COMIC CREATORS MONTH: Scott Snyder

We here at FtN are always trying to bring you fresh, new content that’s not only fun to read, but provides our readers with some sort of series. Whether it be a new series that we love so much we recommend to you, all the latest news, or even the occasional opinion piece to spark discussion amongst our community. With that being said, we thought we would do something in the month of October as a special treat. Not just for you, the fans, but also for the people that make all of this possible: the creators of our favorite comics. Whether they are writers or artists, these people create things that we look forward to month to month and give us countless hours of entertainment. What’s the service in a Creator’s Month, you ask? Instead of recommending a single series to jump on to, we hope to link you guys up with our favorite creators so you guys can enjoy their work as much as we do!

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I’ve always been a huge Batman freak. As a kid I always watched the animated Series (and still do, thank you DVD sets!), the Adam West TV show, and the movies. I read comic books sparingly, but I never committed myself enough to reading monthly issues of any kind of series. All of that changed one day when, on a whim, I decided to read Scott Snyder’s Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls. Not to sound melodramatic, but that decision changed my life. Without that series to draw me back into comics I wouldn’t have had this amazing world opened up for me and most importantly, I wouldn’t be writing this right now! This alone would make Scott Snyder my favorite writer in comics, but as I read more and more of his work, the list just keeps getting longer!

I’ve read pretty much every classic Batman story there is. From Frank Miller’s timeless The Dark Knight Returns/Year One to Jim Lee’s Hush and even Grant Morrison’s psychological masterpiece Arkham Asylum. In every iteration of the Bat that I’ve read, I haven’t seen someone blend Bruce’s brilliance and Batman’s badassery with just a dash of darkness quite like Scott Snyder. It’s KEY in my eyes to be able to make Batman action-packed, but also have the psychology behind Bruce and the Rogue’s actions. Snyder himself said that the Rogues are an extension of Batman himself and I don’t think I can put it any better!

If you love a good horror series dive into the rest of Snyder’s catalogue. I’ve been reading The Wake (which I love), I read his run on Swamp Thing (it was/is one of the most underrated series put out by either of the big two!), and I’ve also started American Vampire. I hope it’s not too bold for me to call him the Stephen King of comic books. I’m a big horror movie buff and I would watch the hell out of a Scott Snyder penned horror flick if he decided to take a swing at it!

I’ve listened to a few interviews in which Snyder says that he is OCD about the details of his books. 30-40 page scripts get sent in to his artists and his beautifully twisted visions always translate perfectly to whoever is on the art. In whatever walk of life you’re in, it takes someone truly great to bring out the best in the people they’re working with and I think it’s very easy to put Snyder into that class of people for comic books. (Not to say he hasn’t worked with some extremely talented people though!)

The man inspires greatness and makes great books, and without that, I wouldn’t have found the comic books community that I love so much. Check out some of his work if you’re interested. He’s currently writing Batman (DC), The Wake (Vertigo), and American Vampire (also Vertigo). If you love that stuff (and you definitely will!) check out his run on Swamp Thing (DC) and his series Severed (Image)!

Do you have any favorite moments from any of Scott Snyder’s work? Leave them in the comments section below!