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Let’s say I am writing this on Christmas day. Merry Christmas to all you Christians and to the many more people who inexplicably celebrate a religious holiday of a religion to which they do not belong. Rejoice! Or whatever.
I have done some digging around since my last Nightmares Illustrated entry, searching for all the good parts of my reading experiences in the past few years that I have been writing this column. #49 gave a list of the series I liked best. #50 is going to be about individuals – writers, artists, characters – that have stuck on a hook in my mind. Just like the last entry, this one here is a mosaic. Not only does it not represent everything you think is good, it doesn’t even represent everything I think is good. It is just some of the things that got caught on a hook. If you want to know everything I like, read all fifty columns.
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Alan Moore. More than any other writer, Alan Moore is the reason I started reading comics in the first place, and not because of Watchmen either. It was his run on Swamp Thing that I read and still re-read once every year or two. For me, this is the best work that has ever been done in comics. He has written so many other quality books that he really has no peer equal to his art.
Geoff Johns. Blackest Night is the stand-out, but his work on other books (including Aquaman in particular) is excellent. His big picture work at DC has been more puzzling to me, but there are so many specific books he conquered it makes your head spin.
Garth Ennis. The first foul-mouthed, hyper-violent work I came across in comics was written by Garth Ennis. Crossed, The Boys, The PunisherMAX, Preacher, Chronicles of Wormwood…holy crap. Ennis knows how to twist a knife.
Steve Niles. I can’t get 30 Days of Night out of my mind. Maybe it is because I lived in Alaska for a decade and I was bowled over by the simple observation that vampires could really make hay there (so to speak) because in the far north in the winter the sun never rises. He has written many other good books but the arctic vampires were such a punch in the gut for me I will never forget him for it.
Jim Starlin. Although Starlin wrote well more than on hundred books it is Marvel Universe: The End that sticks in my mind. It is a great mini despite the endless walk on cameos. Space horror comics are among my favorites so Starlin has to be on the list.
Grant Morrison. I have said nothing about Batman in all its incarnations in these past two issues. There is so much material out there it is hard to sort out. My favorite stories of Batman are by Morrison. I know a lot of fans have a different opinion, but for me Morrison is the Batman man.
Ivan Reis. Aquaman, Blackest Night, Brightest Day, Justice League. Look at these books. Don’t read a word. Look at the art. The genius reveals itself.
Lucio Parrillo. Beautiful painted Vampirella covers.
Todd McFarlane. While the original concept and writing for Spawn are admirable, it is McFarlane’s artwork that is the true skullpunch.
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The Golden Age. I didn’t read comics from the 1940s when they first came out because I wasn’t born yet. I don’t know why, but I started reading them late in life and once I had I was hooked. It is probably for the same reason I love silent films and early talkie cinema – I am impressed by what the creators could accomplish with the technological restrictions they faced. In an historical context, these works are amazing. Every time a new archival collection is released I snap it up immediately, no matter which books we are talking about. I have been delighted by DC’s inexpensive Chronicles series, especially Batman and Superman because they start with the Golden Age comics. And listen, I can’t stand Superman comics. They are horrible. All of them. Except the Golden Age material. Maybe my joy comes from my own aging and a desire to see value in things past their prime.
The Eternals. Jack Kirby started this long ago and it was picked up to great effect by Neil Gaiman not all that long ago. Space horror, baby.
The Inhumans. A superhero team that is more misfit than the usual misfits. A leader who doesn’t speak. Usually. The power of sound. This group is one of the more original teams ever drawn up.
The Hulk. I have written quite a bit about the Hulk over the years. It is also one of the main reasons I am quitting reading comics. I saw what Marvel did to this man-beast who, after all, only ever wanted to be left alone. But I can still read all of them up to but not including the most recent volume, and it is those I recommend, despite the repetition.
Frankenstein. Among the monsters that I think of as Universal movie monsters, it is Frankenstein (’s monster) that has translated best into comics. There are tons of books, minis, and cameos, including the recent Agent of S.H.A.D.E. book that are always entertaining. Far more than Dracula or the Wolf Man or the Creature or what have you.
Godzilla. It is the movies I like – all of them – so I read the comics no matter how bad they are out of respect for the original (and continuing) film work. I cannot really recommend the comics, but this is about what I like to read so the big lizard has to be on the list.
Aquaman. Wonder Woman. Aquaman and Wonder Woman go together in the sense that I started reading them recently and then went back to get all the Silver Age issues through to now. I love both books. As I have said many times and I am going to repeat now, the exception is the recent volume of Wonder Woman, which has the worst artwork in the history of comics. The writing is great, but the art is horrible, and it has been going on now for more than two years. For the love of god, why?
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Zed.
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And finally, a big hug and kiss and my endless gratitude to Nanci Kalanta and HorrorWorld for hosting my ramblings for lo these many months. Best of luck in the coming years.
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GAME, the new novel by Jack Cadillac and Jimmy Eldorado, is available now: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Jack-Cadillac/dp/1489508309/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369771572&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=game+cadillace
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