Christian Cooper
Cooper in 2021
Born	1963 (age 62–63)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, editor
Pseudonym	C F Cooper
Notable works	Songs of the Metamythos

Christian Cooper (born 1963) is an American science writer and editor, and also a comics writer and editor. He is based in New York City. In 2023,Random House published Cooper's memoir,Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World. He gained cultural notoriety after a false police report was made by a white woman who went viral for her erratic behavior while calling the police on him in a New York park in 2020, known as theCentral Park birdwatching incident.^[1]

Cooper is currently a senior biomedical editor at Health Science Communications and has become a frequent substitute co-host for the public access television news seriesGay USA.^[2][3] On May 16, 2022,National Geographic announced Cooper would host a show on their American TV channel calledExtraordinary Birder, exploring the world of birds alongside experts in the field.^[4] The show premiered on June 17, 2023.^[5]

On June 8, 2024, Cooper won aDaytime Emmy Award in theOutstanding Daytime Personality category for his work onExtraordinary Birder.^[6]

Cooper was one of the first openly gay editors at Marvel; colleague and friendKelly Corvese was the first.^[7] He introduced the first gay male character inStar Trek, Yoshi Mishima, in theStarfleet Academy series,^[8] which was nominated for aGLAAD Media Award in 1999.^[9] He also introduced the first openly lesbian character for Marvel,Victoria Montesi^[8][10] and created and authoredQueer Nation: The Online Gay Comic.^[11] Cooper was also an associate editor forAlpha Flight #106 in which the characterNorthstar came out as gay.^[8][12]

Cooper has written stories forMarvel Comics Presents, which often feature characters such asGhost Rider andVengeance. He has also edited a number ofX-Men collections,^[13] and the final two issues of theMarvel Swimsuit Special.^[14]

Born in 1963 to parents who were both teachers, Cooper found his interest in birds while reading a birdwatching book during a roadtrip from his Long Island childhood home to California.^[15] In the 1980s, he was president of theHarvardOrnithological Club, and is currently on the board of directors forNYC Bird Alliance.^[16] Cooper has a long history ofLGBT activism including being the co-chair of the board of directors ofGLAAD in the 1980s.^[17][18]

On May 25, 2020, Cooper was involved ina confrontation with a dog walker in Central Park, with the woman calling the police over a disagreement on whether her dog should be leashed in the area, characterising Cooper's behavior as "threatening".^[19] The incident led to the creation ofBlack Birders Week,^[20] and is the basis for Cooper's onlinecomic book about racism, illustrated byAlitha Martinez and published byDC Comics, calledIt's a Bird.^[21]

• Marvel Comics Presents:
  • "Return of the Braineaters" (featuringGhost Rider andWerewolf by Night, with pencils by John Stanisci and inks byJimmy Palmiotti, inMarvel Comics Presents #107–112, Marvel Comics, 1992)
  • "Siege of Darkness" (featuring Ghost Rider, with pencils by Reggie Jones and inks byFred Harper, inMarvel Comics Presents #144–146, Marvel Comics, 1993–1994)
  • "Tower of Blood" (featuringVengeance, with pencils by Reggie Jones and inks by Fred Harper, inMarvel Comics Presents #147–148, Marvel Comics, 1994)
  • "The Price" (featuring Vengeance, with Fred Harper, inMarvel Comics Presents #149, Marvel Comics, 1994)
  • "Dangerous Games" (featuring Vengeance, with pencils by Reggie Jones and inks by Fred Harper, inMarvel Comics Presents #152–153, Marvel Comics, 1994)
  • "Altered Spirits" (featuring Vengeance, with pencils by Reggie Jones and inks by Fred Harper, inMarvel Comics Presents #156–157, Marvel Comics, 1994)
  • "Final Gambit" (featuring Vengeance, with pencils by Reggie Jones and inks by Fred Harper, inMarvel Comics Presents #175, Marvel Comics, 1995)
• Darkhold #1–16 (withRichard Case, Marvel Comics, 1992–1994)
• Excalibur #77–81 (Marvel Comics, 1994)
• Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #1–19 (with pencils byChris Renaud and inks byAndy Lanning, Marvel Comics, 1996–1998)
• Songs of the Metamythos (as C. F. Cooper)
• "It's a Bird" (withAlitha E. Martinez, Mark Morales, Emilio Lopez, and Rob Clark Jr., DC Comics, 2020)
• Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World. New York: Random House. June 13, 2023.ISBN 9780593242384.OCLC 1346618419.

• Christian Cooper atIMDb 
• Chris Cooper at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)

• 1963 births
• 20th-century African-American writers
• 20th-century American male writers
• 21st-century African-American writers
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• African-American male writers
• American comics writers
• American gay writers
• American television hosts
• Birdwatchers
• Black Lives Matter
• American comic book editors
• DC Comics people
• Harvard University alumni
• African-American LGBTQ people
• LGBTQ comics creators
• LGBTQ people from New York (state)
• Living people
• Marvel Comics writers
• Writers from New York City

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