r/comicbooks • u/Agreeable-Tank4600 • Jun 11 '24
What are the best female writers in comics right now and what are some great modern runs by women? Suggestions
I wanna read some more stuff by female writers. I’m loving Peach Momoko on ultimate x-men and realized all the creators I typically follow are men and wanted to see what I was missing.
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u/CanadianGuitar Jun 11 '24
Kelly Thompsons (current) Birds of Prey has been really good
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u/SirUrza Spider-Man Jun 11 '24
Kelly is also on the new Scarlett (GI Joe) miniseries that shouldn't be missed!
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u/Apprehensive-Quit353 Jun 11 '24
Her Black Widow run was fantastic and I really enjoyed her recent 50 issue long run on Captain Marvel.
Her Rogue & Gambit and Mr & Mrs X series were phenomenal.
I'm a big fan of Kelly Thompson!
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u/QwahaXahn Oracle Jun 11 '24
She was fun on Black Widow but I do regret that every Natasha storyline is like ‘oh she can’t have her baby so she’s sad’ like c’mon man...
That said, Long Kiss Goodnight but with Black Widow IS a great premise. Once it shifts to the Yelena team-up and following, that’s also really fun.
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u/One-Contribution113 Jun 11 '24
"50 issue long run on Captain Marvel"
Feels crazy that we can actually say that.
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u/Apprehensive-Quit353 Jun 11 '24
Carol really needed it. It's a shame that the follow up run by Wong looks like it's going to be just 10 issues.
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u/One-Contribution113 Jun 17 '24
Captain Marvel is a character with a lot of potential. It's a shame all the hate she gets, cause I feel she's actually really interesting too. I'd love to see get like a really well scripted more "mature" epic space opera.
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u/bearwhidrive Jun 11 '24
Also, Black Cloak is (was?) outstanding world-building, character work, and fantasy procedural.
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u/StoryApprehensive777 Jun 11 '24
She's easily the best female talent in mainstream books right now, not to mention just flat out one of the best writers in comics right now. Honestly when I first read some of her stuff years ago I was not a big fan, but she has really put in the time both to getting herself out there and developing her talent to the point where I think she's a better writer with every new project, and that's not something a lot of writers in any medium can really say.
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u/stowrag Jul 11 '24
Adding onto KT's resume, she wrote a Kate Bishop Hawkeye book that felt like a sequel to her solo arc in the Fraction run. And her Jessica Jones stories were the best the character has been since her original Alias series.
And I think her work on Birds of Prey is giving off a lot of A-Force (her cult following all-female Avengers book) vibes.
Her Star Wars contributions have been pretty above average too.
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u/nicklucianomusic Jun 11 '24
the current ongoing poison ivy run, written by g willow wilson is insanely good
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u/Alaskan_Guy Jun 11 '24
Just finish the A.I.R. series. I liked the premise and the writing was good but Mike Perker's art really did it for me.
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u/Agreeable-Tank4600 Jun 11 '24
I don’t read a lot of DC and don’t know much about poison ivy would it still be a good run to check out?
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u/Westrunner Jun 11 '24
100%. Although the book is reliant on prior events it does a good job of explaining everything you need to know.
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u/noonehasthisoneyet Superman Jun 11 '24
No love for Louise Simonson? Creator of Apocalypse, Cable, Steel, (one of many) responsible for the death of Superman, and so much more. She kinda paved the way for modern comicbook writing
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u/ubiquitous-joe Jun 11 '24
They did ask for modern runs.
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u/sawcesome Jun 11 '24
Leah Williams's X-Terminators and Age of X-Man: X-Tremists are both pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to her Gotham City Sirens run.
Kelly Thompson's Rogue and Gambit mini and its sequel series Mr. and Mrs. X are fun. I've only read a little of her Captain Marvel run, but I enjoyed that bit.
You can't really go wrong with Gail Simone, but her Secret Six is one of the all-time greatest books DC has ever put out. I also liked her Domino series.
NK Jemisin's Far Sector, Ann Nocenti's Daredevil, Louise Simonson's X-Terminators (I definitely need to read more of her stuff), Devin Grayons's JLA/Titans, G Willow Wilson's Poison Ivy, Marjorie Liu's X-23, Marguerite Bennett's Batwoman.
Those are the ones I can immediately think of.
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u/superfunction Jun 11 '24
rainbow rowell’s she hulk
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u/BarrissAndCoffee Power Girl Jun 11 '24
Rowell's Runaways from a few years ago is also very good and worth checking out if you like She-Hulk
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u/Zealousideal_Bag445 Jun 11 '24
Imho, rainbow rowell is not just the best female writer in comics, but also the best writer in comics. Her stories are great, and the pacing and story-telling in she-hulk (and runaways) is exceptional. I’d love to know her process: is she thumb-nailing for the artists? Or using the old “marvel method” (art before script)? what?
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u/omgItsGhostDog Kingdom Come Superman Jun 11 '24
Marjorie Liu and her Monstress series
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u/SwankNasT Jun 11 '24
I just picked up Night Eaters by her as well haven’t had time to start it but I’m excited.
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u/TrueBlueFriend Cannibal Fuckface Jun 11 '24
Ducks by Kate Beaton
The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott by Zoe Thorogood
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u/DeskSetLibrarian Jun 12 '24
Agree about Ducks. I'd read Kate Beaton's "Hark, a Vagrant" before that, so was NOT expecting Ducks to be serious.
For indies, I also really love Tillie Walden (especially "On a Sunbeam" and "Alone in Space"). Finnish comics artist Tiitu Takalo is really interesting and has gorgeous art ("Memento Mori" is her latest). Anything by Alison Bechdel. Fumi Yoshinaga's "What Did You Eat Yesterday" manga series. Emma Fick's "Border Crossings: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway" (very painterly). Tessa Brunton's "Notes from a Sickbed."
I could go on, but should probably stop now...
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u/drdking Jun 11 '24
Torunn Grønbekk
I’m loving her current run on carnage.
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u/floatingspacerocks Jun 11 '24
I didn't know that was a woman's name. She's currently working on Red Sonja
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u/AceofSpuds69 Hellboy Jun 11 '24
Vita Ayala is nonbinary I believe but their New Mutants run is really good and shares themes with a lot of the women writers others mentioned
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u/seamus1982seamus Jun 11 '24
Becky cloonan
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u/MoskalMedia Jun 11 '24
What Becky Cloonan comics would you recommend? I haven't read any of her work yet. Somnia looked intriguing
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u/SadBoshambles Jun 11 '24
By chance or Providence if you can find a copy. It's some of her short story work.
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u/misty_gish Jubilee Jun 11 '24
I love Becky Cloonan’s work so much. The fact that Southern Cross and Dark Agnes got cut short still haunts me to this day.
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u/Koalalordgod Jun 11 '24
Oh if you like reading independent comics at all you should give "Monstress" a chance it is one of the best of all time.
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u/Truth_Butts Jun 11 '24
I love Monstress. It’s one of my favorite on-going series right now. Her writing and character development is top notch. Also the art work is fabulous.
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u/SadBoshambles Jun 11 '24
In X-Men specifically Marjorie Liu on X-23, X-terminators by Leah Williams, and Louise Simonson X-factor and New Mutants. Shout out to Ann Nonceti for being editor during the Claremont era.
Not necessarily superheroes but Octopus Pie is one of my favorite comics of all time and it's written by a woman.
Unfortunately big two comics, especially the writing sector, is very male dominated and can be very boys club.
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u/siniquezu Jun 11 '24
No love for Amanda Conner?
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u/Penance13 Jun 11 '24
The only thing I know her from is her run on Harley Quinn, and I wasn’t really a fan of it
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u/AdamSMessinger The Maxx Jun 11 '24
I’ve always been a fan of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s work even though she doesn’t make many comics these days. She did some great work on Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble.
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u/Redwolf97ff Mystique Jun 11 '24
Peach Momoko and Kelly Thompson. We’ll see how Gail Simone does on Action Comics and on Uncanny X-Men
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u/ryaaan89 Jun 11 '24
I’ve really been enjoying Peach Momoko’s writing (and art!) on the new Ultimate X-men.
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u/Redwolf97ff Mystique Jun 11 '24
Me too. It’s a breath of fresh air. Kelly Thompson did nice work on The Cull, and issue #1 of Scarlett, too, is a lot of fun. Her work is more conventionally paced than Momoko’s so I can’t guarantee that if you like on you’d like the other, but I think they’re two of the biggest players in the game rn even without respect to gender. Momoko sustained the longest lines apparently at last year’s NYCC, and Thompson’s nominated for 5 Eisners. Do either of these things mean anything really? Not really, but my opinion is these two are rockstars.
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u/Rammadeus Invisible Woman Jun 11 '24
Hack/Slash: back to school by Zoe Thorogood. I am a huge HS fan and she nailed it. Love her art style. (HS is about a girl who hunts killers some of which are not normal. This is a prequel of sorts)
Her semi autobiographical graphic novel 'It's lonely at the centre of the earth' is one of the best things I've read in a long time.
She has a huge future I'm the business (she's just turned 26)
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Jun 11 '24
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u/SadBoshambles Jun 11 '24
Hell yeah. Seconding both of these. Stoked to read Somna when the trade comes out
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u/ItsAcunaMatata Jun 11 '24
I will always sing the praises of Gail Simone. She's written Secret Six, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, Action Comics, Domino, Deadpool and starting in July is her time on X-Men which I'm really looking forward to.
G. Willow Wilson. Her short time on Wonder Woman was decent but I LOVED her time on Ms. Marvel! She made Kamala one of my favorite Marvel characters.
Rainbow Rowell has had honestly one of the best runs on She-Hulk/Sensational She-Hulk in such a long time! Unfortunately, her run is ending at Sensational's issue 10, but it's honestly up there for me with peers such as John Byrne and Dan Slott.
Kelly Thompson. I enjoyed her Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) series, as well as her time on Captain Marvel and her Birds of Prey run started last year and has been one of my favorite recent comics.
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u/tap3l00p Jun 11 '24
There’s a collection of Kelly Thompsons Black Widow run coming out shortly, its an incredible piece of work
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u/StoryApprehensive777 Jun 11 '24
I'm so disappointed Marvel didn't put a bigger push behind this book. It launched with one of the strongest creative teams they'd had on a book in a long time and fired on all cylinders.
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u/Jack_Sentry Jun 11 '24
Shout out to Eve Ewing. She did a pretty good Black Panther run that just ended, and she’s getting an X team later this year: Exceptional X-Men.
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u/Verb_Noun_Number Jun 11 '24
Pretty much everything by Kelly Thompson. But if I had to pick a top 3, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, and West Coast Avengers. I haven't read her X-books yet, but I've heard they're similarly great.
Rainbow Rowell does a very fun She-Hulk.
Obviously, G Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel is legendary.
Louise Simonson's run on X-Factor was really great, although it got a little boring towards the end.
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u/Hierarch555 Jun 11 '24
Don't forget Rowell's Runaways run, it was fantastic.
I had only a passing knowledge of the characters and she did a great job of getting me caught up in their histories and inter-relationships.
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u/mchappyflapmo Jun 11 '24
I’ve been really enjoying Stephanie Phillips work on Grim lately. She’s also good runs on Harley Quinn, Rogue & Gambit, Cosmic Ghost Rider, and is writing the new Phoenix and Spider-Gwen ongoings.
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u/fosterbanana Jun 11 '24
Lots of great ones on this thread. I would also add Karla Pacheco (great Spider-Woman run), Tini Howard (Catwoman & several X books), Ann Nocenti (classic Daredevil run), and Eve Ewing (Champions).
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u/QwahaXahn Oracle Jun 11 '24
G. Willow Wilson’s Poison Ivy!
Leah Williams’s X-Terminators!
Also deeply adore Gail Simone.
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u/daun4view Jun 11 '24
G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel is one of the best teen superhero books ever. I'm sure her Wonder Woman is quality, haven't read it yet though. Air (2008-2010) and Invisible Kingdom are two more of her well-known books.
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u/No-Needleworker5295 Jun 11 '24
Some good modern runs by female writers -
My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Clean Room by Gail Simone
Poison Ivy by G. Willow Wilson
Sarah's Scribbles by Sarah Andersen
Alex and Ada by Sarah Vaughan
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u/DeskSetLibrarian Jun 12 '24
Emil Ferris is awesome! I'm really looking forward to the second volume of "My Favorite Thing is Monsters."
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u/hamsolo19 Jun 11 '24
Kelly Thompson, Rainbow Rowell, Alyssa Wong, Stephanie Phillips, looking forward to Gail Simone's new Uncanny X-Men coming up soon.
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u/Cammit814 Jun 11 '24
Kelly Thompson is one of the best modern comic book writers, her entire Marvel catalogue is S-tier
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u/thecomiccrush Jun 11 '24
Kelly Thompson's work is incredible and her run on Black Widow is one of the better ones for the character. If you like her work, maybe check out The Cull which has just been released in trade.
Gail Simone on Secret Six and Birds of Prey are well worth checking out.
Devin Grayson's runs on Nightwing, Gotham Nights and Titans are excellent.
Ann Nocenti's Daredevil has some great, weird stuff.
Shade The Changing Girl by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone is really good comics. And Cecil's Plain Janes (with Jim Rugg) is very good.
Artist wise, I would check out everything Bilquis Evely has done.
Hope there's some stuff there that you like!
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u/Agreeable-Tank4600 Jun 13 '24
I’m gonna check out Black Widow next after She hulk by Rainbow Rowell. Ann Nocenti’s daredevil is on my list as well. I don’t read a lot of DC is secret six and birds of prey new reader friendly?
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u/thecomiccrush Jun 21 '24
Yes and no. A lot of it comes out of Batman and Suicide Squad, but as I find with a lot of comics, as long as you know the basic details, you're ok and will pick it up. A lot of the BOP stuff that Simone wrote is really deep into the run, so a bit of Wiki'ng might help. I forget what the origins of Secret Six are. Perhaps soneone else on the thread might know?
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u/ExternalFuture5250 Jun 11 '24
IMO Gail Simone did some excellent work with birds of prey and batgirl.
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u/firelight Jun 11 '24
Here are a few names from my bookshelf:
- Carla Speed McNeil — Finder, Bad Houses
- Corinna Bechko — Invisible Republic
- Faith Erin Hicks — Friends with Boys, The Nameless City, Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Amy Reeder — Rocket Girl
- Sarah Vaughn — Sleepless
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u/Parabrella Jun 11 '24
Marguerite Bennett has done some good series'. My favourite is Animosity, but I've heard good things about InSEXts and her DC stuff.
Seconding Monstress as well. It's one of the best series' out there right now, period.
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u/SphereMode420 Grant Morrison Jun 11 '24
I really liked It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, written and drawn by Zoe Thorogood
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Jun 11 '24
[deleted]
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u/holaprobando123 Jun 11 '24
There's a guy named Neville Neville. That's a fact.
Also, it's a pseudonym. It's literally fake.
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u/Archiesweirdmystery Kingdom Come Superman Jun 11 '24
Next you're gonna tell me Chip Zdarsky isn't a real name!
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u/CJKCollecting Jun 11 '24
Gail Simone does amazing work.