Welcome to the Multiversity Year in Review for 2022! We’ve got over 25 categories to get through, so make sure you’re checking out all of the articles by using our 2022 Year in Review tag.
Today, we are starting with this year’s Breakout Writers. Who are the folks that came to our attention, either for the first time or with a jump in skill, in 2022 who made an impact? These three writers are all doing wildly different work, come from different backgrounds and, we hope, will be doing even more in 2023 and beyond. Let’s get to it!
3. Josie Campbell
It is not uncommon to see a writer jump from television or animation into the comics world, but few have done it as seamlessly and gracefully as Josie Campbell. Her work on “The New Champion of Shazam” does not read like the fist book of a new writer. Campbell manages to inform the work with a real understanding of the continuity that came before and, with the Shazam characters, that’s relatively murky water. But more than that, Campbell has honed in on exactly what makes Mary unique and special.
Too many times, characters like Mary have been relegated to sidekick status, and so her motivations and personality are paint by number or purposefully vague. But Campbell imbues Mary with the kind of confidence that only an honor roll student can truly possess, and the arrogance and lack of self-awareness that can sometimes come with a brainy kid.
But here’s the truly impressive part: Campbell manages to do all of that for Mary without every actually stating any of it. Campbell’s script is not overburdened with exposition or backstory, and yet you feel, at the end, like you’ve just had a satisfying meal of a comic.
There’s more to the book than just Mary’s personality, too. Campbell has created a compelling mystery, given Mary’s siblings interesting and insightful moments, and left a Billy-sized hole in the book that is as noticeable as a missing tooth but, like when you’ve got an incisor missing, there are ways around that loss. This book doesn’t have you wishing that Billy was in it; rather, Billy’s absence is what allows Mary to do any of this at all.
For this deft a tale to be someone’s first comic work is almost unfair. Lucky for us, it looks like it won’t be Campbell’s last comic work, and so we get to enjoy more of this in the future. – Brian Salvatore
2. Nadia Shammas
Nadia Shammas has had an excellent year in 2022. While she wasn’t particularly prolific in the singles market – only writing a few backups and a couple issues here and there – she did put out two graphic novels, one of which I’ve gotten a chance to read already (and review.) That book, “Squire,” was an excellent first book in what I hope will be a new fantasy series. If that were her only title, she would be deserving of a place on this list but there was actually a different book that got my attention this year: “X-Force” Annual #1.
That annual was a breath of fresh air for the title. It was like the perfect synthesis of what the book was and what I hoped it could be, with a driving plot, a great grasp of the characters and an intriguing question at the heart of the narrative. I was immediately struck by how effortlessly Shammas slipped into the writer’s chair and almost wished she would take over the book right then and there. That’s how good a first impression she made.
Interestingly, I hadn’t realized when I read that book that Shammas was, well, the same Shammas as “Squire” and last year’s “Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin;” I only found out when I looked her up after checking the credits of “X-Force.” That, for me, is a sign of a writer that’s deserving of a spot on this list, when they’re new enough that I’m not pre-hyped but upon seeing their name, I immediately want to see what else they’ve written. Shammas is only getting started and we should all be excited to see what’s coming up next. – Elias Rosner
Continued below1. Cody Ziglar
Comic book writing is not an easy thing to break into and it’s even harder to make a name for yourself doing it. It takes a whole lot of hard work and even when you perform incredibly well, there’s no guarantee you get the recognition you deseerve. So when someone as talented as Cody Ziglar manages not only to break through but to get his flowers, it’s incredibly gratifying. Ziglar got thrown right into the deep end as a member of the writing team behind “The Amazing Spider-Man”’s “Beyond” arc, which wrapped up this past Spring. He penned some of the most entertaining issues of the arc penning a neat story in which Doctor Octopus sets the stage for Ben really to turn against Beyond and most importantly, introducing us to an incredible Beyond Corporation employee named Doug.
Since then, he’s spent time all around the Spider-Verse, writing on both “What If: Miles Morales” and “Spider-Punk.” On the former, he wrote bookend issues, the first telling the story of a Miles that became Captain America, the last following a multiversal team of Mileses fighting a band of Uncle Aarons. It’s a fun read that allows Ziglar to shows off more of his ability to work well in a team and to flex his creative muscles. Ziglar is clearly having an absolute blast on “Spider-Punk” in which we follows Hobie Brown on a road trip with punk versions of Captain America, Ms. Marvel, and Ironheart to liberate the United States from the its fascist president (the Venomized head of Norman Osborn which is kept alive in a robot suit, of course). The series, while unabashedly political and unflinching in its critiques of systems of power, is also just plain fun. Ziglar perfectly strikes the balance homage to the punk scene, funny angles on very recognizable superheroes, and compelling, exciting narrative.
It’s an absolute treat to see what he can do when you give him the reigns to a story which makes it all the more exciting that he’s now the writer behind “Miles Morales: Spider-Man.” Cody Ziglar is a real talent and it’s a treat that we get to come in at the ground floor of his career. – Quinn Tassin
