I’ve always admired the hell out of Denny O’Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020). I admired his skill as a writer. I admired his ability to continually grow and hone his craft, whether in comic books or prose. I admired the simple, surefooted way he approached story and dialogue and his calm, confident style of editing, as well as his knack for explaining and teaching what he knew.… Read the rest
Denny O’Neil
Ho-ho-ho! My first sale to DC Comics was “The Stranger,” a 10-page Fabulous World of Krypton back-up for Superman Family #182 (March-April 1977) to editor Denny O’Neil. Three cool things stand out for me about this otherwise pedestrian little riff on the Bible (well, four, if you count it being my first to DC): (1) It was one of the earliest stories penciled by soon-to-be-legend Marshall Rogers, who would go on to an iconic run on Batman and other features and who died way too young, (2) It was inked by Frank Springer, an already-a-legend in comics, and (3) the very first words I wrote for a DC story came out of the mouth of Clark Kent and was in a comic book with “Superman” in the title.… Read the rest
From the “Lost Stories” file comes this, “The Children’s Crusade,” a proposal I wrote in January of 1989 for a 3-issue DC Comics Prestige Format Black Canary miniseries that was, according to the title page, to be drawn by Michael Davis.… Read the rest
Continue reading about The Lost Story of Black Canary and “The Children’s Crusade”
Sometime around 1994, I worked with DC Comics editor Dan Thorsland on a proposal to revive the Roger Stern/Tom Lyle Starman (Will Payton) (1988-1992). Having myself been the final editor of that title (I was handed it to run out its time, with little hope of saving it from cancellation), I was more than passingly familiar with the character and his fate.… Read the rest
Continue reading about From Starman to Takion to Cancellation
Text features used to be a thing in comic books. Not just letter columns or chatty behind-the-scenes pieces like you get today, but actual short prose stories (often illustrated) starring the characters featured in the title. Stan Lee’s first published story was a Captain America prose story in that title’s third issue in 1941.… Read the rest
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