Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 3, 2023 | 4 comments

And Tom Palmer, too!

If you want a deep dive into the career of your fave comics personality, Jon B. Cooke’s Comic Book Creator is the place to go — and the TwoMorrows mag has three new killer issues on deck for 2024-25, featuring Denny O’Neil, Steve Englehart and Tom Palmer.

Dig the official descriptions:

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #35. Bob Brodsky’s comprehensive tribute to Denny O’Neil features an in-depth look at the life, work, and legacy of the renowned writer/editor (otherwise known as Sergius O’Shaughnessy) whose relevant comics — from the fabled Green Lantern/Green Arrow series to the mod, mini-skirted Wonder Woman —  brought comics into the modern era. We also celebrate the centennial of Arnold Drake [1924–2007] with part one of an extraordinary, career-spanning interview with the co-creator of The Doom Patrol and Deadman. Also featured is the story behind Studio Zero, the ’70s Berkeley-based collective of artists Jim Starlin, Frank Brunner, Alan Weiss, and others, who were all approached by Rolling Stone to create a comic-book insert! Plus we visit with Jack Butterworth, onetime Warren horror mag writer, comics historian, and collector extraordinaire, and chat with Tim Hensley, whose pastiche comics, Sir Alfred and Detention, prove him an alternative cartoonist of great wit and talent! And, of course, we include our regular features, including the great Fred Hembeck’s latest “Dateline.” Edited by Jon B. Cooke.

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #36. The life, art, and legacy of Tom Palmer is celebrated with a retrospective and career-spanning interview with the late inker extraordinaire, plus tributes from an array of comics pros, compiled by Greg Biga. We also chat with great cartoonist Lee Marrs, from her start assisting on Little Orphan Annie, to hilarious work for DC’s Plop!, to breaking into the underground with Pudge, Girl Blimp, as well as forging her own path in the comics scene. In addition, we begin a multi-part look at the life and career of Dan DiDio, one-time co-publisher of DC Comics and current Frank Miller Presents publisher, talking with him about his eclectic writing work for television and rise as renowned comics scribe. Plus there’s part two of our in-depth talk with the late writer Arnold Drake about his storied comics career, that includes co-writing perhaps the first graphic novel, It Rhymes with Lust [1950], and his foray at Marvel Comics, where he created Guardians of the Galaxy. Also, we spotlight the fascinating public service comics produced by the students of the Center For Cartoon Studies, and more! Edited by Jon B. Cooke.

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #37. Steve Englehart is spotlighted in CBC #37 in a comprehensive, career-spanning interview, with emphasis on his glorious ’70s work as top comics writer. Plus, with the help of former DC Comics’ romance editor Barbara Friedlander, we redeem the once sullied name of her mentor, the late, great DC editor Jack Miller, whose career was bought to an ignominious end by company management while he suffered a fatal malady. And Dan Didio shares about his entry as DC exec to become the company’s co-publisher in the second portion of Greg Biga’s interview with the writer extraordinaire. We also conclude our 100th birthday celebration for Arnold Drake with the final portion of an amazing conversation with the brilliant late scribe, examining his creation of The Doom Patrol and work on The X-Men! We also finally present our long-promised look at the 1970s underground comix oddity, The Funny Pages, with help from the comic tabloid’s editor, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs creator Ron Barrett! Also included, natch, are our regular departments such as Hembeck’s latest Dateline strip. Edited by Jon B. Cooke.

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A few thoughts:

— O’Neil and Englehart are two of my all-time fave writers, so these are welcome indeed. I’ve had the pleasure of conducting lengthy interviews with them both. And Palmer, of course, was one of the great Marvel inkers.

— Comic Book Creator #35 is due July 24, 2024. You can pre-order it here.

— Comic Book Creator #36 is due Oct. 23, 2024. You can pre-order it here.

— Comic Book Creator #37  is due Jan. 22, 2025. You can pre-order it here. (Publication dates are subject to change.)

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MORE

— DENNY O’NEIL Lifts the Cowl on His Greatest BATMAN Stories. Click here.

— INSIDE THE BATMAN: The STEVE ENGLEHART INTERVIEWS. Click here.