Dennis O'Neil

Dennis O'Neil
For other people named Dennis O'Neil, see Dennis O'Neil (disambiguation).
Dennis O'Neil

O'Neil at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival.
Born Dennis J. O'Neil[1]
May 3, 1939 (1939-05-03) (age 72)
St. Louis, Missouri
Nationality American
Area(s) Writer, Editor
Pseudonym(s) Sergius O'Shaughnessy[2]
Jim Dennis[3]
Notable works Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Question
Awards Shazam Award, 1970, 1971

Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil (born May 3, 1939,[4] in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement.

His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Mike Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan, all of which were hailed for their sophisticated stories that expanded the artistic potential of the mainstream portion of the medium. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. Today, he sits on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative.

Contents

Biography

Early life

O'Neil was born into a Catholic household in St. Louis, Missouri. He still recalls from his youth the Sunday afternoon ritual where he would accompany his father or his grandfather to the store for some light groceries and an occasional comic book.[5]

O'Neil graduated from St. Louis University around the turn of the 1960s with a degree centered on English literature, creative writing, and philosophy. From there he joined the U.S. Navy just in time to participate in the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[5]

After leaving the Navy, O'Neil moved on to a job with a newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. O'Neil wrote occasional columns on the subject for the newspaper, which attracted the attention of Roy Thomas, who would eventually himself become one of the great names in the history of the medium.[5]

Writing

Marvel Comics

When Roy Thomas left DC Comics to work for Stan Lee at Marvel Comics he suggested that O'Neil take the Marvel writer's test, which involved adding dialogue to a wordless four-page excerpt of a Fantastic Four comic; and O'Neil's entry impressed Lee enough to offer him a job.[5]

When Marvel's expansion made it impossible for Lee to continue writing the company's entire line of books, Lee passed as much on to Roy Thomas as he could, but still needed writers, so O'Neil took the reins for a short-term run of Doctor Strange stories in Strange Tales, penning six issues. He also wrote dialog for such titles as Rawhide Kid and Millie the Model, as well as scripting an issue of Daredevil over a plot by Lee when Lee went on holiday.

Charlton and DC Comics

The available jobs writing for Marvel petered out fairly quickly, and O'Neil took a job with Charlton Comics under the pseudonym of Sergius O’Shaugnessy.[2] There he received regular work for a year and a half from Charlton's editor Dick Giordano.[5]

In 1968 Dick Giordano was offered an editorial position at DC Comics and took a number of Charlton freelancers with him, including O'Neil. Charlton talent arrived at DC from a different culture of comics. At DC, the office seemed like a snapshot from 1950, with a crowd of short-haired men in white shirts and ties. The jeans-wearing, hippy trended Charlton crowd visibly represented a different generation.

Speedy's habit revealed, artist Neal Adams

O'Neil's first assignments involved two strategies for bolstering DC's sales. One approach centered on the creation of new characters, and O'Neil scripted several issues of Beware the Creeper, a series starring a new hero, The Creeper, created by artist Steve Ditko. From there, DC moved O'Neil to Wonder Woman and Justice League of America. With artist Mike Sekowsky, he took away Wonder Woman's powers, exiled her from the Amazon community, and set her off, uncostumed, into international intrigues with her blind mentor, the dubiously-named I Ching. These changes did not sit well with Wonder Woman's older fans, such as Gloria Steinem, and O'Neil later considered that de-powering DC's most well-known superheroine might have alienated readers. In Justice League, he had more success, introducing into that title the first socially and politically themed stories, setting the stage for later work on Green Lantern/Green Arrow.[5]

Following the lead set by Bob Haney and Neal Adams in a Brave and the Bold story that visually redefined Green Arrow into the version that appeared in comics between 1969 and 1986, O'Neil stripped him of his wealth and playboy status, making him an urban hero. This redefinition would culminate in the character that appeared in Green Lantern/Green Arrow, (with many stories also drawn by Adams) a socially conscious, left-wing creation that effectively took over Green Lantern's book to use him as a foil and straw man in sounding out the political concepts that would define that work.[5] O'Neil went on to write Green Lantern for the balance of the 1970s, leaving the title in 1980 to return to Marvel Comics.

O'Neil's 1970s run on the Batman titles is perhaps his best-known endeavor, getting back to the character's darker roots after a period dominated by the campiness of the 1960s TV series,[6] emphasizing Batman's detective skills, and introducing new villains such as his own creation Ra's al Ghul. During this period, O'Neil frequently teamed up with his regular collaborator Adams (with Giordano often assisting on inks) on a number of memorable issues of both Batman and Detective Comics.

In 1973, O'Neil wrote revivals of two characters for which DC had recently acquired the publishing rights. A new series featuring the original Captain Marvel was launched with a February cover date and featured art by the character's original artist C. C. Beck.[7] Later that same year, O'Neil and artist Michael Kaluta produced an "atmospheric interpretation" of the 1930s pulp hero in The Shadow series.[8]

Return to Marvel

Upon O'Neil's return to Marvel Comics in 1980, he took on the scripting chores for The Amazing Spider-Man, which he did for two years. He was the regular scripter for Iron Man from 1982–1986, and Daredevil, from 1983–1985. O'Neil's run on Daredevil ostensibly bridged the gap between when Frank Miller left the title and then returned for a memorable short run with David Mazzucchelli as artist.

Other writing

O'Neil has written several novels, comics, short stories, reviews and teleplays, including the novelizations of the films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.[9] Under the pseudonym Jim Dennis,[3] O'Neil scripted a series of novels about a kung fu character named Richard Dragon, and later adapted those novels to comic book form for DC.[3]

O'Neil wrote a weekly column for ComicMix until October 2008.[10]

Editing

Joining Marvel's editorial staff in 1980, O'Neil edited Daredevil during Frank Miller's run as writer/artist, which is one of the most memorable takes on the character.[5] In the early-to-mid 1980s, O'Neil edited such Marvel titles as Alpha Flight, Power Man and Iron Fist, G.I. Joe, and Moon Knight.[11]

According to Bob Budiansky, O'Neil came up with the name for the Transformer Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots.[12]

In 1986, O'Neil moved over to DC as an editor, becoming group editor for the company's Batman titles. Speaking about his role in the death of character Jason Todd, O'Neil remarked:

It changed my mind about what I do for a living. Superman and Batman have been in continuous publication for over half a century, and it's never been true of any fictional construct before. These characters have a lot more weight than the hero of a popular sitcom that lasts maybe four years. They have become postindustrial folklore, and part of this job is to be the custodian of folk figures. Everybody on Earth knows Batman and Robin.[13]

Teaching

DC Comics Guide to Writing for Comics, artist Neal Adams

O'Neil spent several years in the late nineties teaching a Writing for the Comics course at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts, sometimes sharing duties with fellow comic book writer John Ostrander.

Personal life

O'Neil is the father of writer/director/producer Lawrence O'Neil, best known for the 1997 David Schwimmer vehicle, Breast Men.[14] O'Neil was previously married and later, after a divorce, married his high school sweetheart Marifran who is a retired teacher. He also had a bout with alcoholism sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. He has stated that his favorite people in the comic book field were Julius Schwartz and Jim Aparo.

Awards

O'Neil's work has won him a great deal of recognition in the comics industry, including the Shazam Awards for Best Continuing Feature Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Best Individual Story for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" in Green Lantern #76 (with Neal Adams), for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, and other titles, and Best Individual Story for "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern #85 (with Neal Adams) in 1971. In 1985, DC Comics named O'Neil as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.[15]

Appearances in media

In The Batman Adventures — the first DC Comics spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series — O'Neil appears as The Perfesser, one of a screwball trio of incompetent super-villains that also includes The Mastermind (a caricature of Mike Carlin) and Mr. Nice (a caricature of Archie Goodwin). The Perfesser is depicted as a tall, pipe-smoking genius who often gets lost in his own thoughts, and who regularly forgets to give his criminal friends crucial information in planning their heists. (For example, after carefully planning a hotel robbery, the trio arrives at the hotel's location to find a vacant lot. The Perfesser then remembers that the hotel was torn down several years ago.) He is also shown to perhaps be smarter than Batman, as he manages to figure out the Riddler's riddle in the third part of The Last Riddler Story, when Batman himself didn't.

Bibliography

Charlton Comics

DC Comics

Marvel Comics

Graphic novels

  • Justice, Inc - 1975
  • The Shadow "1941" - with Michael W. Kaluta, Russ Heath 1988
  • Shadow the Private Files - with Mark Waid 1989
  • Batman: Bride of the Demon - 1990
  • Batman: Birth of the Demon - 1992
  • Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard-Traveling Heroes - 1992
  • Green Lantern/Green Arrow: More Hard-Traveling Heroes - 1993
  • Batman: Sword of Azrael - 1993
  • Batman: Bloodstorm - 1995
  • Batman: Death of Innocents: the Horror of Landmines - 1996
  • Batman: I Joker - 1998
  • Batman: Shaman - 1998
  • Batman in the Seventies - 2000
  • The Deadman Collection - 2001
  • Batman: The Ring, the Arrow, and the Bat - 2003
  • Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection - Volume 1 - 2004
  • Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection - Volume 2 - 2005
  • Green Lantern: Hero's Quest - 2005

Novellas

  • The Iconoclasts - Fantastic Stories, ed. Ted White, Ultimate Publishing, 1971
  • "Report on a Broken Bridge" - Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 1971
  • After They've Seen Paree - Generation, ed. David Gerrold, Dell, 1972
  • "The Elseones" – Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1972
  • "Devil Night" – Haunt of Horror August, 1973
  • "Annie Mae: A Love Story" - The Far Side of Time, ed. Roger Elwood, Dodd Mead, 1974
  • "There Are No Yesterdays!" - Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction March 1975
  • "Sister Mary Talks to the Girls Sodality" – Harpoon Magazine, January 1975
  • "The Killing of Mother Corn" – Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1975
  • "Father Flotsky" – Apple Pie Magazine May 1975
  • "Alias the Last Resort" – Best Detective Stories of the Year, Ed. Hubin, 1975
  • "Adam and No Eve" (with Alfred Bester) - Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction March 1975
  • "Wave By" – Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1980
  • "Bicycle Superhero"- Superheroes, ed. John Varley Ace Fantasy, 1995

Novels

  • The Bite of Monsters – Belmont, 1971
  • Dragon’s Fists – Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Master with Jim Berry, 1974
  • Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes - Crown Publishing Group, April 1976
  • The Super Comics - Scholastic Book Services 1981
  • Batman Knightfall – 1994
  • Green Lantern Hero’s Quest – 2005
  • Batman Begins – 2005
  • DC Universe: Helltown - 2006
  • The Dark Knight - 2008

Non-fiction

  • The DC Comics Guide To Writing Comics, Watson-Guptill, May 2001 ISBN 0823010279
  • Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City, SmartPop series, Benbella Books, March 2008 (editor) ISBN 1933771305

Essays, reviews and interviews

  • The Lurker in the Family Room - The Haunt of Horror, June 1973
  • Review of Will Eisner’s “A Contract With God” – Comics Journal #46, May 1979
  • Interview w/ Samuel R. Delany – Comics Journal #48, Summer 1979
  • The Super Comics – 1980
  • Article on Gary Trudeau/Doonesbury – Comics Journal #63, Summer 1981
  • Forum & Interview w/ Gil Kane – Comics Journal #64 July 1981
  • The Man of Steel and Me – Superman at 50, 1987
  • Martial Arts – Superman & Batman Magazine #1, with Marifran O'Neil, Summer 1993
  • Comics 101/Classes 1 & 2 – Write Now! #3, March 2003
  • Comics 101/Classes 3 & 4 – Write Now! #4, May 2003
  • Comics 101/Classes 5 & 6 – Write Now! #5, August 2003
  • "Introduction" to Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre by Peter Coogan (MonkeyBrain Books) (July 25, 2006)

Animated film

  • Batman: Gotham Knight - Audio commentary 2008

Notes

  1. ^ Gruenwald, Mark. "Mark's Remarks," Iron Man #223 (October 1987).
  2. ^ a b ""Black Brother" stories in Savage Tales volume 1.
  3. ^ a b c Beatty, Scott. "Dragon, Richard", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia (New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2008), ISBN 0-7566-4119-5
  4. ^ Comics Buyer's Guide #1485; May 3, 2002; Page 29
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Talent Pool 19 - Denny O'Neil (Dec 1999)
  6. ^ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "Artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O'Neil rescued Batman from the cozy, campy cul-de-sac he had been consigned to in the 1960s and returned the Dark Knight to his roots as a haunted crime fighter." 
  7. ^ Shazam! #1 (Feb. 1973) "In 1972, DC acquired the rights to Captain Marvel and in 1973 they launched the series Shazam!, which re-established the Captain Marvel mythos." " Responsible for resurrecting the lightning-charged champion, writer Denny O'Neil and original artist C. C. Beck together explained Cap's absence." McAvennie p. 155
  8. ^ The Shadow #1 (Oct.-Nov. 1973) "Writer Denny O'Neil and artist Mike Kaluta presented their atmospheric interpretation of writer Walter B. Gibson's pulp-fiction mystery man of the 1930s." McAvennie p. 157
  9. ^ Denny O'Neil - Biography
  10. ^ News by dennis-oneil at ComicMix
  11. ^ Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins," Marvel comics cover-dated November 1983.
  12. ^ Bob Budiansky @ tfwiki.net: The Transformers Wiki
  13. ^ Daniels, Les DC Comics: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003 (ISBN 0-8230-7919-8)
  14. ^ Dean Haspiel, quoted in "An Exclusive Interview with Dean "Dino" Haspiel, Rock Star in Cartoonist's Clothing," Walrus Comix (October 2007).
  15. ^ Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Denny O'Neil The Emergence of Relevance" Fifty Who Made DC Great: 39 (1985), DC Comics

References

External links

Audio interviews

Preceded by
Gardner Fox		 Justice League of America writer
1968–1970		 Succeeded by
Robert Kanigher
Preceded by
Frank Robbins		 Detective Comics writer
1970–1972		 Succeeded by
Frank Robbins
Preceded by
Frank Robbins		 Batman writer
1970–1975		 Succeeded by
David V. Reed
Preceded by
Mike Friedrich		 Green Lantern writer
1970–1972 and 1976–1980		 Succeeded by
Bob Rozakis
Preceded by
Len Wein		 Justice League of America writer
1975		 Succeeded by
Cary Bates
Preceded by
Len Wein		 Detective Comics writer
1978–1980		 Succeeded by
Cary Burkett
Preceded by
Marv Wolfman		 The Amazing Spider-Man writer
1980–1981		 Succeeded by
Roger Stern
Preceded by
David Michelinie		 Iron Man writer
1982–1986		 Succeeded by
Danny Fingeroth
Preceded by
Frank Miller		 Daredevil writer
1983–1985		 Succeeded by
Frank Miller
Preceded by
Len Wein		 Batman Group Editor
1986–2000		 Succeeded by
Bob Schreck
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