Morrison, Tomasi, Snyder or King?

[Hcmarvel]

Batman has largely been defined by 4 writers the last 12 years: Grant Morrison, Peter Tomasi, Scott Snyder, and Tom King.

How would you personally rank the runs? Which is your favorite? Your least? And why?

For me it would be

1. Snyder - While I didn't love the end of the run, The Black Mirror, Court of Owls, and Year Zero are all in my top 10 Batman stories of all time. So I have to put him up here

2. Morrison - Highs and Lows. LOVE Batman and Robin. Don't love the end of Batman Incorporated. But just threaded with so many great moments. And what a wonderful concept that ALL of Batman is in continuity. Just a wonderful use of DC's history.

3. King - And I LOVE Tom King's writing. I think he's proven to be a truly great writer. But the last third of his run just...well it sucked. Everything after the Lee Weeks/Mr. Freeze arc is kind of a disaster in my opinion. And in the end it all took itself a little too seriously didn't it?

4. Tomasi - This seems unfair to Tomasi who actually has only done good work on Batman. His lows are perhaps the best among all four writers. He doesn't do bad stories. But he rarely does amazing ones. His Batman and Robin Pat Gleason run is fantastic but individual stories don't stand out the way the previous three writers managed.

[charliehustle415]

Morrison for sure, but I love Tomasi. I think other than Morrison Tomasi really understands the father/son dynamic between Bruce and Damian.

Morrison's run will always be my favorite and then second would by Tomasi's Batman & Robin which is a great companion piece to Morrison.

I also love King, but I read him as totally unconnected with the larger DC universe and Bat-Family.

Snyder is bottom tier for me and reminds me of popcorn story telling that is a bit too immature for my taste.

[lemonpeace]

I'm kinda obligated to say Snyder. Duke Thomas is the character that peaked my interest enough to draw me into comic books and Snyder's Endgame is the actual first story that I read through for DC comics. I love the sinister quasi-esoteric vibe of his run, the Joker, the Metals, the Courts of Owls, the long form mystery and the masterful say he built on his run all the way until it led into Dark Nights Metal; as a whole what he did with Batman is undeniably one of the best works in contemporary comics fiction. Granted, once he got to where he was going beyond Batman it's gets into some hit or miss territory, but the storytelling was very impressive when he was focused on Batman. His run is very popcorny, but I prefer that type of fun in comics, over say a movie, and I think Snyder just played to that child-like essence that this medium is built for. I haven't read his run but typically with Morrison it often reads too self-important, i can feeeel him telling the story and talking to me and it's annoying, while King it's like watching a Dark Multiverse or a Black Mirror version of Batman while he's doing all these arty flourishes to his narrative to try and trick you into thinking it's better than it is. however, there were some interesting risks and ideas in King's run that I really love and am glad he brought them into the canon. Snyder's more like I'm watching Saturday morning cartoons, and that works for me because that's how I was introduced to these characters: Batman the Animated series, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond, etc. Tomasi I haven't read either, but I have read some of Supersons and I think I read some of his work on Detective, I like Tomasi.

I didn't realize it was multiple choice, I meant to put a vote for Tomasi and Snyder

[Morgoth]

Morrison, without a doubt, his run one of the best, if not the best in Batman's history. Also, I really love Tomasi, his Batman & Robin my favorite New 52 series and one of the favorite Batman runs as well.
I have a conflicting opinion about Snyder, but his run is monumental and incredibly important for the mythology of the character, I cannot argue with that. But at the same time, I think Black Mirror is his best work on Batman, it is truly a masterpiece.
Regarding King, well, I just don't like his Batman. I have a lot of respect for King, Mr. Miracle and Vision are masterpieces, and Grayson is great, but his writing of Batman usually could not somehow catch my attention. Boring and just not what I personally would like to see. But again, this is subjective.

[Timothy Hunter]

Batman Inc was a beautiful conclusion to Pre-Flashpoint DC.

[a moment closer]

I voted for Tomasi and Snyder.

Tomasi has the best writing in my opinion. His character work is top-notch and he created some of my favorite interactions between Bruce and Damien. I prefer his universe that he built with Patrick Gleason. I can read any adventure they create together.

Snyder has had some of the most epic stories and he has added so much to the overall mythos. Not all of his writing was the best, not all of his stories landed, but he did aim outside the box and beyond. He'll be remembered as one of the great story weavers of the Batman mythology.

Morrison also added so much to Batman's history but I'm not always a fan of his writing. King's work on Batman has been interesting. I'm still a year or so behind in his run. I don't have an opinion on it yet.

[Timothy Hunter]

I'm interested to hear why some people would prefer King's take on the character over Tomasi, Morrison, and Snyder.