Happy Birthday Walter Simonson

Five Walt Simonson Comics We Think You Should Read

Yesterday was the 69th birthday of Tripwire‘s friend Walter Simonson. A man with a career that stretches back to the early Seventies, Simonson first came to attention with the Manhunter series that ran in DC’s Detective Comics with writer Archie Goodwin. A decade later he reinvigorated Marvel’s struggling Thor book and in the 1990s he wrote and drew a run of Marvel’s Fantastic Four. So to celebrate his birthday yesterday, here’s five of Walt Simonson’s comics we think you should read…

1. Manhunter (DC Comics)

The series that made Simonson’s name with writer Archie Goodwin, which ran in DC’s Detective Comics in 1973 from #437 to #443, took a minor DC creation and turned it into a must-read adventure story influenced by the Far East, that even features Batman.

 
2. The Mighty Thor (Marvel)
Simonson’s run as writer and artist on Marvel’s Thor, which began with #337 in 1983, reinvigorated the title with Simonson channeling Kirby while bringing something new to proceedings. He made Thor and his supporting characters like Loki, Odin and new creation Beta Ray Bill interesting and fleshed-out and interesting.

3.Fantastic Four (Marvel)
Simonson began on Marvel’s superpowered family book with #334 in December 1989 as its writer and while he only lasted for twenty issues on it, his run was memorable because, just like his run on Thor earlier in the decade, he brought that sense of wonder to the book that Kirby did. His Fantastic Four was epic, enjoyable and very likeable indeed.

4.Elric: The Making of A Sorcerer (DC Comics)
He didn‘t write this but drew it from Elric creator Michael Moorcock’s script but the second time that he drew Elric, Simonson brought the world of Moorcock’s most iconic creation to life with skill and panache, with some of the most beautiful and dramatic comic art seen in recent years.

5. Ragnarok (IDW Publishing)
Simonson returned to the world of Thor and the Norse gods in 2014 with this creator-owned series for IDW which he wrote and drew but these aren’t Marvel’s pantheon of gods. Thor and co are darker and more mythic but he certainly hasn’t lost his flair for the dramatic as the art on Ragnarok is as staggeringly dynamic and distinctive as all of the best work of his career.

Thor by Walter Simonson – Volume 1 (Thor (Graphic Novels))

Fantastic Four Epic Collection: Into the Time Stream

Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer

Ragnarok Volume 1: Last God Standing

Manhunter The Special Ed TP