characters vs creators

I used to buy anything related to Superman and Spider-Man. Picked up Legion of Super-Heroes, because of the tie-in to Superman, and Spider-Man guest shots in Avengers, and other titles.

These days I usually pick up a title based on the creator (btw, the change happened around the time Claremonte left X-Men the first time). Then, Curt Swan drew the majority of the Superman stories I read...

Does anyone else do the same? Are the creators more important than the characters, or is it just me being older? The only titles I read independent of the creators were L.E.G.I.O.N. (lef it when it got renamed to R.E.B.E.L.S and changed the concept) and Legion of Super-Heroes.

Some of the creators I follow: * Morrison. I read his stuff when he did JLA, and followed him over to X-Men (almost didn't because of my bad feelings to the X-Universe). Only person who could make me read anything in the X-Universe, come to think of it. * Mark Waid. I love Waid's DC stuff (Flash, JLA: Year One, Brave and the Bold). Haven't picked up anything he does at Marvel. * Ellis. Pick up anything that is not part of the big Marvel/DC universe. * Alan Moore. Anything by this guy. * GIffen/DeMatteis. Whenever these guys work together, I love it. * John Byrne. I always try his stuff. * Peter David. I've been following his stuff for years now, and he still haven't disappointed. I even picked up Aquaman and Supergirl, even though they are characters I don't particular like.

*I'm sure that there are Kara fans who would love to respond to that statement. G'head if you wish, but I don't intend to get into that

I think that *most* readers eventually figure out that the writer is the most important factor in the quality of the writing. That's why discussions about a comic frequently mention the author, and why so many people decided to read Marvel's upcoming '1602' mini-series without knowing anything about it except that Gaiman would write it.

There are always Marvel zombies and people who slavishly follow/boycott certain characters no matter how they're written, but most people outgrow that phase by their mid- to late- teens.

I'm half and half. Like you, there are some creators I follow no matter what they're doing (George Perez, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, Roy Thomas, Fabian Nicenzia, Karl Kesel, and Peter David just to name a few.) But I also follow creations: Nightwing, the Titans, the Defenders, Doom Patrol, the Avengers, JLA, and JSA in any incarnation. I'm always willing to try new titles, too if they look interesting. Right now I'm enjoying the old Classics Illustrated books.

Yes. The characters don't create themselves.

Yes. With age often comes knowledge, and sometimes a bit of discernment, and just a touch o wisdom.

The only titles I read

PETER

DAVID

RULES

(As the kids used to say.)

I tend to read books based on the creators. This is not a hard and fast rule, but I'm highly unlikely to read a book by a writer whose work I don't like, regardless of what I feel about the characters. If they story isn't written well, why read it?

I read Morrison, but not everything. For example, though I had read the first 6 or so issues of The Filth, I ended up losing interest and not completing the series.

Haven't liked him since he did some Legion stuff.

I generally like his stuff, but didn't care for his take on X-Force.

* Alan Moore. Anything by this guy.

It's almost a given.

I guess, but their JL stuff did lose steam fairly quickly.

I always avoid his stuff. Generations III should never have been made.

He disappointed me with Captain Marvel.

People whose stuff I always go for:

Scott Mills Eric Shanower James Sturm

People I like a lot, but I'm still selective:

Grant Morrison Neil Gaiman James Kochalka Garth Ennis

But, we're missing the important questions on the characters vs creators debate:

Ho'od win:

Warren Ellis or Spider Jerusalem? Grant Morrison or King Mob? Alan Moore or John Constantine? Dave Sim or Astoria? John Byrne or Dark Phoenix?

I'm sure there's more good cage matches out there to be made....

Dave Doty

Warren. He stays off the drugs, presumably.

Wouldn't happen. They're linked. The better King Mob feels, the better Grant feels.

Alan. The man worships a snake and is way scarier the John.

Not familiar with the character, but I'll go with Astoria just because Dave says dumb things.

Phoenix. One has cosmic powers. The other just draws things.

I think both are important. Some writers could not write their own lives in a believable fashion, so I tend to stay away from them, even (or especially) if they are writing my favourite characters. Other writers are generally very good, but have trouble writing certain characters, so I tend to be wary of these. Still other writers write in styles that I like, and I'm able to overlook uninteresting characters they write. Some characters interest me enough so that I'm able to forgive whoever writes them. Other characters couldn't interest me if Shakespeare were writing them.

That said, I've never been devoted to a creator to the point that I wanted or liked everything they've written. I cannot say the same for some characters. So, I guess characters are more important to me than the creators. As an analogy, many TV shows have characters that I genuinely like, and regardless of whether or not certain episodes are written poorly, I tend to enjoy those episodes despite the writing. I liken it to real-life: sometimes, there are events in my life that are pretty cool, but other times, things happen that are really stupid.

-= think both are important. Some writers could not write their own lives in a believable fashion, so I tend to stay away from them, even (or especially) if they are writing my favourite characters. Other writers are generally very good, but have trouble writing certain characters, so I tend to be wary of these. Still other writers write in styles that I like, and I'm able to overlook uninteresting characters they write. Some characters interest me enough so that I'm able to forgive whoever writes them. Other characters couldn't interest me if Shakespeare were writing them.

That said, I've never been devoted to a creator to the point that I wanted or liked everything they've written. I cannot say the same for some characters. So, I guess characters are more important to me than the creators. As an analogy, many TV shows have characters that I genuinely like, and regardless of whether or not certain episodes are written poorly, I tend to enjoy those episodes despite the writing. I liken it to real-life: sometimes, there are events in my life that are pretty cool, but other times, things happen that are really stupid.

-=[ The BlakGard ]=- 'Somewhere there's danger; somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea is getting cold!'

Interesting topic, john. I'm definitely more interested in the characters than the creators. Although i definitely have some writers i am more fond of and some writers i boycott entirely (like JM DeMatteis - he has always disappointed me, so i dont buy his stuff any more). I might be lured to read an unfamiliar character if a favorite writer is on it, but there are some characters i wouldnt touch even if my favorite writer was on it.

For example, I wont be getting 1602 because I dotn like Elseworlds type stories (and it definitely is an Elseworld despite their protestations to the opposite) but I will get his new Books Of Magic series.

I tend to buy things based on a mix of who the creators are, how the reviews are, and whether the concept's interesting. Stick only to favoured characters, or favoured writers, and you've got less chance of finding anything really new.

I don't really follow characters. It's not that I'm not interested in them; it's just that it doesn't take much to get me interested in *new* characters, and I'm not much for seeing characters I've liked in the past be poorly written.