| Roger Stern | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Stern photographed at Ithacon 35, Part II in 2010 | |
| Born | (1950-09-17)September 17, 1950 (age 75) Noblesville, Indiana,[1] U.S. |
| Area | Writer |
Notable works | Action Comics The Amazing Spider-Man The Avengers Captain America Doctor Strange Power of the Atom Starman Triumph and Torment |
Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. He is best known for his work onThe Amazing Spider-Man,The Avengers,Captain America, andDoctor Strange forMarvel Comics and for his work onSuperman forDC Comics including "The Death of Superman" storyline.
Among the comic characters Stern co-created areNebula,Monica Rambeau,Doomsday,Hobgoblin andMaxima.
In the early 1970s, Stern andBob Layton published thefanzineCPL (Contemporary Pictorial Literature), one of the first platforms for the work ofJohn Byrne.[1][2]CPL rapidly became a popular fan publication, and led to the two forming an alliance withCharlton Comics to produce and publish "the now-famousCharlton Bullseye magazine".[2] During the mid-1970s, both Marvel and DC were publishing in-house "fan" publications (FOOM andThe Amazing World of DC Comics respectively), and Charlton wished to make inroads into the superhero market, as well as "establish a fan presence," leading to the alliance with CPL to produce theCharlton Bullseye.[2] This led to Charlton giving Layton and Stern "access to unpublished material from their vaults by the likes ofSteve Ditko,Jeff Jones and a host of others."[2]
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Stern broke into the industry as a writer in 1975 as part of theMarvel Comics "third wave" of creators, which included artists John Byrne andFrank Miller, and writersJo Duffy,Mark Gruenwald andRalph Macchio. Stern worked as aneditor from 1976 to 1980.[3]Jim Shooter claims that Stern co-plotted (as aghostwriter) his last few stories forDC Comics in 1976.[4] Stern wrote the "Guardians of the Galaxy" feature inMarvel Presents #10-12 in 1977.[5] He briefly collaborated with Byrne onCaptain America. The two produced a story wherein Captain America considered running for the office ofPresident of the United States,[6] an idea originally developed byRoger McKenzie andDon Perlin. Stern, in his capacity as editor of the title, had originally rejected the idea but later changed his mind about the concept.[7][8] McKenzie and Perlin received credit for the idea on the letters page at Stern's insistence.[9] His first regular monthly book was as staff writer forThe Incredible Hulk taking over for departingLen Wein in 1978.[9] Stern later became the writer ofThe Spectacular Spider-Man with issue #43 (June 1980).[10] He then took overThe Amazing Spider-Man with issue #224 (January 1982).[11] In addition to his Spider-Man work, Stern is known for his lengthy stints onDoctor Strange, andThe Avengers.[12] In 1982, he co-created Marvel's secondCaptain Marvel[13] and theHobgoblin, both with artistJohn Romita Jr.[14][15] Stern wrote "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" inThe Amazing Spider-Man #248 (January 1984), a story which ranks among his most popular.[14][16] Stern ended his run withAmazing Spider-Man #252 (May 1984), chiefly due to his difficulty working with new Spider-Man editorDanny Fingeroth.[17] Later that same year, he co-created the Avengers spin-offThe West Coast Avengers, with artistBob Hall.
In 1987, after a dispute with editorMark Gruenwald over upcoming storylines, Stern was fired fromThe Avengers.[18] He began freelancing forDC Comics, where he was one of the coreSuperman writers for almost a decade, working onSuperman (vol. 2),Action Comics, andSuperman: The Man of Tomorrow. He contributed to such storylines as "Panic in the Sky"[19] and "The Death of Superman" which revived interest in the character in the early 1990s. He created theEradicator inAction Comics Annual #2[20][21] and later incorporated the character into the "Reign of the Supermen" story arc beginning inThe Adventures of Superman #500.[22] Stern wrote the 1991 story wherein Clark Kent finally revealed his identity as Superman toLois Lane.[23][24] In Summer 1995, Stern and artistTom Grummett created a new quarterly series,Superman: The Man of Tomorrow.[25] Additionally, Stern was one of the many creators who worked on theSuperman: The Wedding Album one-shot in 1996 which featured the title character's marriage to Lois Lane.[26] Besides his work on Superman, Stern (with co-plotter Tom McCraw) wroteLegionnaires from 1996 to 1999. Other work for DC included a relaunchedAtom series, drawn byDwayne Turner[12] and the co-creation of theWill Payton version ofStarman with artistTom Lyle.[27]
In 1996, Stern returned to Marvel to write the miniseriesSpider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives,[28] and contributed to three issues ofSpectacular Spider-Man in 1998 which featured the first confrontation betweenNorman Osborn andRoderick Kingsley.[29] Over the next four years, he wrote the short-livedMarvel Universe series, as well as such miniseries asAvengers Two,Avengers Infinity, andSpider-Man: Revenge of theGreen Goblin. Stern collaborated withAvengers writerKurt Busiek onIron Man and the miniseriesAvengers Forever, and with John Byrne onMarvel: The Lost Generation.[12]
After a major editorial shuffle at Marvel in 2000 left him without assignments, Stern began writing for European publisherEgmont, for whom he produced scripts forFantomen (The Phantom), andPanini UK, for whoseMarvel Rampage magazine he wrote Spider-Man and Hulk stories.[12] Stern and Busiek co-wrote theDarkman vs. Army of Darkness limited series which was drawn by artist James Fry and published byDynamite Entertainment. In 2007, Stern wrote an issue ofThe All-New Atom and reunited with Byrne to produce a five-issue story arc forJLA Classified for DC in 2008.
The next year, Stern returned to Marvel, where he wrote new stories forGiant-Size Incredible Hulk,The Amazing Spider-Man,[30]Young Allies70th Anniversary Special,Amazing Spider-Man Family,Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2),Captain America andThe Many Loves of the Amazing Spider-Man. He collaborated again with Busiek, co-writing several issues ofMarvels: Eye of the Camera, the sequel to theMarvels miniseries.[12] Stern has continued to freelance for Marvel, writing the 2010 miniseriesCaptain America: Forever Allies andCaptain America Corps, another miniseries, in 2011.[12] In 2012, he worked on an issue of the limited seriesHulk Smash Avengers with artistKarl Moline, and wrote issue #156.1 ofPeter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2. In 2015, he contributed a story toSpider-Verse Team-Up #1.
As part of Marvel Comics' 80th Anniversary the one-shotAvengers: Loki Unleashed! by Roger Stern and artistRon Lim that takes place after Stern's famous "The Siege" storyline, has been published in September 2019.[31]
For the Binge Books label of publisher Sitcomics, Stern wrote the 68-page comic bookHeroes Union #1 (August 2021), pencilled byRon Frenz and inked bySal Buscema.[32] That same year, Stern contributed a two-page story titled "A Climate of Hope" toRewriting Extinction forThe Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World,[33] an anthology about the climate and the biodiversity crisis.[34]
In 2023, Stern contributed a story toThe Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1, drawn byButch Guice. He also wrote a five-page story for the anniversary issueDoctor Strange #450, published in 2025.
Stern has also written a number ofgraphic novels, includingDoctor Strange &Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment;Superman for Earth;The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman;Superman: A Nation Divided; andUntold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounters.
In addition to his comics work, Stern has written three novels:The Death and Life of Superman (Bantam Books, 1993),Smallville: Strange Visitors (Warner Books, 2002), andSuperman: The Never-Ending Battle (Pocket Books, 2005).The Death and Life of Superman was aNew York Times bestseller in hardcover and was released as a mass market paperback in 1994; a new trade paperback edition was released byBarnes & Noble in 2004.
Stern marriedCornell University chemistry professor Carmela Merlo inIthaca, New York, on June 19, 1982, at a ceremony attended by many Marvel staffers, including editor-in-chiefJim Shooter.[35]
The National Populist Party asked Captain America to run for President of the United States in this issue by writer Roger Stern and artist John Byrne
The story, according to Stern, actually began a year previous, when Roger McKenzie and Don Perlin were the creative team on Captain America, and Stern was an editor at Marvel. McKenzie and Perlin wanted Cap to run for office and win, setting up four years' worth of stories in and around Washington, D.C. and the duties of the president. While it could've made for a great pop-culture civics lesson, Stern 86'd the idea.
I made sure that 1) Roger McK. and Don knew about it, and 2) they were credited with the idea on the letters page.
Writer Roger Stern would begin his long tenure as a Spider-scribe with an impressive run on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, beginning with this issue illustrated by Mike Zeck.
Writer Roger Stern is primarily remembered for two major contributions to the world of Peter Parker. One was a short piece entitled 'The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man'...[his] other major contribution was the introduction of the Hobgoblin.
In this seven-part adventure...writers Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, and Louise Simonson, with artists Brett Breeding, Tom Grummett, Jon Bogdanove, and Bob McLeod assembled many of DC's favorite characters to defend the world.
Avengers writer Roger Stern has returned to Marvel Comics again for a new one-shot set during his run on the title. Together with artist Ron Lim, Stern will pen an 80th Anniversary Special featuring the God of Mischief inAvengers: Loki Unleashed! #1.
Stern, Frenz, and Buscema have completed work on a 68-page one-shot titledThe Heroes Union #1 for the upstart company Binge Books.
Campaign founder, Westbury-based entrepreneur and award-winning, Emmy-nominated writer-producer Paul Goodenough, has forged collaborations between some of the most important environmental voices, major celebrities and storytellers from TV, Film, books and comics, to create over 150 emotive stories that capture the imagination.
| Preceded by | The Incredible Hulk writer 1978–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Captain America writer 1980–1981 (with John Byrne in early 1980) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | The Amazing Spider-Man writer 1982–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Steven Grant | The Avengers writer 1983–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fantastic Four writer 1986–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Byrne | Superman writer 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Byrne | Action Comics writer 1988–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Tom McCraw and Tom Peyer | Legionnaires writer 1996–1999 With: Tom McCraw | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Iron Man writer 1998–2000 (with Kurt Busiek) | Succeeded by |
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