Charlton for Ditko.

Goodwin.

Archie Goodwin.

Claremont's best work, in my opinion, came when he had JB co-plotting with him.

Claremont's best work, in my opinion, came when he had JB co-plotting with him.

-----------------------

Oh hell yes.  He writes great dialogue, but he seemed best when reined in a little by the collaboration.  Or maybe he was just inspired to bring his "A" game when JB was there.  After JB, other than the second brood storyline (#161-168) nothing hit the same highs for me.

TODAY'S TOSS-UP (7/26):

Chris Claremont or Roger Stern?

Much choppier waters now.

Sterno.  No glaringly bad moments come to mind in his oevre.

Much closer, although I'll still go with Claremont. While Stern may have been more consistent, Claremont at his best was better. Both are really high on my list of all-time favorites, though.

Getting back to yesterday's Toss-Up, I was surprised at how split it was. Nothing against Archie Goodwin - he's a fine writer. But I can't think of one "Wow; that's one of the best stories I've ever read!" story he wrote. I can easily think of a dozen Claremont stories that fit that bill.

Plus, Claremont has a distinctive style. You can read one of his stories and know he wrote it.

That's just a personal opinion, though, and my opinion is no more valid that any one else's.