Kirby is in my top ten for what he meant to comic books as we know them. Pretty much laid the foundation of the Marvel Universe and helped shaped most of their characters in their formative years. I despised his stuff as a kid, it just looked too cartoony to my eyes. Only as I got older did I realize his stupendous talent.

I personally enjoy Gaiman's stuff but I'm not a Sandman fanatic like many. My favorite comic book work from him is actually his awesome The Books of Magic mini-series introducing Timothy Hunter. In an alternate universe he handles that character for an acclaimed 100-issue run. Gaiman doesn't quite make my list.

Kirby. Kirby Kirby Kirby. As others have said, he didn't really impress me much as a kid, but as I matured my appreciation for his work exploded. His writing wasn't great, but his ideas and concepts have proven over time to be revolutionary.

Somewhere there was a discussion about who drew FF's Thing best. I've always felt Kirby did, mostly for the subtle emoting. No one could give the Thing expressive eyes like Kirby. (in my most humble and uneducated opinion, of course)

Kirby is for me like the dunkiest of dunks after Stan. I almost made a joke yesterday about whether he’d be included.

No Gaiman for me. I have the whole Sandman run but have read only one peripheral story. High five to rocket on that one.

Jack "King" Kirby? Nope. I love his creativity, but his blocky art style never worked for me. I mean, I like the old FF comics, but that's in spite of his style, not because of it. It's his storytelling that worked, and his use of perspective, detail, etc. But his style always turned me off a bit. And once he was writing dialogue on his own? Ouch. Not so hot. He totally screwed up the Captain America comic when he took over in the mid 70's. The title never fully recovered.

Neil Gaiman? I love his script for the Babylon 5 episode, "Day of the Dead," but I haven't read a single comic of his. So, no.

Frank Miller - NO

Neil Gaiman - YES

Jack Kirby - NO

Disney alone has made billions of dollars from Kirby's characters.

I agree that Kirby and Moore should be locks for most. And like others I was one who really didn’t “get” Kirby until much later in life. Gaiman is another one who is up there mostly on Sandman and miracle man but I can’t guarantee a spot without thinking it through more.

I personally would probably also lock in Morrison, Byrne and Perez but I’m sure we’ll get there.

Day Two Response and Wrap—Up

As others have sort of said, while I might not love (or sometimes even like) the art and writing of Jack Kirby, his ideas and energy and imagination make reading his work a joy, and put him in my list. He created one big two universe, much of the other, tons of other stuff, and inspired and continues to inspire generations of creators.

Sandman is my absolute favorite comic of all-time. And my entire life, I’ve said things like “the best comics could be drawn in stick figures only and they’d still be the best comics, it’s all about the writing.” So obviously this made Neil Gaiman an easy add to my list. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I’ve changed over the decades and that this is a visual medium. I’m not opposed to having ‘just’ writers on my list, but I’m not adding one yet. As much as I love Sandman, his other comic writing has been merely good to very good for me. The writing half of one series, even my favorite, isn’t enough to make my list.

My list so far:
Frank Miller
Jack Kirby

Today we’re going to France. Are Moebius or Tardi on your list?

Nope. Both brilliant artists, but I don't think I've ever read anything by either guy. Maybe I read Moebius's Silver Surfer? If I did I don't remember.

Agreed. I love Moebius but I can't put him in MY top 10 just because he wasn't formative in my comics journey. I mean I have read the Incal but that was much, much later.

I can't even think of a single book published in English by Tardi, at least not off the top of my head.

Ok, looking it up Fantagraphic published It Was the War of the Trenches but I can't say I ever sought it out.

I'll be interested in seeing if Trevor holds out when Moore, Morrison, or even Claremont come up. I tend to agree that as a visual medium, a person who "only" writes has an uphill climb (like I would side with Ditko probably over Lee) but man there are some tough ones. And Gaiman is one of them, his main issue being he spent all his time on basically one seminal work. But 7 years on one work is still amazing.

So mine are:
Miller (hanging by a thread though. I should also add that kinda like Kirby while I can appreciate his art, especially the stylistic change, I wouldn't put him on a top artists list personally)
Kirby (though it's like putting Bill Russell on an NBA list. I never really was a fan in the height of his career, seeing his work years later didn't really make sense to me as far as how he would line up against modern contenders but he was an undeniable influence on everything and his "winning streak" is unprecedented)

I know Moebius is great, but I don't think I've read any of his work. Tardi is a complete blind spot for me.

Moebius and Tardi might depend on whether we’re going to get more Euro creators in the future, like Herge.

I like both, but not in my top 10.

Moebius I've heard of, but know nothing about. What's a Tardi?

So... No to both.

No to both for me also.

Yeah, besides Moebius I think I know the name of the creations more than the creators. Like I know Tintin, but not Herge, nor do I know the authors of Asterix or Metabarons (though I do know Jodorowsky), etc. Besides guys who have done a ton of American comics like Moore and Davis, perhaps the only other European creator I can name is Manara, for... reasons. (I think Spiegelman actually published Maus in America, right?)

Yeah, Goscinny is the big name for Asterix, but I had to look up the artist, Alberto Uderzo, who it turns out also wrote the series after Goscinny’s passing. Goscinny also worked on Lucky Luke, though sometime after it started.

Other key names include Hugo Pratt (Corto Maltese), Jean Van Hamme (Thorzal etc.), Leo (lots of sci-fi), and others with maybe one significant work or whom I haven’t gotten around to reading. Alan Moore and Brian Bolland are famous Brits, of course, but not really who I associate with Eurocomics.

Oh, it turns out Moebius also created the Western Blueberry under his real name, Jean Giraud, but that’s not easily available in English so I haven’t read it.

I’ve read Manara for the same…. reasons.

Oh I did think of another European creator, Peyo, but only because I was a big fan of the Smurfs.

I am only barely familiar with their body of work, so nope from me.

Day Three Response and Wrap—Up

I’m still very USA-centric in my reading, but am pretty familiar with and love Moebius’ work. The Incal was probably the first (non-Warrior) European book I read, and I loved his work that Marvel put out. But I haven’t dived into enough of his catalog to put him in my top 10. Tardi I have almost no knowledge of, other than some people love him and he did a lot of war books. Pretty sure I own one of his Adèle Blanc-Sec books from Fantagraphics, but I don’t think I’ve read it.

So no to both for me. I figured that’d probably be the same for all of you.

Several great choices coming over the next few days, so pretty sure they’ll be no blank lists by Monday.

My list so far:
Frank Miller
Jack Kirby

Day Four Choices

How varied are your tastes? Are you a superheroes only sort of fan?

Some might consider one of these two as their absolute number one, but do either Carl Barks or Paul Pope make your list?

I like Paul Pope, but he doesn't make my list.

Carl Barks does for sure. There's so much joy and adventure in his comics, especially for "funny animal books." My kids (7 & 10) even enjoy them, and I can't think of many other comics from the 40s or 50s that would hold their attention.

Yes to Carl Barks.

Yes to Carl Barks as well. He probably unfortunately edges out Don Rosa because as much as I love them both I don't think I can have both of them in my top 10.

I love Pope's work but he doesn't make my list over someone like, say, Mignola, who is also on the edges.

I haven't read a lot of duck comics, but I've enjoyed all of what I have read. I also loved the original DuckTales cartoon. That said, I'm just not there with Barks yet. Maybe someday when I get deeper into his work, but he's still pretty new to me as a creator that I'm specifically aware of and seeking out.

Paul Pope is someone I'm familiar with, but that's about the extent of it. I know he's been around since the 90's, but I don't think he really hit the mainstream big until I got out of weekly comics in the mid to late 2000's. So, no.