News Comic legend Denny O'Neil passed away.
- Thread starter Kai "the spy"
- Start date
I've got to add, because O'Neil meant a lot to me personally.
I honestly think that there is no writer whose work I've read more of, or more often, than O'Neil's.
The Batman books of the 90s, for which he was the group editor, got me into comics.
His book "The DC Comics Guide To Writing Comics" taught me many important techniques, which I still employ both as a writer, and as a critical reader.
His revamp of Oliver Queen made that character one of my favorite heroes.
There was a humanistic pathos in his writing that spoke to me. Not only as a fan and as a writer, but as a person, I would not be who I am today without O'Neil's work.
And even if his presence in recent years have been largely through interviews, I will still miss this presence.
I honestly think that there is no writer whose work I've read more of, or more often, than O'Neil's.
The Batman books of the 90s, for which he was the group editor, got me into comics.
His book "The DC Comics Guide To Writing Comics" taught me many important techniques, which I still employ both as a writer, and as a critical reader.
His revamp of Oliver Queen made that character one of my favorite heroes.
There was a humanistic pathos in his writing that spoke to me. Not only as a fan and as a writer, but as a person, I would not be who I am today without O'Neil's work.
And even if his presence in recent years have been largely through interviews, I will still miss this presence.
In tribute and remembrance, Kevin Smith retooled some of his earlier "Fatman On Batman" episodes where he talked with Denny O'Neil about his life and work into a new, almost 4-hour long episode of "FatMan Beyond":
FatMan Beyond #286: Denny O'Neil - In His Own Words
FatMan Beyond #286: Denny O'Neil - In His Own Words
The Perfesser has gone to join Mr. Nice.
O'Neil was one of the creators that I read very young who was responsible for my life long love of comics, of Green Lantern and Batman. I remember the excitement I felt when my Mom gave me a couple of quarters to go to the store on Fridays to pick up some things for her. I had the shopping list money in one hand and my comic book money in another. I would spend nearly an hour looking at the comics on one of those old style racks. In those days I wasn't interested in reading entire series of stories, just the ones that caught my eye at the time. Green Lantern/Green Arrow was so cool that I picked up a lot of those comics--and it was only later that I realized Dennis O'Neil was the same guy from many of the Batman comics I loved so much.
He was "my Batman" and "my Green Lantern" and "my Green Arrow".
He was "my Batman" and "my Green Lantern" and "my Green Arrow".
It would be impossible to measure the influence that Denny O'Neil had on the medium, or how many people he has inspired in and out of the field. It might be impossible just to measure the volume of his work, not to mention the breadth of it. Let it suffice to say that a lot of people from several generations owe him a debt of respect and gratitude.
RIP, Denny O'Neil.
RIP, Denny O'Neil.
I've read his work since he started in comics, and enjoyed his much-needed contributions. I have no doubt that he elevated the medium (where superheroes were concerned) in ways many of his contemporaries could not. He was one of the few who knew that adult subject matter walked hand in hand with the trials of heroism, and did not have to be watered down soap operas to present drama with impact that made both the readers and characters think. He will be missed.
Coming right on the heels of Frank Miller's run, I think Denny O'Neil's Daredevil work gets overlooked. His run on the character is essentially what introduced me to the character as I discovered Daredevil with only three issues left in Miller's run.
His run on Iron Man was the best the book has ever been, and I think the only time I collected it on a regular basis.
BleedingCool collected reactions from several comic creators, among them longtime colleagues and creative partners of Denny's, like Neal Adams, Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, Frank Miller, and many more.
Similar threads
