Round 2: 1 - Ian Edginton or Robbie Morrison - Ultimate Not Wagner Tourney

[Daveycandlish]

Oh Crikey.
Dante is one of my favourite tales but for sheer body of hits in his work, Edgington edges it.

[Huey2]

Ian Edginton

[Buttonman]

Ian Edginton as I like 'Leviathan' more than anything that Morrison has done in an albeit still impressive body of work.

[Andy B]

This is a really difficult one...

My first draft said Edginton, for the sheer variety of great stuff he's done through the years, but conceding that Nikolai Dante is, beginning to end, the greatest story 2000ad ever told. So I talked myself around: it's Robbie Morrison

[Tjm86]

I suppose it is worth reviewing the body of work of the two writers to get a sense of perspective. 

Morrison's work on Dredd seems to be mainly in the meg along with expanding the Dredd-world with Shimura and DeMarco PI, along with some of the early Hershey strips.  Dante gets the lions share of his attention but we've also got to remember Shakara with Flint.

Edginton has the inestimable Scarlet Traces alongside Ampney Cruces, American Gothic, Red Seas, Stone Island, Stickleback, Brass Sun and Helium. 

Actually, it doesn't make it any easier really does it?  I mean, all of these are strong stories.  Admittedly it doesn't help for Edginton that we still don't have closure on some of these. Then again the last Scarlet Traces strip had a lot going for it.

In Morrison's defence, Shakara surely has to get it for the sheer 'bats*** crazy' diversity of the world, although I suspect that might be down to Flint's artwork.

I'm leaning toward Edginton.  His infusion of supernatural elements, art-deco madness and different takes on classical tales such as WotW, Agatha Christie, pirate tales and Sherlock Holmes does get strong competition from Morrison to be sure.  Leviathan is a classic example of his tendencies although I often find myself recalling "Goliath Awaits" when reading it.

Dante's world is a fascinating take on Czarist Russia melded with pulp heroic fiction.  Shakara leans into the sort of deranged creativity that has long been the hall mark of Tooth.  Credit also has to be given to him for perseverance and commitment on Dante, leading to slow evolution of the character over the years.

It doesn't help that both writers have benefited from some of Tooth's finest artistic talent to bring their tales to life.  So, as has been observed by of Facebook friends, it really does come down to personal judgement and preferences.

That being the case, I've got to go with Edington on the strength of Scarlet Traces.  The way he built this out of Wells' original work is a sterling example of how to take a concept and stretch it in fascinating ways.

[Greg M.]

Ian Edginton is very good at coming up with off-the-wall settings and starting points for stories - the first few episodes of his work are always the best. However, there's something about his literary sensibilities that often strikes me as a little... quaint, I suppose – if I said 'writer whose story features a clockwork [blank]', you'd know who I was talking about. I don't find his characters particularly memorable, and at worst – Ampney Crucis – they can fall between the cracks of a wider narrative happening around them. When he does create an iconic character – Stickleback – he then reveals him to secretly be someone else's creation, effectively demoting his own strong original idea to fan-fiction status. And his stories can be protracted and start to lose their way, before being relegated to the sidelines in favour of yet another vaguely steampunky Victorian-lit-derived odyssey. I think he's a talented guy with undoubted taste (he's a metaller – he writes Eddie comics for Iron Maiden!) but his authorial voice doesn't grab me. Sorry, Ian!

On the other hand Robbie Morrison is the authorial voice I'm most missing. It's no coincidence that when his two signature series – Nikolai Dante and Shakara – finished in 2012, my interest in the prog took a bit of a hit. Shakara is pure 2000AD to its very core and has the kind of sensibility the comic needs – an antidote to glacially-paced borefests like Brink. Nikolai Dante is not without its flaws – that wobbly pirate bit in the middle – but at its best, it is a modern classic, with everything a good 2000AD series needs: iconic lead character, quotable catchphrases, cracking plot twists, great art and a memorable supporting cast. In terms of style, Morrison is the king of the (over) emotional gut-punch – works brilliantly for his own stories, less so for Dredd!

Robbie Morrison.

[Bolt-01]

Ian Edginton.

Sheesh.

[Colin YNWA]

Well if you've not cast your vote here you need to as soon as possible as its closing soon and from a quick scan (nothing more I've done no count) this one is very, very close. No surprise this is a vote between to stunningly talents creators.

You have until the morning (Friday) nice and early when I'll count up.

[robprosser]

Ian Edginton. Dante is probably my all-time favourite story but Edginton has an extremely high hit rate.

[Colin YNWA]

VOTING CLOSED - but feel free to add votes and comments but the call is made.

Well I'll be honest for all the tough draws this was actually the one I'm most relieved I've not had to make a call on as this one is tough. One writer has written what is possibly my favourite thrills in Nikolai Dante and done good work elsewhere. The other has done some consistantly brilliant world building and written some top draw thrills. If I did a top ten thrills he'd be in there at least once... maybe more... Anyway luckly you lot had to make that call and the challenge was reflected in some brilliant reflections you provided.

I started this to try to provide a focus for discussion about our favourite comic and by George this round has done this. So I'll say it now thanks to all who participate...

...but mush aside we need a result and this one wasn't quite as close as for all the individual tough calls

Ian Edginton

Kept a lead pretty much throughout.

[ZenArcade]

Edginton.  Leviathan has seldom been bettered. Z

[broodblik]

This round I do not mind whom won since both of them has creating some awesome work