Comicon’s 5 Best Writers Of 2022
by Erik Amaya
Welcome to Comicon.com’s Best of the Year Awards, gathering the best comics and comics talent of the strange year that was 2021. This year we will be awarding in the following categories: Best Original Graphic Novels, Best Comic Series, Best Single Comic Issues, Best Writers, Best Artists, Best Cover Artists, Best Colorists, Best Letterers, Best Digital/Webcomics, and Most Progressive Comics.
Contributors to Comicon’s Best of the Year Awards this year include: Oliver MacNamee, Rachel Bellwoar, Richard Bruton, Scott Redmond, Tito James, Tom Smithyman, and Tony Thornley.
The following are Comicon’s 5 Best Writers of 2022.
5. Kieron Gillen
With Kieron Gillen’s return to the X-Men — as well as the finale to his creator-owned title, Once & Future — and the guiding hand behind the recent A.X.E.: Judgment Day event, it’s been a busy and fruitful year for this UK writer. And a year in which he has proven once again his skill at writing across genres and continuing to surprise, too. He masterfully captures the distinct and diverse voices of the characters he creates, or curates, with a knack for strong, authentic female voices.
— Olly MacNamee
4. James Tynion IV
James Tynion IV could have taken a breather after wrapping his run on Batman in 2021. Instead, this prolific writer redoubled his efforts with some fantastic creator-owned series. His Something Is Killing The Children is a modern horror classic, and he followed it up with The House of Slaughter, and continued his work on The Department of Truth. If that weren’t enough, he found time to write The Closet, WYND Book Two, Blue Book … and the list goes on. Tynion is showing no signs of slowing down, and his readers are all the richer for it.
— Tom Smithyman
3. Sarah Gailey
In 2021, Sarah Gailey hit the ground running with their debut comic miniseries, Eat The Rich, and in 2022 they left the ground behind to soar high through the skies. Gailey made the seamless jump from writing books to writing comics, bringing amazing new energy to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise with the emotionally deep character focused series The Vampire Slayer. Not content to only make massive waves with the Buffy series, Gailey rounded out the year with the debut of their new original horror series Know Your Station, which takes another stab at the ultra-wealthy. They have an amazing, unique, and powerful voice, finding a way to hone in the most relatable and prevalent aspects of any issue or character. Their work is must-read for any comic book fan and just any fan of reading period.
— Scott Redmond
2. Gene Luen Yang
This year Yang introduced the world to Monkey Prince. At the same time he was launching a new series, though, Yang was continuing Shang-Chi, a series which only hit greater strides in its third and fourth arcs. Admittedly, the numbering on Shang-Chi has been a little confusing, as it’s gone from being a miniseries, to an ongoing, back to miniseries — but as a reader, it’s all been one smooth, continuous ride. What’s made Shang-Chi so compelling from the start is its focus on family. Any problem is instantly made more fraught when family is involved, and between Shang-Chi’s grandfather and Shang-Chi’s concerns about becoming more like his father, the Master of Kung Fu has had his hands full. It’s Shang-Chi’s rapport with his siblings, though (all of whom have very different points of view and personalities) that really sets this series apart and it’ll be greatly missed (a final, annual issue is scheduled for January).
— Rachel Bellwoar
1. Ram V
2022 was the year that Ram V ascended from “rising star” to “superstar.” After a stellar 2021 that included books like The Many Lives of Laila Star, Catwoman, and Swamp Thing, V took the reins of Venom, Carnage, and — most high profile — Detective Comics, on top of his already exceptional creator owned work. That last title garnered the most attention, as he took Batman and infused Gotham City with a mixture of gothic horror and detective noir. It’s a classic take on Batman with so much personality that it’s propelled the title to creative heights that haven’t been seen in years. Even more is on the horizon with both Big Two and creator owned work as well, promising 2023 will be the year of V.
— Tony Thornley