The definitive/best writers of individual DC characters

[stelok]

Definitive writer of Green Arrow: Dennis O'Neil for depicting Ollie as an impulsive, pain-in-the-ass liberal. Ollie's uber-liberal attitude, which defined his character, has continued to exist up to now.

Best/definitive writer of Flash - Geoff Johns for introducing Hunter/Zoom and writing Wally's defining moments regarding his wife and children and wiping general knowledge of his alter ego.

Best/definitive writer of Green Lantern- Geoff Johns for resurrecting the Green Lanterns Corps and adding new elements to GL mythos. honorary mention goes to Keith Giffen & Gerard Jones for rewriting Hal's origin in Emerald Dawn.

Best/definitive writer of Justice League- Grant Morrison and Mark Waid. Grant Morrison writes really good entertaining stories. Morrison's JLA was the best-selling DC comic of the 1990's. I enjoyed Mr. Waid's work on JLA Year One and Tower of Babel. Mr. Waid and Barry Kitson have done a wondeful job retelling the Justice League's first year which have defined the characters of Hal Jordan, Barry Allen and Black Canary

Definitive writer of Black Adam- Geoff Johns. I loved Johns' depiction of Black Adam as a three-dimensional ruthless but not evil anti-hero.

Definitive writer of Catman, Deadshot and Scandal: Gail Simone

Definitive writer of Teen Titans- Marv Wolfman who transformed the book into a best-seller and made the team look cool.

Definitive writer of Ra's Al Ghul: Dennis O'Neil. He made a character no more sinister or intriguing than Ra's Al Ghul

[rZi]

I class Geoff johns as my definitive Supes writter these days...

I would of pinned frank miller for bats but i mean...."im the god damn batman" really makes me question this decission.

[JamesJesse]

On Geoff Johns:

Flash, Wally West: It would have to be combination of Bill Loebs and Mark Waid. You could really trace his growth over these two guys' runs.

I REALLY loved Geoff Johns run, but his Wally was drawn from those who came before him. I would say Geoff is the definitive writer of the Flash Rogues though.

He can also vie for definitive writer on:
Atom Smasher
Black Adam
Booster Gold
Green Lantern Hal Jordan
Hawkman
Sinestro
Stargirl

just to name a few.

[shaxper]

I think that, if Mark Waid and Dennis O'Neil were writing all of DC's titles, they'd all be definitive versions for me.

[Leocomix]

Definitive writer of Deadshot, that has to be John Ostrander.

[Sir Tim Drake]

The definitive Superman writer was Elliot S! Maggin.

[ultramandingo]

.......grant morrison the definitive egg fu young writer

[NotSuper]

The definitive Superman writer was Elliot S! Maggin.
Agreed. Maggin's Superman is my favorite.

[Nightstar1441]

Definitive writer of Deadshot, that has to be John Ostrander.


Oh I so agree with that and we can add Ronald Raymond - Firestorm to Ostrander as well :cool:

[Chiroptera]

I've gotta say, Gail Simone has already defined herself as the ultimate Wonder Woman writer since she started writing the comic and the few others times she's had to write her as a guest star on other comics she wrote.

Paul Dini is my favorite when it comes to Batman. His Batman reminds me greatly of O'Neils. O'neil is my first thought when it comes to who writes a good Batman, and Dini is the best modern incarnation of that.
I'll be honest, Morrison's Batman is everything Batman SHOULDN'T be in my opinion.

[Darrell D.]

Best/definitive writer of Flash - Geoff Johns for introducing Hunter/Zoom and writing Wally's defining moments regarding his wife and children and wiping general knowledge of his alter ego.

Loebs and Waid would probably be the definite, I would place Johns somewhere in the latter top 5. Loebs really did a great job fleshing out Wally and Waid took that and ran with it, reintroducing hardcore superheroics to the book as he did. Johns run was pretty good, but the wiping of the knowledge of Wally's alter ego was a huge mistake; it was one of the things that made him so fun. It was like all of sudden Jack Knight wore a mask and costume and was called Starman. It took a lot of the charm from the character.


Best/definitive writer of Justice League- Grant Morrison and Mark Waid. Grant Morrison writes really good entertaining stories. Morrison's JLA was the best-selling DC comic of the 1990's. I enjoyed Mr. Waid's work on JLA Year One and Tower of Babel.

I would agree with this, but would definitely throw Gerry Conway (circa 1970's satellite era) and Giffen/Dematteis in there as well.

[Mr Omnis]

Ostrander for The Spectre.

[shaxper]

I've gotta say, Gail Simone has already defined herself as the ultimate Wonder Woman writer since she started writing the comic and the few others times she's had to write her as a guest star on other comics she wrote.

Paul Dini is my favorite when it comes to Batman. His Batman reminds me greatly of O'Neils. O'neil is my first thought when it comes to who writes a good Batman, and Dini is the best modern incarnation of that.
I'll be honest, Morrison's Batman is everything Batman SHOULDN'T be in my opinion.

I totally second everything you said about Dini, but I can't back you up on the Gail Simone nomination. George Perez was the best writer to ever put words to Wonder Woman in my opinion.

[Ilash]

Well, I haven't read enough comics from before the early ninetees to be able to conclusively answer this but based on my limited experience:

The Flash (Wally West) - Mark Waid. I don't care what you may think of his recent arc, no one did more for the character of Wally West than Mark Waid.

Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) - Grant Morrison. More even than Ron Marz who created the character, Morrison really got to the core of Kyle Rayner during his run on the JLA.

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) - Darwyn Cooke. I don't think I've seen anyone get more to the essence of Hal Jordan than Cooke did in New Frontier.

(As far as the overall Green Lantern mythos goes, you can't beat Geoff Johns but we're talking about individual characters.)

Superman - Beats me, seeing as how there have been so many takes on the character but again I've got to give the nod to Mark Waid for writing my favourite take on Superman in Kindgdom Come.

[botch]

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) - Darwyn Cooke. I don't think I've seen anyone get more to the essence of Hal Jordan than Cooke did in New Frontier.


most people will disagree and say Geoff Johns. you know why? the same thing everyone says, Geoff Johns made Hal Jordan interesting.

And you can hardly call Darwyn cooke's hal jordan definitive, i don't think you get what it means. it's not best incarnation(it is part of it) but influential. You are mentioning 1 story and a Hal Jordan that isn't used very much or would be the first one or main one people think about.

[botch]

Hal Jordan - Geoff Johns is the definitive writer. You cannot argue with this.

Wally West - Mark Waid. His run is considered influential and historic. It's the flash that everyone thinks of when they think of Wally. I liked Johns' run better but this is truth.

Batman - Frank Miller. who can argue with this?

Green Arrow - Dennis O Neill

Supes is tricky, you have the Weisinger led runs. Maggin was also big. No idea here.

Wonder Woman - Greg Rucka. most people say it was the best and definitive run.

[StrikeForce Albert]

Definitive writer of Deadshot, that has to be John Ostrander.

I agree

Animal Man--Grant Morrison

[spoon_jenkins]

I've only read a handful of Geoff Johns Green Lantern issues, but what I've read wasn't nearly as good as Steve Englehart. Maybe it's decompression.

[Miss Kitty Fantastico]

Zatanna - Grant Morrison. I can't claim long acquaintance with the character - in fact, Seven Soldiers was where I first discovered her, though I subsequently went back and picked up what I could, from the 'Zatanna's Search' origin TPB onwards - but I just can't imaging anyone writing her better than Morrison did in 7S. She was an adventurer, a performer, a bit of a show-off and a bit of a daredevil - someone who'll tackle a challenge and solve it with panache, because she likes putting on a show, and even if it's dangerous she loves to conquer it and make it look easy. And the way Morrison wrote her magic was, well, magical - not just a gimmick of saying stuff backwards and tossing fireballs around, in 7S she's actually bending the rules of reality, and it feels genuine.

It's too soon to judge Gail Simone's Wonder Woman - only two issues, and besides I have a lot of reading to do on previous WW runs - but she's one to watch. I wouldn't be surprised if, in five years' time, people are talking about her run being definitive.

[Will.S]

I've only read a handful of Geoff Johns Green Lantern issues, but what I've read wasn't nearly as good as Steve Englehart. Maybe it's decompression.
That's crazy talk.

[Darrell D.]

That's crazy talk.

It may be crazy, but it's true.

[Will.S]

It may be crazy, but it's true.
How was it decompressed?

[Ilash]

most people will disagree and say Geoff Johns. you know why? the same thing everyone says, Geoff Johns made Hal Jordan interesting.

And you can hardly call Darwyn cooke's hal jordan definitive, i don't think you get what it means. it's not best incarnation(it is part of it) but influential. You are mentioning 1 story and a Hal Jordan that isn't used very much or would be the first one or main one people think about.

Well considering that we're in the middle of Geoff's run, you can hardly call his take on Hal "influential" yet? And while most would agree that Geoff has done a terrific job with the GL mythos, I've seen enough dissenters to say that significantly less than "everyone" think that Geoff Johns has made Hal interesting.

I know that it was just one story (even if it is one of the most acclaimed DC stories to come out in at least the last twenty years) but, as far as I'm concerned, Darwyn Cooke simply nailed who Hal Jordan is, in a way that I have seen no one else do - not even Geoff Johns.

[Ilash]

most people will disagree and say Geoff Johns. you know why? the same thing everyone says, Geoff Johns made Hal Jordan interesting.

And you can hardly call Darwyn cooke's hal jordan definitive, i don't think you get what it means. it's not best incarnation(it is part of it) but influential. You are mentioning 1 story and a Hal Jordan that isn't used very much or would be the first one or main one people think about.

Well considering that we're in the middle of Geoff's run, you can hardly call his take on Hal "influential" yet? And while most would agree that Geoff has done a terrific job with the GL mythos, I've seen enough dissenters to say that significantly less than "everyone" think that Geoff Johns has made Hal interesting.

I know that it was just one story (even if it is one of the most acclaimed DC stories to come out in at least the last twenty years) but, as far as I'm concerned, Darwyn Cooke simply nailed who Hal Jordan is, in a way that I have seen no one else do - not even Geoff Johns.

[Lemurion]

For me, it's Denny O'Neil who defines Batman.

[Darrell D.]

Hal Jordan - Geoff Johns is the definitive writer. You cannot argue with this.

Except I can and will. You know what, if we are really going to talk 'definite', let's go back to the well and say 'John Broome'. Beyond that, I can name a couple others, such as Dennis O'Neil or Steve Englehart.



Wally West - Mark Waid. His run is considered influential and historic. It's the flash that everyone thinks of when they think of Wally. I liked Johns' run better but this is truth.

Again, I like Waid's version, but I would definitely put it even with Loebs'. Loebs really took the shallow character that Mike Baron put forth and slowly changed the character that Waid then built upon.

Batman - Frank Miller. who can argue with this?
Again, O'Neil, Englehart, and Wein all had definite runs. With a character as old as Batman, it is a little hard to pin down one definite run.

Green Arrow - Dennis O Neill
Tie with Mike Grell.

Supes is tricky, you have the Weisinger led runs. Maggin was also big. No idea here.
Superman has the same problem as Batman. So many runs, so many different creators. Cary Bates, Maggin, Byrne, Wolfman, Stern, Simonson, Jurgens, and of course, Seigel, all had memorable runs.

[stelok]

the writer and artist who defined the character of Hans von Hammer AKA The Hammer of Hell are Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, who depicted him as sorrowful, dutiful and honorable German soldier who was just fighting in the line of duty for his country. He considered shooting down an unarmed or surrendering enemy pilot as tantamount to murder. He killed men with regret but respected their valor.

[Roger Stern]

Superman has the same problem as Batman. So many runs, so many different creators. Cary Bates, Maggin, Byrne, Wolfman, Stern, Simonson, Jurgens, and of course, Siegel, all had memorable runs.

Thanks for including me amid such talented company.

-- Uncle Rog

[dupersuper]

I don't know how definitinve it was, but I always really liked Gerard Jones run on GL.

[Darrell D.]

Thanks for including me amid such talented company.

-- Uncle Rog

Hey, you deserve it. Your Superman run was great. You have a knack for writing great plots, with realistic dialogue in unrealistic settings. Not many can do that.

[Alexx1]

Robin- Chuck Dixon
Black Canary, Oracle - Gail Simone
Huntress - Greg Rucka
Batman - I can't pick between Frank Miller or Paul Dini
Kate "Manhunter" Spencer- Marc Andreyko
Catwoman - Ed Brubaker

Characters/Writers with most potential to claim the title.

Wonder Woman - Gail Simone
Nightwing - Peter Tomasi

[Alexx1]

double post

[Darrell D.]

Thanks for including me amid such talented company.

-- Uncle Rog

It's funny, I watched the Superman: Doomsday video last week and it made me nostalgic for the Death and Return storyline. I dug it out and read it over the weekend.
There are so many great moments in the book; one that stands out is Bibbo in his bar, asking God to take care of his pal, 'Sooperman'. It is such a true and powerful scene, with your dialogue and Butch Guice's subtle yet emotional art.
Those scenes are the ones I remember the most from the series. Another is the scene with Inspector Henderson and Maggie Sawyer. It was just a two page scene, but in those two pages you let us in to a private moment between these two and did it beautifully.
Your Avengers run, had many scenes like this, but the two page scene between Monica and Steve Rogers at the end of 'Under Siege' was one of my favorites. In a lesser writer, it would have come off as ham-handed; you made it an emotionally powerful scene.

Thanks for the opportunity to let you know how much I have enjoyed your writing.

[Gilda Dent]

Black Canary and Huntress: Gail Simone
Batman: Mike Parobeck
Nightwing: Chuck Dixon
Superman: Otto Binder
Supergirl: Otto Binder
Wonder Woman: George Perez
Flash: John Broome
Green Lantern: John Broome

Teams:

Justice League: Gardner Fox
Justice Society: Gardner Fox
Teen Titans: Marv Wolfman
LOSH: Jim Shooter

[jv2k]

Batman:
For me it would have to be Paul Dini. I literally grew up watching the DCAU. Batman:TAS came out around the time I was three and JLU ended a few months before I turned 17. When I think DC the first thing that comes to mind is the DCAU toons and for the most part Paul Dini was one of the best writers in the universe. JL aside he also played a big roll in building it. The biggest roll he played was in helping shape the DCAU batman.

[Gozwald73]

Definitive writer of Catman, Deadshot and Scandal: Gail Simone

would like to edit to: Definitive writer of any characters she could get her mitts on: Gail Simone.