11. John Byrne



I know that John is a very diversive figure in our refined circles, but in the prime of my collecting he was one of the most sought after creators by fans and publishers. For 10 - 15 years he delivered, usually twice a month, firstly as a penciller only, then as the great writer/artist he was. Being there as X-Men started to explode was an interesting time, I was just starting to get more discerning in what I liked(I still bought and read everything I could, but hated half of it) and remembered his few issues on the Avengers and how I hadnt liked some of that work. You know what its like, judging a mans career based on 2 covers he had done 2 years before, which you thought looked awkward(sounds like I was ready for the Internet back then).

Anyhoo, back to the point.



My love for John Byrne starts with his great run on Captain America, his partnership with Roger Stern was the best writing on the book in 3-4 years since the King had left. I had read X-Men, and seen some of the Marvel Team-Up books but this is where I started to take notice.


Then there is his run on the first family of Marvel where the reverence he holds for the characters is evident.
I loved this, loved his inclusion of She-Hulk, and the changes he tried to make. Ive been rereading these of late, and while not all still impress, plenty still do.


Finally(amongst many other fine examples) there is his work on redefining the aging Superman at DC for 2 years.



I know he also goes on to do Namor, She-Hulk, Alpha Flight and some other stuff I never got to at the time, but I still see him as a great cartoonist.

#11 Robert Minor

The highwater mark of the editorial cartoonist has passed, alas, but I have and always will retain a special admiration and reverence for these most poetic of cartoonists, who cannot afford to waste a word or a brushstroke in their attempt to capture and convey information, emotion, and opinion.

Damn inspired choice Prince Hal. Well chosen.

Although my upcoming choice is just about the opposite of Minor.

# 11 Naoki Urasawa for 20th Century Boys



Technically not released in English 'till 2008, but what the hell... I'd read some online scans beforehand.

Here's the high concept pitch - A secret organization is trying to take over the world - and they are using plans developed by Kenji (a humble gas station owner) and his gang when they were kids, writing a "Book of Prophecy!" So Kenji has to figure out which of his old pals is the mysterious "friend" hell-bent on world conquest using only his vague childhood memories.

Here's the sad truth. Japanese comic artists are better at plotting than their Western counterparts, and once you get used to the backwards reading and weird sound effects, Manga's story-over-illustration focus means that Japanese comic are more absorbing than American books.

Which is to say I read all 22 volumes at the University Library in 4 days. That's 2500 pages of comics!

While the art isn't jaw-dropping like Victor Moscosso or Dave Stevens, the storytelling is crystal clear and makes this monster of a tale - with a huge cast of characters and a story that spans 45 years - completely absorbing. Twists and turns and "Everything you know is wrongs" come at you at breakneck speed, and the end result is as addicting as anything I've ever read in any medium. Very heartfelt, very smart, and insanely huge in scope this is one of the absolute masterpieces of long form comics... except that Urusawi's MONSTER might be even better!