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leveret1 wrote:

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I'm not sure it has to do with nationality moreso than education/upbringing.* Comic books are an (arguably) American invention. Not too surprisingly, the fanbase (especially for superhero comics) has always been stronger here on this side of the continent, encouraging not only more dialogue between professional and fan but, considering the dominance of American comics/publishing companies, improved chances of making the transition from the latter to the former. How many pros started out writing letters to comics or working on fanzines/editors? The list is endless: McFarlane, Roy Thomas, Waid, etc. The upside to this is constant replenishment of creators with an inherent understanding of the history, continuity and unique nature of comics. The downside is that many of the comic creators don't know anything BUT superhero comics-- which is why we get a lot of recycled cliches or comic tropes time and time again. On the other hand, I find that international writers tend to have experience outside of comics which is what gives them "wider perspective" that Quicksilver mentioned. It's no surprise that the success of Moore's revitalization/re-imagining of Swamp Thing heralded a British invasion of new comic writers.

*Note: I'm not implying that American writers are dumb but more that, as mentioned, many of them have little experience outside of comics. I think we're seeing the same thing now with recruitment of writers from the TV/film industry (Guggenheim, JMS) or have had prior non-comic writing expertise (Joe Hill, Denise Mina).

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. But I would take a slight exception with Roy Thomas, who was a teacher and - in addition to his huge knowledge of comics - is probably more familiar with the classics of literature than most of us are or will ever be.

When I wrote my long rant on Marvel writers and writing comics, one of my key suggestions was this:

11) Think outside the comics - think outside the box
Where does a good writer find his/her inspiration? Well, it is obvious that the writer has to do his homework first (see 3 and 4 above). But if you stop there, your stories can be little more than pastiches of some other writers' styles (see 10 above). Even if they are perfect, they will be nothing more than perfect pastiches. To break out of this vicious cycle, you will have to look farther, beyond the boundaries of comic books. That's where the best loved writers have found their inspiration - and fused it into the comic book cosmology.
The Mighty Thor provides a telling example of this. There have been creative teams who have cited Lee & Kirby as their all-time favorite creative team on Thor (nothing wrong with that, Stan & Jack's Thor run can justifiably be called definitive). But their own output reads like watered-down versions of Lee/Kirby Thor, bland and boring. Now consider Stan & Jack - *they* were not basing their most famous Asgardian stories on some other comic books. They found their inspiration in various sources (mainly Norse mythology, but also other sources like Shakespeare), which - integrated into the Marvel Universe - gave their Thor stories that unique vibe. The same holds true for the other significant Thor writers as well: Walt Simonson was inspired by the Eddas and Tolkien, Roy Thomas applied his knowledge of classic literature, etc. You can actually notice that in their writing, which - at best - transcends conventional comic book narration and achieves something deeper.
You can also find this in other titles: Claremont's X-Men stories were influenced by scifi/fantasy literature and movies, Starlin's cosmic stories by his university studies (psychology, among others!), Peter David's newer X-Factor stories (as well as some of his Hulk stories) by his love of film noir, etc.

(See http://marvelmasterworksfansite.yuku.com/topic/6125 for the full article.)

TODD TAMANEND CLARK wrote:

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deejayway: "I challenge anyone to come up with a comparable list of U.S. writers, containing the same degree of eclecticism, originality, sophistication, inventiveness, and wit."

AL FELDSTEIN, ANN NOCENTI, DENNIS O'NEIL, ED BRUBAKER, FRANK MILLER, GILBERT HERNANDEZ, HOWARD CHAYKIN, JAIME HERNANDEZ, RICK VEITCH, and TIMOTHY TRUMAN

Nocenti, O'Neil and Brubaker are not bad writers, but they are not even nearly in the same class as Moore or Morrison. Sorry. (And the same applies to most writers on your later lists.) Frank Miller could have been until his hubris took the best of him and he started writing lazy rubbish like DKR2.