| Gerry Conway | |
|---|---|
 Conway at the 2019Phoenix Fan Fusion | |
| Born | Gerard Francis Conway (1952-09-10)September 10, 1952 (age 73) New York City, U.S. |
| Area | Writer, Editor |
Notable works | Punisher,Spider-Man,Justice League of America,Firestorm,Batman,Jason Todd,Ms. Marvel,Killer Croc |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (2013)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Carla Conway (divorced) Karen Laura Conway |
| Children | 2 |
Gerard Francis Conway[2] (born September 10, 1952)[3] is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science fiction writer,[4] screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is known for co-creating theMarvel Comicsvigilanteantihero thePunisher as well as Peter Parker's cloneBen Reilly, the super villainJackal, and the firstMs. Marvel, and also writing the death of the characterGwen Stacy during his long run onThe Amazing Spider-Man in thestory arc "The Night Gwen Stacy Died".
AtDC Comics, he is known for co-creating thesuperheroesFirestorm,Power Girl,Jason Todd, and the villainKiller Croc, and for writing theJustice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-dayintercompany crossover,Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.
Conway was born inBrooklyn,New York,[3] and was a fan of comics from a young age. Aletter from him appears inFantastic Four #50 (May 1966), written when Conway was 13.[citation needed]
He attendedNew York University for a time.[3]
Conway published his first professional comic book work at 16,[5] with the 61⁄2-pagehorror story "Aaron Philips' Photo Finish" in DC Comics'House of Secrets #81 (Sept. 1969). He continued selling suchanthological stories for that series and for Marvel'sChamber of Darkness andTower of Shadows through the end of 1970, by which time he had also published one-page textshort stories in DC'sAll-Star Western #1 (Sept. 1970) andSuper DC Giant #S-14 (Oct. 1970). He published his first continuing-character story in DC's semi-anthologicaloccult comicThePhantom Stranger #10 (Dec. 1970).[6]
Conway recalled breaking intoMarvel Comics through Marvel editorRoy Thomas:
I'd been writing for DC Comics for two or three years...but to paraphrase the joke about the actor's ambitions to be a director, what I really wanted to do was write superheroes – specifically Marvel heroes. Through friends I'd become acquainted with Roy Thomas, who wasStan Lee's right-hand man at the time, and Roy offered me a shot at the Marvel 'writing test.' Stan wasn't impressed, but Roy liked what I did, and began throwing some short assignments my way, including scripting over his plot on an earlyKa-Zar [story].[7]
Following his first continuing-character story for Marvel, with his script for the jungle lord Ka-Zar inAstonishing Tales #3 (Dec. 1970), Conway began writing superhero stories withDaredevil #72 (Jan. 1971). He quickly went on to assignments onIron Man,The Incredible Hulk, and both "The Inhumans" and "The Black Widow" features in the split bookAmazing Adventures. He scripted the firstMan-Thing story, in 1971,[8] sharing co-creation credit withStan Lee andRoy Thomas.[6] Conway eventually scripted virtually every major Marvel title, and co-created (with writersRoy and Jean Thomas and artistMike Ploog) the lead character of the feature "Werewolf by Night", inMarvel Spotlight #2 (Feb. 1972);[9] he also wrote the premiere issue of Marvel'sThe Tomb of Dracula, introducing the longstanding literaryvampire into theMarvel universe.[10]
At 19, Conway began scriptingThe Amazing Spider-Man, succeeding Stan Lee as writer of one of Marvel's flagship titles.[11] His run, from issues #111–149 (August 1972 – October 1975), included the landmarkdeath of Gwen Stacy story in #121 (June 1973).[12][13][14] Eight issues later, Conway and Andru introduced the Punisher as a conflictedantagonist for Spider-Man, as well as theJackal.[15] The Punisher became a popular star of numerous comic books and has been adapted into three movies and a live action television series. Conway additionally wroteFantastic Four, from #133–152 (April 1973 – Nov. 1974).[6]
In 2009, Conway reflected on writing flagship Marvel characters at a young age:
Precocity is a well-known curse; most of the pressure I felt as a younger writer was self-imposed. I wanted to be accepted by other writers and artists as an equal, which put me in some awkward situations — pretending to be more mature than I was, emotionally and professionally. As it happened, I was pretty good at faking a maturity I didn't have, which had advantages and, obviously, some disadvantages. I think people often forgot how young I was, and expected me to perform at a level that was actually beyond me. The result was, I was pretty stressed for most of my early career as a writer, and I often felt like I had no idea what I was doing —which was true. I wrote instinctively and from the gut; when those instincts were appropriate to the material I was writing – for example, when I was writing[The Amazing] Spider-Man — the results were something I was quite proud of, then and now. When my instincts were off, I didn't have the experience to either recognize it, or to compensate for it, with results that were more uneven.[16]
In late 1972, Conway and writersSteve Englehart andLen Wein crafted ametafictional unofficialcrossover spanning titles from both major comics companies. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wifeGlynis,interacting with Marvel or DC characters at theRutland Halloween Parade inRutland, Vermont. Beginning inAmazing Adventures #16 (by Englehart with art byBob Brown andFrank McLaughlin), the story continued inJustice League of America #103 (by Wein,Dick Dillin andDick Giordano), and concluded inThor #207 (by Conway and pencilerJohn Buscema). As Englehart explained in 2010, "It certainly seemed like a radical concept and we knew that we had to be subtle (laughs) and each story had to stand on its own, but we really worked it out. It's really worthwhile to read those stories back to back to back – it didn't matter to us that one was at DC and two were at Marvel – I think it was us being creative, thinking what would be really cool to do."[17][18][19]
Conway returned to DC Comics in mid-1975, beginning with three books cover-dated Nov. 1975:Hercules Unbound #1,Kong the Untamed #3, andSwamp Thing #19. He wrote a revival of theGolden Age comic book seriesAll Star Comics, which introduced the characterPower Girl.[20][21][22] Shortly afterward, he was chosen by Marvel and DC editors to script the historic intercompany crossoverSuperman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1, a 96-page,tabloid-sized, $2 one-shot, at a time when comic books sold for 25 cents.[6][23]
He continued writing for DC, on titles includingSuperman,Detective Comics (starringBatman),Metal Men,Justice League of America,1st Issue Special #11 starringCodename: Assassin,[24] and that of the licensed characterTarzan.[6] Conway briefly returned to Marvel where he succeededMarv Wolfman as editor-in-chief in March 1976,[25] but held the job only "about a month-and-a-half,"[26] relinquishing the post and being succeeded byArchie Goodwin.
For a time, a confluence of publishing schedules resulted in Conway stories appearing in both Marvel and DC comics in the same month: The prolific Conway's comic books with January 1977 cover-dates alone, for example, are Marvel'sThe Avengers,The Defenders,Captain Marvel,Iron Man,The Spectacular Spider-Man,[27] and the premiere issues ofMs. Marvel andLogan's Run, andSuperman andAction Comics.[6]
After leaving Marvel's editorship, he again wrote exclusively for DC for the next decade writing both major and lesser titles – from those featuring Superman,Wonder Woman, and theLegion of Super-Heroes to such books asWeird Western Tales,Atari Force andSun Devils. He had an eight-year run onJustice League of America, writing most issues from #151–255 (Feb. 1978 – Oct. 1986)[28] including the double-sized anniversary issue #200 (March 1982).[29] Conway wrote two additional Superman projects in theoversized tabloid format,Superman vs. Wonder Woman, drawn byJosé Luis García-López,[30] andSuperman vs. Shazam, drawn byRich Buckler.[31]
He co-created the charactersFirestorm with artistAl Milgrom[32] andSteel with artistDon Heck[33] in the premiere issues (both March 1978) of the respective titular comics.[6] Two other Conway co-creations, the Deserter (with artistDick Ayers)[34][35] and theVixen (with artistBob Oksner),[36] were scheduled to receive their own series as well but werecanceled before any issues were published. He additionally co-created the charactersVibe andGypsy.[37] As writer ofBatman #337–359 (July 1981 – May 1983) and the feature "Batman" inDetective Comics #497–526 (Dec. 1980 – May 1983),[38] he introduced the charactersKiller Croc[39] andJason Todd,[40] the latter of whom became the secondRobin, succeeding original sidekickDick Grayson.[6] With artistGene Colan, Conway revived theGolden Age supervillainsDoctor Death inBatman #345 (March 1982)[41] and theMonk inBatman #350 (Aug. 1982).[42]
Conway was a frequent collaborator withRoy Thomas. Together they wrote a two-part Superman–Captain Marvel team-up inDC Comics Presents #33–34 (May–June 1981); theAtari Force andSwordquest mini-comics packaged withAtari 2600 video games; and three Justice League of America-Justice Society of America crossovers.[43][44] Conway contributed ideas to thetalking animal comicCaptain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!, created by Thomas andScott Shaw.[45] Thomas and Conway were to be the co-writers of theJLA/Avengersintercompany crossover,[46] but editorial disputes between DC and Marvel caused the project's cancellation.[47] Conway was one of the contributors to theDC Challenge limited series in 1986.[48]
He returned to Marvel in the 1980s and served as the regular writer of bothThe Spectacular Spider-Man andWeb of Spider-Man from 1988 until 1990.[6] Conway stated in 1991 that "I understand the character a lot better now than I did when I was nineteen. And one of the nice things about the Marvel characters is that you can keep them fresh by changing them just a bit."[49] His run onSpectacular included such story arcs as the "Lobo Brothers Gang War".[50] He relinquished writing duties on both titles when he became the story editor of the television seriesFather Dowling Mysteries.[citation needed] Conway's last recorded comic credits for many years wereTopps Comics' "Kirbyverse"NightGlider[51] #1 (April 1993), scripting from a Roy Thomas plot, and a story forDisney Adventures, published in 1995.
Conway returned to comics in 2009 and wrote DC Comics'The Last Days of Animal Man, with artistChris Batista.[52] In 2011, he wrote theDC Retroactive: Justice League – The '80s one-shot.[53] Also for DC, he wrote theFirestorm feature inLegends of Tomorrow #1–6 in 2016.[54]
In 2015, he returned to Spider-Man by writing a story inSpider-Verse Team Up #2, and the "Spiral" storyline inThe Amazing Spider-Man #16.1–20.1. He returned to work as a series' regular writer that same year withCarnage which ran for 16 issues until 2017. In 2016, he returned to his creation the Punisher by writingThe Punisher Annual #1. From 2016 to 2017, he wroteThe Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1–9, followed byWhat If? Spider-Man #1 in 2018 and the oneshotThe Amazing Spider-Man: Going Big, penciled byMark Bagley, in 2019. In 2023, he wrote the plot for the oneshotWhat If...? Dark: Spider-Gwen.
In addition to comics, Conway published two science-fiction novels:The Midnight Dancers[55] andMindship (originally published as a short story in the science fiction anthologyUniverse 1.)[56] He also wrote the February 14–December 3, 1983, dailies of thesyndicated newspapercomic stripStar Trek, based uponthe 1960s TV series.[57]
Conway as well moved into screenwriting in the 1980s, starting with the animated featureFire and Ice (1983), co-written with Roy Thomas, based on characters created byRalph Bakshi andFrank Frazetta. Conway and Thomas wrote the story basis forStanley Mann's screenplay for the filmConan the Destroyer (1984). Afterwards, Conway and Thomas also worked on the script of a live-actionX-Men film for production companyNelvana that wasn't produced because of distributorOrion Pictures' financial troubles and subsequent bankruptcy.[58]
Conway wrote, and later produced, such TV series asFather Dowling Mysteries,Diagnosis: Murder,Matlock,Jake and the Fatman,Under Suspicion,Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,Baywatch Nights,Pacific Blue,Silk Stalkings,Perry Masontelefilms,Law & Order,The Huntress,Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and two episodes ofBatman: The Animated Series ("Appointment in Crime Alley", "Second Chance").[59]
Conway frequently referenced his comic book connections during his stint onLaw & Order by naming characters on the show after comic book creators such as John Byrne.
Conway's first wife was comic-book writer Carla Conway.[60][61] The couple have a daughter, Cara.[60] His second wife, Karen, is apsychologist who works withautistic children.[5] They married in 1992 and have a daughter, Rachel.[60] As of 2015, Conway and Laura live inThousand Oaks, California.[5]
Conway's ancestral family background is Irish, as he described in his blog:
In my case, on my mother's side, I'm a second-generation immigrant. My grandparents were born in Ireland. They came to America in the late 'teens of the last century and lived a life not very different from the life my housekeeper and her husband live today. My grandfather was a day laborer in the Brooklyn ship yards. My (step)-grandmother washed floors atHunter College inManhattan. (My biological grandmother died when my mother was eight years old, so I've no idea what she did to earn a living, but I assume it was either piece work or domestic work of some kind.) Because they were lower-class Irish, they were theHispanics of their day – tolerated, but not embraced, by the larger society, and viewed with scorn by theWASP upper class. ... Even my father felt that anti-Irish prejudice, real or imagined. In the 1950s he once spoke, rather bitterly, about being one of the two 'token Irishmen' working at his company.[62]
Conway was raised a Christian, but stated in a 2013 interview that he does not "have any religious belief at this point".[63]
In October 2022, Conway was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwentWhipple surgery to remove the tumor, resulting in several hospitalizations. In September 2023, he declared that he was cancer-free.[64][65]
[Savage Tales #1 was] notable for the debut of Marvel's mindless swamp monster, the Man-Thing, in an origin story written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Gray Morrow.
[The Amazing Spider-Man #111] marked the dawning of a new era: writer Gerry Conway came on board as Stan Lee's replacement. Alongside artist John Romita, Conway started his run by picking up where Lee left off.
The idea of beloved supporting characters meeting their deaths may be standard operating procedure now but in 1973 it was unprecedented...Gwen's death took villainy and victimhood to an entirely new level.
Along with artist Ric Estrada, [Gerry] Conway also introduced the DC Universe to the cousin of Earth-2's Superman, Kara Zor-L a.k.a. Power Girl.
The revivedAll-Star introduced Power Girl, conceived as Supergirl's Earth-Two counterpart. With Wallace Wood and his renowned skill at 'cheesecake' determining the finished art, her breathtaking buxomness and 'peek-a-boo' décolletage were perhaps inevitable.
The Deserter...was given his own ongoing title at the 11th hour, only to perish amidst the other cancellations. The origin of tormented Civil War deserter Aaron Hope (by Gerry Conway, Dick Ayers, and Romeo Tanghal) appeared only inCancelled Comic Cavalcade #1.
Gerry Conway's the Deserter, a Western adventure that would have featured interior art by Dick Ayers and Romeo Tanghal and a cover by Joe Kubert, was originally going to be a three-issue run inShowcase #107–109. Even beforeShowcase's cancellation, it was greenlit as an ongoing series until the DC Implosion killed it altogether.
Gerry Conway and artist Don Newton had become the regular team onDetective Comics at the tail end of 1980. By the middle of [1981], Conway had also taken over the writing inBatman. With the same writer handling both main Batman books, easy crossovers between the two titles soon became possible.
| Preceded by | Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief 1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Iron Man writer 1971–1972 (with Allyn Brodsky in early 1971) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Daredevil writer 1971–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Gary Friedrich | Captain America writer 1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Thor writer 1971–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Roy Thomas | Fantastic Four writer 1973–1974 | Succeeded by Roy Thomas |
| Preceded by Stan Lee | The Amazing Spider-Man writer 1973–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Steve Englehart | The Incredible Hulk writer 1974 (with Roy Thomas) | Succeeded by Len Wein |
| Preceded by Steve Englehart | The Avengers writer 1976–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Archie Goodwin | Iron Man writer 1976–1977 (withHerb Trimpe in late 1976 and early 1977) (with Bill Mantlo in late 1977) | Succeeded by Bill Mantlo |
| Preceded by Marv Wolfman | Daredevil writer 1976–1977 (with Jim Shooter) | Succeeded by Jim Shooter |
| Preceded by Steve Englehart | Justice League of America writer 1978–1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Wonder Woman writer 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Detective Comics writer 1980–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Bob Rozakis and Roy Thomas | Batman writer 1981–1983 | Succeeded by Doug Moench |
| Preceded by n/a | The Fury of Firestorm writer 1982–1986 | Succeeded by Paul Kupperberg |
| Preceded by | The Spectacular Spider-Man writer 1988–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Peter David | Web of Spider-Man writer 1989–1990 | Succeeded by |
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