There are many, many creators whom I respect, but some I find especially reliable, whose mere name on a project make me want to try it.

Jim Starlin: I love his Warlock and Captain Marvel runs, his Dreadstar, and his artwork on Legion of Super-Heroes. I'm working my way through the Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus.

Mike Grell: I'm a big fan of Warlord, and loved his artwork on the Legion. I've liked what I read of Jon Sable Freelance, and love The Longbow Hunters, but I don't like his writer-only run on Green Arrow as much. I couldn't resist blind-buying something called Shaman's Tears but haven't read it yet.

I should probably also add John Byrne to the list. I loved the FF run and his work on X-Men, and I'll probably try Alpha Flight. I read some of his Superman and liked that as well.

For a decade or two I would say Alan Moore and Frank Miller. But both have been somewhat inactive and spotty in quality the past several years.

Haven't caught up on many of his titles the last decade, but I expect Matt Wagner to never disappoint.

Nobody, really.

Closest I would have are Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Garth Ennis, but it's not a 100% guarantee that I'll pick up any new project.

Starlin is very reliable, I pick up pretty much anything with his name on it. Another name that doesn't get as much respect as he deserves is Mark Waid. Everyone knows his signature Flash run but the man has put out a lot of good stuff over the years.

My favorite writer for many years has been Kurt Busiek. If I was writing a comic book series that wasn't set in the Marvel or DC universes, it would be Astro City.

Morrison and Ennis are more hit-or-miss for me. They have incredible material and a plethora of stuff that colors too far outside the lines.

Grant Morrison. If he wrote a story on a piece of toilet paper, I'd track it down.

Everyone has their clunkers though. Claremont, Byrne, and Frank Miller especially seem to have lost me somewhere in the last decade or so. Also used to love Geoff Johns and John Robinson when they were doing legacy DC heroes.

I'll agree with Busiek and Waid, and maybe add Peter David as far as longevity, though they aren't instant buys for me. I love most of the stuff Gaiman has done, as well as in recent Marvel years Brubaker and Hickman. It's a little easier for artists... I will still check out whatever guys like Travis Charest, Chris Sprouse, George Perez, Alan Davis, and Art Adams do. If Abnett and Lanning ever got back together I'd probably buy whatever cosmic stuff they'd put out.

Hmm.

John Byrne has consistently delivered over the years.
Garth Ennis
Matt Wagner
Tim Truman
Ed Brubaker
Warren Ellis
Eric Powell

Jim Lee X-Men was the thing that really got me into comics, and Jim Lee Batman was what got me back into comics after losing interest in the late 90's. That said, I don't think I've read a single thing Lee has done since the first couple issues of All-Star Batman. There was a time I'd read just about anything by Johns, Brubaker, Vaughan, or Bendis (pre-Avengers). I've also gone back in time and done deep-dives on a lot of the older guys mentioned in the thread already. Nowadays I don't keep up with new comics, so I just tend to read whatever catches my eye in a given moment. Usually it coincides on whatever happens to be on sale at Comixology.

All that said, I've been on a huge Scott Kolins kick recently. I've been a fan since his original Flash run, but I got a chance to meet him recently (awesome guy) and have been buying up a lot of his original art. I've basically been pouring through everything he's done in the last 15 years and making note of different pages I want to get my hands on. He's currently doing the new Blue Beetle series and I've actually been buying those issues new. They're the first comics I've bought day of release in about 10 years.

Garth Ennis is my main guy. Before that it was Frank Miller.

I don't have one yet. Still waiting for someone to really separate themselves from the pack.

Erik Larsen
Bryan Lee O'Malley
Gail Simone
Chynna Clugston-Flores
Adam Warren


And if we can count deceased creators, Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby.

Really underrated creator. I thought he was going to hit the mainstream with the Sable TV series 30 years ago but it got cancelled so quickly that no one really saw it.
I still think someone should take a chance with it again. It was a really good comic book.

I'll take a look at nearly anything by Mark Waid or Kurt Busiek. Jeff Parker is up there, too.

Rob Granito

Wow.

Granito’d is a verb.

I was surprised to see this appear on the summer release schedule. I don't think I've thought about it since I was reading the floppies so I have no idea if it holds up, but I'll probably get it anyway.

These days it's Mark Millar. All of his independent projects read like movie pitches, but that's all right. I was ambivalent about him when he was working for the majors, but now I find his work very entertaining.

Jim Lee and Geoff Darrow.

Is this DC an expanded version of the original Pacific Comics? I didn't know Windjammer/Valiant published it, also.

Early 90's where my prime collecting period. So that said:

Jim Lee
Chris Claremont
Whilce Portacio (he disappoints way more than he satisfies, but when he satisfies...)
Gary Frank
Alan Davis (just art, I'm not a fan of his writing)
Joe Madureia (I didn't think I'd see a better X-Men artist than Jim Lee but then he came along)

I wish he would flesh out his comics a little more. Millar always comes up with interesting, unique ideas and then fails to completely elaborate on them for me.

It usually ends up with me wishing his comics had more depth.