Me too I'm a fan of Clive Barker

When I was a kid they was just one test for me to tell if I thought a writer was good. Back then I never read the credits, so if at the end of a story I would check the credits then I would know.

So my list, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Kurt Busiek, Peter David, Mark Waid, Neil Gaiman, Bill Willingham, Mark Gruenwald, Roger Stern and Stan Lee.

At This time it's have to be.

Geoff Johns

Brian K.Vaughan

Judd Winick

Robert Kirkman

Mark Waid

Ed Brubaker  His work on Captain America is the best

Frank Miller

Mark Miller

Greg Rucka

Peter David

Brian Michael Bendis Powers and Daredevil are his best work his working on now

Will Pfeifer  His work and John Byrne work on Blood of the Demon is one of my favorite books that is out now

Robert B. Parker

Elmore Leonard

Stan Lee

David Mamet

Peter David

Neil Gaiman

and John Byrne

I'll second the Gerber mention, Jason.

Other than Gerber and, of course, JB:

(in no certain order)

• Stan Lee
• Roy Thomas
• Chris Claremont
• Cary Bates
• Marv Wolfman
• Dennis O'Neil
• Frank Miller
• Roger Stern
• Kurt Busiek
• Geoff Johns
• Robert Kirkman
• Dan Slott
• Fabian Nicieza
• Gail Simone
• Brian K. Vaughan
• Ed Brubaker
• Eric Powell

and many others that don't immediately come to mind.

erp!  I didn't even realize I was being a smart-ass, untill I reread the thread!  Oops!

AND!  Got a phone call from my dad mid-post, and I like talking to him, so I only half paid attention - so I left off one of my fave kinds of writing - the Rod Serling/Shirley Jackson post war fear of Weberian Modernity stuff! 

Oh, and yeah, Victor Hugo gets a big spot on my list.  Awesome stuff.

Comics?  Byrne.  With some smaller degrees of affection for, maybe, Miller (up to and especially Born Again.  Nothing since then), Stan Lee, Stern, some Clowes (Velvet Glove and Ice Haven were amazing.  The rest, indulgent), Los Bros Hernandez, the humor of Dorkin, uh... I liked Simonson's Thor, and Mignola gets special credit for Hellboy, but especially for Screw-On Head.  Oh, I guess Allred's Madman, kind of, though less and less as time goes by.  Loved Ann Nocenti's stuff when I first read it - especially the DD, but in retrospect, reading it again, later, it's a bit stiff.