Every day this month I'm going to feature a current comic book writing "star," someone who I think is a very good writer.

I'm mostly going to try to keep from the biggest names as much as possible, because, really, do I need to talk more about the awesomeness of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis?

Here is the archive of previously featured writers.

Today we look at a great writer who was an incredible editor.

Enjoy!

Stuart Moore first came to my attention, as I imagine was the case for many other readers out there, as an editor. He was an acclaimed editor at Vertigo Comics (He edited Flex Mentallo, Preacher and Transmetropolitan...I mean, damn, do I really need to explain any further? Talk about a freakin' resume!) who Joe Quesada managed to finagle to come over to Marvel Comics, where Moore continued his great work with some of the top comic book talent out there to create some impressive comics for Marvel, as well.

Moore eventually decided to go full-time as a freelance writer, and he has been doing quite a job at it, although with a bit of a lower profile than back when he was an editor.

He had a short run on Firestorm that I quite enjoyed (it introduced the character of Gehenna, who is still a major part of the Firestorm book)...

but that was about it as far as major runs on books go.

Mostly everything else he has done for DC and Marvel has been along the lines of one-shots and fill-in arcs, which is a shame, as he has shown a real eye for both characterization as well as intriguing plots that get the most out of his characters' personalities.

Perhaps his most impressive skill remains his great eye for talent. If you look at the artists who Moore works with on a lot of these projects, he has a real knack for working with great artists.

He did Lone for Dark Horse with a young Jerome Opeña.

His most famous Marvel work may be his one-shot stories with the great C.P. Smith as artist (he is soon to do a Wolverine: Noir mini-series with Smith again)...

He is doing a creator owned series with the highly underrated Jon Proctor called Shadrach Stone, which Moore has a great description of:

SHADRACH STONE is a paranormal adventure story, a sociopolitical allegory, and an occasionally nasty character drama. But mostly, it’s about lies. The lies we tell ourselves to get through the day; the lies our leaders tell us so we’ll fall in line. The lies that become our accepted truths, and the ones that flare and turn to ash before the pure light of truth.

I look forward to Moore projects, but honestly, I hope more of them in the future are closer to Sharach Stone than, say, a placeholder arc on Iron Man. He has the talent to be a major creative force at Marvel, DC, wherever. He just needs the opportunity (which, of course, is always the rub).

Here is his blog.

And here is a workblog for Sharach Stone.