Favorite writers right know

[Stavros]

Simple enough question, who are your favorite writers right now, who's work do you recommend?

I was thinking about this today and I realised that most of my favorite books are written by three men, and surprisingly each of them is involved in a significant amount of non-superhero comics.

Brian K Vaughan- Best known for Runaways and Ultimate X-men under Marvel he's also written issues of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. His work on Vertigo books Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina has earned him critical acclaim and awards. Personally I think his best works are Y and Runaways, Y being the tale of the last man left on earth when all the men die instantly, and Runaways being a group of superpowered youths who don't trust adults to know whats best for them. Vaugan is probably the highest profile writer in my top three. Joss Whedon recently replaced him on Runaways and in exchange Vaughan will be taking over the Buffy Season 8 title that Joss is writing now, so keep an eye out for that.

Robert Kirkman- Best known for Marvel Zombies, The Irredeemable Ant-Man, and Ultimate X-men post Vaughan, his best titles are publications for Image. Invincible and Walking dead are polar opposites, one is a classic superhero origin that pokes fun at the greats whilst retaining an identity all of its own, the other is a bleak miserable story of survival against all odds in a Zombie-infested world. Kirkmans main talent is smart funny writing which is on display in spades in Invincible, Ant-Man, Marvel Zombies and on his original title Battle Pope. I have been surprised to learn how many books I enjoyed have been written by Kirkman, including the League of Losers arc in Marvel Team-Up. Invincible and Ant-man are both hot prospects for feature films right now.

Brian Wood- Another writer who surprised me by writing so many books I like without me realising it. Wood's only work for the big two directly ws working on a run of Generation X with Warren Ellis, but his work with smaller imprints is quite successful. His best known work is probably DMZ, the story of a wannabe jounalist caught in New York in the no-mans-land between a modern day American Civil War. He's won recognition for his short stories in the series Demo, and the short series' Supermarket, Couscous express and his current work Local, my personal favorite. Local is just a story of a girl who drifts from town to town restarting her life over and over, observing people or becoming involved in thier lives. Each issue is a self contained story but the all link to build the character of Megan into someone quite sympathetic. I've recented done a big bulk order of Wood's prior work, I'm really very high on him. DMZ is also an amazing series he does for DC/Vertigo. Interestingly Wood was also responsible for some of the artwork for Rockstar games such as GTA3, GTA: Vice City and Manhunt back when he was a staff designer for them.

Who do you recommend right now?

[Sion]

My favorite writers right now are the same as yours stavros(seriously, but in all fairness they are pretty popular writers) as well as the books you selected, So I don't want to echo the same picks. I would also add Joss Whedon and his amazing run on asthonishing x-men and reccomend his new buffy season eight series.

[ragernok2002]

Kirkman for Zombies and Ants, Brubaker for Capt and Xmen, Cage and Yost on New Men and Peter David on X factor. Plus Furman for his new take on Transformers

[Dread]

BKV should be sainted for Y the Last Man. Best comic serial of the decade as far as I'm concerned.

Warren Ellis has long been a favourite of mine but he's best when left on his own: pulling the fat out of the fryer for Millar and Bendis (whom together could not write a monthly UFF book) was a great run on UFF. his newuniversal is the best new superhero comic I've read in ages. Nextwave was the best limited series of last year by far. As Planetary coms to a close in the next few months (ie: one issue left but with Cassaday doing AXM too it takes long) I'm awaiting the final chapter on what I think is the best slice of pop culture I may have ever seen.

Matt Fraction is doing wonderful stuf on PWJ and I hear Casanova is good too. I should give that trade a try.

[Missy]

Ed Brubaker's Captain America and Daredevil can't be beat. They're the first comics I read upon receiving my DCBS shipment. His gritty, almost pulpy look at superheroes is fresh. When every other comic is colorful and bright, I find it hard to believe that any villain is a threat. But in Bru's books, any hero could be killed by any villain. And even when the heroes win, there's never a sense of closure; you know something bigger and badder is right around the corner.

Brian Michal Bendis if only for Ultimate Spider-Man (you must read #109!) and Mighty Avengers. They're both fun books that couple talking heads with action. Few writers can strike that balance, but Bendis does it masterfully.

Peter David. X-Factor. 'Nuff said.

As good as Astonishing X-Men is, Mike Carey's X-Men is that much better. His stories are fun yet intense; they never feel stretched or forced. He's nailed the characters perfectly, especially the villains (e.g. Sabretooth, The Children). Previous relationships aren't forgotten (e.g. Rogue / Mystique, Cannonball / Cable), and interesting couplings are forming (e.g. Iceman / Mystique, Cannonball / Serafina). Because the team is comprised of several villains (e.g. Lady Mastermind, Mystique, Omega Sentinel and to a lesser extent Sabretooth), you never know when someone will assault the team from within. It's truly a compelling comic, which is sadly overshadowed by Astonishing and Uncanny.

Judd Winick because of how he writes Red Hood. He seems to be the only creator who gets the character. (Compare his Batman run to how Jason Todd has been written in Nightwing, Countdown and Teen Titans and you'll see what I mean.)

If I had to limit myself to six book a month, it would be Captain America, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man, Mighty Avengers, X-Factor and X-Men... all because of these men. Maybe I'd toss Outsiders in there too, but I'm fearful that Judd's leaving the book.