Peter Milligan

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Definitely one of the MOST underrated writer from the British wave, while everyone was drooling over Neil, Alan, Morrison, Ennis, Ellis, Delano, etc; Milligan came in wrote a lot of amazing comics that have gone unnoticed.

Having very poetic touch of that Moore (at times outdoing him too) and the same off oddbeat, surreal, weirdness of Morrison and Ellis (at times outdoing them too) to being having some really down to earth/slice of life stories. I'm sad that most of his works haven't been reprinted or collected, they're just there waiting to be read.

If anyone is interested in him, check these stories out
Girl (In par with Morrison's Kill Yr Boyfriend, if not, outdoing it)

Egypt (man travels back to ancient Egypt and takes over the body of Vin Centhotep)

HEWLIGAN'S HAIRCUT (a interesting tale of haircuts and mental illness)

Enigma (one of the greatest superhero story you've never read, his most powerful works)

Bad Company (A look at what a futuristic, dystopian, bleak world/war can do to a person)

Shade The Changing Man (AMAZING, weirdo, surreal superhero tale)

Face (a medical horror story)

His Batman/Detective stories (some really solid bats/tec stories)

Strange Days & Rogan Gosh (super, post-modernist psychedelic, weirdo, sci-fi tales)

The Eaters (a family that eats people)

The Extremist ("woman driven to insanity and murder by the death of her husband. As she slowly descends into becoming the Extremist")

Namor: Submariner (A interest take on the Namor mythos)

Animal Man (In par and to an extent an extension to Morrison's work)

Skreemer ( a sci-fi/dystopia/gangster/hardboiled tale)

[Greg Anderson]

Only this past year or 2 I've been getting into Milligan's work. I wanted to pick up his X-Statix Omnibus but it was out of print. I have his first Shade trade but for some odd reason couldn't finish it. Found it to be very dense and bizarre, which is awkward because dense and bizarre is right in my interest level. I'll maybe try to get through it today.

I think I was one of the only people who loved Greek Street. I truly don't know how people weren't into that series, I was hooked every single month it was being released. Dig his Hellblazer (although I've missed the last few issues due to money) and like what I've read of Justice League Dark. I'm dying to read Enigma. That wasn't released in trade, no?

I absolutely love his style. You never know what you're going to expect with his stories. People sometimes say he's weird just to be weird, but I just see it as him having fun and taking advantage of what can be done with the medium and storytelling. You have all these types of stories, I feel his style is such a great change of pace and fresh air. I've overall always been into surrealism and finding meaning and truth through them, so he's right up my alley. I also love how he attempts to portray humanity through sexuality and he's definitely a forerunner in showcasing and pushing queer characters in comics though he's often overlooked on that front.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Only this past year or 2 I've been getting into Milligan's work. I wanted to pick up his X-Statix Omnibus but it was out of print. I have his first Shade trade but for some odd reason couldn't finish it. Found it to be very dense and bizarre, which is awkward because dense and bizarre is right in my interest level. I'll maybe try to get through it today.

I think I was one of the only people who loved Greek Street. I truly don't know how people weren't into that series, I was hooked every single month it was being released. Dig his Hellblazer (although I've missed the last few issues due to money) and like what I've read of Justice League Dark. I'm dying to read Enigma. That wasn't released in trade, no?

I absolutely love his style. You never know what you're going to expect with his stories. People sometimes say he's weird just to be weird, but I just see it as him having fun and taking advantage of what can be done with the medium and storytelling. You have all these types of stories, I feel his style is such a great change of pace and fresh air. I've overall always been into surrealism and finding meaning and truth through them, so he's right up my alley. I also love how he attempts to portray humanity through sexuality and he's definitely a forerunner in showcasing and pushing queer characters in comics though he's often overlooked on that front.

You can still get a copy of X-statix, just google it, use google shop and see whose selling.

Greek Street and Hellblazer, for me, started off really weak but it got progressively strong as it went on, sad Greek Street got canceled. And Enigma is a tour de force, so beautiful but it trade is out of print! COME ON VERTIGO!

Do love his take on identity and sexuality and has pushed a lot of bi, gay, lesbian, transgendered people in his work, which is great to see/read. He works is pretty much a in depth look at Sexuality and identity.

Shade is an interesting book, give it another trying, it's a hell of a ride.

I think he's the out and out smartest, the most intellectual, of anyone in comics right now.

That doesn't make him the best, but the things he does are always daring, always fully realized, always 3 dimensional, always erudite.

I don't think his craft is really up there with Moore or even Morrison some of the time, and when he's not fully invested in what he's doing it sort of shows, but even then you can see that he's just so damn SMART about everything.

Looking at something like Infinity Inc...you know, I don't know how much he wanted to write that. But damn if those characters, what he was doing with psychology there, what he always does with identity, damn if that isn't some of the most brilliant stuff that has ever been done with CHARACTERS in the MU or DCU.

He has a lot of incredible works, but I'd say Enigma is one of the best things ever written for comics.

Milligan, it's weird, when he's on his game, HE'S ON HIS GAME but when he's not, it shows and it's horrible! While not always in par with Morrison or Moore, there are those times where he outshines them but those can be a bit few and far.

Also, another thing I have beef with is, while many comic fans push Morrison out there as the weird, post-modernist psychedelic, surrealist writer and make it seem like he's only one whose done something like that or has done it better, they need to read some Milligan. Because Milligan can be in par when it comes to stories, if not, sometimes outshining Morrison.

Infinity Inc would have been great he had the freedom and creative control that would allowed to take things further and if there wasn't an artist problem (rotating artists or not a set artist, if I remember) but other than that, solid stuff.

Enigma is one of those comics that is criminally underrated. Hell, Morrison himself has praised the hell out of it, "I’ve always regarded Peter as the best writer, in the grown-up, literary sense, to have graced the comic book business (as an adult exploration of the superhero concept, I believe his Enigma book is far superior to Watchmen in every significant way)."
-Grant Morrison

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/1108...-Morrison.html

[T Hedge Coke]

I've never read a Milligan comic and found it horrible. And I've read a few.

Seriously, even his Elektra, which is generally considered to have not been a great idea, even by Milligan, himself, who wrote it to editorial conceit, has a lot to recommend it and remains readable. Lots of "theatre of life" stuff and the first positive male-to-female transitioning and adjacent romance I can think of, the rare for Marvel of the era interracial friends with benefits, too. And, the bits involving Matt were genuine enough, while obviously homage to other things.

But, Face? Eaters? Sooner or Later? Enigma? All amazing.

Hewligan's Haircut? Awesome. His Batman is still excellent. Infinity Inc and his X-Men turn have their flaws, yes, but they remain readable while a lot of contemporaneously published DC or Marvel stuff has clearly seen its last days of relevance.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

I have yet to read his Elektra or Sooner or Later, need to get on that.

Has anyone read his Shadows, Brix Barton or Tharg stuff?

[T Hedge Coke]

"If the rum won't come to Barton, then Barton must go to the rum."

Bix Barton's a fine thing. It has an energy coursing through it that's only partly fueled by the aggressive tone and delicate horror. Worth reading if you can. Funny, yet still somewhat horrific.

"Michael Cane, Bix Barton's trusty companion, walking stick, and occasional cosh."

[Scorpion 76]

I've never read a Milligan comic and found it horrible. And I've read a few.

Seriously, even his Elektra, which is generally considered to have not been a great idea, even by Milligan, himself, who wrote it to editorial conceit, has a lot to recommend it and remains readable. Lots of "theatre of life" stuff and the first positive male-to-female transitioning and adjacent romance I can think of, the rare for Marvel of the era interracial friends with benefits, too. And, the bits involving Matt were genuine enough, while obviously homage to other things.

But, Face? Eaters? Sooner or Later? Enigma? All amazing.

Hewligan's Haircut? Awesome. His Batman is still excellent. Infinity Inc and his X-Men turn have their flaws, yes, but they remain readable while a lot of contemporaneously published DC or Marvel stuff has clearly seen its last days of relevance.

Wow! Bix Barton! Haven't thought about that strip in ages! All the surreal imagery and psychedelic colouring by Brendan Mccarthy. A definite classic. It was in 2000ad around the same time as 'Chopper: Song Of The Surfer', 'Slaine: The Horned God' and 'Zenith: Phase III' so I didnt even really bother with it at first, then as I re-read it began to stand out more. Even the Dredd stuff was great around then, too, with the build up to 'Necropolis', which was unfortunately a lot better than that 26 part 'epic' itself.
I loved Milligan and Dillon's 'Skreemer' mini-series back then, too, but find it a little formulaic now. Perhaps he just dumbed down his style to suit the market too much, or something. I don't think Pete Milligan has been underrated so much as not raved about(and against!!) on the level of Moore, Morrison, Gaiman, et al, which I imagine suits him perfectly. He certainly isn't short of work, and he's having something of a renaissance at DC just now. My first contact with his work was at the tender age of 8, reading 'Bad Company' for the first time and when I think of reading classics like this and 'Halo Jones'(Yes, Tim Callahan it IS a classic!!!!)so young, its unsurprising that I drifted away from the comics scene in about 1995!

[Greg Anderson]

Has anyone been reading his Stormwatch? What's the consensus?

[Desaad]

I think he's the out and out smartest, the most intellectual, of anyone in comics right now.

That doesn't make him the best, but the things he does are always daring, always fully realized, always 3 dimensional, always erudite.

I don't think his craft is really up there with Moore or even Morrison some of the time, and when he's not fully invested in what he's doing it sort of shows, but even then you can see that he's just so damn SMART about everything.

Looking at something like Infinity Inc...you know, I don't know how much he wanted to write that. But damn if those characters, what he was doing with psychology there, what he always does with identity, damn if that isn't some of the most brilliant stuff that has ever been done with CHARACTERS in the MU or DCU.

He has a lot of incredible works, but I'd say Enigma is one of the best things ever written for comics.

[fin5]

I just Fineshed Phantom Pains and it was great
How would you rate Peter Milligam hellblaser as opposed to the other writers take on him

[Alex Decay]

I just Fineshed Phantom Pains and it was great
How would you rate Peter Milligam hellblaser as opposed to the other writers take on him

It's great, but I'm fucking pissed that I can't find Hellblazer 286 ANYWHERE.

NOT at my lcs.

NOT on comixology.

NOT anywhere free on the Internet.

I feel like burning someone.

[ImpulseUCF]

http://pulllist.comixology.com/sku/O...blazer-286-MR-

[Alex Decay]

http://pulllist.comixology.com/sku/O...blazer-286-MR-

I guess I was looking in the wrong place.

Weird.

Thanks, though.

[FanboyStranger]

I just Fineshed Phantom Pains and it was great
How would you rate Peter Milligam hellblaser as opposed to the other writers take on him

Milligan's run has developed into something pretty cool, but I'd still rank his run among the "lesser" runs, even with the major event of the wedding to Piffy. For me, it goes Delano, Ennis, Diggle, Ellis, Jenkins, Milligan, Azz, Carey, Mina. Now, that doesn't mean that I consider Milligan's run bad by any means-- there's never been a bad issue of HB, in my opinion, even Mina's run-- but I don't think Pete has given us the best of John. A lot of that is because of John's active use of magic, which sort of flies in the face of what's come before, especially as magic should be much harder for John after the end of Diggle's run. It's not as bad as it was, such as in the India arc where Cammo has John throwing magic at a demon with Dr. Strange hand gestures, but it still irks me a little bit. That's why I've enjoyed Biz' issues a great deal more-- "Suicide Bridge", in my opinion, is probably the finest single issue of HB published in the last decade.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Suicide Bridge", in my opinion, is probably the finest single issue of HB published in the last decade.

Most definitely, haven't been that touched or wowed by a Blazer story since Gaiman's oneshot.

Also, having Bisley doing the art definitely took it to another level.