is there any current marvel writer on the level of Alan Moore

[Diamond]

No one at Marvel is producing comics as good as From Hell or Providence, but it's not like they are trying to. For better or worse, I think writers nowadays approach work-for-hire with a strict "let's have some fun" mentality.

[JackDaw]

Comparisons are odorous

Alan Moore is a truly great writer, certainly one of the greatest in the medium.

However, there are obviously good writers in Marvel (and for that matter DC and other comic publishers, and of course many excellent writers who work on creator-owned material). Many of them are at relatively early stages of their careers, and who knows what they might yet achieve?

Let’s propose a few criteria for matching:-

1/ People hold a sincere belief that people put forward as his peers will produce work that will be in print year after year and sell well. Yes everybody may be praising John Does’ Latest Adventures of the Punisher now...but will anybody be seeking it out to read in twenty years time?

2/ A fair number of people in industry itself believe the writer concerned is setting new (and higher!) standards for script quality...as many felt about Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing scripts.

[Diamond]

Let’s propose a few criteria for matching:-

1/ People hold a sincere belief that people put forward as his peers will produce work that will be in print year after year and sell well. Yes everybody may be praising John Does’ Latest Adventures of the Punisher now...but will anybody be seeking it out to read in twenty years time.

2/ A fair number of people in industry itself believe the writer concerned is setting new (and higher!) standards for script quality...as many felt about Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing scripts.

Regarding point 1, I think that even Moore at his prime would struggle to be recognized today. There's just so many comics published nowadays.

[JackDaw]

Couldn’t agree more.

Moore’s contribution has been vast. Take Halo Jones, for example; it’s difficult to imagine a comic more different than most of the superhero works with which people are familiar.

Must re-read that (Halo Jones) sometime. Recently re-read his Time Twisters And Future Shock stories...that was a happy day in the library when I came across those.

[JackDaw]

Regarding point 1, I think that even Moore at his prime would struggle to be recognized today. There's just so many comics published nowadays.

I had in mind that stuff like V for Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell, etc have sold well year after year. And..of course..seen films made.

But, I can understand your point...current output does have more “competition”. Providence, for example, which I think was really well written (though I disliked it) had nothing like the sales impact of his earlier work.

[Jabare]

[Panic]

Must re-read that (Halo Jones) sometime. Recently re-read his Time Twisters And Future Shock stories...that was a happy day in the library when I came across those.

His DR & Quinch is still very funny. He had great range, at least back then. All the articles he wrote in Marvel Superheroes monthly were very entertaing, and his Captain Britain and Night Raven just blew my mind as a kid.

[responsarbre]

I think the only people left in comics who come to close to Moore in terms of how much they think about what they're writing are Warren Ellis and Kieron Gillen, but the Alan Moore benchmark is a bit arbitrary and kind of incomparable. He revolutionized the industry with truly unique ideas and a singular sensibility, and nobody else is able to do that a second time. You would have to find someone whose outlook on comics impacted a whole lot of people inside and outside of the industry.

[JKtheMac]

Let’s consider recent works as a method of less emotive comparison. Providence is excellent, a truely thought provoking look at Lovecraft mythos. I would suggest it is easily matched by Wicdiv which is equally thought provoking about modern culture and the nature of divinity.

Crossed 100 was a clever and witty look at science fiction through the lens of the dystopian future of what was a genuinely disturbing apocalypse. It is comparable in scope to Manifest Destiny which projects science fiction into an adventure story from history. Dealing with it’s own problematic themes in interesting ways.

The most recent Nemo / LoEG books have had diminishing returns as Moore explores the imagination space of the twentieth century. So many other stories are now tackling similar themes his stories hardly stand out from the crowd.

Do any of these observations diminish Moore’s legacy? I don’t think so. Writers like Moore elevated the medium to where we are now. Writers like King and Aaron owe a huge amount to his approach. Writers like Gillen owe much to him though his influence on Gaiman.

The writer I haven’t compared is Hickman. He is perhaps the writer that is most clearly taking up the mantle. Nobody else in comics is as capable of carrying on the complex legacy of masterpieces like Promethea. And the fact that DC are even considering making a fast buck out of this property shows how far they have fallen.

[Cat]

Neither of my choices are exactly current, but they're close... is. First I'm gonna go with Jonathon Hickman. His body of work is very diverse, some of it being deep, and it's mostly all somewhat layered. I'm counting all his work here, not just what he's done for Marvel.

Maybe Warren Ellis, just for originality of ideas? Again, a diverse body of work for various publishers, of varying depth. Something for everyone.

[Bunai]

I'm going to say Spencer is upcoming, because I liked his run of Falcon.

[Cville]

in terms of legacy and greatness of writing

i feel like David F Walker is it, but what do you guys think?

David Walker is a good Noir writer. He is not at Marvel anymore.

I think Saladin Ahmed and Nick Spencer are Moore level.

Jason Aaron too, but usually when he writes solo series.

[ed2962]

No one at Marvel is producing comics as good as From Hell or Providence, but it's not like they are trying to. For better or worse, I think writers nowadays approach work-for-hire with a strict "let's have some fun" mentality.

I think there's a lot of truth to this. I also think when ground breaking or envelop pushing is done outside of Marvel or DC superheroes, many fans ignore it. There's a number of interesting comics out there but some folks thinks it doesn't count unless it's from Marvel ( this applies to diversity as well).


Plus Marvel's not really all that encouraging of people doing the swinging for the fences that Moore in his prime was doing. At least not today. Back in the 70's you had experimental things like Warlock and Howard the Duck, in the 80's you had the Epic Line, but by the late 80's/early 90's they had their superhero formula down pat and they weren't going to screw with it too much.

Take Grant Morrison a guy that's often mentioned in the same breath as Moore...his Marvel work in super solid and I'd have no problem recommending his X-Men or Marvel Boy to anyone. But do you think modern Marvel would him do something like The Invisibles? Then follow it up with stuff like We3, Sea Guy, and The Filth?


Then there's the whole idea that many writers don't want to give ownership of the best ideas to Marvel...

[ed2962]

When Moore did return to superheroes he did work for Wildstorm and then Awesome Comics and while good, they were pretty convention stories.

Maybe the more fair question shouldn't be who's doing work as good as Watchmen or From Hell that's coming from Marvel but what's coming from Marvel that's as good as WildCATS or Supreme? I think we might come up with more titles to compare.

[Marvell2100]

When Moore did return to superheroes he did work for Wildstorm and then Awesome Comics and while good, they were pretty convention stories.

Maybe the more fair question shouldn't be who's doing work as good as Watchmen or From Hell that's coming from Marvel but what's coming from Marvel that's as good as WildCATS or Supreme? I think we might come up with more titles to compare.

I don't think that they compare to Moore's greatest works but the recent Black Bolt and Thanos series are pretty good.

I'd recommend them to anyone.