Sunday, September 10, 2017

In Memory of Len Wein

   Sad to note the passing today of Len Wein, one of the giants of the modern age of comics.

   A former fan turned pro, he was influential as a writer, editor and creator for both Marvel and DC Comics.

   How influential? Well, as a co-creator he invented Wolverine (during Wein's great run on The Incredible Hulk), Swamp Thing, the Human Target and the New X-Men (including Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird). 

   As a writer he breathed fresh life into some classic characters, turning in terrific stories on the Phantom Stranger, Batman, Thor, the Justice League, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, Green Lantern, Blue Beetle and Star Trek.

   As an editor he guided the classic Watchmen and Camelot 3000 mini-series, and worked a stint as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel.

   Best of all, he was one of those rare writers who always turned in excellent work - you knew if he was involved, you were holding an entertaining comic.

   I only met him briefly back in the late '80s, and he struck me as both smart and kind, willing to share his time to talk to the fans - and I think, right up to the end, he was a fan, too.

2 comments:

Hoy Murphy said...

I met him once at Mid-Ohio Con many years ago. He was friendly and we had a nice talk about his post-Crisis revival of Blue Beetle, which he said he enjoyed writing very much.

Hoy

Chuck said...

His books had such a great sense of fun - his enthusiasm was infectious!