View Full Version : Warren Ellis vs. Grant Morrison
paper
06-21-2007, 06:50 PM
They're both whacky, right?
And British, But Ellis has Transmet.
Morrison has Seaguy.
Gotta go with ellis.
ConorKilpatrick
06-21-2007, 06:54 PM
They have both done really interesting work but I have to go with Morrison for his JLA and for Animal Man.
Tranmetropolitan is an all-time series, though.
esophagus
06-21-2007, 07:01 PM
Ellis
Transmet
New Universal (it has potential, but it better go somewhere soon)
Next Wave
Ellis really only holds himself up with me because of these three. Next Wave is comic genius, and Transmet is just amazing.
Morrison
Arkham Asylum
Batman 663-666
All-Star Superman
JLA One Million
JLA Earth-2
52
Animal Man
Doom Patrol
Swamp Thing
The Invisibles
Wildcats
I think its obvious who gets this one.
Mikegraham6
06-21-2007, 07:08 PM
I have just started Transmet (finished the first vol. last week) and while there are definitely Eliis stories i enjoy (Authority, Nextwave) i haven't read some of his stuff that is raved about (Fell, planetary, other transmet... though i have vol1 of planetary and vol2 of transmet on my NEXT pile).
I just can't get enough of Morrison's Big ideas. They are so layered and complex and whether i enjoyed his book or not, they ALWAYS get me thinking and what more can you ask from you media besides getting your brain working?
I loved Seven Soldiers (except for the ending), Animal Man, Doom Patrol, New X-men (i know people ***** but that and USM got me back into comics), JLA, arkham asylum, his current Batman/superman stuff, Batman: Gothic, We3, Marvel Boy... f*ck the list keeps going on and on. His name (along with Brubaker and Bendis) alone will get me to buy the book. I just like surrealism, and i feel he's the David Lynch of comics.
But there are things he's done that i haven't liked (the filth), but thats the same with almost every creator.
I look forward to reading The Invisibles vol 1 on my NEXT pile in the next couple of weeks...
esophagus
06-21-2007, 07:11 PM
I have just started Transmet (finished the first vol. last week) and while there are definitely Eliis stories i enjoy (Authority, Nextwave) i haven't read some of his stuff that is raved about (Fell, planetary, other transmet... though i have vol1 of planetary and vol2 of transmet on my NEXT pile).
I just can't get enough of Morrison's Big ideas. They are so layered and complex and whether i enjoyed his book or not, they ALWAYS get me thinking and what more can you ask from you media besides getting your brain working?
I loved Seven Soldiers (except for the ending), Animal Man, Doom Patrol, New X-men (i know people ***** but that and USM got me back into comics), JLA, arkham asylum, his current Batman/superman stuff, Batman: Gothic, We3, Marvel Boy... f*ck the list keeps going on and on. His name (along with Brubaker and Bendis) alone will get me to buy the book. I just like surrealism, and i feel he's the David Lynch of comics.
But there are things he's done that i haven't liked (the filth), but thats the same with almost every creator.
I look forward to reading The Invisibles vol 1 on my NEXT pile in the next couple of weeks...Crap. This is what I get for looking at wikipedias bibliography to help me get a full list. No Batman/Superman. That puts Morrison on top in itself.
paper
06-21-2007, 07:24 PM
I've got vol. 1 of Fell on my shelf right next to We3. Two of my favorite trades. It's impossible. I'm not even gonna answer my own question because I haven't read nearly enough to make an honest decision.
I love All-Star Superman and Desolation Jones too.
I'm having a tough time with this one. There are, like paper has said, things from each that I haven't read that I should.
here's the breakdown of what I have read:
Morrison
1) JLA
2) New X-Men (bite me - it's awesome)
3) All Star Superman
Ellis
1) Transmet
2) NextWave
I think I have to give it to Morrison.
Wow, I'm astounded how few people have read Planetary.
It's one of my all time faves, and I can't wait for it to end. It's got all the big ideas of a Morrison story and is RICH with pop culture references, but especially fun for those of us who know comics.
Have I not been recommending this like mad? Cause I really should be.
Read Planetary, and then vote, if you're still for Morrison (which I can totally understand) then more power to you. But you won't be sad having read PLanetary.
Mikegraham6
06-21-2007, 07:56 PM
Wow, I'm astounded how few people have read Planetary.
It's one of my all time faves, and I can't wait for it to end. It's got all the big ideas of a Morrison story and is RICH with pop culture references, but especially fun for those of us who know comics.
Have I not been recommending this like mad? Cause I really should be.
Read Planetary, and then vote, if you're still for Morrison (which I can totally understand) then more power to you. But you won't be sad having read PLanetary.
It's on the pile, but thanks to your glowing recommendation it got bumped up a few spots (maybe i'll read it before the invisibles:))
Props to Kal who was nice enough to send me his copy all the way from Vegas (for a nominal fee of course)
Humphrey Lee
06-21-2007, 11:27 PM
I think this is probably more of a dead heat. I like Warren Ellis more for the most part, and think he's done better works, but on the whole Morrison's body of work is so much bigger and was more revolutionary because of the time period it came at. Honestly, I think Warren's "out superheroed" Grant because I think The Authority, Planetary, and Stormwatch are better written than JLA, ASS, and New X-Men. Especially Planetary. That's far and away the most superior work out of all six of those examples. And I think he's put out the best Vertigo work, and probably the best work between the two of them in Transmetropolitan. But after that Warren's left mainly with Nextwave, Desolation Jones, and Fell as his notable works while Grant's still got Arkham Asylum, WE3, Doom Patrol, Animal Man, The Invisibles, Marvel Boy, et al.
So, yeah, I think Ellis is better, and doesn't fall on his face as much as Morrison tends to, but Morrison's large body of good works evens it out.
seNoj1
06-21-2007, 11:31 PM
I have to go with Morrision. I think that he just has done stuff that appeals to me more. X-Men was pretty good. All-Star Superman was great along with 52 and Batman. Ellis has Transmet and Fell and that's all i have really liked by him.
acomicbookgirl
06-21-2007, 11:33 PM
While I like both, I fell in love with Grant Morrison with issue #116 of New X-men, got attached with The Flith and after We3 at the time, the twosome turned into the threesome of my favorite writers.. Grant it, it takes awhile but All Star Superman is well worth it..
nateboegel
06-22-2007, 03:06 PM
I have to go with Morrison also. Plantetary is awesome and I have enjoyed some of Ellis' other work like Nextwave. Morrison's JLA run sold it for me (my DC-ness strikes again.)
While I like both, I fell in love with Grant Morrison with issue #116 of New X-men, got attached with The Flith and after We3 at the time, the twosome turned into the threesome of my favorite writers.. Grant it, it takes awhile but All Star Superman is well worth it..
See in the same way I expect New Universal to be worth it, he's got a pay-off coming. I swear!
I loved Morrison's New X-men run as well, but have a problem with his (argueably) seminal work "The Invisible's". I felt it started out with so much promise, but became so confusing near the end it lost me.
Generally that's my problem with Morrison's work, Invisible's, Seven Soldiers (which I absolutely respect as an artistic endeavor), and the Filth. He has a hard time keeping his ending cohesive.
Mikegraham6
06-22-2007, 03:16 PM
i agree with you in some respects CAM. When Morrison is allowed free reign (invisibles, seven soldiers, filth), he leaves things too open ended making them far too confusing. I don't mind being confused while reading a series but i do hope that it builds to some sort of resolution in the final issues (as much as we can get from Morrison) but i don't think it's the case for all his stuff. His more mainstream stuff is pretty straightforward. While he does introduce some of his grand concepts in All Star Superman and JLA/JLA Classified, they are the crux of the story, you don't need to understand them in order to enjoy it, its part of the wacky-ness.
I look at it like he's taking the crazy shit found in the silver age to a new and more complex level, we aren't meant to understand it, just to accept it.
I don't mind being confused while reading a series but i do hope that it builds to some sort of resolution in the final issues (as much as we can get from Morrison) but i don't think it's the case for all his stuff.
True, it's the argument of grand concepts vs. attainable pay-off, you HAVE to take the good with the bad.
His more mainstream stuff is pretty straightforward. While he does introduce some of his grand concepts in All Star Superman and JLA/JLA Classified, they are the crux of the story, you don't need to understand them in order to enjoy it, its part of the wacky-ness.
I look at it like he's taking the crazy shit found in the silver age to a new and more complex level, we aren't meant to understand it, just to accept it.
Also true, though I feel he can lose himself in indulgence sometimes, at the expense of characterization. I'll cite JLA as an example. In expanding the roster to the size he did, he was able to tell some epic stories, but I don't feel like I learned anything about "Orion" for example, as a character. He was a tool of Morrison's story telling, with a cool costume that Grant likes.
Keep in mind as I write this that I LOVE Morrison, but I was forced to choose so I'm arguing my point.
jerome
06-23-2007, 02:58 AM
i remember an analogy the ifanboys made a while ago about how Grant Morrison is a guy who always swings for the fences. A lot of his ideas end up failing or falling on its face (the filth, arguably some of New X-Men) but he's always trying to do something different. With Ellis, you definitely get the feeling that he sleepwalks through some of his projects, especially a lot of his mainstream marvel work. When he actually cares about his work, you get something like Transmet of Fell, but when he's bored, like in his Ultimate Fantastic Four or Thunderbolts, you can tell.
esophagus
06-23-2007, 05:18 AM
Not only that, but I feel Grant Morrison puts his all into everything. Ellis has been known to sleepwalk through even his best of projects, though irregularly. I think he would be better doing concept work. New Universal is a great idea, but really lacking. Next Wave, a great concept, and generally great writing, but occasionally I think it could be done better. Same for most of his projects, save Fell and Transmet.