Denny O'Neil always said he needed to relate to the heroes he wrote, and Tony Stark was more-or-less antithetical to Denny's values as a social crusading Catholic and veteran of the Bay of Pigs conflict in 1962.   But Stark shared a vulnerablity Denny understood intimately.  So, the mainstream superheroics are given human dramatic stakes by Tony's manipulation by O'Neil creation Obadiah Stane, back into sorrows of the bottle and self-loathing.  Now, Denny had two stories to tell, with down-to-Earth James Rhodes standing in as Iron Man.  Now one of Marvel's best-known heroes- maybe the highest-profile character who could be tried this way- was a Black American, but most of all, a loyal friend, with a different approach and skillset to bring to the twenty year-old character.  Here's my podcast, with limited space remaining, quickly hitting the key insights I uncovered.  It really must've been torture to see Tony, and eventually Rhodey, in their personal d...

Some well-done, street-level adventure comics, here. Blind attorney Matt Murdock's the Devil of Hell's Kitchen in Frank Miller's tone-changing run, an echo of the approach in Denny O'Neil's Batman stories a decade earlier.  That's, of course, a Barry Windsor-Smith cover- the coloring gives it away, right? Ever realize Denny pioneered the 'secret identity slip' that keyed in Miller's Born Again  storyline with Mazzuchelli?   Art: Klaus Janson  First as editor, then as writer, here's some insights about what made Denny's Daredevil, click. And on Apple: Creatng Marvels: Daredevil

So, in his initial series, Spider-Man, Denny has the most ideas, initially, bringing in new characters the first few months.  Calypso, Madame Web, Hyrdo Man recur in later stories- such as Todd McFarlane’s smash-selling vehicle Spider=Man title in 1991, and the Madame and Hydro Man even return in cartoons.  Peter even gets an opponent at the Daily Globe, photographer Lance Bannon- before O’Neil abruptly shifts gears and does away with the Daily Globe newspaper era started by Marv Wolfman in a single issue, #210. However, those characters do not generally add much to any ongoing saga.   In some ways, while the stories in the middle do continue into each other, from 213-218, most O’Neil Spider-Man stories exist in an almost stand-alone fashion.  Hydro Man- who suffers from the most glaring flaw in this era’s villains, his obstinate motivation of revenge, like the Wizard in the next issue- does come back for a sort of humorous rivalry with Sandman ov...

1. In a distinct shift away from the campy 1960s Batman, which was how I chiefly knew the character as a boy, featured Batman mostly as an athlete and martial artist and detective, but rarely depicted him using any of his special devices from his utility belt. Gone are the various gadgets and gimmicks that Batman might have with him on his person, to solve his various dilemmas. Now along with this point, we do see Batman with a cool old Roadster Batmobile a couple of times. But the bat helicopter for example and any of the variety of equipment and transportation vehicles that he was known to keep in his Batcave I have vanished. It's worth noting, along with the move in Batman #217 to finally move Dick Grayson (Robin) off to college, where he was featured in his own solo adventures in a backup story in most issues of Batman, the Batcave with also closed off, so that Batman and Alfred instead move in the center of Gotham City. So while this move was probably mostly dictated by ...

My biggest leap forward in freelance writing in a long time. I talked to such great people, too. That's Back Issue #110! Steve Englehart and Annie Nocenti fans shouldn't miss it. How do you not miss it? Here! http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=98_54 The site! Order yours! Ships January 16th. My thanks again to John Workman, Scott Edelman, Sam Maronie, Harold Parker, Will Alovis, Ken Segal (now there's a sound guy), the Marvel Comics Fans 1961-1986 page on Facebook (for bringing me together with fans and photos) - and especially our hard-working editor, Michael Eury, who also pulled off a move in the middle of a hurricane and got this one out in fine form. NOw that's how you Face Front! I was wrapping up burritos and wrapping up wrapping up burritos when I pitched for this assignment. I tried Marv Wolfman, John Workman...even hovered over a possible phone number for John Romita, Sr. I stayed on the trail, one lead to the next. I ...

First, Happy Birthday, Luke McDonnell! Every since I discovered recently he was born July 19th I knew how to break apart the O’Neil run- largely defined by Denny’s work with newbie John Romita, Jr.-and which day to post. It fit neatly with an Alan Kupperberg tribute remembering him on the anniversary of his death, July 17th. It’s interesting to me, anyway, that McDonnell starts superheroes on Spider-Man and goes on to a long Iron Man run, while Romita essential is vice versa. I note this type casting of sorts where, when you need to put characters through a rough time- when you want to tantalize or depict their downfall or hard times-Mr. McDonnell looks like the go-to guy! If you start from putting clean-cut square nebbish Peter Parker in jail, you then get Tony Stark penniless on the streets, the premier DC Comics team Justice League of America in crisis free fall, and end up with an even bigger set of doomed rejects in The Suicide Squad! For my theory about McDonnell’s grimie...

Remembering Alan Kupperberg, and the Denny O’Neil Amazing Spider-Man days As I was vividly recalling each page of one of my childhood possessions, Amazing Spider-Man #221, I realized Denny’s run, save for the Deb Whitman subplot, seems very episodic, like television at the time. This simplicity might be one reason his ASM’s not as widely critically regarded, yet I recall his work distinctly. He’s very obsessed with time- the costume change and the trip back for the antidote come to mind-in a way that helps set the drama in detail. He’s blessed with longtime Spider-Man inker Jim Mooney, who keeps things consistent despite numerous fill-ins over an already-promising John Romita, Jr. I think the last time a cover declared the blurb “Crisis On Campus!”- back in ASM #68, was it?-Jim was often inking John Romita, Sr. or Don Heck. From Alan's Custom Comics work One of those fill-ins featured Alan Kupperberg, whose work I want to remember today to mark his passing from this w...