Posted February 2, 2012 by Tony Tuason in Comics

Top Comic Writers you should catch up with or follow (Marvel and DC)

Last year was a blast in the comic world, there were a lot of great stories coming from both Marvel and DC. And if you’re new to comics or you’re interested in jumping on board on other titles, then you’re in luck because we’re here to help you out choose them for you! In 2010, Marvel and DC’s roster of writers really stepped up. Without these guys comic book fans wouldn’t be reading such cool stories and great character moments. Thanks to them, we always have something to talk about when it comes to comic books.

Now we present you our top picks for the best writers from 2011-present (DC and Marvel) that you should catch up with and follow! Oh and this is only Part 1, so please stay tuned for the 2nd part!

Scott Snyder (American Vampire, Detective Comics, Batman)

Earl — Scott Snyder has his plate full over at DC Comics these days. With a critically acclaimed run on Swamp Thing together with a buzz worthy Batman run for the New 52, the American Vampire writer sure enjoyed a lot of good publicity last year. His stories are complex yet addictive and he weaves a good narrative regardless if he’s writing Alec Holland or Dick Grayson or even Bruce Wayne.

Tony — I first read Snyder’s work in 2010’s newly launched American Vampire, which he co-wrote with Stephen King. Since then he hasn’t been a let down in American Vampire, and in which he has been nominated and even won some of last years awards for best new series in the Eisner and Harvey Awards. But last year, Snyder handled Detective Comics w/c featured Dick Grayson and had a great run. In the new 52, he stepped up his game as he worked on new ongoing titles -‘ Batman’ and ‘Animal Man’, as well as working on ‘Severed’ for a different publisher. Scott Snyder is definitely one of the rising stars of DC and in the whole comics industry.

Grant Morrison (Batman Inc., Action Comics)

Earl — Grant Morrison was one of the writers that always had the good projects. Ever since he started working on the Batman books, Morrison took control and gave fans something new and old. A hybrid of sorts. His projects for 2011 were equally stunning including a massive long spanning arc in the form of Batman Inc. He’s also done good with some prose materials including a book entitled “Supergods”.

During the New 52 revamp for DC, Morrison once again proved that he was DC’s heavy hitter as he handled the scripts for the renumbered “Action Comics” starring a younger Superman in a dirtier version of Metropolis. For 2012, we’re hoping that he really does make “Multiversity” a reality.

Tony — In spite of the # of writers who did a great last year, we can’t just forget about Grant Morrison! With his stellar work on the first season of Batman Inc — a new and big change of direction for the Batman mythos, and revamping Superman in the new 52 Action Comics — featuring a young and different approach to the Big blue, his stories are still top-notched and that’s why his books are on top of the shelf everytime they’re released.

Rick Remender (Uncanny X-Force, Venom)

Earl — Of all the writers that made a name for themselves in mainstream comics this year, it had to be Rick Remender who flushed away the competition. You might say, Remender’s been writing for a long time now but you have to understand that not everybody was digging his creator-owned work. Enter Marvel books like “Uncanny X-Force” and a new “Venom” ongoing and that notion of not being too famous went out the door. Remender really entered and conquered 2011 with amazing plots and dialogues for the books he’s handled. We’ve seen a lot of changes in the characters that he’s written in “Uncanny” and did a lot of improvements for the new Venom (Flash Thompson). So what should we expect for Remender this 2012? Oh I don’t know, how bout another book entitled “Secret Avengers”.

Norby — Early 2011, Amazing Spider-Man writer – Dan Slott was the sure bet to be the best writer at that time. But, then Rick Remender just blew us away with his Marvel work, hypnotizing us with his work from Uncanny X-Force & Venom. He brought the team book with exciting new flavor of antics supporting with gracious artwork of Jerome Opena. With Venom, he brought a 90’s villain character and added a new depth of excitement and interest to it. Which was a very tough job to convince past readers of this character. Outside Marvel, his creator-owned comic – Fear Agent closed with a big bang, showing some of his prolific and creative work. He truly improved this year and I have no doubt that more people will recognize him with his plans and projects mentioned above by my man, Earl.

Tony — Ahh….if you haven’t read UNCANNY X-FORCE then you should. REALLY. From the his first arc – The Apocalypse Solution, to the lately concluded ‘The Dark Angel Saga’, there hasn’t been any let down whatsover. He provides great stories, and really writes characters very well. His X-Force team is consisted of characters you may think have been overused, like Wolverine, Archangel etc — but he still manages to give something new. He writes characters that you may have not cared for like Fantomex and Deathlok, AoA characters — and he makes them really cool without taking out much from them.

Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Animal Man)

Earl — Sweet Tooth creator Jeff Lemire certainly proved that having indies roots in comics can have a certain charm for fans. 2010 was a nice year for Lemire as he managed to write a Superboy ongoing (which I fervently followed) but 2011 was THE year for the writer. He’s managed to write a great story in “Animal Man” touching on the weird and mysterious while adding more depth and character to Buddy Barker and the rest of his family. Oh and let’s not forget the fact that Sweet Tooth is still one of the top Image books in your LCS.

Norby — What can I say about Jeff Lemire this year? Animal Man is the most unique DC New 52 that ever came out… except Scott Snyder’s Swamp Thing that is. I’ve told in many of my DC reviews that I’m not really a DC reader. But, this changed my perception. He hit this book with a grand slam with the way of his storytelling. Aside, his creator-owned is still present and strong with a steady pace of suspense and drama. Do you want your girlfriend/girl-friends to get interested in comic books? This is one of the books that she should read.

Tony — His Sweet Tooth has been a really solid read, and in 2011 he’s making another buzz in his new book Animal Man. Reading Lemire’s writing in Animal Man is much more different from what he’s done from his indie books and Sweet Tooth, with Animal Man we see that Lemire can give us another unique and great story. Hopefully, the quality doesn’t go down in the coming months since the book is still new. But Best Writer for 2011? — no, not yet.

Geoff Johns (Justice League, Green Lantern)

Tony — with events like War of the Green Lanterns and Flashpoint in his 2011 resume, and add to that, spearheading the New DC 52 with the new Justice League with Jim Lee, making big changes in Green Lantern making Sinestro the main character, writing Aquaman and revitalizing the character just as he did with Hal Jordan in Green Lantern. Though Johns brings in a lot of new ideas, there are still a lot of readers who doesn’t like the changes that he makes. IMHO, Johns has great ideas but sometimes his writing becomes lazy and a bit to simplistic nowadays.

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Best of 2011 Comics: Best Marvel Book