SquareChaos Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 I've been a huge fan of Brubaker and Phillips for years. Who isn't right? Few creators are instant reads for me, but anything that these guys release is guaranteed to be top shelf. As I work my way through Kill or Be Killed, this got me thinking... are there any other modern collaborators that have come close to accomplishing what they have managed over the last decade? Do other such persistent teams even exist? Who are they, and what have they created? Does the medium as a whole lose out or actually gain due to the modern interchangeable / journeyman / mercenary system that most creators labor under? Finding a partner to tie your career to is probably a scary proposition, it is a marriage of sorts, but I have to think art of a higher form would be the result more often than not if more creators found a way to attempt this... Right now, at this moment in time when "independent comics" has reached some form of business maturity... we're likely living in the only time that such a partnership could realistically continue for such a length of time. Sure, you had long runs by the same creative teams, often all the way into the 80s... but without the income viability of today's successful creator owned books there was just no way you would get to see a team stretch their muscles in so many and varied directions. Certainly not while working on an intellectual property. It seems to be one of those signs of the times, I've read and heard it said that we're living in the golden age of sequential storytelling... and I agree... but those other people are typically talking about television. I'm interested to see if anyone else has any thoughts on this topic. aerischan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Mark Millar and Frank Quitely did runs on The Authority and Jupiter's Legacy Vol 1 and Vol 2. They probably did less than 20 issues together but they were amazing. Quality beats quantity imo. The second, and far more prolific pairing, share one of these guys. That would be Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison. For a guy who is always slow and doesn't get credit for being productive, Quitely matters a great deal to me. The Brain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 I can't believe I left out Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta. They are as special together as special gets... ExNihilo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 1 minute ago, the authority said: I can't believe I left out Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta. They are as special together as special gets... I thought of them as well, but I wasn't ready to pull the trigger on it yet. Hickman works with a ton of people, seemingly all of the time, so I wasn't sure I could see it in the same way as B&P. Also, when they are both at the top of their game, I prefer Hickman / Pitarra, but we're splitting hairs there as far as quality goes. ExNihilo and the authority 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ1970 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Wolfman and Perez on Teen Titans I've read them multiple times since they were released and still enjoy them to this day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeksAreMyPeeps Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Kirkman's books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygogolak Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 4 hours ago, SquareChaos said: I've been a huge fan of Brubaker and Phillips for years. Who isn't right? Few creators are instant reads for me, but anything that these guys release is guaranteed to be top shelf. As I work my way through Kill or Be Killed, this got me thinking... are there any other modern collaborators that have come close to accomplishing what they have managed over the last decade? Do other such persistent teams even exist? Who are they, and what have they created? Does the medium as a whole lose out or actually gain due to the modern interchangeable / journeyman / mercenary system that most creators labor under? Finding a partner to tie your career to is probably a scary proposition, it is a marriage of sorts, but I have to think art of a higher form would be the result more often than not if more creators found a way to attempt this... Right now, at this moment in time when "independent comics" has reached some form of business maturity... we're likely living in the only time that such a partnership could realistically continue for such a length of time. Sure, you had long runs by the same creative teams, often all the way into the 80s... but without the income viability of today's successful creator owned books there was just no way you would get to see a team stretch their muscles in so many and varied directions. Certainly not while working on an intellectual property. It seems to be one of those signs of the times, I've read and heard it said that we're living in the golden age of sequential storytelling... and I agree... but those other people are typically talking about television. I'm interested to see if anyone else has any thoughts on this topic. Snyder / Capullo? ExNihilo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Yep. They definitely belong in this discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Morrison/Quitely Gaiman/JH Williams III Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Rucka and Lark with Gotham Central and Lazarus belong too imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTLarsen Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Moore / O'Neill. Ennis / artist whose name escapes me who did Demon and ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolverineX Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Chris Claremont and John Byrne revat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerischan Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Not sure about accomplished but I'd pretty much read anything Waid/Samnee including the upcoming post-Hydra Captain America. Daredevil had some relatively long runs by stable, great creative teams - Bendis/Maleev, Brubaker/Lark, Waid/Samnee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
followtheleader Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 BKV is so powerful that anyone else as an artist would count to make the list. But I do believe BKV and Staples will be in this category when their next project comes along. Patrick ygogolak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygogolak Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 37 minutes ago, aerischan said: Not sure about accomplished but I'd pretty much read anything Waid/Samnee including the upcoming post-Hydra Captain America. Daredevil had some relatively long runs by stable, great creative teams - Bendis/Maleev, Brubaker/Lark, Waid/Samnee. Yea, Bendis is pretty solid and I personally like Alex Maleev. Scarlet is a pretty progressive premis, but I do like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Lots of great pairings mentioned, as well as a few that might fit the criteria of a partnership based on having done a number of projects together. Re: BKV being a power unto himself... does that stand for all of these type of pairings? Is there always a dominant personality at play, or is it really a partnership? Typically the writer gets the credit for being the first mover. Is it all about Brubaker, Millar, BKV, Hickman, and Rucka? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerischan Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 35 minutes ago, SquareChaos said: Lots of great pairings mentioned, as well as a few that might fit the criteria of a partnership based on having done a number of projects together. Re: BKV being a power unto himself... does that stand for all of these type of pairings? Is there always a dominant personality at play, or is it really a partnership? Typically the writer gets the credit for being the first mover. Is it all about Brubaker, Millar, BKV, Hickman, and Rucka? Good writing is good writing but I think having the right artist to work with is what elevates comics to greatness. the authority 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the authority Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 53 minutes ago, SquareChaos said: Lots of great pairings mentioned, as well as a few that might fit the criteria of a partnership based on having done a number of projects together. Re: BKV being a power unto himself... does that stand for all of these type of pairings? Is there always a dominant personality at play, or is it really a partnership? Typically the writer gets the credit for being the first mover. Is it all about Brubaker, Millar, BKV, Hickman, and Rucka? Not imo. If that were the case, my list would've started with Warren Ellis, Frank Miller ( though he and Janson were supremely well suited for each other ), Alan Moore, and Neil Gaiman to mention a few. Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw have done a couple of runs together but they still have a way to go to join this group. Jason Aaron and Latour might join in this group too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExNihilo Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 (edited) Loeb/Sale. I don't know why there seems to be two different Jeph Loeb's. There's the excellent work he's put out with Tim Sale. And then there's everything else which is pretty much terrible (Batman: Hush and Superman/Batman excluded). Edited August 17, 2017 by ExNihilo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 16 minutes ago, the authority said: Not imo. If that were the case, my list would've started with Warren Ellis, Frank Miller ( though he and Janson were supremely well suited for each other ), Alan Moore, and Neil Gaiman to mention a few. Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw have done a couple of runs together but they still have a way to go to join this group. Jason Aaron and Latour might join in this group too. I think in some instances of great partnerships there is a dominant individual, but I don't think it was a hard and fast rule. I also don't think it lessens the person that isn't dominate... I think it takes a special skill to help someone else supremely realize an artistic vision. From your example, going by work both did later without the other... doesn't it seem safe to say Miller dominated the Miller / Janson relationship? It was somewhat famously rocky at times as well, so I'm not sure it was always happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
