Anyone who enjoys reading ends up with some favorite authors in a very short period of time. As soon as you fall in love with a character or setting or style or series – that’s it, you want to read everything that author writes. This holds true for comics as well, though it can apply to artists as well as writers for any given title or character. 

Over the years, I’ve added a few comicbook writers to my pool of authors I enjoy reading. Kelly Sue DeConnick, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Alan Moore – these are all quality creators, in my opinion. Another one who’s been on the list is Mark Millar. I know him more for his independent work with Icon and Image (e.g., Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl, Superior) than for his runs with DC and Marvel. (And, to be honest, I didn’t really get into his works until after seeing the Kick-Ass movie.) Obviously, he’s able to do his own thing with a smaller publisher than with the big two, so it’s more his voice. But lately I’ve been thinking I might drop him from my list and stop reading what he puts out.

The most recent trades I’ve read by Millar are Chrononauts and Huck. The first was disappointing and the second was just ok. Chrononauts is a story about “rebel” time travelers – the characters are unlikable and the plot is completely predictable. And Huck is little more than Millar’s version of a Superman story, with an inexplicably strong guy who goes around doing good. Both stories are in the running for movies and this is where the problem with Millar comes out – he is writing comics intended to be turned into movies.

This became a realization when talking with my comic shop guy a couple months ago and then really paying attention to Millar’s writing style. It’s true. Now that he’s a name that can draw an audience, he writes short-run titles that have straightforward plots, easily understood characters and splashy visual sequences, whether it be chase scenes, fights or explosions. And that’s fine if that’s the direction he wants to go in, but as a reader of comics, it’s disappointing. There’s little character development and a lack of depth to the storytelling. In short, his comics no longer have the quality of writing I look for.

So unless he takes a surprising turn and decides to forego the potential big bucks of writing to be offered movie options, I’m going to have to drop Mark Millar from my list. I have one more of his books on my to-be-read pile – Supercrooks – and guess what: they’re already planning a movie.