teameck

Didn't expect to see him (doesn't have a lot of interior/consistent work), but Adam Hughes is the other "must buy" creator I have. I don't buy singles anymore-- unless it's got a Hughes cover. I've been a fan since his Justice League International days, and it has been great seeing a favorite of mine in the '80s grow and get better with each new assignment. He does not rest on his laurels and live off his already popular style. He made indelible cover runs for Tomb Raider, Wonder Woman (always beautiful and often fun), Catwoman (where his colors and shading really grew), and his cover work on some of the Bendis Superman title run have many of my favorite images of the hero.
I travelled to a Minneapolis comic con for five years straight, getting there 1-2 hours early in order to get in line early enough to get a sketch. I got one in the fifth year. Totally worth it.
And while this is a creator's "work" thread-- and Hughes easily fits that criteria for me-- the fact that he is a funny, warm, and engaging man to go with being a fantastic artist just makes it easier to be a fan.

I also have to include Peter David on my list. I loved his Hulk run-- and was an avid reader of his "But I Digress" column in Comics Buyers Guide. Supergirl, Young Justice, X-Factor, and a number of his early novels were also favorites of mine. I love his humor and inventiveness-- and the fact that he usually stuck with titles for long runs brought consistency and depth of characters to his titles.

Honorable mention goes to Steve Engelhart. His "Lost in Space-Time" arc on West Coast Avengers cemented my early love for comics-- and put me on a nearly two decade obsession with them. I am sure I have other works of his (and am positive I am missing many more), but the WCA run will always have a special place in my heart.

My list:
Keith Giffen
Adam Hughes
Mark Waid
Bob Layton
Peter David
John Byrne
Stuart Immonen
George Perez
Gary Larson
Garth Ennis

Just missed the cut:
Geoff Johns

B5Erik

Paul Smith, Adam Hughes, Jeff Scott Campbell - no.

Steve Englehart makes my Top 30. His work on Captain America (with Sal Buscema) was fantastic. It was a great run that was ended by the return of Jack Kirby, who totally screwed up the title and ignored almost everything that had been done since he left.

Peter David is probably Top 40 for me. Great writer. Wrote a couple really good episodes of Babylon 5, too.

But neither are Top 10 or 20.

Now, had you included Len Wein in that group (since he was the writer who brought the X-Men back from reprint hell and made them Uncanny), that might have been another matter, altogether.

For now, though, my list remains unchanged.

John Romita Sr
John Buscema
John Byrne
Neal Adams
Gerry Conway
Marv Wolfman
George Perez
Gil Kane
Stan Lee
Joe Sinnott

Cut from the list, but still great...
Sal Buscema
John Romita Jr.

In my Top 20, but never on my Top 10 list...
Steve Ditko
Jim Aparo
Denny O'Neil
Roy Thomas
Ross Andru

majorjoe23

I’m torn on Peter David. I absolutely love his X-Factor and the follow up Maddrox series. But sometimes he goes out on a limb for such stupid humor. I’d say Young Justice is the Pinacle of that. Nina/Mighty N. Dowd, Ali Ben Stein and so many other… jokes? That seemed to take precedent over actual story.

Trevor

Would love a volunteer or two to put together a manga theme day. I’m not versed at all in Japanese comics, and plan to do nothing more than throw out a couple names and make it another wildcard day. So if one or more of you want to help give manga it’s due and come up with a nomination slate/post, please PM me.

Hokeyboy

Peter David has been a longtime favorite. I think I started with his Star Trek/TNG novels back in the day, but became a huge fan of his legendary Hulk run (the only time I've really read that book), Aquaman, The Atlantis Chronicles, Young Justice, Supergirl, and X-Factor. I met him several times at conventions and he has always been an exceptionally nice guy.

Back on the Compuserve Comics and Animation forum, we're talking early/mid 90s, he was a very accessible creator (along with Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman, and many many others).

He's just edged out of my Top 10 by Jim Starlin, but barely. Honorable Mention for sure.

My Top Ten:
John Byrne
Garth Ennis
Neil Gaiman
Jack Kirby
Frank Miller
Alan Moore
Grant Morrison
George Perez
Stan Sakai
Jim Starlin

Honorable Mentions:
Kurt Busiek
Chris Claremont
Darwyn Cooke
Peter David
Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
Geoff Johns
Keith Giffen
Stan Lee
Jim Shooter
Mark Waid

Trevor

Day Thirty-Three Response and Wrap—Up

I was only a big mutant fan for a brief period around the time of The New Mutants debut, so haven't read many Paul Smith books. I do really like his art though; he was a nice fill-in for The Dude on Nexus.

Adam Hughes has been a favorite since Maze Agency, a series I really need to get serious about filling my holes and (partly re-) reading. Loved his Ghost, that Star Trek graphic novel, and obviously his covers over the years. Still need to read a couple of his series like the Superman Gen 13 crossover and that Before Watchmen book. He’d be in my artist only list.

Jeffrey Scott Campbell is someone I've somehow avoided over the decades. His art looks nice, but I don't think I've read anything where he did more than the cover or a pin-up.

Peter David is near the top of my writers list, maybe even number two. Love his runs on Star Trek, Phantom, Hulk, Supergirl, and Spider-Man 2099. And expect to love X-Factor, Soulsearchers and Company, and any others once I get around to them. Have loved his novels and his columns for CBG. Hmmm, I just might have to add him to my list.

Steve Englehart was never a favorite, but I've read and enjoyed a lot of his books over the decades. I vaguely recall really liking The Strangers over at Malibu’s Ultraverse.

My list remains at 9.
Frank Miller
Jack Kirby
Carl Barks
Alan Moore
Mike Mignola
Jeff Lemire
Bernie Wrightson
Matt Wagner
Will Eisner

Trevor

Day Thirty-Four Choices

I'm excited and nervous as a stand-in for the Real Talk Top 10 project. Today I would like to offer you a selection of creators where the connecting theme is the intersection of politics and comics. Creators’ whose comics have resulted in political ‘disappearances,’ where ethnic or gender representation was the marked contrast to the mainstream, comics about menstruation, comics that normalize oppressed identities; these are comics that, due to their very existence, provide relevant social criticism and offer us all the opportunity to be better people.

Who wants to claim Alberto Breccia, Lynda Barry, Julie Doucet, or Michael DeForge in their personal Top 10?

Additionally - some housekeeping for names mentioned but I'm not sure were offered yet (sorry if I messed this up, it's a lot to scroll through) - this is your opportunity to claim spots on your list for Bilquis Evely, Brian Lee O’Malley, Erik Larsen, or Matias Bergara.

Trevor

I’m thinking 40 days tops for this little experiment guys.

I’m out of material from where this originated, on my own and know I won’t be able to come up with every name that may be someone’s favorite. So please help!

Tomorrow will be manga Monday. Then I think one day each for golden, silver, bronze, and modern creators.

I’ll be thinking and googling and coming up with ~10 each day and then a wildcard. But if you have any good ideas for creators you want to hear discussed, or want to make sure your choice(s) don’t suffer the ignominious distinction of being a wildcard, then speak up or send me a message please.

Trevor

Day Thirty-Four Response and Wrap—Up

Good sir, you have shamed me with listing multiple creators of which I’ve never heard. And here I thought I was becoming well-rounded and somewhat eclectic.

I’m aware of Lynda and have been needing to check out her work someday. Have probably heard of DeForge and know that the rare times I blind read something from Drawn & Quarterly I usually love it, so should get on that with his work.

The samples I’ve seen of Bilquis Evelyn’s work are gorgeous. I have at least two series from her in my to read piles, looking forward to reading that new Supergirl series now that it’s finished.

I love love love the Scott Pilgrim film, but couldn’t get into the comic the one time I tried. But I’m sure I’ll try again.

Not a big fan of Larsen but respect his persistence and like his art.

Matias’ art looks great, but pretty sure I don’t own anything by him yet.

My list remains at 9.
Frank Miller
Jack Kirby
Carl Barks
Alan Moore
Mike Mignola
Jeff Lemire
Bernie Wrightson
Matt Wagner
Will Eisner

Trevor

Day Thirty-Five Choices

Ok, we’re in the home stretch of this experiment everyone, basically one week left. Day 42 is the end. So get any ideas to me asap. Today is the first of two Manga Mondays. Big thanks to Dizzy D for the good parts of the below write-ups.

Osamu Tezuka: The godfather of manga. Astroboy is probably his most popular creation, but he produced many very different works in his life, like Letter to Adolf, Buddha and Black Jack. The cartoon of his creation Kimba the White Lion is a favorite of mine, and I still think that they should have sued Disney over stealing it for The Lion King.

Kentaro Miura: Where Tezuka has done many different works, Miura is mostly known for one title only, Berserk, the very dark medieval fantasy manga that has inspired many works. His artwork was heavily detailed and draws from both modern as medieval influences. Died way too young at only 54, last year.

Junji Ito: Another mangaka known for his dark and disturbing works is Junji Ito, one of the foremost horror artists in Japan. Though his most famous works are dark and disturbing, often centering on the corruption of the human body and mind, he also has short stories that are more absurdist in tone as well as an semi-autobiographical story about his housecats.

Akira Toriyama: Going for more lighter fare: Akira Toriyama is best known for the fighting manga Dragonball, though this work started out as a comedy like most of his works. He's also been the designer on many video games, Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest being the most famous of them.

Eiichiro Oda: With nearly 500 million copies sold of his tour-de-force, the pirate manga One Piece, Eiichiro Oda is one of the best-selling authors ever. Running weekly for nearly 25 years and still ongoing, One Piece is a massive undertaking (Oda has said it is going to end in 2025, but that remains to be seen).

Naoko Takeuchi: Creator of Sailor Moon, establishing a genre in itself, but she created many other works as well (though Sailor Moon is one of the few long-running works that she completed).

Rumiko Takahashi: (Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha and many others) Eisner Hall of Fame member and probably the most successful female comic artist in the world.

majorjoe23

I forgot to comment on the day before. Larsen is on my list, but I think I had already added him.

I love Bryan Lee O’Malley. I own a Scott Pilgrim page. Is he in my top 10? I’ll need to give that some thought.

fujishig

Man I fell behind. Tezuka, Toriyama, Oda and Takahashi are all in my manga top 10, but I'll have to do some culling for overall top 10. Miura (RIP) is amazing but doesn't have the sheer volume the others do.

PhantomStranger

I'm way behind. Adam Hughes and Peter David would make my top twenty but that's all.

B5Erik

My list remains unchanged.

For now.

Trevor

No new slate today as I figure out the last few days of this thing. Get ready for groups of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern creators, each with the wildcard option so that everyone can reveal and comment on their entire ten as we wrap this thing up. Volunteers to write up a slate or make suggestions always welcome.

Trevor

Day Thirty-Five Response and Wrap—Up

I’ve largely ignored manga until fairly recently, and know that I have a lot of great discoveries ahead of me in this “genre”.

Bought and loved Lone Wolf and Cub back when First started reprinting it here in the states, but other than that I’ve read almost nothing until the past year.

I’ve started an AstroBoy read-thru, trying to read at least 40+ pages a month. And I have a couple Junji Ito books in my bedside stack and expect to love his work.

My list remains at 9.
Frank Miller
Jack Kirby
Carl Barks
Alan Moore
Mike Mignola
Jeff Lemire
Bernie Wrightson
Matt Wagner
Will Eisner

Trevor

Day Thirty-Six Choices

Ok, last five or so slates, so please help close this out with some good discussion and give your thoughts on anything Golden Age related.

Delayed post here, so this slate and wildcard will go until Friday at least. We’ve had a few Golden Age artists in previous days, but I know that trying to properly cover all the rest in one day is impossible. Any list less than dozens and dozens is going to leave important people out, and many of these worked into later Ages too. And perhaps some that you think should be here will be in the Silver Age slate. So please forgive me, and do discuss your thoughts on any mostly Golden Age creators.

Golden Age
1938 to 1956

Lou Fine was the favorite artist of many artists of his day.
I loved being able to enjoy C.C. Beck’s return to Captain Marvel/Shazam and his column in the Comics Journal.
Otto Binder helped create Mary Marvel, Supergirl, Kid Eternity, and Krypto to name a few.
Nick Cardy did beautiful work on Aquaman and Teen Titans, and so many great covers.
Jack Cole’s innovative storytelling was so ahead of it’s time, and his Plastic Man is still a joy to read. He was still going strong with great gag strips in Playboy and a daily comic strip when he mysteriously killed himself.
We might not all be here without Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel.
Bill Everett created or helped create Marvel icons Namor, Zombie, and Daredevil; and is yet another who died way too young.
Much can be written about Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
Gardner Fox wrote so many good stories, and co-created characters such as Zatanna, Hourman, Flash, Doctor Fate, Sandman, and Barbara Gordon. He also created the frigging Multiverse! I almost bought a copy of Flash #123 today.
I just learned that Ramona Fradon drew Brenda Starr for 15 years, in addition to her work at mostly DC on titles like Aquaman and Super Friends. She co-created Aqualad and Metamorpho.
The storytelling of Floyd Gottfredson is better than pretty much all comics of it’s day, and many even today.
Jerry Iger is another of many on this list who worked with Will Eisner.
Russ Heath shouldn’t need much introduction, but he also did the art on those famous Roman and Revolutionary War toy soldier set advertisements we all grew up with on the backs of comic books. `
Joe Orlando had influential work on Creepy, Mad, EC and DC comics. He is the only artist beside Dave Gibbons with art in Watchmen. He was the editor of all the titles that made me a comic book collector; Plop, Swamp Thing, and House of Mystery.
Bob Powell’s many wonderful credits include the Mars Attacks card art.
Jerry Robinson co-created many of the major Batman players, unless you believe Bob Kane. He worked with Neal Adams to help secure more rights for creators.
Frank Robbins created and drew the Johnny Hazard strip for over 30 years, and co-created Man-Bat, and helped launch my Plop!
John Severin was one of the greatest war comics artist, was a Mad founding artist, and I loved his later stuff in Cracked.
Captain Joe Simon America is so important in the super-hero genre, but also helped create the Romance comics genre, created Prez, and founded Sick.

If these are in your top ten claim them now. And if any mostly Golden Age creator is in your top ten, use a wildcard or five.

B5Erik

Of all those legendary creators, only one comes close to my list, and that's Nick Cardy.

The funny thing is, until about 8 months ago I had never even heard of Nick Cardy! He stopped doing comics right around the time I started buying. Plus, most of his work was for DC, so I just didn't see it. But in the last 8 months I've read a lot of back issues with his art (and his phenomenal covers) and he is definitely in my Top 20 artists.

But not in my Top 10 Comic Book Creators. I do love his work, though!

So my list remains unchanged. For now.

John Romita Sr
John Buscema
John Byrne
Neal Adams
Gerry Conway
Marv Wolfman
George Perez
Gil Kane
Stan Lee
Joe Sinnott

Cut from the list, but still great...
Sal Buscema
John Romita Jr.

In my Top 20, but never on my Top 10 list...
Steve Ditko
Jim Aparo
Denny O'Neil
Roy Thomas
Ross Andru

rocket1312

Getting caught up, none of the names from earlier this week mean much to me and I'm not a manga guy so I've nothing to say about them. I'm also not all that familiar with the Golden Age folks. Of those named, Bill Everett, Nick Cardy and Russ Heath are the ones that stand out to me. None would be anywhere near my list though. I'll also give a shout to Dick Sprang. He doesn't make my list, but for my money his Batman is the definitive Golden Age Batman.

majorjoe23

Jack Cole might make my list. I do love his Plastic Man.

davidh777

This is a little embarrassing, but I think the bad penciller who I was thinking needed to be rescued was… a member of my top 10, Steve Ditko. He’s a legend, but some of the stuff he was producing around that time, like Legion of Superheroes, was just not very good.

PhantomStranger

C.C. Beck makes my list, primarily for his Golden Age work on Captain Marvel. His Golden Age art just leaps off the page to me in a way most other artwork from the period lacks. A special mention to Mac Raboy, who I think would have been an all-time great if he had a bigger body of work. His work on Captain Marvel Jr. is dynamic and striking from the Golden Age. Doesn't quite make my top ten.

Trevor

Day Thirty-Six Response and Wrap—Up

I’ve read a little work from all of these creators, and appreciate it, but haven’t explored enough of it to put on my list. Guess I started collecting in the Bronze Age, dug back a lot into the Silver, but with the modern age and underground comics being so plentiful, I haven’t made the time to appreciate older stuff as much as I should.

My list remains at 9.
Frank Miller
Jack Kirby
Carl Barks
Alan Moore
Mike Mignola
Jeff Lemire
Bernie Wrightson
Matt Wagner
Will Eisner

Trevor

Day Thirty-Seven Choices

Again, many of the below “Silver” list crossed over into other ages, we’ve discussed many of this era already, and the thread isn’t big enough to mention everyone.

But as we wrap this up over the next few slates, please discuss your thoughts on any mostly Silver Age creators and include wildcards of any pure Silver creators if needed to complete your list.

Silver Age
1956-1970

Carmine Infantino helped create the Silver Age Flash, Black Canary, and so many others. Like all these, unfair to try to summarize their work and impact on the industry.
Curt Swan will always be the best Superman artist imho.
Archie Goodwin deserves consideration for developing Creepy and Eerie, fleshing out Vampirella, tons of great writing, and solid leadership.
George Tuska worked at a lot of companies and on many strips, and is yet another to get his start with Eisner & Iger. He co-created characters including Luke Cage.
Don Heck co-created Iron Man, Black Widow, Wasp, Hawkeye, and Wonder Man.
Arnold Drake was a long-time writer who co-created Deadman, Doom Patrol, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
John’s younger sister Marie Severin had a long and varied influential career, co-creating Spider-Woman and Dr. Bong, and having art credits from 1949 to 2005. She is yet another to have work on Mad or it’s imitators.

B5Erik

Still no one from the day's nominees finding their way on to my list. Some really solid creators there who did some fantastic work, but they're just not Top 20 types, let alone Top 10.

My list remains unchanged.