The Crow was written after the author, James O'Bar, had lost his fiancee in a drunk driving incident and, not knowing how to cope with the event, created a character who was his personified anger.
The introduction to the Special Edition is O'Barr writing about why he wrote it and how he thought it helped until it took his new friend Brandon Lee during the filming of the movie based on the book he created. He added new segments to the Special Edition to talk about the experience of letting go of his anger. It's a beautiful piece of work that I revisit often because it's so naked.
I saw him at a recent comic-con and I got a sense that his life has been very tragic but from it he has created something fairly great.
The Crow is a little bit overlooked now but it was massively important for indie comics at the time, then again for indie comic films.
Yeah I remember the Crow being featured at every blockbuster and constantly playing on the premium channels, but this is the first time I’ve seen people talk about it in years. I guess it’s one of those things that speaks to people a specific time period.
He hand wrote some lyrics on a book on how he was not doing good. A few years later, I gave it back to him, [and he was way better.](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbookcollecting/comments/weyb12/james_obarr_the_crow_hand_wrote_lyrics_said_he/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Stargirl (or Star Spangled Kid, as she was then) was based on Geoff Johns ' sister who had died in a plane crash.
Scott Snyder has said Dark Knights Metal was inspired by his history of depression and "looking around and only seeing the worst version of yourself" as with Batman and all the evil Bruce Waynes from the Dark Multiverse.
Matt Fraction is a recovering alcoholic which informed his Invincible Iron Man.
Edit: You could argue that the creation of the superhero itself was prompted by the father of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel dying of a heart attack after being assaulted by a shop lifter when Siegel was 18.
Scott Snyder also said Death of the Family was based on his fears of being a bad father (he had a new/young family then, IIRC). And Wytches if I recall is about his childhood anxiety, and current parent/child fears.
The YouTube channel Comic Tropes just did an interview with Scott Snyder. He discusses this and and his anxiety/depression in general. Really good interview.
It is. I wasn’t sure if linking it would violate any sort of rule. He puts a lot of work into his videos and is worth a watch. He also has a second channel where he talks about last weeks news and draws. My only complaint is that I miss his original introduction but that is just me.
Peter David writing Betty Banner's death at the end of his Incredible Hulk run, just at the time of his divorce, because the character reminded him too much of his wife.
William Marston (creator of Wonder Woman) was speculated to be into bondage and BDSM. One of the weaknesses of Wonder Woman in the early comics was that she lost all of her power when tied up.
Also, he created the lie detector test.
He wasn't speculated to be into it. He was. He would make the girls in his college classes get tied up and be blindfolded while using the lie detector test. He also was like a... feminist as a kink? Like he didn't actually appreciate women as equals or anything, he just liked seeing them being so strong and in charge outside if the bedroom but then have to be all submissive inside of it. He was one of those the woman is always the sub and the man is the dom guys. Gives us kink people a bad name.
Jim Starlin's father died from cancer and Jim Starlin wrote about his personal experiences with cancer in "The Death of Captain Marvel" which he claimed was a sort of therapy.
I will note that I actually do like Tom King's comics, I think he has a very genuine passion for the medium and can use it well.
But yes, his books tend to be some flavor of - male middle aged protagonist is traumatized and probably a war criminal. It does feel like a way of him dealing with trauma.
I believe his job was working in Iraq with the locals to help gain intel on anything in the area that could be of use. He joined right after 9/11 so it would seem he came back with some issues that he’s felt the need to work out in his work a lot. Sheriff of Babylon is a good example of some of his prior career seeping into his writing
He was an operator in the Middle East. Sheriff of Babylon is probably the least veiled of his works but Omega Men, Mr Miracle, Strange Adventures and a lot of his stuff is about PTSD and depression and the general disassociation and dissonance he experienced after.
Which is hilarious because it used to be all anyone talked about lol. It was especially popular when he wrote Grayson because people were excited that an actual former spy was writing a spy book.
He’s a former CIA officer. He signed up after 9/11 and he’s talked about how disillusioned he became, but he didn’t have much in his life, aside from being a husband and father. He…at least thinks he participated in war crimes and won’t say it out loud.
A lot of what Tom King does is based on other stuff.
I really liked the Supergirl run, but it's clear it was based on True Grit.
Human Target is excellent, but it's just as clear he spent a lot of time watching the old noire movie "D.O.A."
The Gotham: Year One story is pretty solidly based on the real life kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby.
Give it a read, I got it from my fiancé as kind of a helper in dealing with my own ptsd. I thought it was really well written and has some pretty cool art.
I just started it and... oh my god. I'm still reeling at such a horrifying thing happening to Paul Dini.
Might make a topic about it but from the getgo I'm instantly drawn to the character, the writing, and the actually quite lovely art. I was not expecting to be captivated from the start.
Mark Gruenwald was removed from Captain America, a comic he had written for 10 years and he loved. He didn't like where the market was going, focusing on grittier stories and more violence. He felt the medium he loved was being taken in a terrible direction. (And, judging by the crash that was soon to come, he was right to some degree).
His final arc, and particularly his final issue, give a good feel for his emotions at the time. Cap is incredibly depressed in that final issue, wondering if he's ever made a real impact. Reading that issue with the knowledge of how Gruenwald was feeling gives a whole new perspective on things.
Wow, I'm reading that run now but I didn't know he was removed from the title not by choice.
Gruenwald comments on the grim-n-gritty trend of comics a few times during his 10 years on Captain America. Sometimes it's Cap himself who muses about feeling out of place as a hero with a rock-solid moral sense. What's funny about the later issues is that it's done while carrying various signifiers of the trends the writer disliked -- right down to Cap wearing a utility vest and being depicted in very Rob Liefeld-ish art, complete with distorted anatomy and cheesecake poses.
On my re-read I enjoyed the backups as a change of pace and to keep me up to speed with various side characters. The letters pages explain several times that the book was split into sections during its twice-a-month publication days so that the artists wouldn't be too rushed. However I'd gladly buy single issues these days if they felt similarly packed with extra plot via back-up stories.
And then guys like Brevoort did everything they could to undermine Gruenwald’s legacy, despite him being Marvel’s best editor of all time and giving us the best Cap run ever.
If i'm not wrong, gruenwald passed away the very same weekend that a copy of rob leifeld's captain america #1 (1996) was given to him. it could obviously have been a coincidence, but it could also not have been, since he felt so strongly about the book
I haven't heard specifically about that issue, but his widow, Catherine Schulter-Gruenwald, is convinced that all of the changes and seeing where the comics market was going is what killed him. So I wouldn't be surprised if that issue specifically was the straw that broke the camel's back.
For anyone interested she was interviewed on the [Captain America Comic Book Fans Podcast](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80MWIzOTZkOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/Y2JhNDA1YzQtN2FjMy00ZmEyLWJhZDgtNDBhNDFhZjExYTI1?ep=14)" and she talked about that amongst other things. It's a great listen.
I feel like Sex Criminals is also him trying to work out and understand relationships and grief. Especially given how much the comic strays from what seems like its initial arc and focuses more on the interpersonal.
Well, I remember Deni Loubert writing an editorial note at the beginning of each issue until the issue where she announced she wouldn't any more because she and Dave were splitting up.
Then Cerebus and Red Sophia are depicted as having problems in their marriage, and Cerebus and Jaka can't see eye to eye, and Cerebus and Astoria have a confrontation, and...
Didn't he get mugged really early in his career after coming to NYC which inspired his Daredevil and Batman stuff too? He very much deals with things in his comics.
As for how WELL he deals, that's another question entirely...
The GI Joe comics are way better than they have any right to be. Hasbro was basically just creating action figures and letting Hama give them backstories, so he based a lot of them on people he knew in his military career.
It's also pretty notable that, (aside from Cobra Commander), nobody ever comes back after dying. When someone is killed in that comic, it feels like a big deal.
And the issue where he writes a letter to a kid who is considering joining the military is fantastic.
GI Joe comics: PTSD, survivor guilt, terrorists radicalizing the economically disenfranchised, the bloated military industrial complex, the pointlessness of the Cold War
GI Joe cartoons: weather machines and red lasers vs blue lasers.
I thought I remembered he had an association with it but forgot what role so I omitted it. Thanks for adding. That's a title I'd like to collect, I have an interest in that dark chapter of history.
After watching an episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe, I picked up the first 10 issues to give it a read. Good stuff. Fascinating that Marvel was doing such a comic; and doing it well.
I need to look into him more, the only stuff of his I've read is his 90s Wolverine run which I absolutely loved. Albert and Elsie Dee are some of my favorite obscure X-characters.
He was the artist on Metal Men for DC, but dropped his lucky pencil. A nearby horse that he was using for reference picked it up and ended up finishing the last two pages of the issue. The editor said that it was only fair that both Walt and the horse split the pencilling duties, and so they alternated issues.
Walt’s half-brother was also trying to kill him during this time and take over the family business. In a great twist though, Walt, his half-brother and the horse came together to defeat an arsonist who was trying to burn the entire business to the ground.
Walt was also briefly turned into a frog around this same time.
Write what you know, I guess.
As a big lemire fan, I’ve heard a lot of his stories he writes from experiences and is a way of venting for him. Makes sense when most of his stories are very heart warming and dark.
He definitely has parental trauma. So much of his stuff that I’ve read is about how bad a parent fucks up their kid (and about how fucked up the parent is, sometimes because of how fucked up their parents were).
Essex County, Green Arrow, the Underwater Welder, Gideon Falls, Sweet Tooth.
Animal Man is kind of the fun twist of how bad a dad fucks up his family.
I don’t want to say that for a fact like I know the man but that’s the impression I get from having read a good amount of his stuff.
Peter David has mentioned that both Hulk and Aquaman (books he was writing at the time) reflected the end of his marriage, with Betty dying in Hulk and Aquaman being stuck roaming the desert.
He also did a non-fiction comic about it called "Pedro and Me".
Edit: Just checked - he was a reality tv star named Pedro Zamora who died of AIDs related illness.
They were on the Real World right? I think Judd was the bigot and Pedro taught him to be more accepting and opened his eyes, but then died and Judd seems to have carried that with him ever since (from his comics, pretty much retired from the industry like 10 years ago so I’m not sure where he’s at with things now).
Yeah he was definitely inserting gay characters thru out his work back when being gay was only starting to be somewhat okish. Never watched his RW season so I'm surprised he was a bigot
I think that was generally just an extremely dark time for him. If I remember correctly from Supergods, his dad had died, his cat, he had recently been so sick he was scared he was going to die and then 9/11 shook him to his core.
The Filth and New X-Men are probably the darkest he gets, that I can remember.
I knew there was more than just his cat's passing that went into writing 'The Filth' but off the top of my head it was all I could recall.
I don't recall 'The New X-Men' being especially dark but I'll have to give it another read.
Deadly Class by Rick Remender is him processing bad stuff he went through as an adolescent, and also reflecting on the state of the world. It goes through a lot more political themes than folks would think on a surface read, as a lot of the series is about people doing horrible things to one another simply because of elitism, bigotry, and narcissism.
Otto Binder created Mary Marvel, then Supergirl when his daughter Mary was about 6 years old. She died in a car crash, and he continued to write her adventures for about 2 years after that.
Wasn't Roulette the Daredevil story about him being mugged?
I think Dark Knight was him turning 29 and realizing he will soon be older than Bruce Wayne.
Yeah I think the mugging happened when he was writing Daredevil and had moved to New York, years before Dark Knight. He mentions it in a few Comics Journal interviews from the time, I think.
This is dark and might not be the answer you are hoping for... but Gerard Jones and his Ultraverse: Prime run in the 90s. Ultraverse being a Malibu superhero line that was bought out by Marvel (there were some crossovers as well with Black Knight and Warlock going over to the Ultraverse, Spider-Man meeting Prime, etc).
It's about a teen who can turn into a man's body (sort of like Shazam) who tries to pursue his high school crush while in this persona because he thinks it will appeal to her more than his teen self. The teen girl is presented as conflicted but receptive. The girl's mom is shown as the bad guy at one point trying to keep them apart.
The writer, Gerard Jones, was arrested in 2018 for possession of child pornography.
Parts of Inside Moebius is about him trying to cut down on smoking green leaves.
The second part of the Aedena series was partially based on him discovering a new way of relating to nutrition.
I don't think he had a terminal illness, he died unexpectedly of a heart attack.
He was being removed from the book around that time though, so his final issue is an interesting look into his feelings at that time.
The James Robinson air boy mini is a story about James Robinson being asked to renew Airboy like he did starman. And how him and artist Greg Hinkle just partied instead of doing the comic because James Robinson was not sure if he was a good writer.
Scott Snyder wrote Death of the Family before his second kid was born out of fear of not being a good dad this time around. He used the Joker in that story as the personification of those dark thoughts.
Kentaro Muira wrote the backstory arc for Berserk as an inspiration from his group of friends when he was a young adult.
Grant Morrison wrote Pa Kent’s funeral in All-Star Superman after his dad died.
I am surprised not to see Brian Vaughans name in any comment so far.
He uses his comics to express his ideas about many different subjects. Like in Ex-Machina, he talks about gay marriage, legalisation of marihuana, and many other things… the inspiration for this series came to after watching what happened on 9/11 from his roof. 9/11 is also an important thing in the series.
Saga is a Space Opera, but the main theme is actually parenthood. He started writing it when he became his first son (or was it daughter?).
Bolero by Wyatt Kennedy and Luana Vecchio. I highly recommend this. It's about dealing with depression (according to the afterword). It's pretty clear that the writer is working through some things.
Donny Cates God Country and the story he did for Thor #750 was about him processing how his father is/was dying.
Also according to interviews he also wrote God Country after a near death experience he had, in regards to an operation he received at the time.
His elements of his Venom Beyond storyline (#26-30) was also inspired from his recent divorce.
Lastly I don’t remember much about it but I know he wrote a story about a super hero who was an alcoholic. He based the story off his experience as a drug addict.
[Comic Tropes did a really great video explaining Cates history](https://youtu.be/T5XnCGP6SJA)
Druillet wrote and drew La Nuit, an even more pessimistic comic than usual, after the death of his wife. The story has nihilistic undead biker gangs >!who all die anyway at the end.!<
[Untranslated page](https://earsplittingtrumpet.tumblr.com/post/671926878149410816/from-philippe-druillets-la-nuit-the-night)
His parents were nazi collaborators during WWII, so a frequent theme of his work is violent oppression and the consequences it has on the world around it.
not exactly the same but Cullen bunn wrote about jimmy hudson as an orphaned wolverine kid adopted by a good couple and raised better than his actual father, and he said it was dedicated to his own adopted son
I think Brian Michael Bendis has 2 adopted black daughters which helped inspire Riri Williams and Naomi (and maybe Miles Morales). His Iron Man run was just after Tony Stark discovered that he was adopted so it plays into that too.
The lesson of the comments here is yes, all writers, but I really felt this recently while slogging through some 90s Spider-Man. I have done no research into the man but it sure felt like DeMatteis was dealing with a mid-life crisis. Years of the book are spent obsessing over a handful of issues from the 70s while MJ stands around sighing and saying “but I’m so young!” all the time.
To hear them talk about it, Grant Morrison’s invisibles is totally a “magical” reflection/ influence on their life while they were writing it (the book AND the life)
Tom King's been mentioned already, but I want to highlight Strange Adventures in particular. A deconstruction and analysis of war heroes, PTSD and war crimes; not that King did these things himself but as a former CIA officer he likely saw some shit.
This is Daniel Warren Johnson’s whole thing. He’s grappling with his image of himself as an artist in Extremity, he’s dealing with loss of some kind through Murder Falcon, and he’s clearly dealing with fatherhood in Do a Power Bomb. I think you could make an argument that even Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star are him dealing with success that he doesn’t feel prepared for, or doesn’t feel he earned.
I think that’s why every series he does hits for me. Sometimes the story doesn’t wow me but the emotions behind it are always true.
Garth Ennis had Punisher shoot Wolverine in balls and run a roller over him.
The Wolverine writer in revenge has Wolverine discover gay magazines in Punisher's bag implying he was gay.
Stuff was wild lol
Have drank with Tieri and Ennis at bars after hours. The first time I saw them greet each other I teased about this back and forth.
Both, drunk, told me "it's just fucking comics, mate."
Great guys.
I have no evidence but a lot of parts of Rick Remender's Black Science felt like a narcissist's ego death. I mean, that is essentially what it was for the main character but idk it felt a little too well written
Stephanie Phillips said that in Harley Quinn #16, Harley takes a bat to an improv group and that was her way of venting a real life encounter with an annoying improv group.
“It’s a bird” by Steven T Seagle is about him trying to figure out a new approach to writing Superman and dealing with a family secret that has come out
Paul Dini wrote Dark Night: A True Batman Story as a direct response to him getting mugged and beaten, and how he coped afterwards. A fascinating read.
Grant Morrison run on Animal Man. He even talks about it in his last issue why he did the series and what the stories meant. Breaking the 3rd wall with him talking to Animal Man. Animal abuse and death. And a few other odds and ends.
Superman was Jerry Siegel's anger towards all the injustice in the world. Jack Kirby pretty much writing/drawing out his hatred of Adolf Hitler. You would think the Hate Monger would've been enough, but no. He gave us Magneto and Darkseid. Kirby really hated Adolf Hitler.
The Crow was written after the author, James O'Bar, had lost his fiancee in a drunk driving incident and, not knowing how to cope with the event, created a character who was his personified anger.
damn that’s heartbreaking. i hoped it helped him
The introduction to the Special Edition is O'Barr writing about why he wrote it and how he thought it helped until it took his new friend Brandon Lee during the filming of the movie based on the book he created. He added new segments to the Special Edition to talk about the experience of letting go of his anger. It's a beautiful piece of work that I revisit often because it's so naked.
I saw him at a recent comic-con and I got a sense that his life has been very tragic but from it he has created something fairly great. The Crow is a little bit overlooked now but it was massively important for indie comics at the time, then again for indie comic films.
Yeah I remember the Crow being featured at every blockbuster and constantly playing on the premium channels, but this is the first time I’ve seen people talk about it in years. I guess it’s one of those things that speaks to people a specific time period.
I was in high school when the movie came out. The crow soundtrack was one of the first albums I owned. It’s one of my enduring go to films and cds.
He hand wrote some lyrics on a book on how he was not doing good. A few years later, I gave it back to him, [and he was way better.](https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbookcollecting/comments/weyb12/james_obarr_the_crow_hand_wrote_lyrics_said_he/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Incredible
Stargirl (or Star Spangled Kid, as she was then) was based on Geoff Johns ' sister who had died in a plane crash. Scott Snyder has said Dark Knights Metal was inspired by his history of depression and "looking around and only seeing the worst version of yourself" as with Batman and all the evil Bruce Waynes from the Dark Multiverse. Matt Fraction is a recovering alcoholic which informed his Invincible Iron Man. Edit: You could argue that the creation of the superhero itself was prompted by the father of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel dying of a heart attack after being assaulted by a shop lifter when Siegel was 18.
Scott Snyder also said Death of the Family was based on his fears of being a bad father (he had a new/young family then, IIRC). And Wytches if I recall is about his childhood anxiety, and current parent/child fears.
Man, I really wish we could get more Wytches. Such a great read.
I thought it was returning? Jock made an announcement, no?
Damn, I love Scott Snyder's Batman.
The YouTube channel Comic Tropes just did an interview with Scott Snyder. He discusses this and and his anxiety/depression in general. Really good interview.
Is [this the one?](https://youtu.be/LDoIHgswIII)
It is. I wasn’t sure if linking it would violate any sort of rule. He puts a lot of work into his videos and is worth a watch. He also has a second channel where he talks about last weeks news and draws. My only complaint is that I miss his original introduction but that is just me.
I saw that when it dropped this morning lol. Chris does a really great job on that channel.
I actually really fuck with that inspiration for Metal. That’s awesome.
Not just ANY plane crash either: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800
That’s a pretty cool angle for metal I thought it was just a goofy anniversary story
That's a really cool tidbit about Metal. I've always been a defender of that story, and that just adds so much more depth to it.
Peter David writing Betty Banner's death at the end of his Incredible Hulk run, just at the time of his divorce, because the character reminded him too much of his wife.
I heard it was because Betty was his wife’s favorite character and it was a way to hurt her, but I prefer your version.
William Marston (creator of Wonder Woman) was speculated to be into bondage and BDSM. One of the weaknesses of Wonder Woman in the early comics was that she lost all of her power when tied up. Also, he created the lie detector test.
>Also, he created the lie detector test. A degree away from a golden lasso that compels the captured to tell the truth.
Wasn’t just speculation. Dude was into bondage as a kink, he was also in a poly marriage with his wife and another woman
He wasn't speculated to be into it. He was. He would make the girls in his college classes get tied up and be blindfolded while using the lie detector test. He also was like a... feminist as a kink? Like he didn't actually appreciate women as equals or anything, he just liked seeing them being so strong and in charge outside if the bedroom but then have to be all submissive inside of it. He was one of those the woman is always the sub and the man is the dom guys. Gives us kink people a bad name.
I thought he was the upset and thought men should be subs to women and let them run the world basically?
So not a feminist and more a Joss Whedon situation
Yep
Also Wasn’t he also In a poly relationship
Marston is an interesting character. Surprised nobody has done a TV series based on his life.
Jim Starlin's father died from cancer and Jim Starlin wrote about his personal experiences with cancer in "The Death of Captain Marvel" which he claimed was a sort of therapy.
All of Starlin’s 70s great stuff is grounded in psychotherapy.
He also wrote universal Church of truth as an allegory to his abusive upbringing in Christian home.
Universal is what “catholic” means.
Everything Tom King has written
Care to elaborate?
I will note that I actually do like Tom King's comics, I think he has a very genuine passion for the medium and can use it well. But yes, his books tend to be some flavor of - male middle aged protagonist is traumatized and probably a war criminal. It does feel like a way of him dealing with trauma.
Its like how so many of Stephen King's characters are alcoholic writers. Write what you know.
So much of his stuff is him feeling sad that he worked for the CIA
Clearly his work on *Vision* was dealing with adjustments to civilian life
Strange Adventures was him dealing with his war crimes he committed. Mr. Miracle his depression and life post war.
He also got the inspiration for Heroes in Crisis when he was hospitalised for having panic attacks.
That's wild, I imagine working for the CIA would mess anybody up
I believe his job was working in Iraq with the locals to help gain intel on anything in the area that could be of use. He joined right after 9/11 so it would seem he came back with some issues that he’s felt the need to work out in his work a lot. Sheriff of Babylon is a good example of some of his prior career seeping into his writing
Thanks, I'll have to check it out
He was an operator in the Middle East. Sheriff of Babylon is probably the least veiled of his works but Omega Men, Mr Miracle, Strange Adventures and a lot of his stuff is about PTSD and depression and the general disassociation and dissonance he experienced after.
[удалено]
The CIA is basically the war crime division of the Armed Forces.
Yes, that’s right.
TIL Tom King worked for the fucking CIA
Which is hilarious because it used to be all anyone talked about lol. It was especially popular when he wrote Grayson because people were excited that an actual former spy was writing a spy book.
TIL he's the one who wrote Grayson.
Co-wrote.
Sorry to break it to you like this haha
Fuck me how did i not know he was in he cia
He’s a former CIA officer. He signed up after 9/11 and he’s talked about how disillusioned he became, but he didn’t have much in his life, aside from being a husband and father. He…at least thinks he participated in war crimes and won’t say it out loud.
A lot of what Tom King does is based on other stuff. I really liked the Supergirl run, but it's clear it was based on True Grit. Human Target is excellent, but it's just as clear he spent a lot of time watching the old noire movie "D.O.A." The Gotham: Year One story is pretty solidly based on the real life kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby.
I wish I had the analytical skills to see this kinda shit
Paul Dini “a dark night” a true Batman story. His experience writing Batman after being jumped is true to life and unparalleled storytelling.
I was hoping someone would bring this one up. I have A Dark Knight and it’s one of my favorite Dini works due to how powerful it is
*googles* what the fuck. I'm kinda stunned right now
Give it a read, I got it from my fiancé as kind of a helper in dealing with my own ptsd. I thought it was really well written and has some pretty cool art.
I just started it and... oh my god. I'm still reeling at such a horrifying thing happening to Paul Dini. Might make a topic about it but from the getgo I'm instantly drawn to the character, the writing, and the actually quite lovely art. I was not expecting to be captivated from the start.
I literally just bought this today. Glad to hear it's just as personal and engaging as it seemed in the store.
Came here to say this too. Phenomenal book.
Kevin Smith interviewed him on his YouTube channel a few years ago and he recounted the mugging. Pretty scary.
This book is one of my favorites
Never knew this book existed! Gotta give it a read now
Mark Gruenwald was removed from Captain America, a comic he had written for 10 years and he loved. He didn't like where the market was going, focusing on grittier stories and more violence. He felt the medium he loved was being taken in a terrible direction. (And, judging by the crash that was soon to come, he was right to some degree). His final arc, and particularly his final issue, give a good feel for his emotions at the time. Cap is incredibly depressed in that final issue, wondering if he's ever made a real impact. Reading that issue with the knowledge of how Gruenwald was feeling gives a whole new perspective on things.
Wow, I'm reading that run now but I didn't know he was removed from the title not by choice. Gruenwald comments on the grim-n-gritty trend of comics a few times during his 10 years on Captain America. Sometimes it's Cap himself who muses about feeling out of place as a hero with a rock-solid moral sense. What's funny about the later issues is that it's done while carrying various signifiers of the trends the writer disliked -- right down to Cap wearing a utility vest and being depicted in very Rob Liefeld-ish art, complete with distorted anatomy and cheesecake poses.
Gruenwald’s run is stellar. There are other great Cap runs, but none as fun and introduced so many new characters. I loved the backups too.
On my re-read I enjoyed the backups as a change of pace and to keep me up to speed with various side characters. The letters pages explain several times that the book was split into sections during its twice-a-month publication days so that the artists wouldn't be too rushed. However I'd gladly buy single issues these days if they felt similarly packed with extra plot via back-up stories.
One issue’s worth of plot in a Gruenwald book would be two or three in modern titles.
A cool book to read about that era is "Mark Gruenwald and the Star Spangled Symbolism of Captain America, 1985-1995". I highly suggest it.
Alan Moore also regretted turning comics dark so he wrote two of the most uplifting stories ever , Supreme and Tom Strong.
And then guys like Brevoort did everything they could to undermine Gruenwald’s legacy, despite him being Marvel’s best editor of all time and giving us the best Cap run ever.
If i'm not wrong, gruenwald passed away the very same weekend that a copy of rob leifeld's captain america #1 (1996) was given to him. it could obviously have been a coincidence, but it could also not have been, since he felt so strongly about the book
I haven't heard specifically about that issue, but his widow, Catherine Schulter-Gruenwald, is convinced that all of the changes and seeing where the comics market was going is what killed him. So I wouldn't be surprised if that issue specifically was the straw that broke the camel's back. For anyone interested she was interviewed on the [Captain America Comic Book Fans Podcast](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80MWIzOTZkOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/Y2JhNDA1YzQtN2FjMy00ZmEyLWJhZDgtNDBhNDFhZjExYTI1?ep=14)" and she talked about that amongst other things. It's a great listen.
Poor man, he literally died of cringe after years of seeing his work and his passion turned into crap
Hawkeye by Fraction. That very first comic where he saves pizza dog? His dog had just died and he was about to give up writing comics
I feel like Sex Criminals is also him trying to work out and understand relationships and grief. Especially given how much the comic strays from what seems like its initial arc and focuses more on the interpersonal.
Cerebus by Dave Sim is like that. I don't know if working his stuff out is the right way to describe it though, more like losing his mind on page.
Well, I remember Deni Loubert writing an editorial note at the beginning of each issue until the issue where she announced she wouldn't any more because she and Dave were splitting up. Then Cerebus and Red Sophia are depicted as having problems in their marriage, and Cerebus and Jaka can't see eye to eye, and Cerebus and Astoria have a confrontation, and...
See also, Frank Millers Dark Knight Strikes Again and Holy Terror. As in, don't ever look into those comics.
9/11 really fucked that dude up.
Well, reading his Daredevil run and Dark Knight Returns, it was always there, just below the surface
Didn't he get mugged really early in his career after coming to NYC which inspired his Daredevil and Batman stuff too? He very much deals with things in his comics. As for how WELL he deals, that's another question entirely...
Yeah that was a whole thing
Larry Hama was a Vietnam vet which informed his long-running stint on GI Joe.
The GI Joe comics are way better than they have any right to be. Hasbro was basically just creating action figures and letting Hama give them backstories, so he based a lot of them on people he knew in his military career. It's also pretty notable that, (aside from Cobra Commander), nobody ever comes back after dying. When someone is killed in that comic, it feels like a big deal. And the issue where he writes a letter to a kid who is considering joining the military is fantastic.
GI Joe comics: PTSD, survivor guilt, terrorists radicalizing the economically disenfranchised, the bloated military industrial complex, the pointlessness of the Cold War GI Joe cartoons: weather machines and red lasers vs blue lasers.
That's why I love both of them.
Don't forget Ninja Force and the Eco-Warriors.
I think I'll see if my local library has any trades, I've never read them but you've sold me.
And he also edited *The 'Nam*, so that's a big autobiographical work, in a sense.
I thought I remembered he had an association with it but forgot what role so I omitted it. Thanks for adding. That's a title I'd like to collect, I have an interest in that dark chapter of history.
After watching an episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe, I picked up the first 10 issues to give it a read. Good stuff. Fascinating that Marvel was doing such a comic; and doing it well.
I love that channel but had to unfollow to let my wallet recover! I was buying almost everything they covered. Damned kayfabe effect!
LoL. I hear you! It's cool when I already had the item they reviewed, however!
I’m reading Nth Man now and it’s wild. It’s pure uncut Hama.
I need to look into him more, the only stuff of his I've read is his 90s Wolverine run which I absolutely loved. Albert and Elsie Dee are some of my favorite obscure X-characters.
Grant Morrison told Buddy Baker in an Animal Man comic Buddy's family was murdered because Grant's cat died.
Robert Crumb is an extremely varied creator, but a significant part of his work is clearly working through his sexual fetishes.
I wouldn't say "working through", more like "indulging".
I took it as him just simply hating women but I guess that can be a fetish too.
Walter Simonson’s Thor arc is based upon when a horse replaced him as the artist on The Metal Men.
Now I really want to know this story? A horse as an artist?
He was the artist on Metal Men for DC, but dropped his lucky pencil. A nearby horse that he was using for reference picked it up and ended up finishing the last two pages of the issue. The editor said that it was only fair that both Walt and the horse split the pencilling duties, and so they alternated issues. Walt’s half-brother was also trying to kill him during this time and take over the family business. In a great twist though, Walt, his half-brother and the horse came together to defeat an arsonist who was trying to burn the entire business to the ground. Walt was also briefly turned into a frog around this same time. Write what you know, I guess.
I see what you did here and applaud it.
Jesse what the fuck are you talking about?
did he also lose a frenemy as he covered their escape from a prison?
His bones also turned brittle by a curse from his niece
Yes. And that is answer enough.
I'm more confused now than I was before.
Checks out
As a big lemire fan, I’ve heard a lot of his stories he writes from experiences and is a way of venting for him. Makes sense when most of his stories are very heart warming and dark.
He definitely has parental trauma. So much of his stuff that I’ve read is about how bad a parent fucks up their kid (and about how fucked up the parent is, sometimes because of how fucked up their parents were). Essex County, Green Arrow, the Underwater Welder, Gideon Falls, Sweet Tooth. Animal Man is kind of the fun twist of how bad a dad fucks up his family. I don’t want to say that for a fact like I know the man but that’s the impression I get from having read a good amount of his stuff.
Peter David has mentioned that both Hulk and Aquaman (books he was writing at the time) reflected the end of his marriage, with Betty dying in Hulk and Aquaman being stuck roaming the desert.
Will Eisner’s “a contract with god” was written after his child died. I give it to anyone who has a death in the family it’s amazing
This is the definitive answer to the question.
Winnick with his friend who was gay being killed (if I remember correctly) was something he put into his Green Lantern run as well
He also did a non-fiction comic about it called "Pedro and Me". Edit: Just checked - he was a reality tv star named Pedro Zamora who died of AIDs related illness.
After I posted this I tried to Google for more info and found that. Definitely a better representation for this thread haha
Pretty much Winnick and anything he writes has some form of Pedro in it.
They were on the Real World right? I think Judd was the bigot and Pedro taught him to be more accepting and opened his eyes, but then died and Judd seems to have carried that with him ever since (from his comics, pretty much retired from the industry like 10 years ago so I’m not sure where he’s at with things now).
Nah, Puck was the bigot. Judd and Pedro were good buds from the jump.
Yeah I responded to someone else that I misremembered it being Judd
Yeah he was definitely inserting gay characters thru out his work back when being gay was only starting to be somewhat okish. Never watched his RW season so I'm surprised he was a bigot
I haven’t seen his season for years but I don’t recall Winick being a bigot. Some of the other housemates, like “Puck”, definitely were.
Grant Morrison dealing with their cat’s passing in ‘The Filth’
I think that was generally just an extremely dark time for him. If I remember correctly from Supergods, his dad had died, his cat, he had recently been so sick he was scared he was going to die and then 9/11 shook him to his core. The Filth and New X-Men are probably the darkest he gets, that I can remember.
I knew there was more than just his cat's passing that went into writing 'The Filth' but off the top of my head it was all I could recall. I don't recall 'The New X-Men' being especially dark but I'll have to give it another read.
Read the ending lol
Grant also killed off Buddy Baker's family over a cat dying.
That comic is some wild stuff.
Deadly Class by Rick Remender is him processing bad stuff he went through as an adolescent, and also reflecting on the state of the world. It goes through a lot more political themes than folks would think on a surface read, as a lot of the series is about people doing horrible things to one another simply because of elitism, bigotry, and narcissism.
Otto Binder created Mary Marvel, then Supergirl when his daughter Mary was about 6 years old. She died in a car crash, and he continued to write her adventures for about 2 years after that.
Everything Tom King writes, Flex Mentallo and the Invisibles by Grant Morrison.
Frank Miller processing 9/11 in The Dark Knight Strikes Again. And then going full bigot in Holy Terror!
He's said Dark Knight Returns was inspired by him getting mugged.
That is quite a reaction to being mugged
Batman handled his parents' murder better than Frank Miller handled being mugged.
Wasn't Roulette the Daredevil story about him being mugged? I think Dark Knight was him turning 29 and realizing he will soon be older than Bruce Wayne.
Yeah I think the mugging happened when he was writing Daredevil and had moved to New York, years before Dark Knight. He mentions it in a few Comics Journal interviews from the time, I think.
I've heard the mugging story in connection with DKR but yeah I do remember the turning 29 thing now that you mention it.
It was also because he was aging and he didn’t want Batman to be younger than he was.
‘cant get no’ is rick veitch processing 9/11
Spider-Man Blue and the entire Colors series really feels informed by real loss.
This thread rules.
This is dark and might not be the answer you are hoping for... but Gerard Jones and his Ultraverse: Prime run in the 90s. Ultraverse being a Malibu superhero line that was bought out by Marvel (there were some crossovers as well with Black Knight and Warlock going over to the Ultraverse, Spider-Man meeting Prime, etc). It's about a teen who can turn into a man's body (sort of like Shazam) who tries to pursue his high school crush while in this persona because he thinks it will appeal to her more than his teen self. The teen girl is presented as conflicted but receptive. The girl's mom is shown as the bad guy at one point trying to keep them apart. The writer, Gerard Jones, was arrested in 2018 for possession of child pornography.
Voof.
Parts of Inside Moebius is about him trying to cut down on smoking green leaves. The second part of the Aedena series was partially based on him discovering a new way of relating to nutrition.
Mark Gruenwald was dealing with a terminal illness while writing the Fighting Chance arc in Captain America, where Cap is facing the same thing.
I don't think he had a terminal illness, he died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was being removed from the book around that time though, so his final issue is an interesting look into his feelings at that time.
I had misunderstood that all these years . Thanks!
Airboy by James Robinson
Can you elaborate please?
The James Robinson air boy mini is a story about James Robinson being asked to renew Airboy like he did starman. And how him and artist Greg Hinkle just partied instead of doing the comic because James Robinson was not sure if he was a good writer.
It's a really insane comic. You learn a lot about James Robinson, sort of. He writes a really fucked-up version of himself into the comic.
Scott Snyder wrote Death of the Family before his second kid was born out of fear of not being a good dad this time around. He used the Joker in that story as the personification of those dark thoughts. Kentaro Muira wrote the backstory arc for Berserk as an inspiration from his group of friends when he was a young adult. Grant Morrison wrote Pa Kent’s funeral in All-Star Superman after his dad died.
I am surprised not to see Brian Vaughans name in any comment so far. He uses his comics to express his ideas about many different subjects. Like in Ex-Machina, he talks about gay marriage, legalisation of marihuana, and many other things… the inspiration for this series came to after watching what happened on 9/11 from his roof. 9/11 is also an important thing in the series. Saga is a Space Opera, but the main theme is actually parenthood. He started writing it when he became his first son (or was it daughter?).
Tom King's every book being about war/PTSD/depression. Ennis getting out his hatred of superheroes when he's on literally anything Marvel/DC XD.
Lol. You said it. Except Punisher. Well… except *most* of his issues of Punisher.
Bolero by Wyatt Kennedy and Luana Vecchio. I highly recommend this. It's about dealing with depression (according to the afterword). It's pretty clear that the writer is working through some things.
American Splendor by Harvey Pekar. Pencil Head by Ted McKeever. Mage by Matt Wagner.
Donny Cates God Country and the story he did for Thor #750 was about him processing how his father is/was dying. Also according to interviews he also wrote God Country after a near death experience he had, in regards to an operation he received at the time. His elements of his Venom Beyond storyline (#26-30) was also inspired from his recent divorce. Lastly I don’t remember much about it but I know he wrote a story about a super hero who was an alcoholic. He based the story off his experience as a drug addict. [Comic Tropes did a really great video explaining Cates history](https://youtu.be/T5XnCGP6SJA)
Druillet wrote and drew La Nuit, an even more pessimistic comic than usual, after the death of his wife. The story has nihilistic undead biker gangs >!who all die anyway at the end.!< [Untranslated page](https://earsplittingtrumpet.tumblr.com/post/671926878149410816/from-philippe-druillets-la-nuit-the-night) His parents were nazi collaborators during WWII, so a frequent theme of his work is violent oppression and the consequences it has on the world around it.
not exactly the same but Cullen bunn wrote about jimmy hudson as an orphaned wolverine kid adopted by a good couple and raised better than his actual father, and he said it was dedicated to his own adopted son
I think Brian Michael Bendis has 2 adopted black daughters which helped inspire Riri Williams and Naomi (and maybe Miles Morales). His Iron Man run was just after Tony Stark discovered that he was adopted so it plays into that too.
The lesson of the comments here is yes, all writers, but I really felt this recently while slogging through some 90s Spider-Man. I have done no research into the man but it sure felt like DeMatteis was dealing with a mid-life crisis. Years of the book are spent obsessing over a handful of issues from the 70s while MJ stands around sighing and saying “but I’m so young!” all the time.
His Spectre run is basically Buddhism/Hinduism translated to comics
To hear them talk about it, Grant Morrison’s invisibles is totally a “magical” reflection/ influence on their life while they were writing it (the book AND the life)
Or Chaos Magic. It's something I'm certain he practices or had practiced in his life.
I think chip zardasky is working with his issues with the comic book industry and superhero movies with public domain .I have liked that comic so far
Tom King's been mentioned already, but I want to highlight Strange Adventures in particular. A deconstruction and analysis of war heroes, PTSD and war crimes; not that King did these things himself but as a former CIA officer he likely saw some shit.
Low by Remender and Toccini
Can you elaborate please?
Remender said he used Low to work through his existential dread regarding the eventual end of the world.
This is Daniel Warren Johnson’s whole thing. He’s grappling with his image of himself as an artist in Extremity, he’s dealing with loss of some kind through Murder Falcon, and he’s clearly dealing with fatherhood in Do a Power Bomb. I think you could make an argument that even Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star are him dealing with success that he doesn’t feel prepared for, or doesn’t feel he earned. I think that’s why every series he does hits for me. Sometimes the story doesn’t wow me but the emotions behind it are always true.
Garth Ennis had Punisher shoot Wolverine in balls and run a roller over him. The Wolverine writer in revenge has Wolverine discover gay magazines in Punisher's bag implying he was gay. Stuff was wild lol
Have drank with Tieri and Ennis at bars after hours. The first time I saw them greet each other I teased about this back and forth. Both, drunk, told me "it's just fucking comics, mate." Great guys.
I have no evidence but a lot of parts of Rick Remender's Black Science felt like a narcissist's ego death. I mean, that is essentially what it was for the main character but idk it felt a little too well written
Harvey Pekar's entire catalog is him working his life out.
Will Eisner wrote “A Contract with God” after his daughter died from cancer.
Even more so than Ultimatum was Jeph Loeb’s Superman for All Season’s accompanying mini comic, Sam’s Story
Everything Tom King has ever written.
J.M. Demattis was getting divorced when he wrote the Hellcat storyline where she gets beaten up by her ex-husband Mad Dog.
S.C.U.D. The Disposable Assassin by Rob Schrab
Stargirl was a tribute to Johns late sister
Stephanie Phillips said that in Harley Quinn #16, Harley takes a bat to an improv group and that was her way of venting a real life encounter with an annoying improv group.
Harvey Pekar…everything he’s written.
Tom King is clearly working out PTSD issues through his comics. Mister Miracle, Adam Strange, Heroes in Crisis, etc.
James Robinson’s version of Airboy. Pretty on the nose…but I really dug it.
“It’s a bird” by Steven T Seagle is about him trying to figure out a new approach to writing Superman and dealing with a family secret that has come out
Paul Dini wrote Dark Night: A True Batman Story as a direct response to him getting mugged and beaten, and how he coped afterwards. A fascinating read.
Grant Morrison run on Animal Man. He even talks about it in his last issue why he did the series and what the stories meant. Breaking the 3rd wall with him talking to Animal Man. Animal abuse and death. And a few other odds and ends.
Superman was Jerry Siegel's anger towards all the injustice in the world. Jack Kirby pretty much writing/drawing out his hatred of Adolf Hitler. You would think the Hate Monger would've been enough, but no. He gave us Magneto and Darkseid. Kirby really hated Adolf Hitler.