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Old 06-12-2020, 10:30 AM   #1
TurtleTitan97
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R.I.P Dennis O'Neil

The legendary comic book writer best known for his work on Batman and co-creator of Ra's Al Ghul has passed away at 81:

https://www.gamesradar.com/legendary...ies-at-age-81/
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Old 06-12-2020, 10:31 AM   #2
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Also gave Optimus Prime his name
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Old 06-12-2020, 10:41 AM   #3
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Famed Batman Writer Denny O Neil passes away

Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil has died at age 81. As confirmed by his family, the legendary comic book writer died at home of natural causes on the night of June 11.



O?Neil was best known for his work on Batman, which included writing Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, as well as editing DC?s Batman titles from 1986 to 2000. He, editor Julius Schwartz, and artist Neal Adams are credited for guiding the Dark Knight back to his darker roots after a period of campiness brought on by the success of the 1960s Batman TV series.

During his time on Batman, he created/co-created Ra?s al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Leslie Thompkins, Azrael, and Richard Dragon; he was also involved in the revitalization of the Joker and Two-Face as modern DC villains, and oversaw the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin.

https://www.gamesradar.com/legendary...ies-at-age-81/
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Old 06-12-2020, 10:42 AM   #4
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I didn't read many of his stories but he just crossed my mind yesterday. RIP.
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Old 06-12-2020, 11:00 AM   #5
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Hate to hear that. He is arguably the guy most responsible for shaping Batman into the pop-culture phenom he is known as today.
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Old 06-12-2020, 12:18 PM   #6
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Denny O'Neil is pretty much the guy who shaped Batman into what we know know the franchise to be. Before he came along, Batman existed on a spectrum of pulp stories and something not too far off from the Adam West show. He is also responsible for Ra's al Ghul and Bane was allegedly based on an idea he pitched (although I don't think he had that much to do with Bane in practice). Outside of Batman he's also responsible for the Roy Harper drug story as the creation of Hyrdro-Man, Madam Web, Calypso, Lady Deathstrike, Lady Shiva, Jon Stewart and Obadiah Stane.

There's not much to criticise about him in the field of comics, I almost accused him of spreading pseudo-science about the expanding earth, but then I doubled checked and noticed I confused him for Neal Adams. Overall, Denny O'Neil's legacy is remarkable.

PS: You think April O'Neil was named after him?
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Old 06-12-2020, 12:36 PM   #7
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Unhappy

I always wanted to meet him, but Denny never came close to where I live. He is my favorite comic writer of all-time and a solid reason I dug into the back issue bin where I found the late Silver Age and Bronze Age to be the richest era of comics. He made me a DC fan and I am thankful to have bought a few comics of his on the stands. He is the reason Batman is around today.I had no idea that he was in decling health. I have lost my favorite comic creator today.
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Old 06-12-2020, 12:55 PM   #8
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I did meet Dick Giordano at his final convention and met Neal Adams numerous times. I admire all,but Denny is the one a love all to me. I have a couple of prized comics that he wrote. Neal Adams signed Batman#232 and Talia's first appearance graded and slabbed. Neal is political and opinionated, but Denny is gracious and beat his demons to become as he called it 'a custodian of folklore'.
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Old 06-13-2020, 12:52 AM   #9
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That's a real shame.
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Old 06-13-2020, 12:53 AM   #10
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Great guy. Shaped so many things and created so many characters I love. Had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times over the years and shaking his hand.
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Old 06-15-2020, 05:13 AM   #11
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What?

OMG.

That is very sad news. He was my first. He was the best. He was born the same year as Batman.

He started out as a reporter in Cape Gerardo, Missouri. It was because of Roy Thomas that he moved to New York and got into comics in the 60's. He, ALONG WITH FRANK ROBBINS, brought Batman back from the brink. He was as much Batman's father as Bill Finger and that other glory hog were.

Batman, The Question, The Shadow, a great Daredevil run, wrote some very underrated Spider-man stories, his Justice League work was a lot of the basis for the cartoon... a great Superman run, Green Lantern-Green Arrow, bringing social consciousness to THE BIG 2, he wrote so many great issues in my collection. I considered him like a friend, a distant relative even. THIS HITS ME HARD. Okay, I'm getting really emotional here. I loved this guy.

I know he struggled after his wife, Mary Fran, died. I am so sorry to hear this.

Denny O'neil was one of the greats.
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Old 06-19-2020, 10:58 AM   #12
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He was an inspiration to many.

Rest well.
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Old 06-19-2020, 07:18 PM   #13
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When did you get the privilege of meeting him Andrew?

Quote:
Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985 View Post
What?

OMG.

That is very sad news. He was my first. He was the best. He was born the same year as Batman.

He started out as a reporter in Cape Gerardo, Missouri. It was because of Roy Thomas that he moved to New York and got into comics in the 60's. He, ALONG WITH FRANK ROBBINS, brought Batman back from the brink. He was as much Batman's father as Bill Finger and that other glory hog were.

Batman, The Question, The Shadow, a great Daredevil run, wrote some very underrated Spider-man stories, his Justice League work was a lot of the basis for the cartoon... a great Superman run, Green Lantern-Green Arrow, bringing social consciousness to THE BIG 2, he wrote so many great issues in my collection. I considered him like a friend, a distant relative even. THIS HITS ME HARD. Okay, I'm getting really emotional here. I loved this guy.

I know he struggled after his wife, Mary Fran, died. I am so sorry to hear this.

Denny O'neil was one of the greats.
You seem to know Denny well. I knew about his marriage ending in divorce, but did not know about reconnecting with a childhood love Marifran year later.

I just read that cardiopulmonary arrest is what Denny passed away from. I only started reading DC regularly in 2002 when he was a year away from retiring, but nonetheless Denny is the reason I have an extensive back issue collection and a love for DC and Batman in general. Denny is responsible indirectly for Batman:TAS one of my two primary Batman outlets growing up and the author of many of my all-time favorite stories. I am a huge fan of Denny O'Neil and in grief of his passing. The guy who had the biggest impact on TMNT for me is David Wise, an innovator and Denny O'Neil an innovator on Batman. Man, 2020 sucks and worse I never got to meet my inspiration.
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Old 06-19-2020, 07:38 PM   #14
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Unpopular Opinion:

I honestly feel like this is a much bigger deal and deserves more recognition than when Stan Lee passed away. That guy got parades, Denny gets crickets.

I know Stan was a legend in the industry, but if we're being completely objective... at least Denny O'Neil wrote some of the stuff he had his name attached to, whereas Stan Lee... eh. Stan got a ton of money and fame on OTHER peoples' work, is all, way more than any of his own. Kirby and Ditko, specifically, were responsible for most of the stuff Stan gets credit for, but there were others. And nobody threw those guys any parades, either.

Not that it's a contest or anything, it's just... I'unno.
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Old 06-19-2020, 08:16 PM   #15
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As you can probably tell I'm a big Kirby fan and genuinely think that Stan got way too much credit and money for other people's creations however I think it's pushing it to say that Stan didn't write anything.

His dialogue was a big part of why the FF worked same with Spider-Man. Spidey swinging by student protesters and shouting at them to get jobs was not going to work with Marvel's audience at the time. He set the 'tone' for all of Jack and Steve's creations that made them huge hits. I love his Fourth a World stuff but there is a reason why it didn't take off his Marvel stuff did. If that was all Stan contributed then it would be more than enough to mark his passing as important but he did do more than that.

People like Jack's former assistant and prolific scholar of his Mark Evanier has often said that both Jack and Stan came up with ideas and it would suprise people to know which ideas came from which guy. Certainly there are some stories which 'read' as much more Stan than Jack...like say This Man This Monster.

As for Denny O'Neil he too definitely deserved better. He was a great writer and editor and did more than anyone to shape DC's most enduring character. It's difficult to imagine the state of DC comics without his Batman or the state of comic book media for that matter. Without O'Neil's Batman there would have been no Frank Miller Batman and without that there wouldn't have been Tim Burton's Batman which means there wouldn't have been a huge surge in comic book movies from the 2000s onwards.
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Old 06-20-2020, 04:41 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87 View Post
You seem to know Denny well. I knew about his marriage ending in divorce, but did not know about reconnecting with a childhood love Marifran year later.

I just read that cardiopulmonary arrest is what Denny passed away from. I only started reading DC regularly in 2002 when he was a year away from retiring, but nonetheless Denny is the reason I have an extensive back issue collection and a love for DC and Batman in general. Denny is responsible indirectly for Batman:TAS one of my two primary Batman outlets growing up and the author of many of my all-time favorite stories. I am a huge fan of Denny O'Neil and in grief of his passing. The guy who had the biggest impact on TMNT for me is David Wise, an innovator and Denny O'Neil an innovator on Batman. Man, 2020 sucks and worse I never got to meet my inspiration.
I made a point to learn everything I could about the man and, although I never met him in person, we became acquaintances online. I used to religiously login to the Denny O'neil Message Board where he would occasionally post news and updates about himself. He was seemingly impressed by my quotations of issue #s and dialog from his work and he was flattered that I seemed to be the only one he ever met that read his late 60's run on The Creeper (though I'm sure others had). He also liked it when I referred to him as Sergius (from Sergius O'Shaughnessy, a pen-name he occasionally used from a Norman Mailer novel).

We became "friends" online and exchanged personal e-mails. He always hoped to see me at conventions but I never had the $$$$ to go. Anyway, there are numerous phone and studio interviews with him online (Word Balloon.com podcast, Around Comics podcast, Fatman on Batman, others) for those interested.

His first marriage ended largely due to that evil specter that is alcoholism. It's no secret that Denny suffered but not many know that the Catholic Church and the help of a man he met in a bar (who he stayed friends with for the rest of his life) saved him from the disease. Long after his recovery, in the 90's, around the time of his Knightfall novel (a comic book story I still have problems with) Denny and Mary Fran were traveling somewhere and Denny fell asleep at the wheel and they were involved in a major car accident. He wrote the remainder of his novel in the hospital after the doctors rescued his computer from the back of his car.

When MariFran died, I reached out to him through his personal e-mail address but he never responded. We lost touch right before her death I think. I did get to correspond with her online and she was a wonderful lady... a teacher for many years. Before that she was a receptionist/secretary somewhere I believe.

Anyway, I consider it an honor to have had the opportunity to get to know the greatest Batman writer of all time and you might even say I loved him like a grandfather.

Last edited by PizzaPower1985; 06-20-2020 at 07:00 AM.
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Old 06-20-2020, 04:53 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by Leo656 View Post
Unpopular Opinion:

I honestly feel like this is a much bigger deal and deserves more recognition than when Stan Lee passed away. That guy got parades, Denny gets crickets.

I know Stan was a legend in the industry, but if we're being completely objective... at least Denny O'Neil wrote some of the stuff he had his name attached to, whereas Stan Lee... eh. Stan got a ton of money and fame on OTHER peoples' work, is all, way more than any of his own. Kirby and Ditko, specifically, were responsible for most of the stuff Stan gets credit for, but there were others. And nobody threw those guys any parades, either.

Not that it's a contest or anything, it's just... I'unno.
Don't get me started. In my opinion, THERE ARE MANY who deserve parades and floats and bronze statues for their work while Stan Lee gets remembered as "THE MAN" (the guy who created EVERYTHING). My problems with Lee are many and I consider him similar to (not the same thing) Bob Kane.

I think Stan Lee was a fictional character, a personality created by Stanley Martin Liever (his real name), to cash in on the comic book biz. Now, Lee deserves a lot of credit... not as much as he gets tho. According to Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby used to be driven by his wife, Roz, past Toys R' Us and HE WOULD WEEP because he knew that the Captain America and Marvel action figures that were based on his creations were not being recognized as his creations and he was very bitter over lost art work and $$$. My opinion of Stan Lee is... I love him and I hate him.

Let's NOT spoil Mr. O'neil's memory by giving any more attention in this thread to anyone who is not him.
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Old 06-20-2020, 06:38 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PizzaPower1985 View Post
I made a point to learn everything I could about the man and, although I never met him in person, we became acquaintances online. I used to religiously login to the Denny O'neil Message Board where he would occasionally post news and updates about himself. He was seemingly impressed by my quotations of issue #s and dialog from his work and he was flattered that I seemed to be the only one he ever met that read his late 60's run on The Creeper (though I'm sure others had). He also liked it when I referred to him as Sergius (from Sergius O'Shaughnessy, a pen-name he occasionally used from a Norman Mailer novel).

We became "friends" online and exchanged personal e-mails. He always hoped to see me at conventions but I never had the $$$$ to go. Anyway, there are numerous phone and studio interviews with him online (Word Balloon.com podcast, Around Comics podcast, Fatman on Batman, others) for those interested.

His first marriage ended largely due to that evil specter that is alcoholism. It's no secret that Denny suffered but not many know that the Catholic Church and the help of a man he met in a bar (who he stayed friends with for the rest of his life) saved him from the disease. Long after his recovery, in the 90's, around the time of his Knightfall novel (a comic book story I still have problems with) Denny and Mary Fran were traveling somewhere and Denny fell asleep at the wheel and they were involved in a major car accident. He wrote the remainder of his novel in the hospital after the doctors rescued his computer from the back of his car.

When MariFran died, I reached out to him through his personal e-mail address but he never responded. We lost touch right before her death I think. I did get to correspond with her online and she was a wonderful lady... a teacher for many years. Before that she was a receptionist/secretary somewhere I believe.

Anyway, I consider it an honor to have had the opportunity to get to know the greatest Batman writer of all time and you might even say I loved him like a grandfather.
I am not a fan of either The Shadow or The Question, but I read through Denny O'Neil's runs, because its Denny Freaking O'Neil and he makes it interesting. Also, I think Denny writes the perfect middle ground between Adam West and Frank Miller portrayals of Batman and the perfect one for me. I have had many conversations with Neal Adams, his often artist at Heroes Con, who comes across as obnoxious and opinionated. Sure, he has earned it, but Denny is so humble. He called himself a custodian of folklore.

I wish he used Barbara 'Batgirl' Gordon in his run. Denny never used her. Neal said it was because Bruce and Dick had years of training and a woman with little self training just jumps into the fray did not make sense.

I have had many conversations with Jose Garcia Lopez as well and he even sketched me a picture for half charge because of how insightful I was in an era before my time. Jose is my favorite artist of all-time so it is fitting that (what I believe is) Denny's final work is with him as the artist he is paired with in the Joker 80th anniversary book. If only God gave him a few more months and Detective Comics#1027 could have been a wonderful note to wrap it up completely. Perhaps it is a selfish thought.

One of my disappointments is never getting to meet my favorite writers like I have all of my favorite artist, Denny, Steve Englehart, and Len Wein.

I have read many articles about Denny such as Back Issue Magzine#50 covering Batman in the Bronze Age and watched a SDCC and Denver Comic Con and his interviews in documentaries, but that is it. I am aware of him beating alcoholism after it cost him his marriage and I am glad to learn he found religion and rekindled a lost love after that. That is great! Starting out as a beat writer in New York City writing for papers helped him bring in a unique perspective that built characterization and social issues into comics. Sure, Marvel's Swinging Sixties did, but I feel that Denny did it for DC and created more dimensions to characters that the Swinging Sixties Marvel characters still lacked despite likely arguments. Thank you for giving me some facts about Denny I was not aware of, but being able to have a correspondence with the greatest comic writer of my favorite era I am so jealous.

Is there an online obituary that fans can drop messages to his son? It would be a way I can express my gratitude and grief in being able to do so.
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Old 06-20-2020, 09:58 PM   #19
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I am not a fan of either The Shadow or The Question


Siiiiigh, just kidding I guess. But there's a Toll in the hall now, and if you wanna stick around after 10pm it's a two-drink minimum.

That's simply the price one engenders when they choose to live life as a goddamn philistine. I don't make the rules, you understand.
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Old 06-21-2020, 06:39 PM   #20
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Well, I'm glad that Denny's involvement at least got you to read The Question. That was an amazing 36 issue run that stil haunts me.

His 70's Shadow work is THE CLOSEST ANY COMIC BOOK EVER CAME to reproducing The Shadow pulps.

Denny also professed to be a major fan of Max A. Collins' DICK TRACY run and later claimed to "that was the reason I hired him to write Batman."

Now, Collins and Denny did not get along very well during that assignment. Denny claims that Collins just wasn't a good fit for Batman (I BEG TO DIFFER) and Collins claims that Denny was a "$hitty editor" because there was no "series bible" on the Batman books and according to Collins "the Batman job kept being taken away from me." He was fired at least 3 times. Collins also claimed there was no consistency at DC over who Batman "truly was. Was he a dark vigilante or the bright blue caped crusader. Was the pre or post crisis Batman still in the books? In 1986 there were still questions about that." Collins created a character called "The Mime." A female with white clown makeup that was supposed to eventually be a Joker sidekick. Denny hated that character and also Collins hated working with Dave Cockrum because the art was "inconsistent."
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