Comic Characters that are ALWAYS written well

[JustJon]

The Wolverine mentions in the Sheepy comic thread reminded me of a conversation I had a while back with a friend, which made me think about this a while back...

What comic book characters are comic book characters that have always been written well. The longer a character has been around and more popular they are, the more likely there's a bad story. There are some of these characters that have just become unreadable thru the years.

So who do you think has never been written badly?


My first thought is Kitty Pryde. I'm admittedly biased towards the character, but I can't think of a single story where she is written poorly or out of character. The worst they usually do is marginalize her because they don't know how to write her.

[TheMojoPin]

Wow, good question.

...

I'm completely blanking. I can't think of a single character that hasn't had at least mind-numbingly shitty run. I was gonna pick John Constantine, but even he was written horrendously when Brian Azzarello took over his title for a run a few years back.

[JustJon]

Wow, good question.

...

I'm completely blanking. I can't think of a single character that hasn't had at least mind-numbingly shitty run. I was gonna pick John Constantine, but even he was written horrendously when Brian Azzarello took over his title for a run a few years back.

And I remember a guest shot or two where John was written out of character, but I'm blanking on what comics they were. It's easy to say Joanna Constantine, but she was only in two stories, so we really need to discount any character that hasn't got alot of page time over the years.

[Gvac]

Since I haven't read comics regularly for over 20 years I may be way off, but one of my favorites back in the day was a guy so unique that I think everyone who wrote his stories stayed true to character -

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb272/Doctor_Morgrim/Strangexcalbiur.png

[Sheeplovr]

ooo i love this idea

hmmmmm

could it be a imposible question for popular charectors?

like with jon saying kitty pyde so think just charector
liek what charector can nobody fuck up

wich is a whole nother thing to wonder about maybe

hmmmm

[donnie_darko]

kitty pryde has never had a very large role has she?
it would be rather difficult to F that up.

i say galactus
the black widow is consistently a whore as well, i wonder if marvel will ever run out of ex-lovers to hook her up with.

[TheMojoPin]

Since I haven't read comics regularly for over 20 years I may be way off, but one of my favorites back in the day was a guy so unique that I think everyone who wrote his stories stayed true to character -

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb272/Doctor_Morgrim/Strangexcalbiur.png

Trust me, LOTS of shitty Dr. Strange stories and run on the character, especilly in the 80's.

Jon, like I said to you in IM, I submit that Warren Ellis' run on Excalibur sucked balls, and his take on KP was a large part of that ball-sucking.

I also submit that anyone named "Kitty Pryde" automatically has some points knocked off, even in comic book-world.

I think my pick might be Tim Drake/Robin 3.

[TheMojoPin]

the black widow is consistently a whore as well, i wonder if marvel will ever run out of ex-lovers to hook her up with.

Jeez, no kidding. Comic books are about as sexist a medium as one can find, but Marvel's attempts to have her bang the entire spectrum of characters is shameful even by the regular "standards" of women in comics.

[EliSnow]

If you're going to go with a comic character that is always written well, you'll have to go with someone who has only been written by one person, and thus, is a smaller character.

Because that's one of the ways you get characters written wrong -- some writer comes in and thinks he's got a new take on the character that sucks ass.

Or editorial comes up with an event for the character that isn't tied to anything about the character.

With all that being said, I'll say Jack Knight, because he was only ever written by James Robinson and Geoff Johns.

[AnnoyedGrunt]

It's hard to pick since most characters have been around a while and who the hell has read every appearance anyway? I'd say Oracle. I'm sure she's been a supporting role is a few bad stories but I can't remember he ever being out of character.

[TheMojoPin]

If you're going to go with a comic character that is always written well, you'll have to go with someone who has only been written by one person, and thus, is a smaller character.

Because that's one of the ways you get characters written wrong -- some writer comes in and thinks he's got a new take on the character that sucks ass.

Or editorial comes up with an event for the character that isn't tied to anything about the character.

With all that being said, I'll say Jack Knight, because he was only ever written by James Robinson and Geoff Johns.

Good pick. I'll say Lucifer, who was great written by Neil Gaiman and then amazing when written by Mike Carey.

[Gvac]

How about Adam Warlock? Is he even still around? That was a weird story from the 70's.

Or Shang-Chi?

Again, I don't know how badly they've been butchered in the last 20 or so years.

[TheMojoPin]

How about Adam Warlock? Is he even still around? That was a weird story from the 70's.

Or Shang-Chi?

Again, I don't know how badly they've been butchered in the last 20 or so years.

Shang-Chi hasn't been around much over the last 20-25 years, so I really don't know. Did he have a bunch of writers back in the day? Those classic stories of his I've read were always good.

Adam Warlock is a pretty good pick. His early stories were alwas well done, and then pretty much everything after that was written by Jim Starlin, and those are some great stories. Maybe along those lines, I'd pick Warlock's nemesis, Thanos. I've never seen him show up somewhere and have it not be awesome. Maybe Dr. Doom, too. It's hard to fuck up the good villains.

[Northside Dan]

ummm this is good. i will say Green lantern and gl corps they have been on fire and does not dissappoint at all from charecter devolopment to pacing and action it is a well rounded read each issue that builds on the last and leads to a conclusion. to go the other way spiderman is teh suck as they always try to placate the casual fan and make shit stories as a result.

[EliSnow]

ummm this is good. i will say Green lantern and gl corps they have been on fire and does not dissappoint at all from charecter devolopment to pacing and action it is a well rounded read each issue that builds on the last and leads to a conclusion.

Yes, now they are written well, but they haven't always been written well. If fact, I think Hal Jordan has been written badly more often that written well.

There is a reason Hal was replaced for a long time.

[Mike Teacher]

Funky Winkerbean

For Better or Worse

Hi and Lois

Mother Goose and Grimm

Zippy the Pinhead

Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

[Tall_James]

For Better or Worse


QFMFT!!!

[Gmann]

Since I haven't read comics regularly for over 20 years I may be way off, but one of my favorites back in the day was a guy so unique that I think everyone who wrote his stories stayed true to character -

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb272/Doctor_Morgrim/Strangexcalbiur.png


You never read this horrible story line then did ya




http://i30.tinypic.com/32zonma.jpg

[JustJon]

Trust me, LOTS of shitty Dr. Strange stories and run on the character, especilly in the 80's.

Jon, like I said to you in IM, I submit that Warren Ellis' run on Excalibur sucked balls, and his take on KP was a large part of that ball-sucking.

I also submit that anyone named "Kitty Pryde" automatically has some points knocked off, even in comic book-world.

I think my pick might be Tim Drake/Robin 3.

I didn't read Ellis' Excalibur. I kinda stopped reading X-Books around the time he started. And dating a crap character like Pete Wisdom doesn't automatically ruin her. But the fact that she's so many writers' favorite character has severely kept her well written. And making fun of her name may get you demodded.

As for Robin, there was a period his own title sucked ass. Just after Chuck Dixon left his original run on it.

It's hard to pick since most characters have been around a while and who the hell has read every appearance anyway? I'd say Oracle. I'm sure she's been a supporting role is a few bad stories but I can't remember he ever being out of character.

Well, there's some bad Barbara Gordon Batgirls in the 70s. One of the prizes of my collection is a cover with Batgirl saying "I would save Batman and Robin, but I have a run in my stocking." Love those old DC comics.

How about Adam Warlock? Is he even still around? That was a weird story from the 70's.

Or Shang-Chi?

Again, I don't know how badly they've been butchered in the last 20 or so years.

Adam Warlock - Infinity Watch sucked pretty hard. I can't remember how he fared in the title, though. Same for the third Infinity miniseries.

Shang-Chi has only appeared in the Ultimate Marvel Team-Ups in the last several years, that I can recall, but Bendis is planning to bring back alot of 70s heroes soon.

Yes, now they are written well, but they haven't always been written well. If fact, I think Hal Jordan has been written badly more often that written well.

There is a reason Hal was replaced for a long time.

Hal was a boring character. For most of his run and no one knew what the fuck to do with him. I'm a huge fan of Ron Marz's Kyle Rayner stories, though.

[Sinestro]

Hal was a boring character. For most of his run and no one knew what the fuck to do with him. I'm a huge fan of Ron Marz's Kyle Rayner stories, though.

QFT! Sinestro was and is still the GREATEST Green Lantern ever. The Guardians of Oa know that.

[JustJon]

QFT! Sinestro was and is still the GREATEST Green Lantern ever. The Guardians of Oa know that.

Ethan Van Scriver on Sinestro:
Sinestro was one of DC's unpolished gems, a character that few creators seemed to see the potential in, and I blame that on some really bad depictions of him in old comics and television shows. We all loved him; we all knew we could help him out. It was only a matter of the best way, and it's a good thing we all agreed that he should have his own army.

Rest of the interview here (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/details.php?id=925)

[One Dead Fred]

You never read this horrible story line then did ya




http://i30.tinypic.com/32zonma.jpg

Aww man. I'm sorry, I think I was the inker on that one.

[Mike Kingston]

The Wolverine mentions in the Sheepy comic thread reminded me of a conversation I had a while back with a friend, which made me think about this a while back...

What comic book characters are comic book characters that have always been written well. The longer a character has been around and more popular they are, the more likely there's a bad story. There are some of these characters that have just become unreadable thru the years.

So who do you think has never been written badly?


My first thought is Kitty Pryde. I'm admittedly biased towards the character, but I can't think of a single story where she is written poorly or out of character. The worst they usually do is marginalize her because they don't know how to write her.


I remember an issue of Excalibur toward the end of Davis' run (somwhere in the 60's perhaps) where she was on the cover with a big gun and leather and indicated in the issue that it might be a new direction for her...I can't recall the issue excalty but remember hating it with a passion.

And I'm apparently in the minority here but I did enjoy Ellis' Excalibur run back in the day...

[EliSnow]

I remember an issue of Excalibur toward the end of Davis' run (somwhere in the 60's perhaps) where she was on the cover with a big gun and leather and indicated in the issue that it might be a new direction for her...I can't recall the issue excalty but remember hating it with a passion.

I have that issue and will check it out to confirm, but I'm pretty certain that was a bit of a joke cover to make her look like the terminator. I think there was some time travel involved.

[JustJon]

I remember an issue of Excalibur toward the end of Davis' run (somwhere in the 60's perhaps) where she was on the cover with a big gun and leather and indicated in the issue that it might be a new direction for her...I can't recall the issue excalty but remember hating it with a passion.

And I'm apparently in the minority here but I did enjoy Ellis' Excalibur run back in the day...

http://image.comicvine.com/uploads/vol/5000/4052/4052-37514-1-excalibur_400.jpg

[EliSnow]

http://image.comicvine.com/uploads/vol/5000/4052/4052-37514-1-excalibur_400.jpg

Just skimmed the issue. It's Davis' last issue (hence the hasta la vista, baby), and in it the team is in the future/alternative timeline where Master Mold has taken control. Rachel is caught there, and the rest of the team is there as well.

At one point, the team is making their plans and Kitty goes and finds a big gun and jokes that she thinks she found her new look. Kurt asks what she's playing at, and Kitty says she serious and that she/they need weapons to stop Master Mold, etc.

She didn't keep that look/direction after this issue, and was tied into the Terminator theme, and was explained as necessary for what they needed to do to prevail against the Sentinels.

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Well, there's some bad Barbara Gordon Batgirls in the 70s. One of the prizes of my collection is a cover with Batgirl saying "I would save Batman and Robin, but I have a run in my stocking." Love those old DC comics.

Truth be told, I was trying to slide under the radar and focus on Barbara post crippling. It's going to be tough to pick any DC characters created before 1970 since a lot of those gold and silver age stories don't exactly hold up.

Hmmm... I'd suggest Jonah Hex but he had that terrible series set in the future. What about the Unknown Soldier? Not a brilliant series, but consistently good from what I've read and he didn't make too many crossover appearances.

[MagillaGorillaz]

Barbra Gordon to me is and always was Batgirl. She is written well as Oracle, because she isn't Batgirl like she should be.

Doctor Strange issue 76 in the early 90's they made him a teenager for a while. That wasn't so great

:wallbash:

I'll go on a limb and say Speedy aka Red Arrow is written well. He has had realisitc stories. The drug abuse, fooling around with Chesire, raising their daughter, living up to Green Arrow, becoimng Red Arrow hinting toward a Kingdom Come future. To me, that is well written character.

[TheMojoPin]

Adam Warlock - Infinity Watch sucked pretty hard.

False.

Besides, I think we're getting off track...a bad run on a title doesn't necessarily make a specific character badly written. I think Ellis' Excalibur run sucked because he wrote specific characters like KP so shittily.

[Northside Dan]

i agree GL has had peaks and valleys but the idea of a comic that for the most part is written well is crazy. as there is always a time were the charecter is out of date and then needs to be updated and that period is always rough

[EliSnow]

i agree GL has had peaks and valleys but the idea of a comic that for the most part is written well is crazy. as there is always a time were the charecter is out of date and then needs to be updated and that period is always rough

I don't think Hal's problem was that he was out of date. For a long time, he wasn't written well even when up to date.

Ultimately, the thread is about characters that are always written well. I think that we're finding that there may be only one or two that have always been, but only because those characters haven't been around for a long time or written by more than 1 or two people.

[Thebazile78]

I dunno about you all, but I'm partial to Spider Jerusalem and his "filthy assistants."

Of course, they probably don't count because they weren't written by scores of people for umpteen years like Superman or Batman or X-Men or whatever else y'all follow, so they didn't have much time to get crappy.

[Sheeplovr]

i got it

JESUS

[PhishHead]

I second Thebazile Spider was always written well but his run didn't last that long. Only 60 issues so I am not sure if that counts.

It is hard to pick one person who has spanned generations and say the writing for that character has never sucked. There are alot of characters I love that were on short runs that were written brilliantly but again it was only for a small number of issues and always the same writers.

[Thebazile78]

i got it

JESUS

Sorry, dude. It kept timing out on me.

Don't get so pissy.

[Northside Dan]

I don't think Hal's problem was that he was out of date. For a long time, he wasn't written well even when up to date.

Ultimately, the thread is about characters that are always written well. I think that we're finding that there may be only one or two that have always been, but only because those characters haven't been around for a long time or written by more than 1 or two people.
qft

when a comic has a good run it is due to stability at the creative level. i would toss authority in this disscussion as a well written mag albeit short

[Thebazile78]

qft

when a comic has a good run it is due to stability at the creative level. i would toss authority in this disscussion as a well written mag albeit short

I <3 Authority!

[TheMojoPin]

Me too, but it's had some dogshit runs that turned the characters into garbage.

[JustJon]

I dunno about you all, but I'm partial to Spider Jerusalem and his "filthy assistants."

Of course, they probably don't count because they weren't written by scores of people for umpteen years like Superman or Batman or X-Men or whatever else y'all follow, so they didn't have much time to get crappy.

Yeah, but Spider really only had one story. One long story, but one story nonetheless.

Sorry, dude. It kept timing out on me.

Don't get so pissy.

RF.Net had routing problems today, courtesy of nac. Luckily, it only happened between 12 and 3 today...

[Thebazile78]

Yeah, but Spider really only had one story. One long story, but one story nonetheless.

That's exactly why I acknowledged that he probably doesn't count.

RF.Net had routing problems today, courtesy of nac. Luckily, it only happened between 12 and 3 today...

Thanks Jon. Just get my brother to stop yelling at me.

[Knowledged_one]

Granny Goodness is written the best of the best with honors

[Northside Dan]

Granny Goodness is written the best of the best with honors

well i would like to give a nod to superpro
http://colossus.mu.nu/superpro1.jpg

[ToLEEdo]

The Watcher

Never a major role but it is always cool when he appears.

[Northside Dan]

the mid west avengers and JLA antartica also had some good runs

[Chris_Kamakazie]

i think that any good comic book character to be portrade and written well they have to have some conviction.

[AKA]

http://www.newsfromme.com/images5/groo11.jpg