I was just over at the JBF (yes, I still lurk) and one of the topics of discussion were creators who who defined a character. I couldn't resist chiming in and I would like to see what others think as well.

Batman - Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers (it was a short run, but it was amazing)
Thor - Walt Simonson
Daredevil - Frank Miller
Fantastic Four - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby (they created half the Marvel Universer for crying out loud)
X-men - Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin (the three headed monster)
Dracula - Steve Gerber/Gene Colan/Tom Palmer (the right creators for the right character)
Wolverine - John Byrne (always liked his version the best. X-men 133 is the only issue of X-men I still own.)
Dr. Doom - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/John Byrne (it's practically a toss up)
Galactus - John Byrne (Byrne was able to give Galactus (God) a human quality that was easy to relate to)
OMAC - John Byrne (I think it might be single greatest project John has ever done and I'm a huge Byrne fan)
Sub-mariner- John Buscema/Dan Adkins (those long, cursive lines are insanely delicious)
Green Lantern/Green Arrow - Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams (comics aren't just for kids anymore?)
Deadman - Neal Adams
Iron Man - Bob Layton
Conan - John Buscema/Ernie Chan (some say Alacala, but Chan is my man)
Punisher - Mike Zeck (brooding and powerful)
Deathlok - Rich Buckler (Deathlok has not had a better run than his debut in Astonishing Tales even though they keep resurrecting him)
Warlock, Thanos - Jim Starlin (these two have never been better - NEVER!!!)
Wonder Woman - George Perez (so beautiful, so intelligent)
Teen Titans - Marv Wolfman/George Perez (an 80's mega hit that has never been the same since their departure)
Legion of Superheroes - Paul Levitz/Keith Giffen/Larry Mahlstedt (pure legiony bliss)
Superman - Curt Swan (always appreciated the consistency)
Flash - Carmine Infantino (nobody did speed like Infantino)
Spiderman - Ross Andru (OMG, that Superman vs Spiderman Treasury is still one of my all time favorite comics)
Nick Fury - Jim Steranko (have you really looked lately? The covers alone should in museums.)
Swamp Thing - Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson (issue 4, the werewolf issue is lights out)
Master of Kung Fu - Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy (this series won multiple Eagle Awards and the only reason why it hasn't been reprinted
a billion times is because Marvel does not own all of the character rights)
Judge Dredd - Brian Bolland (the Dark Judges are still cool)

Well that should be enough to get the conversation started.

I went scanning through the list, preparing to flame you if you said Alan Moore . . . . but your answer has found favor.

Geeking along with you:

• Batman - Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. As much as I like Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin, O'Neil and Adams ignited the post Adam West Batman.
• X-men - Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin. Agree with you.
• Green Lantern - John Broome and Gil Kane, the latter preferably inked by Sid Greene (whose inks Kane didn't like IIRC).
• Green Arrow - Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. Agree with you here.
• Iron Man - David Michelenie, John Romita Jr, and Bob Layton. This was when I was buying Iron Man. Didn't really buy it before or since.
• Wonder Woman - William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter. Marston is the only person who seems to 100% understand the character, which one would hope, since he created her. Perez cutting out Steve Trevor lost a key component. His was easily the best since the original.
• Teen Titans - Bob Haney and Nick Cardy. The New Teen Titans was an excellent run and definitive for most, but Teen Titans always means these five to me: Robin Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Speedy. The more of those you have, the more you are the Teen Titans. Just the way it is for me.
• Legion of Superheroes - Cary Bates and Dave Cockrum. This and the Grell that followed was the only time I cared about the Legion.
• Superman - Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson. I couldn't tell you the first thing about any story during that period, but it just looked like Superman.
• Flash - Cary Bates and Irv Novick. Infantino was gone by the time I started reading the Flash and I like Novick's stuff better, even though it draws heavily on Infantino.
• Spider-Man - Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It's the Spider-Man I like the most.
• Swamp Thing - Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben. The Anatomy Lesson made me care about the character for the first time, even though it turned Wein's original concept on its head. Props to Len for letting Moore do it.

Flame away at me, Jay.

I don't have the heart for it.

But Swamp Thing has looked the same since those first iconic issues, and the horrific theme was there from the beginning. Moore/Bissette/Totleben built on that without redefining it.

Sure, the Anatomy Lesson was brill, and made use question what Swamp Thing had always been. But really, it was right there all along. I never thought Swamp Thing had bones under there.

I think "He's Alec Holland mutated into a plant" is a lot different than "He's a plant who thinks he's Alec Holland."

But it's just a story albeit a good one. Doesn't mean Wein/Wrightston isn't the definitive version of the character. That character design, the basic structure and setting of the stories, was forever the Wein/Wrightston version.

Batman - Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli

Daredevil - Frank Miller

Fantastic Four - Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

X-men - Chris Claremont and a variety of artists

Wolverine - Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

OMAC - Jack Kirby (I'll just save time saying that, with the exception of the X-Men and Captain America, every character created and drawn by Jack is THE definitive version of the character)

Green Lantern - Geoff Johns and a variety of artists

Green Arrow - Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams

Punisher - Garth Ennis

Wonder Woman - George Perez

Teen Titans - Marv Wolfman and George Perez

Superman - Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

Flash - Hmmm I need to think about this.

Spider-Man - Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.

Swamp Thing - Alan Moore

Justice League of America - Grant Morrison and Howard Porter

Justice Society of America - James Robinson, David Goyer and Geoff Johns

Captain America - Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting

I find it interesting how the versions that don't quite match up with mine are my second favorite versions (by a slim margin) of the character. The slimmest margin for me was Swamp Thing. I loved the Alan Moore run. Stephen Bissette, John Totleben. Amazing stuff. Don't even get me started on the Veitch run after Moore. If DC would have published the Veitch run as originally intended (Swamp Thing was part of the green during the time of Christ and his essence was contained within a portion of the crown of the thorns) it might have surpassed all versions before it, but alas...

That being said I always saw Saga of Swamp Thing as a love story. I was only really paying attention when Swampy and Abby were together or searching for one another while apart. The Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson book on the other hand was a horror book. I found the humans to be much scarier than the monsters. Every time I read Swamp Thing 4 I start hearing "Dueling Banjos" in the background. That family was screwed up and they still freak me out.

I'm pretty close to Rafael on this, with some changes:

Batman - Alan Brennert and Jim Aparo

Daredevil - Frank Miller & John Romita Jr.

Fantastic Four - Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

X-Men - Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Wolverine - Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

OMAC - Jack Kirby

Green Lantern - Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

Green Arrow - Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams

Punisher - Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

Wonder Woman - George Perez

Teen Titans - Marv Wolfman and George Perez

Superman - Marv Wolfman and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

Flash - Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins

Spider-Man - Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.

Swamp Thing - Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson

Justice League of America - Gerry Conway and George Perez

Justice Society of America - Geoff Johns and Jerry Ordway

Captain America - Roger Stern and Mike Zeck (did they ever collaborate on an issue though? I can't remember)

My choices:


Batman - Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers

Thor - Walt Simonson

(It's close between Simonson and Lee and Kirby. I'll go with Simonson, because I think that better captured a "mythological feel.")

Daredevil - Stan Lee/Gene Colan (Yes, I'm probably the only person who won't say "Frank Miller." I loved Miller's run, but I don't see it as definitive. To me, Daredevil has become too dark since that run.)

Fantastic Four - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby

(Yeah, this is kind of a no-brainer.)

X-men - Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin

(Ditto.)

Dracula - Marv Wolfman/Gene Colan

Wolverine - John Byrne

(I guess do have to go with Byrne on this one. I don't know if the writer matters as much.)

Dr. Doom - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby

Galactus - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby

OMAC - Jack Kirby

Sub-mariner- Stan Lee/Gene Colan

Green Lantern/Green Arrow - John Broome/Gil Kane

Deadman - Neal Adams

Iron Man - David Michelinie/Bob Layton/John Romita, Jr.

Conan - Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith

Punisher - Mike Zeck

(Zeck sounds good to me. I'm not a big Punisher fan, though, and I'm not especially familiar with his history.)

Deathlok - I guess I'll say Doug Moench and Rich Buckler. Truth be told, though, I never read this series, so I don't really have much of an opinion.


Warlock, Thanos - Jim Starlin

(Another no-brainer.)

Wonder Woman - George Perez

(I'm not much of a Wonder Woman fan, so I plead some ignorance here, too. From what I've seen, though, I'll go with Perez.)

Teen Titans - Marv Wolfman/George Perez

Legion of Superheroes - Paul Levitz/Keith Giffen

Superman - Curt Swan and either Cary Bates or Elliot S! Maggin

Flash - Carmine Infantino

(I don't have much of an opinion on Flash, either, but...yeah, I guess I'll go with Infantino. I assume that John Broome or Gardner Fox were the writers from that era?)

Spider-Man - Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Nick Fury - Jim Steranko

Swamp Thing - Alan Moore

Master of Kung Fu - Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy

Judge Dredd - Brian Bolland

(I never read Judge Dredd, but Bolland sounds good to me.)

Batman - Neal Adams & Denny O"Neill

Thor - Lee & Kirby

Daredevil - Miller/Mazzuchelli

Fantastic Four - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby

X-men - Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin

Green Lantern/Green Arrow - Neal Adams & Denny O"Neill

Iron Man - David Michelinie/Bob Layton/John Romita, Jr.

Conan - Frank Frazetta

Punisher - Mike Zeck

Wonder Woman - No writer but I tend to think of Jose Garcia Lopez due to all the commercial art he did for her in the 80s.

Teen Titans - Marv Wolfman/George Perez

Superman - The image below is the ultimate Superman to me. I love so many versions but when I think of the "real" Superman, this is it. I also think of the Silver Age version as the definitive, "real" version as well.



http://cinegeek.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... erman2.jpg

Flash - Carmine Infantino

Spider-Man - Stan Lee and John Romita SR (due to all the art they used from him commercially in the 80s)

All excellent choices and hard to disagree with any one them. I like the Brennert choice, very underrated.

He didn't write a whole lot of Batman stories, but the ones he did were all excellent.

Agree!! Especially the teamups with Earth 2.

Which issues did he write? I want to check them out. This is why I like the thread. I might find an undiscovered gem.

Here's a good start:

http://www.panix.com/~bala/brennert.htm

Here is one of my all time favorite Batman stories.

http://legionsofgotham.proboards.com/in ... hread=6369

It's funny but only until much later, did I realize some of my favorite Batman stories, a bunch were written by him.

By the way, re-reading that interview makes me realize how much I agree with him on all issues. I wish I would have had the chance to interview him when I did the show. Would have been fun.

I forgot he wrote Holy Terror! One of my favorite Elseworld stories!

That list is pretty good, I don't know that I'd give Englehart & Rogers the #1 spot on the Batman list though...