Warren Ellis has created and written some of the best comic series ever.
Planetary. Transmetropolitan. The Authority. For just three off the top of my head.
Indeed, like The Mighty Stephen Hawking, he is fully deserving of the Mighty appelation. But what is it that makes someone worthy of that title? I think we can all agree that Stephen is a Mighty Power, but what makes him so?
Well, it can’t be just talent. John Rogers at Kung Fu Monkey is a great writer, but The Mighty John Rogers? Not yet. Maybe in a few years.
The Mighty Stephen King – yep.
The Mighty James Cameron – yep.
The Mighty Steven Spielberg – absolutely.
(But not The Mighty Uwe Boll. Or The Mighty William Shatner.)
The way I see it, it’s a mixture of three things.
A huge talent, expressed over many years, on many different projects.
So yes, for his work on science (I think we can leave out the excursions into Gangsta Rap which started me on this train of thought in the first place) The Mighty Stephen Hawking. And for his work on comics, The Mighty Warren Ellis.
Any more?
One response to “The Mighty Warren Ellis”
Hmmm… not sure that Warren really deserves it (and damn sure that King doesn’t). Transmet isn’t standing up well to the test of time. The Authoritah was great. Planetary is petering out because he can’t be arsed with it anymore. Strange Kisses/Killings petered out too.
Global Frequency was good. But the best thing he’s written was Quit City – and that was a one-shot. I think the problem he has is sustaining interest in a project for long enough to make it work.
But he’s not Grant Morrison. But then, who is?