Denny O'Neal dead at 81

[famicommander]

The legendary DC Comics writer Dennis O'Neal has died of natural causes.

He is best known for returning Batman to his roots as a darker character after the huge influence of the campy Adam West version of the character. He started writing Batman comics in 1970 and was the main editor on the Batman related comics from 1986-2000.

He also oversaw the death of Jason Todd, modernized Two-Face and the Joker into their most popular iterations, and created important Batman supporting characters like Ra's Al-Ghul, Talia Al-Ghul, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Azrael, and Richard Dragon.

Outside of Batman he was known for his runs on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Shadow, and The Question.

 

[FilthyRear]

RIP

 

[BanishingFlatsAC]

Damn shame. Azrael was such a big deal when I was a kid. It felt so fresh when he took the mantle.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I just read this. Sucks. His Question series with Denys Cowan is one of the best things DC ever published. But his biggest impact was as editor of the Bat-books. No one did anywhere near as much to solidify the modern interpretation of Batman as him.

 

[terry.330]

His Question series with Denys Cowan is one of the best things DC ever published.

Oh yeah, wish more people would check it out.

 

[neo_X7]

Basically one of the main guys that helped save Batman and never got the credit he deserved.

One of the few people I never got to meet in the comics industry RIP Denny O'Neal.