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13th Dimension: PAUL KUPPERBERG: My 13 Favorite GARDNER FOX Comic Book Creations
- Nelson Fox (Facebook)
I have a Couple of Gardner Fox stories. He was the First Comic Book Writer who's name I knew. I Had bought a Few Superman and Superboy Comics but in the early 60's those books had no Credits. The fifth Comic Book I ever got Was Justice League of America #33 "Challenge of the Untouchable Aliens". Superman was on the Cover but I didn't know anyone else in the Comic. It was the early 60's - it was a Few years before the Batman TV show. And when I read the title page it said Author - Gardner Fox. That made Me very Happy because Fox was My Last Name.
This Coincidence Was later the Subject of a Practice Joke. I was invited to San Diego Comic Con by a friend who was speaking at One of the Panels. At One point this Man I didn't know came up to Me and said how much He Loved My Uncle's Work. I Had no idea what He meant. He was told Gardner Fox Was My Uncle. I felt Very Honored to being thought of as His Nephew but I had to tell him that We weren't related
I love that he shared with an interviewer that the Flash was actually alive in another dimension he accessed in his dreams
One of the GOATs. His silver age Hawkman and Venditti’s run are the two series that made me fall in love with Carter and Shayera.
Not enough modern fans give this guy the credit he deserves. He was WAAAAY ahead of his time. The sheer amount of imagination he put into each comic he wrote is astounding. It’s even more astounding because back then, each floppy was usually its own one-and-done story. So instead of writing an imaginative storyline that would stretch out over 5-10 issues, Fox would make a new one for each issue.
The sheer volume of what he wrote is also not admired enough. Fox wasn’t just hammering away with 1 great series. Often times, he was writing multiple long-running series across both the golden and silver ages. He was writing series for Hawkman, Dr. Fate, JLA, Flash, Adam Strange, Superman, Atom, and god knows whoever else, often at the same time.
The size of his workload would probably make most other writers burn out within a few months.
The man almost single handedly laid the foundation for several iconic characters.
One of the most imaginative minds in comics history. He deserves to be remembered alongside the likes of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby as a powerhouse of creativity. Co-created Flash, Hawkman, and Dr. Fate and blending of sci-fi and magic concepts; he'll always be one of my favorite comic writers.
Side note: I always wondered what could've been had Gardner Fox lived a little longer. According to Tim Truman, he planned a new backstory for Post-Crisis Hawkman and Hawkwoman that would've been a sort of space fantasy opera akin to the John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Love his golden age Hawkman stories. I'm going to have to pull out my copy of DC Archive Edition of them and give them another read. I really wish they'd published another volume of them.
I absolutely love his Adam Strange stories.
Fox is a genius and yet was able to fly between genres and tell sincere (even sometimes silly) stories that were also deeply human. Much of his stuff I can read today and still see the brilliance and relevance today.
He wasn't working for DC anymore by the time I started reading comics, but I was amazed to discover, through reprints, what a hand he had in crafting so much of DC's golden & silver age. Plus, it was tremendously inspiring to me that we not only had the same initials but the same last name!
Love his golden age Hawkman stories. I'm going to have to pull out my copy of DC Archive Edition of them and give them another read. I really wish they'd published another volume of them.
I bought a couple of paperback reprints of his novels published as double novels with another author from Sinister Cinema a while back but still haven't read them. I think he's awesome because he created the Justice Society of America, the first superhero team. I also have an Archive Edition of The Golden Age Hawkman Vol. 1.
I often wondered- did he create Batman? Because, the issue where Batman's origin is finally told (Detective Comics #33- HE is listed as the writer of that issue. Sooo, move over Bill Finger???
- Jason VonGrimm Foster (Facebook)
One of the architects of the golden and silver age DCU.
Thank you for Hawkman, Hawkgirl and the JSA!
Thank you for all the Golden and Silver age goodness!!
More to come!
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