Marv expressed dismay and, even worse, an interest in Ann Coulter because spammers forced me to shut down a WGA-related thread that he contributed to (a tactic, I suspect, of the AMPTP’s. Just remember kids: You can’t spell AMPTP’s without sPAM. Coincidence? I. Think. Not.
So here’s an entire thread dedicated to the greatness of Marv Wolfman.
Go nuts.
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I’m not sure if this is the right place to communicate this, but as long as we’ve got his attention, I just as soon pass this along.
It was one of the joys of my life to meet Marv at a con a few years back.
I could’ve never said this to him in person, but Marv and my personal read-to-the-bone tatters of his Titans run got me through some hard times in my youth. I grew up without a lot of close friends under some difficult emotional conditions. Throughout all those times, I could always go to Ðìçk, Donna, Wally, Raven, Gar, Vic, Kory and others for a dose of friendship, family, and courage to get me through tough times. At the toughest, it was almost like they were with me as a result of the vivid nature of their creation.
Thanks, Marv, for your wonderful storytelling of human spirit and by proxy, being my friend in difficult times. Not to build up a bunch of funnybooks too much, but it really mattered to me in a very real way.
Marv had a great run as writer of “The Amazing Spider-Man” in the late 70s, and also, I am eternally grateful to him for writing the “Return of Optimus Prime” 2-parter in season 3 of “The Transformers.” Anyone else remember the red spores and the madness plague? Optimus battling Rodimus Prime for the Matrix?? Marv is a hero to a generation of 80s cartoon lovers, even if they don’t realise it.
A few years back I was working at a book store in the mall here in LA.
A guy comes in and seems interested in the comics section. Being that I was the resident comics guru I asked the guy if I could help him find anything. I suggested some titles and when I got to “The Terror of Trigon” he said: “Actually, I wrote that.”
Then Marv signed the trade and I bought it. Awesome guy, not as hairy as I thought a person named Wolfman would be…
he’s tall too,
um, and he wore nice…shoes?
yay Marv!
Posted by Baron
A guy comes in and seems interested in the comics section. Being that I was the resident comics guru I asked the guy if I could help him find anything. I suggested some titles and when I got to “The Terror of Trigon” he said: “Actually, I wrote that.”
Manymany years ago (1990, to be precise), i found myself on a dinner and music cruise on the Thames, and was one of two or three people talking to Ian Matthews (eartly member of Fairport Convention).
He mentioned that he’d been living in Texas for a while, and had lost pretty much everything in a fire. Including his record collecton.
So he took to touring used record stores looking for copies of his out-of-print stuff, and found a lot of it in one store.
When he plunked his selections down on the counter, the clerk noted that they were all by the same obscure guy he’d barely heard of, and remarked “You must really like this guy’s stuff…”
I visualised Matthews simply smiling and laying down a credit card…
The comic card game MUNCHKIN BITES! (with such goth-type characters as vampires, werewolves, changelings, and mummies) pays homage to Marv Wolfman with their card MARV, showing him as a werewolf (with the tombstone of Dracula in the background).
Raven´s character is deep and -without a doubt- an inspiration for some kinda women on trouble. Women…continue readin´ comic books!!
Anyone who thinks Tomb of Dracula is the best horror comic series ever has not read Uzumaki.
Oddly enough, I was unpacking some comics earlier this week (I’ve recently moved house) and came across the classic “Who Is Donna Troy?” and “The Wedding” stories from The New Teen Titans. Not having read them for years, I sat down and read them both right there, cover to cover…
…and they *still* make me cry.
One of the greatest writers in comics, ever (and having met him once in Reseda, one of the nicest, as well).
He created Nova, the best superhero of all time. That’s all you gots ta say.
I’ll back Mafus 100% on that one. Loved Nova.
I never quite got into Nova, but I’m just now reading the Essential reprints of Tomb of Dracula. WOW, that’s good stuff. Major kudos to Marv for that!
TWL
What If Four Other People Had Become Nova? is another of my favorites from Marv.
I regret that I never read the beginning or the end of Marv Wolfman’s multi-issue pre-1986 Superman storyline where Vandal Savage is an evil corrupt businessman, from Earth-2 migrated to Earth-1, and Superman has trouble dealing with a bad guy who isn’t straight-up criminal, but hides behind a facade of legitimacy!
Frankly I wish they stuck with this combination of characterization and plot… and left Lex Luthor with being a mad scientist.
Also…. there are more Marv Wolfman comics I wish I owned than Marv Wolfman comics I own.
Some people will say Shakespeare is the greatest writer in history. Others believe Edgar Allen Poe, Dante, DH Lawrence, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Moliere and scores of others are the greatest. I’ve read them all and enjoyed their work just the same. But to me, the absolute greatest writer in history, is Marv Wolfman.
The works of all the above novelists have influenced generations of readers throughout time creating works that deal with themes of a universal nature in finite, complete story volumes.
Anyone who is familiar with the works of Marv Wolfman can say Marv is a man whose work dealt with the same themes, situations, character predictments as the above authors… but he did it on a monthly basis for over thirty years.
Marv Wolfman created hundreds of original characters throughout his career, most of whom are universally recognized and loved to this very day. It’s a list of creations that’s second only to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Most of Marv’s creations are fully fleshed out beings with a history and universe that could very well have made it all their own, outside the comics universe.
The stories of Starfire and Raven from the New Teen Titans quickly come to mind — a princess who was betrayed by her jealous, psychotic sister and sold into slavery… and Raven, the daughter of a woman who was raped by an other worldly demon, raised by a pacifist society called Azarath, that disassociated itself from the world of man — and all the love, joys and yes, violence of the same world.
Marv Wolfman engineered the creation of a universal epic so grand only George Lucas’ Star Wars universe measures by comparison. Marv created the entire Vegan system of the DCU, the Citadel wars, the Omega Men: species and corresponding planets… and for Marvel; Nova, Black Cat, Blade, Bullseye and countless others.
He gave us Crisis and a cohesive history of the DCU, the likes of which no one had done before and no one has been able to emulate since (no matter how hard or how many times they try).
Marv showed me the beauty of the Human Spirit by writing about beings with and without heart, some just ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. He writes of triumph and tragedy, on a human scale and a universal scale.
Most of all, the work of Marv Wolfman taught me all the joys of reading, from the time I was seven all the way to the present, as a mature, responsible adult. His works are timeless, brilliant and comprehensive, enjoyable, to readers of all ages.
Marv Wolfman is the greatest writer in history. And the best thing about that is he’s still crafting some of the finest stories ever written, even today.
Posted by: Blue Spider
Also…. there are more Marv Wolfman comics I wish I owned than Marv Wolfman comics I own.
Actually, Marv Wolfman is one of several creators by whom there are more works that i wish i owned than there actually *are*.
Marv is one of my all time favorite writers ! His New Teen Titans work is so very near and dear to my heart. I was also so thrilled when he took over the Nightwing book as I had been unhappy with it pretty much since it started. His run was the first run of the book I ever actually enjoyed.
I was also very lucky to meet and he was wonderful and gracious. I hope his new Vigilante series is still coming out because I am eagerly looking forward to it. Marv—thanks for all the incredible work you have done in your career that has brought us so much enjoyment !
I haven’t come across a Marv Wolfman tale I didn’t like yet. That Spider-Man story he penned with Spidey & JJJ both locked to a bomb by their wrists is a true classic.
My favorite Teen Titans story was the Titans Annual where Adrian Chase becomes The Vigilante. That was an intense book.
Also: Nova…one of my favorite heroes from my childhood and one of the most visually interesting ones.
Tomb of Dracula was amazing.
Marv rocks!
Marv Wolfman is one of the finest craftsmen the industry has ever seen. Nobody (with the possible exceptions of Roger Stern and Len Wein) puts more effort into the nuts-and-bolts aspects of what makes a story, or for that matter a series, work. Putting Marv Wolfman onto a book doesn’t just guarantee a good run, it guarantees that the next writer will have a good starting point to work with for another good run to come.
I’ll second the praise for ‘Crisis’, ‘Titans’, ‘Tomb of Dracula’ (I’ve read ‘Uzumaki’, and Wolfman and Gene Colan put together an epic that surpasses it, a brilliant character study of true evil with gorgeous, moody art) and ‘Nova’, and add praise for something that might not have gotten much play in fan press: His novelization of ‘Crisis’. As much power as the original series had, the novel has more in places…I’m not ashamed to admit, I got all teary-eyed when Supergirl died in a way I never did when reading the comic. (I was, of course, too manly to actually cry.)
And he’s a real gentleman in person; I had the occasion to interview him in 2006, and he gave me loads of time to ask questions about series he’d probably never even thought about in years, giving gracious and well-thought out answers, even while also dealing politely with fans who, um…might not have deserved it. (Rule #1 of Convention Etiquette, folks: It’s an autograph table, not an information booth. Marv Wolfman does not know where the bathrooms are.)
I’d add more about how great he is, but there’s only so much space.