written a number of books along the lines of "The Ultimate Guide to Batman," "The Ultimate Guide to Superman," etc.

However, I think that is greatly underselling Beatty, as his actual comic book work has been quite fun.

His highest profile work has usually been as a co-writer, as he co-wrote a number of good Year One series with Chuck Dixon...

Robin Year One

Batgirl Year One (these Year One mini-series were the introduction in the United States of the amazing Marcos Martin, so if Beatty only had that on his resume, he'd be golden!).

and a run on Nightwing for Nightwing Year One

(where Dixon and Scott McDaniel re-united and promptly raised the sales on Nightwing considerably, only for the book to go in a totally different direction - the book under Dixon and McDaniel was one of DC's better sellers - they leave, the book goes down in sales - they come back - the book goes up in sales - so DC's move is to...not bring them back (and they were willing to return!)).

He had a fun, if slight, run on Batman: Gotham Knights (his run was mostly on the idea of the possibility that Bane was Batman's illegitimate brother and how such news would affect both men)

He had a strong run on Ruse following Mark Waid, who was a tough act to follow on that series (Waid did a really, really good job on that book).

Beatty is big characterization guy, and at the same time, there is a sense of gentleness to his work. By gentleness, I mean that there is a lack of crass and cynicism within his comics - he still deals with some heavy duty stuff, including his recent Wildstorm series that he wrote, the Number of the Beast, which led into the current post-apocalyptic storyline in the Wildstorm universe.

However, he always manages to ground his books with a nice reality based mostly on the characters.

That's why he so good I imagine at doing fill-in work, because he seems to easily "get" each character and is able to translate that to the readers quickly. He did some awesome Green Arrow fill-ins a few years back.

Currently, he is doing a fun, character-driven book for Wildstorm with his ongoing run on Gen 13 with the great Mike Huddleston on art.

16 Comments

• At January 16, 2009, Sprout wrote:

  What about Batman : Gotham Adventures ? He did a great run writing some Eisnerian one-shots (Batman as a juror, ...

• At January 16, 2009, Sprout wrote:

  arrrrgghhh in fact it was Scott PETERSON (Scott Beatty did a fill-in). I mixed up.

• At January 16, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Beatty really is a sort of "Unsung Hero of Fill-ins and Characterisation" - I was just looking at the Green ...

• At January 16, 2009, Matt Lazorwitz wrote:

  He also wrote the drastically under-rated "Son of Vulcan" mini-series that was released about three years ago. It was ...

• At January 16, 2009, Dan wrote:

  Glad someone else brought up Son Of Vulcan...that was a fun series, and I really hope the character gets picked ...

• At January 16, 2009, Cass wrote:

  “Alfred - Year One?”

  (Now that actually could be FANTASTIC! - His experiences before becoming a butler for the Waynes… ...

• At January 16, 2009, Matt D wrote:

  Son of Vulcan was great. I wish he got more work. I need to go hunt down his Ruse issues ...

• At January 16, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Hell yeah!

  Excellent choice, Cronin.

  Those Year One minis were fantastic, his Green Arrow fill-ins were solid (why wasn't he tapped ...

• At January 16, 2009, Tom wrote:

  Yes, SON OF VULCAN! I loved that series and bought the Titans East 1-shot for him...then I wanted to ...

• At January 16, 2009, John Cage wrote:

  Great call! I loved Batgirl: Year One and enjoy the various reference guides -- it's nice seeing Scott Beatty getting ...

• At January 16, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Cass, I wasn't being sarcastic!

  I really think it would be great!

• At January 16, 2009, Cass wrote:

  Oh you're serious? Scott Beaty really DID do an Alfred: Year One story as a backup at the end of ...

• At January 16, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Really???

  Cool! Must see if I can find those! Thank you, Cass!

• At January 16, 2009, Tony wrote:

  Ian- Scott wasn't tapped to take over GA from Meltzer because Judd Winnick already had dibs on the title. ...

• At January 16, 2009, stealthwise wrote:

  I just read Robin Year One and it was great; so was Nightwing Year One.

• At January 18, 2009, D. Peace wrote:

  Kudos to Scott and thanks for giving him the spotlight.

  Has RUSE ever been collected in TPB format? It's the ...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at one of the most prolific Dark Horse writers in the company's history.

Enjoy!

In the late 80s and early 90s, you couldn't turn around without bumping into a Dark Horse comic book written by John Arcudi (who broke into the comic industry in the mid-80s at Malibu and Marvel).

His biggest success at this time was the Mask, which he helped create (with a bunch of other folks).

It was mostly Arcudi's stories that made it into the blockbuster film starring Jim Carrey (that was the film debut of some model/wannabe actress who didn't do much after the film).

Arcudi wrote for basically all of Dark Horse's licensed projects, as well as introducing his own works like Barb Wire and The Machine...

This was all solid work, but I dunno, I don't think it really got the full spectrum of Arcudi's skills as much as he showed on the projects where he was given free reign (with Barb Wire, of course, being a notable exception - except it was, well, Barb Wire).

Arcudi's past writing for Cracked magazine and The Mask helped him with his slacker superhero, Major Bummer, for DC.

He had similarly offbeat (and, like Major Bummer, sadly short-lived) runs on Doom Patrol and Thunderbolts (where he turned the book into a bizarre wrestling series that was quite cool).

He had a notable run on Gen13 (one of the best Gen13 runs period, I would say)

And a good run on Aquaman (although I still don't get why Will Pfeifer was taken off of Aquaman)...

Hey, I totally don't remember this JLA mini-series...anyone remember this one he wrote in 2002?

Anyhow, Arcudi's best work I think is definitely his work on B.P.R.D. with the amazing Guy Davis as his art partner and the equally amazing Mike Mignola as his writing partner.

B.P.R.D. is madcap, it's bizarre, it's compelling, it's serious, it's wacky, it's tinged with familiar pulp tones while possessing a unique feel of its very own - it's a great, great series with an amazing artist helping to bring Arcudi and Mignola's vision to bear.

23 Comments

• At January 15, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  I loved Major Bummer.

  Why can't DC re-unite the creative team to do some mini-series?

  Been reading his BPRD series, not bad!

• At January 15, 2009, Blackjak wrote:

  Wow! John Arcudi doesn't count as already famous enough?? Mind you I suppose he's never really had much ...

• At January 15, 2009, Filrouge wrote:

  Not even a mention of Lobo/The Mask, the best use of Lobo from someone other than Giffen?

• At January 15, 2009, Anonymous wrote:

  I like John Arcudi.

  I admit I haven't read most of his stuff, but his Mask and Doom Patrol were good ...

• At January 15, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  That "Anonymous" is me.

  (Has anyone else found that the comment box has stopped remembering their name?)

• At January 15, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:

  Arcudi is great. I loved his Doom Patrol (the Seth Fischer drawn issues are particularly good) and B.P.R.D. is consistently ...

• At January 15, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  >>(Has anyone else found that the comment box has stopped remembering their name?)

  Have you changed browsers recently? Ever since I ...

• At January 15, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

  I am sorry, guys, the site just hates Dans.

  That is why Apodaca just goes by his last name.

  Seriously, I have ...

• At January 15, 2009, Mark The Man-Thing wrote:

  Great Arcudi article...I thought his Thunderbolts run was pretty fun; you never knew what to expect.

  Any chance we'll see profiles ...

• At January 15, 2009, DubipR wrote:

  Another fine choice showcasing Arcudi. I loved a lot of his Dark Horse work (yes, even his Barb Wire ...

• At January 15, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Which explains why Brian has yet to become celebrated for provoking a flame war with Dan Slott, unlike certain other ...

• At January 15, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Ummm ... make that "Alucard." *sigh*

• At January 15, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:

  The comment box was giving me trouble earlier today too. It automatically filled in DanCJ for me, but I caught ...

• At January 15, 2009, Evan McB wrote:

  Liked The Mask, Loved Gen13, and REALLY Loved Major Bummer!

• At January 15, 2009, Eric P. wrote:

  I liked most of Arcudi's work, but some of the Dark Horse stuff like Will to Power and X was ...

• At January 15, 2009, Andrew Collins wrote:

  My only real exposure is to his work is the Doom Patrol series, which I quite enjoyed, despite being a ...

• At January 15, 2009, Da Fug wrote:

  Re the comment thing: For the past week or so, there has oftentimes (not always) been a grayed-out name ...

• At January 15, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Huh. I'd never seen what you describe happen before, Da Fug, but just now I looked at the "Your Name" ...

• At January 15, 2009, Djed wrote:

  Mignola/ Arcudi/ Davis on BPRD are just awesome. A perfect triumvirate. BPRD is one of the best books on the ...

• At January 16, 2009, Jbird wrote:

  So weird to look back at that cover talking about Afghanistan, dripping in genocidal horror, before it was "our" war.

• At January 16, 2009, joecab wrote:

  I actually went to college with John Arcudi in the early 80s. He seemed very intimidating until he noticed I ...

• At January 19, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  Have you changed browsers recently? Ever since I went to Opera at home (replacing Internet Explorer) a couple of weeks ...

• At January 19, 2009, DanCJ wrote:

  In fact right now one of my Firefox tabs has put the name "Cass" into the box for me...

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a writer I can't believe I forgot to mention when I was doing the Archie writers a few days ago!!

Enjoy!

Tania del Rio burst on to the scene about five-six years ago when she won second place in Tokyopop's second annual Rising Stars of Manga contest.

She soon began the regular writer/artist on Archie Comics' Sabrina the Teenage Witch series, where she has given the series a manga-esque style.

Lost a bit in the style makeover is the fact that del Rio is an excellent comic book writer.

Archie gives her a bit more freedom, in the sense that the comic does have a serialized plot (a fairly unique approach for an Archie comic, especially one that lasted more than a year), but at the same time, she obviously knows that there are limits to HOW much that the book can progress, and she has been marvelous in her ability to keep the ball rolling while often sneaking little "re-sets" into the book to help her keep the book from going TOO far down the road. She basically has mastered the illusion of change that is vital to a comic that cannot move TOO forward.

But that's really just me admiring her practicality, while her technical skills are top rate, that is not exactly the biggest compliment you can give a writer. However, she also has done a great job depicting complex interactions with fairly deep characters without ever getting too "deep." In a lot of ways, she reminds me of Kathleen Webb's Betty stories.

Some of her comics are awkward - quite a few do NOT have happy endings, most importantly, she allows her characters to have FAULTS, while still being endearing figures. It's really a great comic book.

She recently began a storyline leading to issue #100 of the series (#99 just came out this past week)...

She moved to Los Angeles awhile back with her husband, and was doing a auto-bio web comic called My Poorly Drawn Life that hasn't updated in awhile, but checking out these stories are a great insight to how well you can tell a story with, well, just a good story - even with (as the title of the series suggests ) poorly drawn art.

Click on the piece below to see an 8-page story about Tania's experiences adjusting to LA-la land (particularly the homeless).

3 Comments

• At January 14, 2009, kiki wrote:

  I'm so glad Tania made your list! I've really been enjoying her Sabrina run and hate to see it ...

• At January 14, 2009, Jason wrote:

  I should start reading her stuff. Well, not the Sabrina stuff . . . I'd feel weird. I checked my ...

• At January 14, 2009, Apodaca wrote:

  It's a little weird to me that she was so shaken by homeless people after coming from New York.

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a guy who knows a thing or two about monsters (and chasing monsters, too!).

Enjoy!

John Rozum first broke into comics while still in college during the late 80s, doing some one-page gag bits for Marvel, particularly What If...?, like this one on What If...Aunt May had claws like Wolverine?

Rozum was friendly with Dwayne McDuffie, so when Milestone was created, Rozum pitched some ideas and had two series.

One was the acclaimed Xombi, about a man who was turned into, well, a zombie of sorts. Denys Cowan did the art and it was a very cool book with an interesting spiritual feel for a book that heavily involved science as well.

I bet a lot of folks recall the super-cool Xombi full page ad that ran in DC book during 1994 (the one about what magic really is).

The other book he created was an interesting look at superheroes and sidekicks called Kobalt. Here, Rozum was able to use his keen sense of humor to good effect, as the book was a bit of a sardonic take on superheroes.

Rozum also had a quick run on Hardware.

Rozum's perhaps most notable project was writing the X-Files comic for a number of years for Topps.

In a nice piece of casting, DC hired Rozum to do Scooby Doo (which he still writes for).

I love the way he writes all-ages comics - he makes sure that he's never talking down to the audience.

His all-ages skill must be popular, as DC has hired (and is currently hiring him) to do a bunch of different all-ages licensed comics...

Perhaps his most notable ORIGINAL work was Midnight, Mass. about a husband and wife who are occult experts.

It's one of those works that SCREAMS "Adapt me! Adapt me!" and I believe attempts to turn it into a TV series have come and gone over the years.

Here's a link to his website.

12 Comments

• At January 13, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:

  Now, The X-Files book I definitely remember.

  He wasn't too bad doing those.

• At January 13, 2009, Derek J. Goodman wrote:

  Does anybody have a scan of that Xombi ad?

• At January 13, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:

  Cool! As I noted a few days ago in expressing hope that Rozum would be included, I discovered the two ...

• At January 13, 2009, Ken Raining wrote:

  The only thing he's done that I'm really familiar with is Midnight Mass, which is an underappreciated jem. I ...

• At January 13, 2009, MArk Tague wrote:

  Midnight Mass was a great read. Interaction of the main characters had that crispness that makes a good series ...

• At January 13, 2009, Da Fug wrote:

  Xombi was sweet and one of my fav Milestone titles! The scene where the entity (supervillain? golem?) assembles itself ...

• At January 13, 2009, Ian A. wrote:

  Midnight, Mass. seems ideal for Sci-Fi Fridays or CW Thursdays, for sure. It'd be a great pairing with Supernatural.

• At January 13, 2009, Stefan wrote:

  Ohh, I'd forgotten about Midnight Mass but that book was awesome. I'd be interested to see more of his ...

• At January 13, 2009, Scavenger wrote:

  Xombi was great.

  As an fyi, Xombi was the first return of Milestone character..he showed up as the Alternate Universe Green ...

• At January 13, 2009, Travis Pelkie wrote:

  Midnight MASS is all kinds of awesome. I gotta find the last few issues of the second mini, Here ...

• At January 14, 2009, Ken H. wrote:

  I love me some Rozum. Xombi was and still is a personal favorite of mine and I still break it ...

• At January 19, 2009, John Rozum wrote:

  Thank you, Brian, and to everyone who left comments.

  For anyone interested I also did a two-issue Scarecrow 'upgrade" in ...