| J. M. DeMatteis | |
|---|---|
 DeMatteis at the 2018 Etna Comics convention in Italy, during an interview | |
| Born | John Marc DeMatteis (1953-12-15)December 15, 1953 (age 71) Brooklyn,New York, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Writer |
| Pseudonym(s) | Michael Ellis Wally Lombego |
Notable works | |
John Marc DeMatteis (/diːməˈteɪəs/;[1] born December 15, 1953)[2] is an American writer ofcomic books, television and novels.
J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in bands starting in the sixth grade, generally in the role of lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist, and also wrote music reviews for a number of publications.[3] He began drawing at a young age, and was accepted into theSchool of the Visual Arts. DeMatteis recalled, "...for some reason, I think it was financial, I ended up not going. Somewhere after that what little drawing skills I had began to atrophy."[3] He graduated fromMidwood High School in Brooklyn in 1971.[4]
DeMatteis then turned from drawing to writing. He got his start in comic books atDC Comics in the late 1970s. After a number of rejected submissions, his first accepted story was "The Lady-Killer Craves Blood", but it would not be published until years later[3] inHouse of Mystery #282 (July 1980). His first published story for the company was "The Blood Boat!" inWeird War Tales #70 (Dec. 1978).[5] He contributed to the company's line ofhorror comics notably with the creation of theCreature Commandos inWeird War Tales #93 (Nov. 1980)[6] andI…Vampire inHouse of Mystery #290 (March 1981).[7] He briefly wrote theAquaman feature inAdventure Comics as well.[8] DeMatteis and artistBrian Bolland produced a backup story titled "Falling Down to Heaven" inMadame Xanadu, DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market" of fans and collectors.[9] DeMatteis had long been eager to work forMarvel Comics, and following roughly a year in which editor-in-chiefJim Shooter kept him busy with odd jobs and fill-ins,[3] in 1980 he was made the lead writer for Marvel onThe Defenders,[10] and had lengthy runs onCaptain America, paired withpencilerMike Zeck,[5] andMarvel Team-Up.[11]
After writing a negative review of theGrateful Dead's 1980 albumGo to Heaven which was published inRolling Stone, DeMatteis ended his career as a music critic. He explained, "Grateful Dead fans are like hardcore comic book fans, you know... and I know that when I sit down to write a review that I'm just some shmuck sitting down at a typewriter with an opinion—but then it's in print in something likeRolling Stone. I got all these letters, which I saved, from all these hardcore Grateful Dead fans—wounded. ... I said if I'm gonna review at all I'm not gonna write negative reviews anymore..."[3] Around this time he also surrendered his professional career as a rock musician, after years of playing in New York City–based bands.[3]
In 1984, DeMatteis and artistBob Budiansky produced aPrince Namor limited series.[12] He saw the series as an opportunity to both delve more into the psychology of the title character than he had been able to inThe Defenders and to continue his collaboration with Budiansky from the recently canceledGhost Rider, later recalling, "We'd get on the phone, start talking, and the stories would come so easily. We had a fantastic rapport, personally and professionally."[13] DeMatteis had mixed feelings about the series itself, and said the one part of which he was unreservedly proud was the look into Namor's years as an amnesiac homeless man.[14] DeMatteis and illustratorJon J. Muth created thegraphic novelMoonshadow, for Marvel'sEpic line: the groundbreaking story was the first fully painted series in American comics. DeMatteis followed this with the 1986Doctor Strange graphic novelInto Shamballa drawn byDan Green andBlood: A Tale, a hallucinatory vampire story drawn byKent Williams.[5] In 1987, DeMatteis and Zeck re-teamed for the "Kraven's Last Hunt" arc that ran throughout Marvel's then-threeSpider-Man titles. The arc has been collected in multiple editions and remains one of the most popular, and respected, stories in Spider-Man's history.[15][16]
Moving back to DC, DeMatteis succeededGerry Conway as writer of the superhero-team titleJustice League of America. He used the pen nameMichael Ellis on his first issue of the series.[17] When that title was cancelled[18] in the wake of the company-widecrossoverLegends, DeMatteis stayed through its relaunch asJustice League International,[19] scripting over the plots ofKeith Giffen.
JLI took such lesser-known DC characters asMartian Manhunter,Blue Beetle,Booster Gold,Mister Miracle,Captain Atom, andPower Girl and turned the then-current preoccupation with "grim 'n' gritty" superheroes on its head. The lighthearted series emphasized the absurd aspects of people with strange powers, wearing colorful costumes, volunteering to fight evildoers. Although the League had its serious side and often faced world-threateningvillains, the stories included such characters as the lovably ineptG'nort, the worstGreen Lantern in theGreen Lantern Corps, Mr. Nebula, the interplanetary decorator, theInjustice League, a bunch of bumbling losers and a flock of homicidalpenguins who had been hybridized withpiranhas. The success ofJustice League International led to aspin-off in 1989 titledJustice League Europe also co-written with Giffen and featuring art byBart Sears.[20]
The Giffen/DeMatteis team worked onJustice League for five years and closed out their run with the "Breakdowns" storyline in 1991 and 1992.[21] DeMatteis scriptedJustice League spin-offs such as solo series forMister Miracle andDoctor Fate.[5]
Back at Marvel, DeMatteis again succeeded Conway, this time as writer ofThe Spectacular Spider-Man in 1991, taking the series in a grimmer, more psychologically oriented direction. In collaboration with regular artistSal Buscema, DeMatteis' story arc "The Child Within" (#178–184) featured the return of theHarry OsbornGreen Goblin.[22] Spider-Man's battle with the Goblin continued in "The Osborn Legacy" in #189[23] and came to an end when Harry died in "The Best Of Enemies!" (#200).[24]
In 1994, DeMatteis took over fromDavid Michelinie as writer ofThe Amazing Spider-Man #389–406 for a run that included the apparent death ofPeter Parker'sAunt May[25] and the beginnings of the "Clone Saga" arc. DeMatteis as well worked on such characters asDoctor Strange,Daredevil,Man-Thing, and theSilver Surfer.
DeMatteis helped launch DC's mature-audienceVertigo imprint, writing the graphic novelsMercy andFarewell, Moonshadow (asequel to theEpic Comics series), theminiseriesThe Last One, and the 15-issue seriesSeekers Into The Mystery,[5] the story of aHollywoodscreenwriter on a journey ofself-discovery and the search for universal truths.
DeMatteis wrote anautobiographical,digest-sized miniseriesBrooklyn Dreams, published by DC'sParadox Press imprint. DeMatteis' most personal work, it was later collected in one volume under the Vertigo imprint.
In the 2000s, DeMatteis redefined theSpectre, through the character ofHal Jordan, as a spirit of redemption rather than of vengeance. DeMatteis co-scripted the "Gods of Gotham" storyline inWonder Woman #164–166 (January to March 2001) withPhil Jimenez.[26] In 2003, with Giffen, he revived the Justice League International for the mini-seriesFormerly Known as the Justice League.[27] The series won Giffen, DeMatteis and artistKevin Maguire anEisner Award.[28] The team followed this with "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League" arc inJLA Classified and, at Marvel, a five-issue run ofThe Defenders. In 2006, DeMatteis and Giffen began work on two original superhero comedy series,Hero Squared andPlanetary Brigade forBoom! Studios.[29] DeMatteis teamed with veteran artistMike Ploog to create theCrossGenfantasy comicAbadazad (May 2004). The following year, Ploog and DeMatteis announced they were collaborating on a five-issue miniseries,Stardust Kid, from theImage Comics imprint Desperado Publishing.[29] The series moved to Boom! Studios in 2006.
The Walt Disney Company acquiredAbadazad for itsHyperion Books for Children imprint.[29] The first two books in the series—Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable[30] andAbadazad: The Dream Thief[31]—were released June 2006. The third book—Abadazad: The Puppet, The Professor and The Prophet[32]—was released in the United Kingdom in 2007.[citation needed]
In June 2010, DeMatteis's children's fantasy novel,Imaginalis, was published byKatherine Tegen Books, an imprint ofHarperCollins.[33]
In 2008, DeMatteis became editor-in-chief of Ardden Entertainment, guiding the launch of a newFlash Gordon comic book series. In 2009, he wrote a five-issue comic book limited series, illustrated by Mike Cavallaro,The Life and Times of Savior 28, which was released byIDW Publishing in 2009.[34] He also wrote theMetal Men back-up story in the newDoom Patrol[35][36] and returned to Marvel Comics for a number of new Spider-Man stories. In 2010, DeMatteis reunited once again with frequent collaborator Keith Giffen for a run on the comic book seriesBooster Gold. The two teamed on theDC Retroactive: JLA – The '90sone-shot in October 2011.[37] Also in 2011, DeMatteis created the all-ages fantasyThe Adventures of Augusta Wind for IDW Publishing. In 2013, he took over DC Comics'Phantom Stranger and launched the 12-issueLarfleeze series[38] with Giffen. DeMatteis became the writer ofJustice League Dark in October 2013 and, again with Giffen, launchedJustice League 3000 in December.
In 2015, DeMatteis worked withBruce Timm forJustice League: Gods and Monsters, a comic book prequel to the film. In 2016, Giffen and DeMatteis launchedScooby Apocalypse for DC—a more adult reimagining of the classic cartoon—and IDW published DeMatteis'sAugusta Wind sequelThe Adventures of Augusta Wind: The Last Story. 2018 saw the release of the IDW seriesImpossible, Incorporated, with another new creator-owned series,The Girl in the Bay, from Berger Books, announced for 2019. In 2021, Marvel announced a new limited series titledBen Reilly: Spider-Man written by DeMatteis with art by David Baldeón, released in 2022.[39] The same year, Marvel announced the forthcoming seriesSpider-Man: The Lost Hunt, which ties in to DeMatteis' Spider-Man classic,Kraven's Last Hunt. Also in 2022, DeMatteis, in collaboration with Spellbound Comics, launched The DeMultiverse, four new series written by DeMatteis and illustrated by Shawn McManus, Tom Mandrake, Matthew Dow Smith, and David Baldeon. He also published a novel, the supernatural thriller,The Excavator, followed the next year by another supernatural novel,The Witness.
In 2024, Marvel published a new Spider-Man series,Shadow of the Green Goblin, and DC launched the Batman mini-seriesRobin Lives! DeMatteis and Spellbound Comics also launched Phase II of their DeMultiverse titles on Kickstarter.
In October 2022, DeMatteis announced the founding of his own publisher named Spellbound Comics. Through a Kickstarter campaign, he presented the DeMultiverse, a collection of four "pilot issues" of comics titledAnyman,Godsend, Layla in the Lands of After andWisdom.[40] In November, he presented a fifth series titledThe Edward Gloom Mysteries.[41] The second wave of DeMatteis's Spellbound series launched on Kickstarter in the summer of 2024, offering second chapters of all the DeMultiverse titles, with more planned for the future.
DeMatteis has also written for television, having scripted episodes ofthe 1980s incarnation ofThe Twilight Zone, thesyndicated seriesThe Adventures of Superboy andEarth: Final Conflict, as well as for theanimated seriesThe Real Ghostbusters,Justice League Unlimited,Legion of Super Heroes,Batman: The Brave and the Bold,Ben 10: Ultimate Alien,Sym-Bionic Titan,ThunderCats,Teen Titans Go! andMarvel's Spider-Man. DeMatteis also wrote the 2015 animated DTV movieBatman vs. Robin and its 2016 sequel,Batman: Bad Blood. The same year, DeMatteis wrote multiple episodes of Cartoon Network'sBe Cool, Scooby-Doo!. In 2017, DeMatteis co-wroteJustice League Dark and, in 2018, he wrote the spin-off animated seriesConstantine: City of Demons. The same year he wrote animated shorts starringAdam Strange and Neil Gaiman'sSandman character,Death. In 2020 DeMatteis wroteDeathstroke: Knights & Dragons, as well as the animated adaptation of the graphic novelSuperman: Red Son. In 2024, he wrote an episode of Amazon'sBatman: Caped Crusader series, which will be part of the show's upcoming second season.
Also a musician, DeMatteis released one album in the late 1990s,How Many Lifetimes?.
A battalion of horror icons created by the U.S. government to aid the American war effort made its debut in an off-beat story by writer J. M. DeMatteis and penciler Pat Broderick.
{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Madame Xanadu, a 32-page/$1.00 comic that marks DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors, went on sale in early April. The book contains a 25-page tale by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers entitled "Dance for Two Demons" and a seven-page fantasy story by J. Marc DeMatteis and Brian Bolland.
Writer J. M. Dematteis had become the regular writer ofMarvel Team-Up with issue #111 (November 1981) and would stay with the title until #133 (September 1983), with only one issue's interruption.
{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)That was me, dialoguingJLA #255 over a Gerry Conway plot. As I recall (and keep in mind it's been a long time), having just finishedMoonshadow andBlood—two very personal and creatively life-changing projects—I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep writing super hero comics and so I was reluctant to use my name.
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| Preceded by | Captain America writer 1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by David Anthony Kraft | Captain America writer 1982–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | Justice League International writer 1987–1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Man-Thing writer 1997–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | The Amazing Spider-Man writer 1994–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | X-Factor writer 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Daredevil writer 1995–1996 | Succeeded by |
