Trading Spaces - Comics Style

[Brian Cronin]

The following twenty writer/artist combos (or single "auteurs") are responsible for some of the most notable comic runs in comic book history.

Here is the game, pick what established comic book title that you think the team would be best utilized on - but it CANNOT be a title that they actually worked on together!

I will follow each one with my personal pick. Feel free to choose to answer as many as you want...pick two...pick ten...heck, feel free to add your own combos and place them on a book.

But no doubling up picks!! Everyone can't be put on Batman, for instance. Make your pick count!

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - Justice League of America. Let's see what they can do.

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko - They would do the most bizarre Superman ever! Let's see it!

Will Eisner - Who here WOULDN'T like to see Eisner try his hand at doing Batman?

Chris Claremont and John Byrne - Teen Titans. I think they could switch pretty easily.

John Byrne - Lord...what HASN'T he written? I guess he can try Thor.

Frank Miller - Imagine how trippy of a Hulk Miller could do? It would be dark, like the source material (Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde).

Walt Simonson - I would like to see Simonson have a shot at doing Spider-Man. I don't believe he's ever had the opportunity.

Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli - Based on his cameo in Born Again, I think these guys should do a Captain America series.

Marv Wolfman and George Perez - Uncanny X-Men. I think they could switch pretty easily.

Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen - New Mutants. How would they handle the youth of Marvel?

Alan Moore and Steve Bissette - Sandman. Let's see what they come up with.

Jack Kirby - The Flash. He'd love it, because he'd be able to make changes on it.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - Green Lantern. Morrison was born to do Green Lantern.

Dave Sim - Swamp Thing. Let's see what he could do with a free hand.

Roy Thomas and Neal Adams - Legion of Super Heroes. It would be great seeing Adams draw them all, and think of all the continuity for Thomas to memorize!!

Roger Stern and John Buscema - I think Stern would loooove working on the Defenders. He's written good Doctor Strange AND good Hulk comics. And Stern loves his minor characters. He could have Monica Rambeau join.

Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan - I think they would be interesting on a book like the Walking Dead.

Stan Lee and John Romita - I think a book like Noble Causes would be trippy to see Stan Lee and Romita do, because it's so similar to the 60s stuff, but just current.

David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr. - I'd say Hulk, but JRjr was on the Hulk. So why not...hmmm...I guess I'd like to see them try Invincible.

Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire - Maguire draws nice woman. So why not a Wonder Woman run? There's basically a blank slate for Giffen and DeMatteis to work with, so they should like that.

Now you make your picks!

-Brian

[assadd]

thank you...

[Jack Flash]

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - How about Batman. I would love to this!

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko - Gravity. Kinda a cop out, I know.

Will Eisner - Moonknight

Chris Claremont and John Byrne - Teen Titans. totally.

John Byrne - ... put him on Spawn. Let him work for McFarlane.

Frank Miller - I love the idea of Frank on the Hulk.

Walt Simonson - I'd like to see him do She-Hulk.

Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli - totally agree on Captain America as a great choice.

Marv Wolfman and George Perez - New Mutants/Generation X. Their teen series was the bomb.

Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen - New Warriors. The cast can get unwieldly, just like another team that they rocked out on.

Alan Moore and Steve Bissette - Werewolf By Night. God I wanna see this!

Jack Kirby - Quasar. Cosmic Greatness.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - The Ultimates. wow, I'd order 12.

Dave Sim - ... like Byrne, I don't love this guy. so let's put him on Witchblade. so I won't have to read it.

Roy Thomas and Neal Adams - Legion of Super Heroes. Great idea!

Roger Stern and John Buscema -I say give them a shot on making Gravity the star that Spidey is.

Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan - 100 Bullets. This would be fun!

Stan Lee and John Romita - Robin. Let's see what they do for the boy wonder.

David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr. - Doc Strange? They would do a bang up job.

Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire - Have any of these guys done Fantastic Four? It'd be funny and beautiful.

[Bright-Raven]

Claremont / Byrne (w/ Austin) = RED SONJA.

THE REASONS: 1) Claremont's been on superteams way too damned long and needs to be on solo character books. 2) The classic MARVEL TEAM UP #79 with Spider-Man and Mary Jane as Red Sonja vs. Kulan Gath by said creative team. 3) Claremont did do MARADA THE SHE-WOLF, so there is some chance that he could pull off Sonja.
4) Teen Titans is a cop out answer.

Frank Miller / David Mazzuchelli = GOTHAM CENTRAL

THE REASONS: 1) Miller gets to do "Sin City" in Gotham, showing the corruption in the GCPD and playing with the characters there. 2) Mazzuchelli is a better characterizational storyteller than an action storyteller, IMO. GOTHAM CENTRAL is more of a character book, than an action book.

Marv Wolfman / George Perez = IRON MAN

THE REASONS: 1) Perez can handle the technology as well if not better than any artist in the field. 2) Iron Man is one of the few characters Wolfman's not written to my recollection. 3) X-MEN is a cop out answer. (Really, people - switching the creative teams between X-MEN and TEEN TITANS from twenty years ago might have been the bomb twenty years ago, but so much has happened and so many other people have messed with these characters since then, what would be the point?)

Alan Moore / Steve Bissette / Rick Veitch: DR. STRANGE

Do I really need to explain this one? I should hope not.

Steve Englehart / Marshall Rogers: THE QUESTION

THE REASONS: 1) Englehart has always been a conspiracy and pulp action buff. I think he'd be able to handle Vic Sage just fine. 2) Rogers' style would give the book just enough pulpiness to give a sense of timelessness.

BYRNE by himself: SWAMP THING

THE REASONS: Actually, I'd probably team him with Will Pfeiffer like he is on BLOOD OF THE DEMON or something, but he would at least co-plot / co-script. The reason why I choose Swamp Thing is because it's a supernatural character that, if an editor pushes Byrne in the right direction, will make him go more towards the kinds of stories he's done in his prose fiction, which is a far cry in tone and content than his comics work. This would hopefully give him something "new" that wouldn't feel like recycled works of his from the past, like a lot of his current writing feels.

I'm come up with more later

[nuclearman]

Great thread..

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - I'd love to see this pair to Green Lantern... the ring... the imagination...

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko - Superman... would be interesting.

Stan Lee and John Romita - Justice League - would be awesome!

Ron Frenz and Tom DeFalco - Batman

[Bright-Raven]

Some more thoughts:

Mike Grell = THOR

THE REASONS: Grell's run on THE WARLORD was superb in its time and I think he could pull off another run for the character akin to Simonson's classic run.

Walt Simonson = KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH

THE REASONS: 1) Walt Simonson's a Kirby fanatic, as he's demonstrated time and again playing with the Fourth World characters. 2) Lots of dinosaurs, and Walt LOVES to draw dinosaurs! 3) When was the last time anyone really did anything with this character? Ka-Zar and the Savage Land have been done time and again over at Marvel, but Kamandi's been pretty much left alone, leaving Walt a much cleaner slate to work with.

More later.

[Brian Cronin]

Love Simonson on Kamandi.

Great pull.

-Brian

[Brian Cronin]

Ooooh...look at all these old threads I did when the forum began!

You new readers should all play these games!

-Brian

[stealthwise]

Daniel Clowes - X-men. Bring back the ANGST.

Andi Watson - Fantastic Four. The family dynamic he'd go for would be interesting.

Chris Ware - Superman.

Eric Powell - Batman.

Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris - Hellboy

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen - JLI

[Bright-Raven]

Forgot to come back to this thread.

Okay, I've assigned the following:

Claremont / Byrne
Byrne solo
Miller / Mazzuchelli
Simonson solo
Wolfman / Perez
Moore / Bissette / Veitch
Englehart / Rogers
Grell solo (Replacing Morrison / Quitely for me)

So let's see what else I would do...

Frank Miller solo: Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze type version)

THE REASONS: 1) If Miller is challenged to keep the stories geared towards the supernatural, it'll be a legitimate challenge for him as a writer - something that Miller really hasn't had in his career since DKR. 2) I think the "noir" look of Miller's art a la SIN CITY would be a strong match for the character. 3) I think Miller's social commentaries and sarcastic nature would suit the character of Ghost Rider well, as he could write the character from both Johnny Blaze and the demon's POV (whether it's still Zarathos who is bonded with Johnny Blaze, or the power of GR is from a different source).

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: BPRD

THE REASONS: 1) Lots of weirdness and monsters for Jack to draw. 2) The series is steeped in Golden and Silver Age era threats as well as having a modern sensibility (WWII villains / nazis; crazed mages; H.P. Lovecraftian monsters and the like) for Stan Lee to work with in terms of dialogue.

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko - BROTHER POWER THE GEEK

THE REASONS: Do I really need to explain this one? Let me know and I'll come back to it.

More to come later.

[Johnny Triangles]

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - Superman. He'd actually have a decent rogue's gallery and good challenges for once.

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko - Batman. Ditko is good at creepy memorable rogues and dark urban settings. Except now, for once the rogues would actually be challenging for Batman.

Will Eisner - The Question

Chris Claremont and John Byrne - New Teen Titans Year One. Claremont and Byrne could redo the New Teen Titans minus all the horrible writing tics by Wolfman that caused it to lose sales.

John Byrne - The Spirit. It'd be interesting.

Frank Miller - Sugar and Spike. Just for the mindfuck of it all.

Walt Simonson - The Flash.

Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli - I'd like to see them on Spider-Man.

Marv Wolfman and George Perez - Disagree on seeing them on X-Men. They'd start losing popularity much like Teen Titans did. Put them on the new Blue Beetle.

Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen - Never read them, no opinion.

Alan Moore and Steve Bissette - Nextwave.

Jack Kirby - Agreed on the Flash. Even by DC standards, the Flash outclasses his overrated villains by a ridiculous degree. Kirby would definitely create some decent villains for him for once.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - The Avengers. I wouldn't want to waste them on a DC book.

Dave Sim - Moon Knight.

Roy Thomas and Neal Adams - Green Lantern. Just because I never read the book, and I want Roy Thomas on books I don't read.

Roger Stern and John Buscema - Ultimate Spider-Man.

Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan - Agreed on Walking Dead.

Stan Lee and John Romia - Put them on Supergirl. Maybe on Superman as well. Or maybe a new Superboy series.

David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr. - Michilinie is another one who I hate reading, so I need him on a book I'd never touch. I'd go with JSA.

Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire - She-Hulk

[Omar Karindu]

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: Put 'em on Wonder Woman. Trippy neo-mythology from Jack, melodramatic social conscience from Stan.

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko: Assuming you could keep them from strangling each other, I'd set them up on a revival of the Eclipso title. The Manichean elements would work for Ditko, and Lee could use the title as an excuse to get back to his old-school "O. Henry" material.

Will Eisner: As much as it's Gerber's to have and hold forever, I can imagine a wonderful Will Eisner take on Howard the Duck somehow.

Chris Claremont and John Byrne: Given how much both of them seem to love fantasy and jungle settings, a nice long run on a Warlord revival seems oddly fitting.

John Byrne: I like Byrne solo best when he's doing sci-fi type stuff, so I'd put him in charge of a renewed version of Adam Strange.

Frank Miller: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. has red-blooded heroism, spycraft action, and loads of opportunities for Marv-esque absurdity.

Walt Simonson: He's so good with cosmic beings and gods that a revival of Thanos focusing on the Titan Eternals would be a must from Simonson.

Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli: I'd love to see Frank writing, and MAazzuchelli drawing, a contemporary version of Green Arrow. If you thought he was politically out there before, wait until they get ahold of him!

Marv Wolfman and George Perez: Crazy as it sounds, I wanna see what kinds of freaky things they'd get up to on a revived version of the Blackhawks. Imagine Perez designing crazy aerospace technology and Wolfman working on the interpersonal interactions of the multinational fliers.

Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen: I'd be curious to see where they took the Avengers.

Alan Moore and Steve Bissette: If anyone could play with the insanely tangled origins and iconic motifs of Hawkman, it'd be these two. Bissette's textured linework would also give the character's look some badly-needed and long-lost heft.

Jack Kirby: Kirby should've been and could be again the go-to man for anyone looking to genuinely revive the Shazam! characters.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely: Who better to finally make the Legion of Super-Heroes insnaely fun?

Dave Sim: Pass. Anything he writes will only devolve into more of his paranoia, misogyny, and bizarre theology given enough time.

Roy Thomas and Neal Adams: I think they'd give wonderful classic horror feel to a book like Werewolf by Night.

Roger Stern and John Buscema: I'd love to see these guys helm a run of the Invaders. Stern writes a great Cap and Namor, and Buscema draws a great everything.

Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan: With these two creators, a lengthy run of The Demon seems a natural.

Stan Lee and John Romita: The beefy optimism and soapy melodrama of the Lee/Romita team seems like it'd be a great fit for a title like Supergirl, which could become an excellent superhero romance comic in short order instead of a wretched marketing exercise as it currently exists.

David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Romita Jr.: I'd set this old-school superhero creative team loose on DC's Teen Titans. Given what Michelinie did with the Avengers back in the day, I bet it would work pretty well.

Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire: The wackiest, craziest, and unexpectedly darkest run on the Secret Society of Super-Villains would have to emanate from these guys.

And, since I blew past Dave Sim...

Warren Ellis and John Cassaday: Warren's already written a one-off hard sci-fi story featuring the Atom, and with Cassaday art it'd be the coolest thing in comics since stapled pages.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Chris Claremont & Paul Smith : Justice Society of America

Sorry Brian , but CC tried writing a young title named Gen 13 and it didn't go so well. But he can handle established heroes and mix the up and coming heroes well I feel. Thats why I think a CC/Smith team on JSA would be awesome.


Geoff Johns & Tony Daniel : Amazing Spiderman

Theres one last great hope for Spiderman and he's working at DC. He's the one who could logically save Spiderman as a character. If only he wasn't on a Exclusive and I picked his Teen Titan artist for this as well.

Mark Waid & Barry Kitson : The Avengers

The 2 are currently kicking mucho ass on the Supergirl & Legion of Superheroes title. So why not Avengers ?

Tony Isabella & ChrissCross : Luke Cage

Isabella created Black Lightning and it would be awesome to see him back in the big 2 working on something. Luke Cage could be it.

Grant Morrison & Frank Quitley : Dr.Strange

Imagine how wild and fun this could be ? Morrison would be taking the good Doctor thru some great things.

John Ostrander & Tom Mandrake : Thunderbolts

If their gonna do a Sucide Squad type series then why not import the orginal creators of it ?

Dan Slott & Ed McGuiness : Blue Devil

Who else misses the fun wild Blue Devil DC put out in the 1980's ? This could be a nostalgia trip in a way.

Kieth Giffen , J.M DeMattis , & Kevin Maquire: Astonishing X-Men

The X-Men's most dangerous mission could be surviving living under one roof ! And who better to chronicle this next era of funny X-Men greatness .