Why Should We Remember a Writer Named Denny O'Neil? A podcast memoriam about inventing modern superheroes.

"Make me laugh. Make me cry. Tell me my place in the world. Lift me out of my skin and place me in another. Show me places I have never visited and carry me to the ends of time and space. Give my demons names and help me to confront them. Demonstrate for me possibilities I've never thought of and present me with heroes who will give me courage and hope. Ease my sorrows and increase my joy. Teach me compassion. Entertain and enchant and enlighten me. Tell me a story.” ― Dennis O'Neil I have now uploaded the most complete audio presentationL fifty-two minutes of completed notes and insights. Enjoy, and feel free to follow my podcast. Jo Duffy is our guest this fall, along with a few other interesting writer friends, you'll see. So, from my notes: Why would we remember a writer named Denny O’Neil? On June 11th, 2020, comics writer and editor Denny O' Neil died. He first re-invented Batman as the Dark Knight Detective. Through his early 70s work with artist Neal Adams, and later as editor of the Batman comics line of the 1990s, Denny revamped Batman into the cool version you love at the movies, Ninjas and intense combat style? Earthquake in Gotham? Bane breaking Batman? It’s all there during O’Neil’s tenure as editor of all Batman comics in the 90s.
His career began its distinction and popularity in 1970, with Neal Adams, whose 'social relevance ' take on Green Lantern / Green Arrow intrigued me nearly two decades later. His Daredevil is the precursor to the successful Netflix MU.
He helped revive The Shadow with Mike Kaluta, about the time I was born. Given the direct inspiration of the earliest Batman stories, and how those were also O’Neil’s inspiration for his groundbreaking take on the Dark Night Detective, it’s no shock to find him spinning stories of the masked vigilante and his network of associates. He hired Frank Miller and edited the groundbreaking Miller run that modernized Daredevil, then wrote the title when it finally came to my convenience store. Denny O’Neil also, while working for Marvel, named Optimus Prime during the development of the Transformers. He wrote two great ASM Annuals, #14 and 15 with Frank Miller on art. Return to Dr. Strange, and the Punisher.
But his personal struggle with alcoholism inspired Tony Stark's long crash and journey back to the light in the underrated 1980s Black Iron Man stories I collected when I was thirteen. The idea of someone Black under the helmet really caught my attention! Years later, I would understand better the grim slide into poverty and self-affliction that makes his take on the genius inventor the most haunting and relatable to date. Mr. O'Neil's take on The Question, with artist Denys Cowan (a co-founder of Milestone Comics, a line featuring black superheroes and creators), was a gritty, suspenseful, insightful one on modern day big city corruption. He inspired my abiding interest in Zen. He even wrote two of my first Amazing Spider-Man comics, when I was seven, much beloved. Peter clearing his name and Blues for Lonesome Pinky are not typical ASM but remain memorable.
How can I relate to this character, he would ask. How do I pretend to be these characters, so I can write their stories? How can we, the reader, be something like the heroes (and villains), ourselves? O’Neil later taught at the School of Visual Arts, influencing even more generations of comic creators. He served on the board of the Hero Initiative, a charity dedicated to taking care of comic creators in need. And in late 2018, he was honored by the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library as the keynote speaker at their “Comic Books and Social Justice” event. – Den of Geek Much respect to this great shaper of my young mind. R.I.P. Denny O'Neil, age 81. I tried my neighborhood Thai restaurant before I got the sad news. He loved Asian cuisine so, synchronicity! If only I had made it vegetarian too! Included in the podcast- when I have space to re-upload it- are anecdotes culled from interviews and letters by Neal Adams, as well. For example: • Green Lantern/ Green Arrow # 87 (1972) John Stewart • Arguing for diversity, Neal Adams pushed for the creation of a new Green Lantern. Julie Schwartz, the comics editor, realized Neal wanted a Black man. Neal underscored how he wanted an educated Black man- so he became an architect. They gave him pride, and fortunately, lost Julie’s idea to call him Lincoln Washington and Neal picked a new name out of the air: John Stewart. John talked directly in the language of his times, as a college-educated young professional, how he feels about inequalities. He makes no secret of his dislike for wearing a mask, and disposes of it immediately. “I’m not afraid for people to know who I am,” he says to Hal Jordan. Stewart made no bones about his dislike of the Presidential candidate he must protect from assassination. But the ring did not pick him out as the next of the bravest men on Earth it could find, in error. He and Hal uncover a plot, in an excellent first adventure. It’s our loss that the comic as canceled two issues later, before we could see the co-creators bring John to life again. But he became the Green Lantern to a whole generation of Justice League fans in our present century.
So, the introduction to the spotlight podcast:
Herein is the exploration of Denny's themes, the influence and content of his stories, the origins of the first Black Green Lantern, and the shaping of Batman into the hero we know today- whose shadow stretches across two-fisted fiction in the years since. The first comics author to take an ongoing angle of 'social relevance,' O'Neil was a very well-read man with a background in both the military and martial arts, as well as an abiding interest in Zen, while continuing to be a practicing Catholic and writer of social conscience.
Over on integr8dfix.blogspot.com, I 've added a few other specific points about Batman in particular: short stories, no Bat-equipment, no angst, and the intellectual use of violence. I should delve into those when I am ready to pick up and talk about the Question. https://integr8dfix.blogspot.com/2020/07/no-bat-belts-and-bat-boats-and-fighting.html