Line #91 Main/AuthorUsurpation


1	A work so iconic, it defines the creator. And makes people forget that HeAlsoDid (other works, which you wouldn't believe if you didn't know).
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3	In most cases, authors that create a great work and several lesser-known works can still be associated with all of them. However, if the work is popular enough, it overshadows all other aspects of their career. In extreme cases, the work becomes synonymous with the author's name.
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5	For the actor version, see IAmNotSpock. Compare MagnumOpusDissonance, ToughActToFollow, OneHitWonder and FollowUpFailure. Contrast OneBookAuthor for when the person has only ''made'' a single work.
6	----
7	!!Examples:
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9	[[foldercontrol]]
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11	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
12	* Creator/KentaroMiura and ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. It's literally impossible for Manga readers to mention one without bringing up the other, and any attempts to search for Miura's ''other'' works online will inevitably have "Berserk" in related searches, even if the other work belongs to a completely different genre.
13	* If you know Creator/KenIshikawa, it's because of ''Manga/GetterRobo''. Any of his other work (most notably ''Kyomu Senki'') is relegated to obscurity ''at best''. The fact that most of his non-Getter work is both untranslated and never got adaptations doesn't help.
14	* Creator/MasashiKishimoto is known for creating ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', [[Manga/{{Boruto}} its sequel series]], and nothing else. He has created several one-shots before and afterward, as well as [[Manga/Samurai8TheTaleOfHachimaru an unrelated serial manga]] that flopped because ''Naruto'' was a ToughActToFollow.
15	* Creator/AkiraToriyama is most well-known as the creator of ''Manga/DragonBall''. While his previous ''Manga/DrSlump'' manga was already a ''massive'' hit in Japan, ''Dragon Ball'' would overshadow it to such a degree that he would sometimes ask people what they thought of ''Dr. Slump'' when they were approaching him about their love of ''Dragon Ball''. Similarly, Toriyama made many one-shots and limited manga serials throughout his career, such as ''Go! Go! Ackman'' and ''Manga/SandLand'', but you wouldn't know it with ''Dragon Ball'''s ubiquity. All of this is especially true in the west, as ''Dragon Ball'' is the only anime adaptation of his work that is readily available and dubbed into English.
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18	[[folder:Comic Books]]
19	* Creator/AlanMoore is associated with ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', much to [[MagnumOpusDissonance his dismay]]. Though his other work, ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', is fairly well-known and [[Film/VForVendetta got a film adaptation in 2006]].
20	* Creator/ScottMcCloud and ''ComicBook/UnderstandingComics''.
21	* At least for comics, Creator/NeilGaiman is almost always associated with ''ComicBook/{{The Sandman\|1989}}''. It's his longest comics work, it was critically and commercially successful, it became the flagship title for DC's Vertigo imprint and it was a rare example of a company-owned series that ended when the creative team brought it to a conclusion, rather than being cancelled due to falling sales or handed over to new work-for-hire creators. But it's far from his only comics work.
22	** In 2022, when Gaiman and Mark Buckingham returned to Marvel to finish their 1990s series ''ComicBook/MiraclemanTheSilverAge'', media attention was still almost entirely focused on the TV series adaptations of Gaiman's Sandman and ''Series/GoodOmens'' instead.
23	* Creator/ArtSpiegelman and ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}''.
24	* Themo Lobos and ''ComicBook/{{Mampato}}'' (ironically he was not the one who created Mampato)
25	* Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird will be forever remembered as the creators of the ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''. Trying to find any of their comics non-related to said franchise is a rather difficult task.
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28	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
29	* Creator/GeorgeLucas and ''Franchise/StarWars''.
30	* Creator/FrancisFordCoppola and ''Film/TheGodfather''.
31	* Creator/TommyWiseau and ''Film/TheRoom2003''.
32	* Creator/JamesGunn and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014''.
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35	[[folder:Literature]]
36	* Creator/GeorgeOrwell and ''[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]].'' Despite being responsible for any number of other exceptional books, the word "Orwellian" forever refers to the totalitarian, oppressive/suppressive government present in ''1984''; evidence for it is right [[OrwellianRetcon here]] on the site. It doesn't help that his second most famous book, ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', concerns almost all of the same themes. In Britain, at least, he is remembered, at least to a degree, for his journalism relating to poverty in Britain, such as ''The Road to Wigan Pier.''
37	* Creator/HPLovecraft is another extreme example; Lovecraftian basically ''means'' CosmicHorrorStory and/or EldritchAbomination.
38	* [[RuleOfThree To complete the trifecta]], Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli's non-fiction essay ''Literature/ThePrince'' has forever ensured that "Machiavellian" will always be a synonym for amoral behavior in the pursuit of absolute power. Ironically, his other works are so pro-republican that many believe ''The Prince'' to be a StealthParody.
39	* Creator/OrsonScottCard and ''Literature/EndersGame''. He also wrote a bunch of sequels and several other series.
40	* Creator/CSLewis and ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia.'' Fans of Christian literature might know his other works, but they're not nearly as prominent in wider pop culture.
41	* Creator/JRRTolkien and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
42	* Creator/DouglasAdams and ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''.
43	* Creator/LFrankBaum and ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. He kept trying to move on to other works (even making one ''Oz'' book a PoorlyDisguisedPilot) but nothing else sold.
44	* Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle and the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' stories, reportedly to the author's chagrin.
45	* John R. Erickson has written many decently reviewed non- ''Literature/HankTheCowdog'' books (humorous autobiographical tales, other cowboy-focused nonfiction, the ''Literature/RileyMcDaniels'' middle-grade mystery/adventure stories, and a [[RecycledInSpace cowboy version]] of ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''), but relatively few of his fans have read or heard of them.
46	* Chances are if you know the name Creator/AnnMMartin name well, it's as the author of ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' series before any of her other books.
47	* Creator/AAMilne and ''Literature/WinnieThePooh''.
48	* Creator/HermanMelville wrote a whole bunch of books. You probably only know ''Literature/MobyDick'', and ''possibly'' the short story "Bartleby the Scrivener."
49	* Creator/JDSalinger and ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye''.
50	* Creator/MaryShelley and ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''.
51	* J.M. Barrie and ''Literature/PeterPan''.
52	* Creator/JKRowling and ''Franchise/HarryPotter''.
53	* Joseph Heller and ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo''.
54	-->"When I read something saying I've not done anything as good as Catch-22 I'm tempted to reply, 'Who has?'" – Joseph Heller
55	* Creator/LRonHubbard and ''{{Literature/Dianetics}}''. ''Literature/BattlefieldEarth'' runs a close second.
56	* {{God}} and ''Literature/TheBible''. It'd carry over for all its other authors too, but listing all those would fill up the page.
57	* UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin and ''On The Origin of Species''.
58	* Creator/TerryPratchett and the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''.
59	* Creator/LeopoldVonSacherMasoch and ''Literature/VenusInFurs''.
60	* Creator/IanFleming and Literature/JamesBond
61	* For many years, Creator/PhilippaGregory was known mostly for writing ''Literature/TheOtherBoleynGirl'' and the rest of the ''Tudor Court'' series, though especially ''The Other Boleyn Girl''. Gregory had actually written a dozen novels before ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' that were quite successful (''A Respectable Trade'' even got a film adaptation in 1998), but her ''Tudor'' novels overshadowed them for much of the 2000s, to the point that reprintings of her older works came with "From the author of ''The Other Boleyn Girl''" stamped on the covers. She finally managed to move past this in the 2010s to a degree, becoming better known for the ''[[Literature/TheCousinsWarSeries Cousins' War]]'' series. These days, Gregory is strongly associated with both her Tudor novels and her Wars of the Roses novels. It probably helps that they've been merged into a single series, containing fifteen books in total.
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65	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
66	* Creator/GeneRoddenberry and ''Franchise/StarTrek''.
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69	[[folder:Music]]
70	* Music/MikeOldfield has recorded many albums, but is mostly known for ''Music/TubularBells'', to the point where Creator/VirginRecords constantly pestered him about recording a sequel. Oldfield would leave the label in the early '90s partly because of that, not putting out ''Music/TubularBellsII'' until after he signed a deal with WEA and Creator/RepriseRecords.
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73	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
74	* ''TabletopGame/{{Dominion}}'' is a {{Long Runner\|s}} that [[TropeMaker started]] the DeckbuildingGame genre, so it defines the career of its designer Donald X. Vaccarino for most board gamers.
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77	[[folder:Video Games]]
78	* Creator/HideoKojima and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', to his annoyance.
79	* {{Creator/Bungie}}, despite making ground-breaking series such as ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}'', will forevermore be known as the studio that created the ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' series.
80	* Creator/AlphaDream have created quite a few games over their studio's lifespan, but they're mostly known for the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series.
81	* Creator/FromSoftware is known primarily for ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' and their similar games ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' and ''VideoGame/EldenRing''. Not many people realize that they've been releasing games since 1994, including the ''VideoGame/KingsField'' and ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series.
82	* Creator/GameFreak and ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. Also for that matter, Pokemon creator Creator/SatoshiTajiri and artist Ken Sugimori, who are also mostly known for their work on Pokemon despite having worked on a fair few games at the company in the past.
83	* Creator/CoreDesign was a fairly prolific developer throughout the 16-bit and 32-bit era with many successful titles on the Amiga and Sega CD, but most will recognize the company as the original developer of the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' series and nothing else.
84	* Creator/RovioEntertainment is remembered for its ''VideoGame/AngryBirds'' franchise to the extent that fans got ''really'' sour when the original game was removed from the App Store, among several others.
85	* Creator/{{Mojang}} has worked on [[VideoGame/CallersBane other]] [[VideoGame/{{Cobalt}} games]], but they are usually considered to be synonymous with CashCowFranchise ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''.
86	* Creator/ShigesatoItoi is a fairly prolific copywriter with a number of projects and business ventures to his name, but since most of these didn't hop the Pacific, he's best known outside of Japan as "the guy who made ''[[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 EarthBound]]''".
87	* Creator/ScottCawthon has had a long career in independent video game development, but he is only associated with his most successful franchise: Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys.
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90	[[folder:Western Animation]]
91	* Whenever Creator/KennedyCartoons is brought up, it's almost always in the context of their animation on ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', even though they've worked on many other shows after that.
92	* Creator/JohnKricfalusi and ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow''.
93	* Nowadays, ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'' has become this for Creator/WalterLantz.
94	* Carl Stalling composed music for a number of studios during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, but most people are only aware of his ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' compositions.
95	* Fred Wolf Films produced several animated specials and television shows, but ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' is the show permanently associated with that studio.
96	* Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone and ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.
97	[[/folder]]

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