View Poll Results: Who is the definitive Superman writer?

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  • Jerry Siegal

    5 8.06%
  • Otto Binder

    0 0%
  • Grant Morrison

    22 35.48%
  • Alan Moore

    4 6.45%
  • Mark Waid

    2 3.23%
  • Kurt Busiek

    3 4.84%
  • Eliott S! Maggin

    4 6.45%
  • John Byrne

    4 6.45%
  • Cary Bates

    2 3.23%
  • Mark Millar

    0 0%
  • Dan Jurgens

    7 11.29%
  • Jack Kirby

    1 1.61%
  • Geoff Johns

    3 4.84%
  • Other

    5 8.06%
  • See Results

    0 0%
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  1. #1
    Extraordinary Member
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    Default Who is the best Superman Writer?

    Inspired by Lightning63's threads elsewhere, I've made this thread in order to determine: Who is the definitive Superman writer?

    Note: I will not be including Brian Michael Bendis' on this poll due to his run still being ongoing. It is not a commentary on the quality of his run.

  2. #2
    The Superior One Celgress's Avatar
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    A very tough question -

    I'll go with Alan Moore, Grant Morrison (a close second), and Jerry Siegal (the OG) as my top three, god tier.

    FYI - If we were rating Bendis (as things stand) I'd put him in the bottom five if not bottom three, trash tier.
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  3. #3
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
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    I plead the fifth. Many of them are the GOAT for different approaches and selecting one would be too hard.

    If I had to pick a story, sure, All-Star so Morrison seems like the obvious choice... and yet I'm uneasy snubbing Moore, Maggin, Siegal and many more. None of them are without duds, but goddamn picking one over the others is too hard.

    Quote Originally Posted by Celgress View Post

    FYI - If we were rating Bendis (as things stand) I'd put him in the bottom five if not bottom three, trash tier.
    This isn't fair. Just on a technical level it has to be false. For all his controversial decisions on the book, he's done very well by Clark's voice and handling the duality of the character which many writers stumble on. I'd argue middling at worst. Keep in mind, most the controversy is in respect to his son, not him. This is about who writes Clark/Kal himself best. I'd put Azzarello significantly below Bendis if only for never seeming to really have a grasp on Superman as a character, for example.

    I get not enjoying his run or outright hating it, but bottom five/three is undeserved.
    Last edited by Robanker; 11-15-2020 at 03:50 PM.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robanker View Post
    I plead the fifth. Many of them are the GOAT for different approaches and selecting one would be too hard.

    If I had to pick a story, sure, All-Star so Morrison seems like the obvious choice... and yet I'm uneasy snubbing Moore, Maggin, Siegal and many more. None of them are without duds, but goddamn picking one over the others is too hard.



    This isn't fair. Just on a technical level it has to be false. For all his controversial decisions on the book, he's done very well by Clark's voice and handling the duality of the character which many writers stumble on. I'd argue middling at worst. Keep in mind, most the controversy is in respect to his son, not him. This is about who writes Clark/Kal himself best. I'd put Azzarello significantly below Bendis if only for never seeming to really have a grasp on Superman as a character, for example.

    I get not enjoying his run or outright hating it, but bottom five/three is undeserved.
    Note, this is Superman the series, not specifically Superman the character. So while their handle on Superman's voice is obviously very important, their handles on the supporting cast and villains can be considered.

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member Ra-El's Avatar
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    Same anwser as in the Green Lantern thread, Morrison.

  6. #6
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    No Marty Pasko, no Edmond Hamilton? If the poll allowed multiple selections, I was going to vote for Jerry Siegel, Cary Bates, Otto Binder, Elliot Maggin and for Other to represent all the writers not included. But since I can only vote for one, I voted for Other. Marty Pasko was my favourite comic book writer for Superman, followed closely by Edmond Hamilton. After that Siegel, Bates, Binder, Maggin, Leo Dorfman, Alvin Schwartz, Bill Finger.

  7. #7
    The Superior One Celgress's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robanker View Post
    I plead the fifth. Many of them are the GOAT for different approaches and selecting one would be too hard.

    If I had to pick a story, sure, All-Star so Morrison seems like the obvious choice... and yet I'm uneasy snubbing Moore, Maggin, Siegal and many more. None of them are without duds, but goddamn picking one over the others is too hard.



    This isn't fair. Just on a technical level it has to be false. For all his controversial decisions on the book, he's done very well by Clark's voice and handling the duality of the character which many writers stumble on. I'd argue middling at worst. Keep in mind, most the controversy is in respect to his son, not him. This is about who writes Clark/Kal himself best. I'd put Azzarello significantly below Bendis if only for never seeming to really have a grasp on Superman as a character, for example.

    I get not enjoying his run or outright hating it, but bottom five/three is undeserved.
    Hey, it's my opinion. I haven't enjoyed a single thing he did aside from Nuclear Man (even that was ended in lackluster fashion). The horrible Semi-OMD farce "I'm cheating on Clark with Superman" thing was trash. And there is no way the real Clark would ever let Jor-El take his son into space after the crap daddy dearest has pulled Lois or no Lois (nor would Lois go along for the ride). Contrived OOC for the sake of Da Plot thy name is Bendis. Don't even get me started on Sups revealing his identity and how flat that fell or the failure that is Teen Jon. Bendis has been awful on Superman he can't leave soon enough for me.
    Last edited by Celgress; 11-15-2020 at 05:38 PM.
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  8. #8
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    Hmmm, this is tricky. I am a big fan of Silver Age Superman so I have fondness of Jerry Siegel, Cary Bates, Otto Binder, Elliot S Maggins, Edmond Hamilton, Marty Pasko, and many more. But, on the other hand some of the best idea that they chunked most likely come from their editor Julius Schwartz, so I kind in between here. But, the easiest answer would be Grant Morrisson. Until this point, everything that he did with Superman is just awesome a thousand times. From JL to All Star to Final Crisis to Action everything is awesome.

    Alan Moore is also a great Superman writer with stories that far better than All Star. But, the problem is he has too little Superman issues for me to tell him that he is one of the best. But, if we count his Miracleman, Supreme, and that issue from Cinema Purgatoria, then he is the clear winner, because those books triumph everything that Grant Morrisson ever did.

    So in simple:
    Grant Morrisson > Alan Moore >>> Silver Age Writers > Geoff Johns/Joe Kelly/Jeph Loeb/Mark Waid >>>>>>>> The Others - If we county only Superman issue
    Alan Moore >>>>>> The Rest - If we count Alan Moore's Miracleman, Supreme, and that issue from Cinema Purgatoria

  9. #9
    Astonishing Member Stanlos's Avatar
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    I picked Byrne. For the simple fact that he avoids the trap of oh no magic or kryptonite he dead nonsense
    Last edited by Stanlos; 11-16-2020 at 03:22 AM.

  10. #10
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    I picked Byrne as well. He writes a fun Superman an evil Luthor and an interesting supporting cast.

  11. #11
    Ultimate Member SiegePerilous02's Avatar
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    Definitely Morrison as the best all rounder. Best stand alone Superman graphic novel and best mainstream run in recent memory.
    Moore and Maggin are very close behind, with Siegel and Binder of course being majorly important for the older writers. Edmond Hamilton deserves a shout out too. We also only got one miniseries out of him, but I would have loved to see if Steve Gerber had done more.

  12. #12
    Incredible Member a moment closer's Avatar
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    I really started liking Superman during Geoff Johns run but as many are saying, it's hard to say who the best writer is when so many interpreted him differently. Grant Morrison is up there for me. Scott Snyder. Peter J. Tomasi. Dan Jurgens. Allen Moore. Joe Kelly. Jeph Loeb. Mark Waid. Greg Pak. Scott Lobdell. Mark Millar. And I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other names but yeah, I voted for Johns.

  13. #13
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    Grant Morrison hands down.

    All Star Superman is like the one book you can shoot off into space and when an alien civilization finds it they will know who and what Superman stood for.

  14. #14
    Jewish & Proud Feminist Shadowcat's Avatar
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    Wolfman’s Pre-Crisis Action run is sorely underrated.

  15. #15
    Invincible Member Vordan's Avatar
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    Morrison for sheer quality over the large volume of work. JLA, All-Star, Action, even the piss takes like Animal Man Overman or Blackstars Superman from TGL. All of them are adept at showcasing that Superman is cool, that he can be relevant and have stuff to say that’s meaningful, that he can be ambitious and at the front of the industry and not just the retro character DC trouts out now and then when they remember he exists.

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