Just Stay at Home

I come here tonight to sing the praises of one Judd Winick.

Now I know this is probably not going to be a particularly popular thing to say. Judd Winick is a heated topic among comic fans. Apparently you either love him or you hate him. Unless, of course, I'm thinking of the mysterious "Judd Winnick" that I keep hearing about...

Seriously, though... Justice League: Generation Lost is a really fun book. I don't know about the other people reading it, but I find it consistently entertaining. What's more, I find that I look forward to it even more than I do Brightest Day. I think that's saying something.

Now it's true that Generation Lost has brought back the villainous Max Lord. I know that a great many people don't like that turn for the character. I can understand that; I still have some trouble seeing it myself. But at the very least Judd Winick seems to be making the best of it (through liberal use of retcons).

Speaking of retcons, you know what else is great? Power Girl. While it's true that nobody can replace the style of Palmiotti, Gray, and Conner, Judd Winick and Sami Basri have managed to make their version of Power Girl work in their own way. It's just flat out fun super-heroics.

Now, I'm sure I haven't convinced anyone one way or another. If you already liked Judd Winick then you probably agree with what I've said. And if you don't like him then nothing I say is going to change your mind. I just thought I'd share the why and how of the fact that I really dig what he's doing right now.

And to remind everyone that it's spelled "Winick."

It has been over four years since I first begged the comics world to stop spelling Judd Winick's name wrong. It doesn't seem to have helped.

Just today over at CBR they have once again spelled Judd Winick's name "Winnick." It is well known among those who know well my idiosyncrasies that this drives me up the wall for no good reason.

Now, I expect this from ill-informed message board commenters. They are the most likely to spell his name wrong, after all. But I do not expect a site like Comic Book Resources -- which regularly has cause to actually interview Mr. Winick -- to make such mistakes.

This is my last warning, people. Get it right. There is only one "N" in Winick. Just the one. There has only ever been one.

Well well well... Look who's coming back to Batman. It's funny, because I was just rereading Winick's earlier run on Batman (as a means of refreshing myself on the most recent Black Mask appearances). While I was reading them I was thinking:

"Damn, Winick writes a good Batman story. I wish he'd come back and write some more."

And lo, it did occur. Really, with the exception of his pre-"War Games" arc Judd Winick's Batman fired on all cylinders from beginning to end. Snappy dialogue, brilliant fight scenes (though a lot of that was Doug Mahnke), and a fantastic take on Jason Todd. Really, Winick is the only one who's been able to write a decent Jason since he came back from the dead.

Might that be telling us something? Judd Winick's the go-to guy for Jason Todd, after all. Maybe we'll be seeing him under the cowl. I figured Jason was a big long shot, but now... Who knows?

Oh, and for the record: I've never been one of those people who hates Judd Winick's work. In fact, you could probably put me in the "Judd Winick Fan" category (if there is such a category). Despite the wailing I always hear on the Internet, the man must be doing something right. Otherwise he wouldn't still be writing comics.

And one more thing... I really hope Black Mask is coming back. Because Winick's Black Mask was the best. Period.