Mark Waid - The author who shaped Superman, The Fantastic Four and Daredevil

Got a friend who claims to know everything about Superman? Mark Waid could make him cry in a Pub Pop Quiz.

It feels like Waid is often overlooked when fans are tasked to name “comic legends”. Maybe it is the fact that he is still working and refusing to let his style stay the same enough to be immediately recognizable, or simply because he feels too much like one of us to be put on a pedestal. Whatever it is, make no mistake about it, his work is some of the best modern comics can offer.

Mark Waid is just like a us - a true comic fan

Waid grew up a fan and developed an encyclopedia-like knowledge of super-heroes. That's why reading one of his comics always feels like love-letters to what characters were and a passionate pledge of what character can still be. He gets that the superhero motive is surrounded by questions of identity and their place in the world but he also gets how fun picking up a comic should feel. He just gets it.

That blend of nostalgia with freshness, and the fact that Waid writes stories like someone who never forgets the privilege that it is to be in his position, makes picking up his comics always a good idea - even when it's not perfect or fully formed.

Our recommendations for some of Mark Waid's best work

The Flash by Mark Waid (1992-2000)

The best run Flash has ever had (and you know that's one thing he's good at).

Ever wondered why your 40-years-old comic buddy is obsessed with Wally West? This is the place to go.

Waid transforms West from one more of those legacy character replacements to the definitive Flash for a whole generation. He takes him out of the shadows of being just a sidekick to Barry Allen into one of the most well-developed superhero long-form character arcs in DC Comics history. He expands on the lore of the Flash - famously being the one to introduce the Speed Force concept - and puts Wally through the wringer, changing him from an immature guy with a lot of self-doubt to a family man actually proud to be a hero himself.

It's finally being collected in omnibus form right now! It can be a little weird if you are not used to reading older comics, but it's actually a great transition piece - you can feel the writing and drawing style becoming more modern as it progresses, and I would recommend this to anyone wanting to break that pre-2000 threshold.

(Just don't tell you 40-year old comic friend that I'm saying this).

The Flash by Mark Waid is best collected in Omnibus in:

• The Flash By Mark Waid Omnibus Vol. 1
• Flash By Mark Waid Omnibus Vol. 2.

Superman: Birthright (2003) by Mark Waid with Leinil Francis Yu

Mama Kent is obsessed with UFO blogs and Papa Kent tries to destroy a kryptonian ship with a hammer in this one.

Waid is tasked with the idea of revitalizing Superman's origins for modern audiences, and from that, Superman Birthright, an absolute classic is born. The comparisons with this one were inevitable, since John Byrne had successfully done the same thing a few years earlier in the 80s, but Mark Waid's approach of a more emotionally rich and thematically resonant Superman made his take the definitive pick for me and a lot of other fans.

Waid focuses on small details and misunderstandings that formed what the character is. Little assumptions like why don't people instantly recognize Clark as Superman are answered with delicate placements of glasses by Martha Kent or silent panels where Lois can almost see the resemblance but then doesn't. He also makes Luthor and Clark childhood friends, giving humanity and even more emotional stake to their relationship. You really feel Luthor's anger and cowardice, which makes Clark's courage to be good even more heroic.

“Were you raised in a barn?” is one the most perfect killer lines ever. And it's also a bad-ass superman comic (I know, i could just have said this earlier, right?). 

It's basically always on print and a PERFECT place to start or to rekindle your love of comics.

Get Superman: Birthright The Deluxe Edition here!

Fantastic Four (2002–2004) by Mark Waid with Mike Wieringo

My favorite run on the Fantastic Four, and maybe my favorite run on anything ever. A lot of fans think the same but somehow this still feels like a underrated-gem.

How do you take these always-futurist characters out of a creative stiff and bring them into the 21st century?

Well, you center them on what makes them unique, taking out the limits for what their stories can be, while also grounding on what makes them so recognizable and lovable: the deep roots in family dynamics.

The run starts with a group of executives trying to figure out what the Fantastic Four are and how to fix their brand. Waid proceeds to answer that. Well, dummies, you look at what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did and let yourself create.

He gives Sue her most deserved place in the leadership role, writes the funniest Ben and Johnny dynamic, expands on the role of the kids, and does some of the best character work in Marvel Comics with an always-guilty, always-thinking Reed Richards, something that Jonathan Hickman will later take and run with until infinity.

This contains some of the most daring and fun storylines (what do you mean by Franklin is in hell?), and it has one of the most tear-inducing panels (in a Jack Kirby tribute) that will probably never leave my brain. It's fun. It's what the Fantastic Four should be and honestly what Marvel Comics should be. Fun, a bit of fun-type sadness in the middle, and then fun again as a cherry on top.

It's collected in a recently reprinted omnibus and it's worth every penny even if you're just excited about the MCU film and want to know what all the fuss is about.

Get the complete Fantastic Four By Waid & Wieringo Omnibus here.

Kingdom Come (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross

The Superhero Bible that actually puts Waid in the conversation for best DC-elseworld story ever? (Yeah, i said it)

Every comic fan has that one book they push on people like it’s scripture. If they’re right, that book is Kingdom Come. Mark Waid and Alex Ross and his god-tier painted art (yes, the one you always see on Twitter and think is awesome) delivers the definitive superhero epic. It's one of his most well-thought critiques and analysis of the genre, a warning about what happens when heroes forget what made them heroic in the first place.

Superman has retired. Why? Because the world turned to violent, reckless antiheroes, leaving Clark only to his farm, wondering if maybe the world didn’t need a Boy Scout anymore. Spoiler: it does. And somehow, despite all the "superheroes as gods" imagery, Waid never loses sight of the humanity at the core of these characters. It’s about redemption. About knowing when to let go, and when to stand your ground and inspire again.

There’s a reason Kingdom Come is always in print. If you love superheroes, you need to read it. If you don’t love superheroes, you especially need to read it.

You can get Mark Waid's Kingdom Come as a Trade Paperback for less than 20€ or if you'd like to enjoy this one in the highest quality possible, get the Absolute Kingdom Come, an oversized Edition with a beautiful slipcase and additional material.

JLA: Tower of Babel (2000) by Mark Waid with Howard Porter

JLA: Tower of Babel, also known as Batman’s Trust Issues - The Comic. Honestly, we all thought of doing something similar with our friends but calculated that going to therapy would be less expensive.

Mark Waid’s Tower of Babel is one of those stories that cements why Batman is both the greatest hero and the worst teammate in the DC Universe. The Justice League is under attack by Batman’s own paranoia as Ra's Al Ghul steals his secret contingency plans to take down each and every member of the League just in case they ever went rogue. (You know, like a totally normal and well-adjusted person would do.) Waid takes a simple but brilliant idea and turns it into a psychological gut punch about trust, paranoia, and the cost of always being prepared. It’s a defining moment not just for Batman, but for the Justice League as a whole.

It could have turned out to be out-doned take on the league but part of me still thinks Batman was not totally in the wrong there, which is a props for Waid's writing. I would go against the grain of recommendations and say that this reads better if you already know a bit about the characters. But if you want to start with the best modern JLA story, this is probably it.

Get the complete JLA The Tower of Babel series by Mark Waid in one Hardcover.

Other fun Mark Waid places to start:

Like I said, Waid is still working, and not only that but he's one the masterminds behind the DC All-In initiative, writing Justice League Unlimited. And his Batman / Superman: World's Finest it's by far one of the most celebrated recent runs. It's a marriage of souls with Dan Mora's artwork and very accessible to new readers since it's a look back into the first adventures Batman and Superman shared together. It's perfect if you want an easy and well-written superbook, with small ties to the current mainline to make you intrigued in case you wanna take the extra step into what's happening right now.

His Champions inicial-run is highly-underrated and takes the new younger Marvel phenomenons like Kamala Khan and Miles Morales into a modern view of what a teen hero team would look like in the social media age.

And his Daredevil run gets the character out of the noir and dark place he is for most of his famous runs and allows Matt Murdock to smile instead of drowning in pity. Waid makes him push forward, a fun and fresh departure that never loses the central themes. Mark Waid's Daredevil run is available in complete in Daredevil By Mark Waid Omnibus Vol. 1 and Daredevil By Waid & Samnee Omnibus Vol. 2.