Comic Genius

In the short time I’ve been reading comics, I’ve still had the chance to develop some favorites when it comes to writers. They are, of course, some of the bigger names out there, especially on the DC circuit. And while my opinion might not be the most popular one out there, it isonly my opinion.

Grant Morrison
I don’t know that I can say enough about this guy. First of all, I could listen to this guy talk all day long and never get tired of hearing his accent. But that’s besides the point. My first exposure to Morrison was with 52, and even then he had many other writers contributing to the book, making it hard to distinguish what was his writing and what belonged to someone else. Then, I bought the first volume of All-Star Superman and was blown away. He knocked Superman out of the park, and made me excited to read the next issues in the series. At this point, I’m sad to see it coming to an end in the near future.

I just finished reading my first issue of Morrison’s run on Batman, which also happens to be the first issue in the Batman: RIP story arc. I’m interested to see where he’s going with it, even though I was a little confused with what was going on since I haven’t been reading the book until now.

And of course, there’s always Final Crisis. Even before the first issue comes out, I’m eternally excited about the miniseries simply because Morrison is the one putting it together. Already, we know that we’re going to see two villains who have been existing in obscurity for the last 20 years or so. To me, that speaks volumes of Morrison’s genius. He’s aware of the whole DC Universe, and he’s willing to utilize them and make them a vital part of the Universe again.

Greg Rucka
Great is my love for Greg Rucka. He is the definitive writer of Renee Montoya to me, and therefore holds a special place in my heart. He’s not the typical comic book writer, though. He’s written many crime/mystery novels, so if nothing else, he certainly knows how to craft a story. I haven’t read all of his Gotham Central series, but if what I’ve read from just volume two (Half a Life, which was the outing of Renee) is any indication, it’s awesome.

I also read part of his run on Superman from a few years ago and thought it was good. Despite the direction of the Superman books lately, I liked knowing it was possible for Clark and Lois to have a child biologically. Sue me, but I want to see more of them as a couple. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl and I’m more tuned into the emotional aspects of the characters, but I liked the characters much better when we, as readers, thought there was a possibility they could have their own child in the future.

In the future, I hope to read his Queen and Country series. Everything I’ve heard about it has been good, and I think it would be a good change from all the superhero comics I’ve been concentrating on since I started reading.

Gail Simone
OK, I admit it. GIRL POWER! Most of my love for Gail is from the 3 issues of Wonder Woman I’ve read. The rest of my love, considering I haven’t read anything else she’s written, is from the interviews she’s given and the way she interacts with her fans. She hasn’t been on the Wonder Woman book for long, but she already has more people excited about Wonder Woman than have even given her a second thought in many years. She (Wonder Woman) is also finally earning her position as one of the Trinity, which is good since the weekly Trinity book is starting next week.

But back to Gail. She has a reverence for the characters she writes. While she is not thrilled with some of the characterizations she was handed with Wonder Woman, she still takes them into account instead of shoving them aside and acting like they never happened. She even has taken the advice of writers who have previously penned Wonder Woman in hopes of getting a better grip of the characters. That is the mark of someone who genuinely cares about the character(s) and how they are portrayed.

And never before have I encountered a writer that has so many positive interactions with her fans. On the DC Message Boards, she is a frequent contributor and on more than one occasion has posted questions of her fans and asked their opinions on what direction they would like to see the characters go. To me, this is someone who doesn’t take her status for granted and knows how important the fans are to her success as a comic writer.

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