Dennis O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil[4] (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020)[5] was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.
For the Roman Catholic bishop, see Dennis Patrick O'Neil. For other people, see Dennis O'Neill (disambiguation).Dennis O'Neil
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams. For Batman, the team are credited with returning the Batman character to his dark gothic roots, in contrast to the campy Batman television series of the 1960s. However, comics historian Les Daniels considers O'Neil's "vengeful obsessive-compulsive" Batman to be an original interpretation that has influenced all subsequent portrayals of the character. It was during this run that O'Neil co-created the Batman villains Ra's al Ghul and Talia al Ghul. During their Green Lantern/Green Arrow run, O'Neil and Adams introduced a mature, realistic tone through stories such as "Snowbirds Don't Fly", in which Green Arrow's young ward Roy "Speedy" Harper is revealed to have become addicted to drugs. They also created and introduced the Green Lantern character John Stewart in 1971.
As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles beginning in 1986 after returning to DC. In 1989, O'Neil launched the Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight series, and was the writer for the "Shaman" and "Venom" stories. O'Neil led the Batman creative teams for the Batman: Knightfall (1993–1994) story arc. O'Neil co-created the antihero Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) in 1992, who temporarily became the new Batman during Knightfall. After the storyline's conclusion, O'Neil was the writer for an Azrael monthly series that had 100 issues.
His other notable work includes creating Richard Dragon with Jim Berry, and runs on The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. While working for Marvel, O'Neil scripted issues for The Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Daredevil during the 1980s. In the late 1990s, O'Neil taught a comics writing course at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts. He also sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.[6]
Early life[edit]
O'Neil was born into an Irish Catholic household in St. Louis, Missouri on May 3, 1939.[4][7] On Sunday afternoons he would accompany his father or his grandfather to the store for some light groceries and an occasional comic book.[1] O'Neil graduated from Saint 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.[1]
Career[edit]
Writing[edit]
After leaving the Navy, O'Neil moved on to a job with a newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. O'Neil wrote bi-weekly columns for the youth page, and during the slow summer months he filled the space with a series on the revival of the comics industry.[8] This attracted the attention of Roy Thomas, who would eventually himself become one of the great names in the history of the medium.[1]
Personal life[edit]
O'Neil was married to Marifran O'Neil, until her death.[67] He was the father of writer/director/producer Lawrence "Larry" O'Neil, best known for the 1997 film Breast Men starring David Schwimmer.[68]
He died of cardiopulmonary arrest on June 11, 2020, at the age of 81.[4][69] The animated feature Batman: Soul of the Dragon was dedicated in his memory.[70] Larry O'Neil wrote a wordless tribute to his father, called "Tap Tap Tap," which was illustrated by Jorge Fornés and published in the Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (August 2021).[71]
Awards[edit]
O'Neil's work won him a great deal of recognition in the comics industry, including the Shazam Awards for Best Continuing Feature Green Lantern/Green Arrow,[72] Best Individual Story for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight" in Green Lantern #76 (with Neal Adams),[72] for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) in 1970[72] for Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, and other titles, and Best Individual Story for "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in Green Lantern #85 (with Adams) in 1971.[73]
O'Neil was given a Goethe Award in 1971 for "Favorite Pro Writer"[74] and was a nominee for the same award in 1973. He shared a 1971 Goethe Award with artist Neal Adams for "Favorite Comic-Book Story" for "No Evil Shall Escape My Sight."[75]
O'Neil received an Inkpot Award in 1981[76] and in 1985, DC Comics named O'Neil as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.[77]
Appearances in media[edit]
In The Batman Adventures—the first DC Comics spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series—a caricature of O'Neil appears as The Perfesser, one of a screwball trio of incompetent supervillains 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.[78][79]
In 2013, O'Neil was among the comic book writers interviewed in the PBS documentary Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle.