#4 Grant Morrison

(Note: This is the first comic creator on this list that is solely a writer. Any of the artwork associated with his stories was drawn by a separate entity.)

As mentioned in the previous post, theoretical physics are an interest of mine. Yet, they have no place in comics, right?

The first Grant Morrison I ever read was his run on New X-Men. Like many of my generation, I grew up on the X-Men animated series from the 90’s. Reading Morrison’s take on the X-Men years later was both new and exciting; it was drastically different from anything I had read before from Marvel.

Later, I read his take on the JLA and was impressed. Seven Soldiers of Victory, however, was the first series written by Morrison that really made me a fan. It was in this series that Morrison’s own love for breaking extra dimensional barriers and playing with pop culture tropes was most blatantly evident.

So, why should I hold back with my love of theory if Morrison doesn’t?

The other reason I am so greatly inspired by the work of Grant Morrison is the fact that he can write super-heroes without making them campy, unless he specifically wants to.

As it stands, I cannot currently read any super-hero tripe without convulsing in spiritual disgust. Morrison is one of just a handful of writers who can take super-heroes and make them interesting. His work on “All-Star Superman” was ingenious. Every issue read recaptured the feeling of reading my first comic while not talking down to me. Furthermore, his current work on “Batman and Robin,” though yet completed, feels like a happy mixture of detective noir, circus kitsch, and psychological horror/thriller.

(Special mention should be made to Frank Quitely at this moment. Frank Quitely is a phenomenal artist who has worked on many books with Morrison. Specifically, his more recent collaborations include the aforementioned All-Star Superman and Batman and Robin,)

Lesson Learned: Comics can be as complex as you make them.

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