What Comics Creators Are An Insta-buy For You?

[Gail Simone]

Please don't say me, as always. But what writers or artists mean an instant, no-questions-asked purchase for you?

Gail

[Flight]

Dan Slott & Brian K. Vaughan

[sloane]

In terms of authors, hands down is Neil Gaiman. He has a deft touch with storytelling that appeals to me immensely. After him I'd say Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis. They are each brilliant in their storytelling.

As for artists Jim Lee is a fave but I'm not sure I'd buy a book simply because he was on it. I can't resist when Michael Kaluta or Michael Zulli do a book but they're not your regular comic artist types, same goes for Bill Sienkiewicz.

[TCJohnson]

The team of Keith Giffen, J.M.Dematties and Kevin Maguire.


Dwayne McDuffie

I don't like everything Mark Waid has done, but I like enough that I will always give a few issues a try.

Bruce Timm

Neil Gaiman

[mortari]

Sergio Argones
Peter David
Mark Waid
Neil Gaiman

[Expletive Deleted]

Grant Morrison and Alan Moore.

[mwm1331]

None honestly.
There are a number of creators whose work I respect immensley, but I wouldn't buy a project just becasue they were on it, or had created it.

[Mia]

None honestly.
There are a number of creators whose work I respect immensley, but I wouldn't buy a project just becasue they were on it, or had created it.

Good point. If a creator I like is working on a character I don't like and don't care fore, I won't bother with it.
But 9/10 times I will try anything drawn by Jim Lee.

[angryrican]

Warren Ellis
Grant Morrison
Brian K Vaughan
Frank Miller
Jim Lee
(although "All-Star Batman and Robin is...just...awful.)
John Cassaday
George Perez

[SoulOnIce]

Warren Ellis
Alan Moore
Garth Ennis
Dan Clowes
James Sturm
Brian K. Vaughan
Bryan Hitch
Grant Morrison
Frank Quitely
Mark Millar

[NickThompson]

It changes a lot, but right now I'd say Bendis, Hine, Whedon and Jenkins. I'm pretty much certain to in some form try Millar, Slott and Miller as well.

[CaptMagellan]

Grant Morrison
Neil Gaiman
Frank Miller (All-Star is making me rethink that one though)

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Good point. If a creator I like is working on a character I don't like and don't care fore, I won't bother with it.
But 9/10 times I will try anything drawn by Jim Lee.

Pretty much my stance, too (although I will give it a shot if it's not a character I know all that well). Just replace Jim Lee with Alan Moore on that last bit.

[Gaz]

It changes a lot, but right now I'd say Bendis, Hine, Whedon and Jenkins. I'm pretty much certain to in some form try Millar, Slott and Miller as well.
You have to say that or Brian won't post you your cheque, right? :D

[MacQuarrie]

Sergio Aragones.
Stan Sakai.
Scott Shaw!
Ian Boothby.
Patrick Oliffe.
Jeff Smith.
Giffen, De Matteis and Maguire.

Kurt Busiek used to be on this list, but the Avengers Kang epic dropped him down to the "certainly will give it a look" list.
Likewise Perez.

20 years ago, John Byrne was at the top of this list. He's been on the certainly take a look list for about that long, though Spider-Man Chapter One almost pushed him off.

[Converge]

Grant Morrison and Frank Miller.

[jwmojo]

I used to just blindly follow characters, not writer's, but since I started reading comics again (a little less than a year ago) I'm starting to get a feel for the different writers...and learning that they make all the difference.

I've become a big fan of Bendis, Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale (especially Loeb and Sale together), Slott's working his way onto the list, Millar is pretty much a must-buy, Neil Gaiman, Brian K. Vaughan, Peter David. I'm sure that the list will grow, the more I read. I hope it doesn't grow too much, though, my pull list is already a bit unwieldy.

[Gavin Higginbotham, BotF]

Erik Larsen - hands down, my fave comics creator EVER. I love SAVAGE DRAGON more than any other comic book and even if Erik's just coloring, I'll be buying it.

Robert Kirkman

Fabian Nicieza

Joe Madureira

Jim Lee

Rob Liefeld

John Romita JR

[The Mirrorball Man]

David B.
Joann Sfar
Lewis Trondheim
Moebius
Grant Morrison

[ChildOfTheDarkholde]

When it comes to writers I have to go with NONE.
I love what Bendis is doing in New Avengers, Geoff Johns in JSA CLassified and especially Marc Andreyko in Manhunter, but I never follow them indiscriminately, regardless of what they do.

However, with artists...I actually do that.
But only two artists:George Perez and Jose Luis garcia Lopez.
No matter who writes, no matter what character, I will buy anything and everything they pencil.

[stealthwise]

There's only three right now.

Alan Moore
Neil Gaiman
Brian K Vaughan

[Corsair]

Short list:

Darwyn Cooke
Kurt Busiek

Quite a few others I frequently enjoy, but not necessarily a sure thing. Dan Slott, Neil Gaiman, Sean McKeever, Robert Kirkman, Ed Brubaker, J. Michael Strackys...Straszin...Straczynski.

[anthony!]

When its Grant Morrison teamed with Frank Quitely— thats an insta-buy.

[Gilda Dent]

Alan Moore
Mark Waid
Kurt Busiek
Terry Moore (that's probably cheating, as he does only one ongoing, but whatever he does in addition to SIP in the future I will buy)

Gilda

[The Mirrorball Man]

Hmmm... Like Rob Gordon, I have to update my list already:

David B.
Joann Sfar
Lewis Trondheim
Moebius
Grant Morrison
Mike Allred
Darwyn Cooke

[Oracle_0128]

I tend to buy a book for the characters and not necessarily the creative team. I'll buy almost anything with Babs, Nightwing, Batman, Wolverine, Jean Grey...regardless of who writes it.

[TheLyle]

These writers are insta-buys at least for the first issue:

J Torres
Andi Watson
Chynna Cluggston
Mike Carey
Adam Warren

That's all I can think of so far. With everyone else I can think of there's an eventual, "but not on..."

Tho' Sean McKeever is getting back on my good list. Sentinel and Mary Jane has gone far to making up for the awful final issues of The Waiting Place.

[TheLyle]

...and I spend all that time thinking about the post and forget Peter Milligan.

Also, I usually check out anything that Vertigo editor Shelly Bond has worked on. She's the one editor who's worked on so many projects I liked that I noticed her name.

[sixstringguild]

Jim Lee
Darwyn Cooke
George Perez (my all-time favorite artist)...

[Briareos]

Masamune Shirow
Grant Morrison
Jim Lee
Michael Turner
Warren Ellis
Tim Sale
Talent Caldwell

Gail Simone

Almost instant buys:

Peter Milligan
Geoff Johns
Mark Waid
Brian K Vaugn
Bendis
Loeb
Chuck Dixon
Mark Millar

I'll probably edit this later :)

[GeorgeG]

None as well. If I don't like/or care for the character or don't think the character & writer fit, I won't buy it just because of the writer.

[Magneto_X]

Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, Bryan Hitch, Mark Millar, Rumiko Takhashi, Masemune Shirow, Mark Bagley, Warren Ellis, Sergio Aragones, Giffen, Grant Morrison, Joss Whedon, Paul Jenkins, Jim Lee, John cassady, George Perez, Bruce Timm, Alan Davis, Joe Madureira (sp?), Carlos Pacheco, Geoff Johns, Salvador Larocca, Darwyn Cooke, Peter David, Adam Warren, Fred Perry, Brian Michael Bendis.

[titanfan]

None for me as well. I don't think any comic book creator is that good. Comic books are collaborative efforts, so no creator alone will have me on board for 100%. It's a combination of story + art + character for me.

[Brad Curran]

Darwyn Cooke, Grant Morrison, Mike Mignola, Alan Moore, Bruce Timm, Doug TenNapel (just to throw one out there that no one else will), the Hernandez Bros., and Frank Quitely spring to mind. If we can add creators that have passed away or are essentially retired, then Eisner, Romita Sr., Ditko and Kirby are up there too. Brian Lee O'Malley's probably going to be up there once I finally pick up Scott Pilgrim vol. 2. Same thing with Craig Thompson and Carnet de Voyage.

[Joe Rice]

YAYfun.

Grant Morrison
Frank Quitely
Los. Bros. Hernandez
Chris Ware
Adrian Tomine
Dan Clowes
Jim Mahfood
Paul Pope
Mike Mignola
Darwyn Cooke
Eric Powell
Jordan Crane
Kyle Baker

Close, like, Will definitely give it a try:

Garth Ennis
Alan Moore
Brian Vaughn
Robert Kirkman
Ed Brubaker

[Bored at 3:00AM]

At the moment, Darwyn Cooke, Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns.

About ten years ago, I would have said Frank Miller, Alan Moore & John Byrne.

[Rasputin]

Ed McGuiness
Geoff Johns
Mark Waid
Brian K. Vaughn

[Cei-U!]

Steve Rude is the only person who comes to mind. I'll usually pick up work by George Perez, Jerry Ordway, Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross if I like the characters they're doing. That's it, though.

Cei-U!
I summon the choosy sunuvagun!

[Cayman]

Grant Morrison

Bendis, Vaughan, Millar, and Carey are close though.

Cay

[PatrickG]

I don't buy the complete work of any creator but if the project/characters interest me then...

Grant Morrison. Tom Peyer. Mark Millar. Jeph Loeb. Joss Whedon. Mark Waid.

Robert Kirkman may soon join the list if he does more projects that interest me. I've missed a lot of his stuff due to lack of interest in the CONCEPT but I love his style of execution and the upcoming stuff from him sounds cool.

On the art side...

Ed McGuiness. Mike Wieringo. Mike Allred. Howard Porter. Tim Sale. Ramos. Mad. Jim Lee.

Ed Benes and Talent Caldwell are my dark horse candidates. Benes draws a lot like Lee and Caldwell draws a lot like Turner but I think they both surpass their mentors in some respects. Lee's characters look heavy and forcefully posed whereas Benes' stuff feels more fluid to me even if it lacks some of the craftmanship of Lee's details. Caldwell, IMO, is much stronger at sequentials, layouts and anatomy than Turner despite a similar style.

[Charles RB]

Paul Grist. Jack Staff and Kane I picked up based on good word-of-mouth, and then kept picking them up and went for Burglar Bill because Grist is a master.

[Kyuubi]

Well, excluding the one that shall not be named, mine are all artists.

Jim Lee
Steve McNiven
Ed Benes
Joe Bennett
Josh Middleston
Adrian Alphona
Greg Land
Bryan Hitch

[Screwtape]

Hm. I would say:

-Writers-
Alan Moore
Neil Gaiman
Grant Morrison
Chris Ware
Dan Clowes

-Artists-
J.H. Williams III
Michael Wm. Kaluta
Brian Bolland
John Totleben
Frank Quitely
Dave McKean

[Adem]

Dan Slott
Brian K. Vaughan
Bruce Timm
Mark Waid
Mark Millar
Eric Powell
Chuck Dixon

[JeffreyWKramer]

Nobody is an instant-buy for me. The best anyone gets is an "instant look" - I'll always give their stuff a look.

People in that category for me include Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, JH Williams III, P. Craig Russell, Joe Kubert, Cully Hamner, Dan Clowes, Milo Manara, Mike Mignola, Brian K. Vaughan, Mike Carey, Robert Kirkman, Kyle Baker and Darwyn Cooke. I'll buy their stuff a lot more often than not, but nobody gets an instant-buy.

[Ringslinger76]

Gail Simone (Always)
Mark Waid (Mr. Automatic)
Frank Cho (Love Liberty Meadows)
Anyone from the Kubert household
Geoff Johns (He brought back Hal)
Kurt Busiek
Paul Dini
Tim Sale
Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2)
Kou Fumizuki (Ai Yori Aoshi)

[sk716]

I'm not allowed to participate beacause I can't say Simone. But at this point that's the only name on a cover that gurantees it will make it into this household.

I'll pick up anything with a Dini/Timm combo, Monkey Boy couldn't care less about the Diniverse so if I don't demand it, he won't pick it up on his weekly shopping trip.

I used to have faith in Jim Lee but after All Star Batman & Robin, I've learned my lesson. Monkey Boy hasn't read All Star Batman & Robin, yet. Maybe I'll tell him to skip reading it and he can keep the faith.

I've also been known to pick up a Bongo title if Ian wrote for the issue.

[Jankenstein]

Mike Kaluta, Charles Vess, P. Craig Russell, Gary Gianni, Mike Mignola, Mark Schultz, Paul Chadwick, William Stout, Al Williamson, Neil Gaiman.

[Jack Zodiac]

Mike Mignola and Darwyn Cooke are the only writers I will buy absolutely anything from. I'll also buy whatever they lend their amazing artistic skills to. The only artist (not cartoonist) I'll buy no matter what they're drawing is J. H. Williams III. He could draw the next Onslaught Bullshit mini-series and I'd buy it. He could draw twenty-two pages of someone taking a shit. No dialogue, just a few onomatopoeias, of some guy taking a sweaty, vein-bursting shit and I'd still buy it.

[rick]

Kim Deitch, Robert Crumb, Dave Sim.

Maybe one or two othes.

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

None in comics.

There are artists I'll ALWAYS look at. But I learned long ago that nothing is guaranteed. So I always give it a read.

Artists on the always look at list.

Barry Windsor Smith
Colleen Doran
James A. Owen
Neil Gaiman
Alan Moore
Warren Ellis
Mark Waid
Geoff Johns
Grant Morrison
Jim Shooter
Peter David
Tad Williams
JM Dematteis
Dave Gibbons
John Cassaday
John Ostrander
Tim Truman

But everyone is capable of writing or drawing a comic I may not like. I love Warren Ellis' Planetary and Transmetropolitan series, but I never could get into Global Frequency. I think Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers and JLA series are awesome. That said, I'm not so crazy on New X Men. So no one is perfect. But with this list I'll give them a chance, no matter what.

JP

[DavidAllred]

There are lots of creators that will always demand a "leaf-through" for me, but none I'd say that I just out right purchase no questions asked.

[pariah-1972]

Gail simone :p
john byrne
jim lee
george perez
marv wolfman

[Shisho]

Warren Ellis
Becky Cloonan

[king mob]

The only ones I'll pick up regardless are The Hernandez Brothers & Alan Moore. There's some I'll look at but the majority of creators working in superhero comics are grinding out the sort of superhero stuff I dislike intensely.

[LewisH]

Geoff Johns comes pretty close.

[hellokittykat]

Just Gail. Might start paying attention to Stjepan Sejic though and he might get added since his work is so beautiful. I don't even read Witchblade but gosh that's pretty art.

[Infra-Man]

Mike Allred
Darwyn Cooke
Neil Gaiman
Eric Powell
Alan Moore
Stan Sakai
Brian K. Vaughan
James Robinson
Mike Mignola
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Craig Thompson
Adrian Tomine
Seth

Almost there:
Paul Grist
Robert Kirkman

[Karl H]

None I would absolutely purchase but I flick through the works of:

Gaiman
Moore
Ellis
Morrison
Millar
Carey
Brubaker

Cassaday
Quitely

much more than most

[Ed Cunard]

Adrian Tomine
Seth
Kevin Huizenga
Gabrielle Bell
Darwyn Cooke
Paul Chadwick
Jim Rugg
Pat Lewis.

I may be forgetting some, but that's pretty much it.

[MartinRedmond]

Bryan O'Malley so far no disapointment!!!

[will_butler]

Warren Ellis. I've almost completed my Ellis collection, and just lack (I think) his Excalibur run and a few assorted odds and ends. Although I may not add the Strange(r) Kiss/Killings stuff, as it's not my thing.

Aside from that, I'll always at least check out anything from Gerber, Moore, Ennis, and Vaughan. And Brubaker's quickly establishing himself as a favorite of mine, as well.

It's a good time to be a comic fan.

Will

[Brack360]

Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and Brian K. Vaughan.

[Tyr]

Well for me there are really no insta-buys, just near insta-buys, where I ask if what the story is about, what characters are involved, and If I like the writer I buy it. My list of those folks would be.

You (Sorry Gail, but I can't leave you out even if you ask me to.)
J. Michael Straczynski
Greg Rucka
Brian Bendis
Jodi Picoult

And heres a couple of writers I would like to see try their hands at comics
David Eddings
Elaine Cunningham

[dragonbat]

Alphabetically by last name:

Christos N Gage

Russell Lissau (He's new, but when he talks about his vision of Batman on the DCMB or Wing-Nuts, it's almost scary how it matches my own.)

Gail Simone

Tamora Pierce

[JohnPopa]

Warren Ellis if its a creator-owned book. Anything Alan Moore does.

Lee Weeks as an artist is someone who's work I never miss.

Anything Dan Brereton touches I buy.

[Rattlehead]

Like most people, I just won't blindly buy something a creator does, but there is people I will always give a chance to.

Writers:
Alan Moore
Grant Morrison
Christos Gage
Gail Simone
Mark Waid
Kurt Busiek
Roger Stern
Keith Giffen
Garth Ennis
Stan Lee
Geoff Johns
Warren Ellis
Joe Casey


Artists:
JH Williams III
John Byrne
Frank Quietly
Jim Lee
George Perez
Dale Eaglesham
Doug Mahnke
Travis Charest
Neil Googe is quickly becoming a fave.

[KevinTBrown]

Nice ressurection of a thread, by the way. ;)

In no particular order:

Geoff Johns
Jim Starlin
Matt Wagner
Greg Rucka
Frank Quitely
Darwyn Cooke
Cliff Chiang
Jordi Bernet

And many more..... Including Scott's red-headed wife. :p

[Red Jack]

I don't automatically buy anything without reading a few pages but the writes that I automatically pick up and read are:

Kurt Busiek
Gail Simone
Warrren Ellis
Mike Carey
Dwayne McDuffie
Linda Medley
Morrison
Waid
Rogers
Colleen Doran
Neil Gaiman
Marc Andreyko
Cristos Gage
Tony Bedard
Bendis
JMS
Peter David
Reggie Hudlin
Azzarello

[WhiteRose]

Amanda Connor for art. Greg Rucka, Marc Andreyko and Gail for writing. I can't afford to have many more than that.

[pariah-1972]

I'm gonna go and say Chris Claremont just because even when hes bad i still love him.

i'm not stuck in the 80s at all.:o

[Zeb Oswalt]

Please don't say me, as always. But what writers or artists mean an instant, no-questions-asked purchase for you?

Gail


You ACTULY....OK WHOM ELSE. mAYBE jOHN bYNRE. Casn't realy say if the project is lame I might not boyther. Doesn't matter witrh the rest. I didn't pick up Divan what ever it was Jim KLee was doing and I'm a huge JHim Lee fan. I'm kind of cyharcter driven I guess. I like Geof Johns work, but am selective on the stuff I read like if it's something I know I'll like. But, I did go back to JLA when Morison picked it up. Even though I droped it after the wholew JLa, but Wonder Woman was beat by Obsidan. But, came back when Morison took over had been a big fan of the group with the bald headed mage I forget the name of the group. Billy Zane played him ion the TV movie. Any way I guess Morisson. Probly Nicola Scott. Any artist who admits dances to the Around Comics theam is ok in my book. Oh and the Kuberts. All three of them.

[berk]

Gilbert Hernandez
Jaime Hernandez
Alan Moore

Maybe I shouldn't include Moore since I haven't gotten round to Lost Girls yet and I'm not sure I will.

Daniel Clowes would have been there a few years ago but he hasn't done anything lately and his most recent stuff has been up and down. Grant Morrsion would probably be there if he forsook DC/Marvel & did only original material. Steve Gerber should probably be there, but I wouldn't buy, say, a Superman book from him, just because I have no interest in the character no matter who's writing it. Paul Gulacy is close, but I probably won't buy the upcoming superhero thing he's doing for Marvel.

[ComicbookJeff]

Francis Manupal
Niko Henrichon
Adrian Tomine
Brian Vaughn
Gipi

[pariah-1972]

Gilbert Hernandez
Jaime Hernandez
Alan Moore

Maybe I shouldn't include Moore since I haven't gotten round to Lost Girls yet and I'm not sure I will.

Daniel Clowes would have been there a few years ago but he hasn't done anything lately and his most recent stuff has been up and down. Grant Morrsion would probably be there if he forsook DC/Marvel & did only original material. Steve Gerber should probably be there, but I wouldn't buy, say, a Superman book from him, just because I have no interest in the character no matter who's writing it. Paul Gulacy is close, but I probably won't buy the upcoming superhero thing he's doing for Marvel.I don't think we are required to like everything they do are we?
i wasn't crazy about gen-13 just because it felt so exploitive to me.
not to mention an x-men rip off.

[Magneto_X]

Writers:

Joss Whedon
Warren Ellis
Ed Brubaker
Gail Simone
Kurt Busiek
Mark Waid
Geoff Johns
Mark Millar
Grant Morrison
Alan Moore

Artists:

George Perez
Sergio Aragones
Stan Sakai
Ed Benes
Carlos Pacheco
Salvador Larocca
Frank Quietly
Bryan Hitch
Nicola Scott
Amanda Conner

There's more but that's all I can think of at the moment.

[Night Swordsman]

George Perez.

And that is about it. I am not a big fan of John Byrne the writer as i was when he was just an artist. I did enjoy his artwork when i was a child.

Warren Ellis puts out TOO many books to keep up with. Sigh. I DO go for back issues of his over many others.

I do usually buy whatever Gail writes,but i am not a big Wonder Woman fan,so i may not start her run. I WILL be purchasing the book for a friend,who will let me read it first if i desire.

I also enjoy Dan Slott's work,and he is a VERY funny person irl. I am looking forward to his new Marvel project.

[stealthwise]

I forgot about Brubaker. I'll buy anything of his, unless it has to do with X-Men, because I didn't care for Deadly Genesis.

And JH Williams III and Frank Quitely are the only two artists that can convince me to buy their works with very little, um, convincing.

[Chris Hansbrough]

Christos Gage. That's it nowdays.

[mattgoldey]

I'm more closely tied to characters than to writers & artists, however these writers will get an insta-buy.

Brian K Vaughan (I have a whole BKV shelf in my bookcase)
Joss Whedon
Giffen, De Matteis and Maguire
Gail (sorry, I had to)

[the4thpip]

Lewis Trondheim

[Deathstroke]

Peter David and Greg Rucka.

[Duy]

Alan Moore, George Perez, JH Williams III, Chris Ware, and, if the premise sounds intriguing enough, Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison.

[Alan Lynch]

I can't think of one, really. And I've been trying. But I don't think there's a single creator out there whose work I'll buy for them alone; I've endured crappy books for nice art for a while, but never for long. Closest I can come is paying attention to solicits and the like if I see certain names attached.

[Lunar Daydreamer]

Grant Morrison.

Always absolute genius. Sometimes he goes over my head a little, but it’s always affecting, he really makes me think – and always entertains.

[big_dippin]

Ed Brubaker
&
Alan Moore