Faves of all time

[Fifty]

Okay I'm new here, and I want to kick off a discussion of favourites.

I wanted to decide who my all-time favourite characters, writers and artists from 2000AD were so I could realy have some great disagreements with some people who were blatantly wrong.  I decided I wanted writers who could tell a long story arc, and artists who weren't NECESSARILY the best artist, but the best storyteller and characters who could sustain interest over time.
I decided that to do this I would choose my top ten favourite series and see what artists and writers came out on top.
Note - I have only included 2000AD, not other publications, not even the Megazine.  If I try and include stuff from outside 2000AD my brain is likely to melt.
I came up with:

Necropolis      Wagner      Ezquerra
Halo Jones BK3      Moore      Gibson
Rage         Wagner      Ezquerra
Tsar Wars BK5      Morrison   Burns
The Black Hole      Pat Mills   Simon Bisley & SMS
The Horned God      Pat Mills   Simon Bisley
Button Man      Wagner      Ranson
Bad Company BK1      Milligan   Ewins/McCarthy
The Final Solution   Wagner      Harrison/MacNeil
The Battleship Potemkin   Morrison   Fraser

Well, that gives me Johnny Alpha and Nikolai Dante tied for first place character.  I surprise myself by choosing Dante over Alpha and other older characters.  With JA and ND I guess I really like the way their humanity is challenged by circumstance, for example JA in Rage going after Max Bubba, ND killing Konstantin etc..  It is possible that Halo Jones has been badly served by only being in 3 books, she is well up there as fave characters go.

Wagner clearly wins as best writer for me.  Dredd, JA and Harry Ex (Harry Ex is another great challenge to a persons humanity, look how he changes over 3 books, and Dredd was at his best when having his doubts around the time of Necropolis) are all masterful creations.  Shame Pat Mills hasn't produced anything good for a few years, and I hope Morrison can produce more wonderful creations like ND.

Artist is a tie between Ezquerra and Bisley, and I can't separate them.  Both have a B&W and a colour piece in my top ten. While Bisley is clearly the superior artist, I was thinking about storytelling, and here, I think it must be agreed, Ezquerra is a master.  So, a tie it is.

So, what are your opinions?  Am I fool?  Well, no clearly I am not, but are you enough of a fool to try and disagree with me?

[Wood]

You won't like it...

SD in Portrait of a Mutant (Grant/Ezquerra)

Dredd in The Apocalypse War (Wagner/Ezquerra)

I like both of those because they add a bit of depth to very similar characters in very different ways: Johnny Alpha is shown to be hardened by experience; Dredd is simply shown to be a complete and utter bastard - and, more importantly, to be morally ambiguous (nuking East meg 1 and killing everybody in it is not the act of a goodie. Neither is shooting your own citizens).

Zenith, all of it (Morrison and Yeowell)

because, apart from the ace characterisation and toruous plot, any writer who can foreshadow Book 4 in Book 1 about 3 years previously really deserves respect.

Indigo Prime: Killing Time (Smith and Weston)

Because it's Smith on good form (and when he is, he's REALLY good)

Revere (Smith/Harrison)
Tyranny Rex - the first three stories (Smith/Dillon and Smith/Simpson)

Ditto.

DR and Quinch

Because it's genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny.

Nemesis Books 4-6 (Mills & Talbot)

Everything Pat Mills wrote for 2000AD after The Horned God is IMO preachy twaddle. But this is Mills at the height of his powers, and Talbot, on a high after Luther Arkwright, at the height of his.

And some obvious ones...
Bad Company Book 1 (yep, me too)
Dredd in Death Lives!
Halo Jones (esp. Bk 3, but the other two are also excellent)
Hewligan's Haircut

Also, can I include New Statesmen from Crisis? No? Oh, please yourselves, then.

[Fifty]

SD in Portrait of a Mutant (Grant/Ezquerra)

maybe

Dredd in The Apocalypse War (Wagner/Ezquerra)

No

Zenith, all of it (Morrison and Yeowell)

Yeah, maybe one of the first 3 books should replace the Battleship Potemkin

Indigo Prime: Killing Time (Smith and Weston)

Too weird

Revere  

God No

Tyranny Rex - the first three stories

Bit average

Ditto.

DR and Quinch

Because it's genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny.

Hmm.. I love it too, but the lack of character devlopment isn't made up for by the humour IMHO

Nemesis Books 4-6 (Mills & Talbot)

Everything Pat Mills wrote for 2000AD after The Horned God is IMO preachy twaddle. But this is Mills at the height of his powers, and Talbot, on a high after Luther Arkwright, at the height of his.

It was good I'll admit, but I actually though Talbot was nowhere near as good in this as in Luther Arkwright.  Luther Arkwright was exceptional btw.

[James]

What about Zenith?

[Fifty]

Yeah, as I replied to Wood, I somehow missed Zenith off my list.  He was on my list of 15 or so, but somehow failed to get on to the top ten.  On reflection I think maybe one of the first three books should have been in the top ten.  But at whose expense?  I don't relly want to bump Potemkin out as it was where Dante really gets nasty and kills Konstantin.