10 People Who Changed The Comic Book Industry Forever

7. Ann Nocenti

Although Frank Miller is often (rightly) accredited with setting the tone for Daredevil from the late seventies through to the early eighties, there is another writer who has all too often been omitted from that narrative. Ann Nocenti, the writer of over fifty issues of Daredevil after Miller's departure, is that writer. And the Daredevil of today owes her much.

Beginning with The Man Without Fear's 236th issue, Nocenti crafted one of the all time great runs of the medium, introducing characters like Typhoid Mary whilst grounding Matt Murdock in a New York that looked and felt real. It was also a run crafted with political sub-text, social commentary and genre analysis, with Nocenti taking the time to ask what it meant to be a hero in a world where, all too often, the heroes themselves were implicated in an unrelenting cycle of violence. It was a question few were willing to ask at the time, but Nocenti was the one who wrote the book on this style of superhero story, irrespective of the preceding influence of Miller, Dennis O'Neil, or even Stan Lee.

Apart from her genre-defining run on Daredevil (which included artistic contributions from John Romita Jr. and Greg Capullo, to name but two), Nocenti has gone on to write for Vertigo on Kid Eternity, DC on Batman, Catwoman and Green Arrow, and for Marvel on a bunch of other books as well. Apart from her work on the page, the creator has made innumerable contributions to the industry off it, working as a journalist, editor and teacher while overcoming a strictly male-dominated profession, paving the way for future female creatives in the process.

She's a true icon of the medium, and a creator long overdue mainstream recognition.