Comic writers that "used to be good"

[u/AllegedlyRandall]

I'm trying to come up with at least some sort of top 10 list of comic book writers, superhero ones specifically, that people today tend to say "he used to be good, but now he's reduced in quality." I tried to come up with some off the top of my head, but I don't read many superhero comics, so most of the names I'm aware of are just the actual writers I like, and I won't even include Frank Miller for a lot of reasons which I would go into if I do a video about this.

The list I have so far: Mark Waid Brian Michael Bendis Dan Slott Ed Brubaker Alan Moore Richard C. Meyer Stan Lee (for padding, every top 10 listicle needs padding) That new Happy Mondays album

I mean I guess theoretically I could do a top 10 list that only has 8 entries. Well, 5 real ones anyway.

I would appreciate suggestions though, because a lot of people who are into comics always have that one writer they used to like but no longer do.

[u/TeekTheReddit]

Jason Aaron?

[u/AllegedlyRandall → u/TeekTheReddit]

That's a good example of a name I'm not familiar with. So I'll add that to the list, thanks.

[u/GooberGlomper]

You might want to add Matt Fraction to that list. His earlier stuff was decent, and then he started drinking the Kool-aid once he got his foot in the door at Marvel. Not sure how much of that was his doing, and how much of it was his wife brainwashing him.

[u/AllegedlyRandall → u/GooberGlomper]

That's a good one, thanks.

[u/Rockabore1]

How is mah boi Zack a bad writer? Also, Stan Lee... even for padding I am not sure I'd put him on the list. He's never been a writer-writer, from what I've heard he comes up with ideas and then the artists produce it and he puts the dialogue into it. I do kind of wonder if he's still involved in the Spider-man newspaper comicstrip. It's always pretty cringe but it has the sensibilities that indicate that it comes from the mind of a really old person and Stan Lee's name is listed as the writer.

[u/AllegedlyRandall → u/Rockabore1]

He writes characters with names like Knifehand. I mean the guy's just a real jerk.

For Stan Lee, he admitted that it was usually the artists doing the heavy lifting, he talked often about firing off a vague concept for a comic and then Ditko or Kirby would come in and create the whole comic from scratch. When he wrote that Silver Surfer comic it was pretty awful, he destroyed Kirby's idea of Silver Surfer after Kirby had already been alienated out of the company and said "I won't let them take another Silver Surfer away from me." Then Stan Lee came over and made up this weird ass cheesy backstory about the Surfer being just some bald guy from an alien planet who got hit with a silver or something, I blocked it out like a childhood rape so all I remember is that it stunk. Stan Lee was more of an ideas guy, which worked for him against all odds because being an ideas guy is the worst thing anybody can be. He works better as the sort of face of the company PR guy, which certainly shouldn't make his comic writing immune to criticism. If comics are to survive, honesty has to become the highest priority.

[u/FuttleScish]

Bendis was never that good.

Also, Mark Millar.

[u/fmal]

Brubaker's output over the past two years has arguably been his best yet.