And, with a two day lapse into the popular choices, it's back to being quirky and idiosyncratic. My number one pick is another very personal choice. His artwork is distinctive and gorgeous, his writing is quirky and captivating, every time I read something of his, it makes me want to read MORE... ladies and gents, my gold medal goes to...

#1. PAUL GRIST.

Grist first made an impact with his work with Grant Morrison on Trident Comics' 'St.Swithin's Day', but it wasn't until his own series 'Kane' that we started to get to REALLY see what he was capable of. Kane was an odd little cop series about a police detective in the fictional town of New Eden who returns to the force after being cleared of the crime of murdering his partner. Grist's minimalist use of large areas of Black and White negative space create a wonderfully dimensional world, where out brains fill in the details, and create amazing tableaux.
In many ways, Grist's work on 'Kane' is very similar to that of Stan Sakai in 'Usagi'. There's a lot of empty space, both visually and in terms of storytelling, where the way a character DOESN'T act or express emotion can tell us volumes that we wouldn't see in the work of someone more histrionic or emotional. And in others, it resembles Eisner's work on 'The Spirit', where a dramatic tale of life and death can co-exist with broadly satirical or absurd plot elements (up to and including a desperate, mallet-wielding criminal in a pink bunny suit) in a way that feels completely natural.



And then, he brings us one of my all time favourite comic series, 'The Weird World of Jack Staff'.
Starting out simply as 'Jack Staff', this is not only a very British comic book superhero, but a celebration of British Comics and Pop Culture. The stories are told in a non-linear fashion, jumping back and forth in time, and from character-to-character. Because historically British Comics have usually been anthologies, character jumps are usually accompanied by an introductory preamble, giving the impression that the new scene is a different story within the overall comic. Like the comics it pays tribute to, the characters are drawn from across the genre spectrum, from giving us eccentric superheroics, high-tech agents, mysterious paranormal investigators, working-class fearless vampire killers, master criminals, and even the odd homage to existing characters.
The impression you're given is of a whole amazing world of characters, and with you being given this one lens with which to view it.
It gives me the same feeling as I had as a kid, where I'd pick up comics here and there at flea markets or second-hand bookstores. You'd see characters you'd never seen before, and knew nothing about, and yet you just KNEW there were hundreds of stories out there somewhere if only you could find them! You'd read stories where you came in halfway through and had to just try and figure out what had come before and what would happen after! There'd be references to things you've read about but never read, but which you were sure MUST be fantastic!
It filled my brain with a fever to know more about this world and its amazing inhabitants, meanwhile doling out information meticulously, leaving me always wanting more.





It's the sort of comic I could've read and enjoy forever.
Unfortunately, not as many others shared my opinion and, while the creator said he'd be happy to keep writing and drawing it forever, it just wasn't making him enough money to justify it.
Still... what we have is just sheer magnificence. It's almost like it's written just for me, to remind me of why I love these damn things so much. It reminds me of the joy I took in them as a kid, while being written to me as an adult. Glorious.
In any just world, Paul Grist would be a household name.

Oh gods, yeah, I can't believe I forgot 'Burglar Bill'. GREAT series.
But yeah, I'll pick up ANYTHING with Paul Grist's work in it. I dunno... it's like whatever he's putting out is right on my wavelength.

My # 1 entry was a comic strip genius and golden age innovator in animation : Winsor McCay

Unknown to his parents, while he was attending business college, he worked as a portrait artist in a dime museum in Detroit. Patrons would pay their dime to see the freak shows, oddities, and carnival acts of the late 1800's.

McCay left school at the age of 21 and went to work at the National Printing Company of Chicago illustrating posters for circuses. Two years later he moved to Cincinnati, creating advertising posters for the Kohl and Middleton Dime Museum. He began to create quite a name for himself as a very talented artist.

McCay picked up additional work as a billboard painter. His ability to construct a figure's outline in one continuous line was quite a sight to see. He would draw crowds wherever he painted.

The economic hardships of supporting his family forced McCay to take a new job as a cartoonist/reporter for the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. It was here he learned to fine tune his talent as a draftsman. He was also able to pick up freelance work for other magazines. In 1903 he produced sort of experimental comic strip entitled "Tales of The Jungle Imps by Felix Fiddle", based on poems by George Chester. At the end of 1903, McCay was being courted by the New York Herald, and promptly moved his family to New York. It was this period of time when the newspaper comic strip was becoming very popular. McCay began experimenting with his own original strips.

He developed "Little Sammy Sneeze" followed by "Dream of a Rarebit Fiend". Because of contractual obligations, McCay had to conceal his true identity with the "Dream" strip, and so he signed them as Silas. I remember seeing that name from childhood in books that my grandfather had !

Considered by many to be McCay's masterpiece, "Little Nemo in Slumberland" was introduced in 1905.



Restless sleeper Nemo has inspired generations of artists with his weekly adventures from bed to Slumberland, a realm of colorful companions, psychedelic scenery, and thrilling escapades. Extremely popular, it was later made into a Broadway musical.

McCay's popularity increased and he began performing on Vaudeville. His act consisted of "Speed Drawing" various characters including those from his strips. At the same time, McCay was still producing several daily strips, and editorial cartoons. After eight years, hundreds of editorial cartoons, and seven strips, McCay left the Tribune and went to work for William Randolph Hearst at the New York American. His arrival was a much publicized and heralded event.

While working for Hearst, McCay began to experiment with the idea of using animated pictures as part of his vaudeville act. His first attempt was made using the popular characters from the "Little Nemo" strip. It was a huge success and captivated audiences everywhere he went. He followed this experiment up with "How a Mosquito Operates", again a success. Finally, in 1914 McCay developed "Gertie The Dinosaur". Rather than just showing the film as he had with his previous attempts, McCay actually interacted with Gertie, giving her life and charm. Gertie was an instant success and is the first original character developed solely for the animated cartoon and not based on a pre-existing comic strip.

Hearst felt that McCay's vaudeville act was taking valuable time away from the newspaper, and since McCay was under contract, he forbid him from any more live performances outside the New York area. Gertie was made into a feature film with a live-action prologue and epilogue and shown around the world. Hearst eventually forbid McCay from any vaudeville related performances and even doing daily strips. McCay was only to draw editorial cartoons.

McCay began working heavily on animated films during this time. His next film released in 1918 was "The Sinking Of The Lusitania", one of the first films to use cels. Even when Hearst opened his own animation studio, McCay continued to work on his own, producing six more films through 1921.

McCay continued to draw editorial cartoons until his death by stroke on July 26th, 1934.

Why, I didn't think of him in the first place ... Great Pick Simon!

1. Jack Kirby

Doing a post & run to get in under the deadline.

*edit* Now I have time to add a comment, but again it seems unnecessary, as so much has been said about Kirby already. I first saw his art in 1963, and I started buying the Fourth World books about 2 months before they were cancelled. I bought everything Kirby did after that until I dropped out of comics in 1978. He was just a fountain of ideas, and as I said to my wife recently when she asked about him, he was able to go from A to L to Z without necessarily stopping at B, C, D, etc. I can't think of anything written and drawn by Kirby that I didn't or wouldn't enjoy.

He co-plotted Great Darkness Saga, AND he also co-wrote while penciling volume 4 (5-years later) but yeah, he writes his own stuff too.. so I have him WAY up on my list.

(tho i greatly prefer his writing to his art).