Top 5 Comic Writers

Hey y’all. There were no new comics last week. So, in lieu of reviews, I’ve decided to do various comic related replacement pieces. That begins here with a look at my favorite current comic book writers. I decided on two qualifying criteria: 1. “Current” means having a comic book published in the last 8 months. This allowed for some leeway if I needed it. 2. I decided to stick with Marvel and DC writers because that is mostly what I read, and I wanted to stick with what I know. If you want my favorite indie (And other publisher) writers, peep the honorable mentions. With the criteria out of the way, let’s dive in!

Honorable Mentions: Ryan Parrott, Sina Grace, Matt Kindt, Brian Michael Bendis

5. Leah Williams

I won’t lie, I haven’t read much from Williams. That is partially because she has not done much and partially because I have it but have not yet read it. I will get to it, sooner than later probably. What I have read has been excellent. Williams is able to effortlessly blend character focused drama with interesting plots.

No place has this been clearer than Age of X-Man: X-Tremists, a comic I have written about several times before. That comic expertly blends the ongoing story about the cracks in X-Man’s new mutant paradise with close examinations of the individual characters and manages to fit in dash of workplace drama as well. This (Combined with the very good art) made X-Tremists my favorite Age of X-Man comic. I look forward to following Williams’ career for years.

4. Dan Slott

Do you like compelling plots, funny characters, and weird hijinks? Well, I’ve got the guy for you. While I am not in love with what Slott is currently writing (It’s not bad, just fine), his previous work on The Thing and She-Hulk should be enough to convince anyone that Slott has an excess of talent. Those comics excellently blend character-focused drama with humor. Similarly, his Mighty Avengers and Avengers Initiative comics show Slott’s ability to create big, engaging plots while remaining focused squarely on the characters.

No where is this better exemplified than Slott’s character-defining decade on Amazing Spider-Man. Beginning with the Brand New Day story, Spider-Man was back to his roots: poor, heartbroken, and definitely not married. OF the course of Slott’s tenure, Peter would get a job at a tech lab, become a globetrotting mogul, and become Doctor Octopus. Look, it’s a whole thing. Read Superior Spider-Man. While it’s not my favorite part of the run, it’s second and a beloved era of the character.

Anyway, Slott understands the key aspects of Peter: He’s trustworthy, incredibly smart, willing to do anything for a friend, and guilt-ridden. That is not to say that Peter is always sad or mopey. In fact, it’s often quite the opposite. Slott’s Peter Parker is a fun-loving goofball. He just gets deep in it sometimes. And that dichotomy is where Slott does his best work. It allows Slott to have grand plots, but it is instantly recognizable when Peter knows the stakes and takes things 100% seriously. It is very subtle, but clear. And that’s Slott in a nutshell.

3. Saladin Ahmed

Similarly to Leah Williams, Ahmed does not have an exhaustive bibliography. What he does have are some clear standout runs and miniseries. While Ahmed creates fun plotlines and drama, his best skill is his dialogue. Which is not something you would expect from someone that could list a Black Bolt comic as one of their breakthrough moments. the dialogue Ahmed creates is genuinely unique while feeling entirely real. This is especially true of the way he writes young people. Which is probably how he got the jobs of writing Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales: Spider-Man.

Ahmed’s characters manage to thread the fine line between natural and comic book, a very hard task. Go too far in the natural direction and you end up in a bad Brian Michael Bendis book. Go too far in the comic book direction and everything is stilted and uninteresting. His characters feel real. From the first moment Starling appears in Miles Morales, she is a character that feels like she has been around for years, not three pages. His version of Miles instantly clicked because he talks like Miles would talk, about the things Miles would talk about. That’s a rare skill for a writer.

2. Jonathon Hickman

Jonathon Hickman is a mad scientist. At least, that’s what his comics make me think. He infuses everything with high concept science fiction ideas that no one else at the Big Two would even dare to try. He also loves to tell long form stories, my favorite form of storytelling. His time with the Fantastic Four was about 50 issues, Avengers was almost 100 and, of course, a direct continuation of his Fantastic Four run. So, Hickman really told a 150-issue epic in about six years.

If you restrict Hickman’s run to just Fantastic Four and FF, it is my favorite run of comics I have ever read. It tells one long ongoing story infused with the high concept ideas I mentioned before. There is a multiversal council of Reeds Richards. There’s time travel and Galactus. The ideas are big. But what truly makes this run worth your time are the characters and family dynamics. The core of the story is built on the relationships Reed has with his family, especially his son and father. Those three men hold everything together, but Sue’s relationship with her husband is another crucial bond that would go on to play a crucial role in New Avengers. Hickman is very good at showing instead of telling. The way characters, especially Doom and Namor, talk to each other is incredibly instructive of the exact relationships the characters have with each other and the situations they are in. I urge everyone to check it out. Then read everything else he has written.

1. Geoff Johns

I’m going to tell y’all a secret: When I inevitably do a favorite writers of all-time Top 5, Geoff Johns is probably going to be #1. He is the reason I read comics. I love everything about his style of storytelling. As you learned above, I love long form storytelling. It’s why I read comics. It’s why I prefer television to films. It’s something that Johns excels at. Beyond that, Johns understands the characters he is writing. He gets to the very soul of the character and reshapes them while maintain that core.

If you’ve read Superman: Secret Origin, Green Lantern: Rebirth, or JSA, you have seen that particular skill on display, along with Johns’ uncommon ability to take existing continuity, twist it, and make it into something brand new. Hal Jordan was a super villain and couldn’t be redeemed? He was being influenced (Notably not controlled though) by the physical embodiment of fear. Hawkman has multiple conflicting, canon origin stories? They all count because he’s been reincarnated. The way Johns combines intricate character work with world shattering revelations and slight continuity tweak has made him the preeminent voice of DC Comics in the 21^st century. Even now, as he writes only one monthly comic, Johns’ influence can be felt on every corner of the DC universe, especially on characters like Barry Allen and Sinestro, whom he defined for the foreseeable future.