Articles by aaron-rosenberg
Thu May 1, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Phil Foglio
What's New, doc?
Born in Mount Vernon, NY in 1956, Phil Foglio moved to Hartsdale, NY, while still a young boy and lived there until he went off to the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago when he was only 17.
While at school, Foglio worked on the science-fiction club’s fanzine, Effen Essef, and was nominated for two Hugo Awards for it in 1976—in 1977 and 1978 he won the Hugos for Best Fan Artist. In 1980 Foglio started a comic strip What’s New with Phil & Dixie for Dragon Magazine. It ran for three years.
He moved back to New York shortly thereafter but soon returned to Chicago. There he illustrated Robert Lynn Asprin’s MythAdventures series and turned the first book into an eight-issue comic book series from WaRP Graphics. From there Foglio got work with DC (Angel and the Ape, Plastic Man, and Stanley and His Monster), Eclipse (Fusion, Dreamery), First Comics (Munden's Bar and Dynamo Joe), and others. He illustrated many card games, magazines, and books, created the character of Buck Godot for Imagine It and went on to create several Buck Godot graphic novels as well.
In the 1990s, Foglio brought What’s New back, this time for Duelist Magazine. He also created the series Girl Genius with his wife Kaja. In 2005 Girl Genius moved online as a free webcomic.
Wed Apr 30, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Nat Gertler
Definitely a Factor
Born in 1965, Nat Gertler started in comics as a translation writer, working on the English language adaptation of Speed Racer for Now Comics back in 1988.
He wrote contributions to Warp Graphics’ ElfQuest and to Calibur Comics’ Negative Burn in the 1990s, and then founded About Comics, a small comic book publishing company whose focus has been on quality rather than quantity.
Gertler published his own miniseries, The Factor, through About, and garnered an Eisner Award nomination for it in 1999.
He also created the 24 Hour Comics Day event, edited a variety of comic books and nonfiction books, and has written not only comic books but fiction, nonfiction, television scripts, and video games.
Mon Apr 28, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Uncle Marvel
The strangest member of the Shazam family
Sure, everyone knows that Billy Batson, Mary Batson, and Freddy Freeman could say their magic words and transform into Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel, Jr., three of the World’s Mightiest Mortals, also known as the Shazam family.
Yet in their regular lives, they were mere children, and often needed a protector and mentor. They found him in the guise of their uncle Dudley, who was actually not related to any of them. Very little is known about Dudley before he joined the Shazam family. He may have been a failed stage magician and a confidence artist at some point, and he had been married but was since divorced.
Dudley discovered the Marvels’ secret by happening across Mary’s Good Deed Ledger and returned it to her, claiming to be her long lost uncle. He also claimed to have magic powers of his own and wore a Marvel costume he had made himself—when Mary transformed Dudley stripped off his regular clothes to reveal the costume and become Uncle Marvel. He established a business, Shazam Incorporated, to channel money from the Marvels’ deeds into charitable organizations, though he did pocket a little of the money for himself.
The Marvels quickly found out about his scheme, and that he was not related to them and didn’t actually have any powers. But they liked Dudley, who was otherwise a good person, and so they allowed him to maintain the charade. Dudley explained his lack of powers after that by saying he had lost them due to a bad case of “shazambago.”
Despite having no powers Dudley could often trick opponents into defeating themselves, and he did provide a caring paternal figure for the three young orphans.
Sun Apr 27, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Russell T. Davies
Another year for the master of the Time Lords!
Born in Swansea, Wales in 1963, Russell T. Davies was immediately entered in academia—his father Vivian taught Classics and his mother Barbara taught French. Davies attended Olchfa Comprehensive School in Swansea and was a member of the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre.
He graduated Worcester College, Oxford in 1984 with a degree in English literature and turned to the theatre but soon left to work for BBC television. Davies started as a floor manager and then graduated to production assistant, but in the late 1980s he took the BBC’s directors training course. From 1988 to 1992 he produced children’s shows for BBC Manchester, and began writing for that division as well.
In 1991 Davies wrote his first television drama, Dark Season. Two years later he wrote Century Falls, technically a children’s show but dark enough that Davies realized he was better suited for adult programming. In 1992 he moved to Granada Television, producing and writing their children’s hospital drama Children’s Ward. He also began writing for several of Granada’s adult shows.
In the late '90s Davies left Granada for Red Productions and created Queer as Folk and several other shows. He returned to the BBC in 2003 when they offered him his dream job, helming the revival of the long-running science-fiction series Doctor Who.
Since then, Davies has produced and often written not only Doctor Who but also two spin-off shows, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures—he can be reasonably credited with introducing a new generation and much of the world to the adventuring Time Lord and his companions and friends.
Sat Apr 26, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Donna Troy
A true Wonder of the Multiverse
Donna Hinckley Stacey Troy has had as many different origins as any other DC hero, but unlike the rest she currently remembers all of them.
In her original origin, Donna was an orphan (her parents were killed in a fire) who had been saved by Wonder Woman and taken to Paradise Island, where the Amazons used the mysterious Purple Ray to grant her Amazonian powers. Donna then joined several other junior heroes to form their own super-team, the Teen Titans—she took the name "Wonder Girl," which until she adopted the alias “Donna Troy,” was her only name.
As Wonder Girl, Donna became a well-known figure in the DC Universe. Many years later, she was recast as Troia, champion of the mythic Titans. She later gave up her powers to become human, marry, and have a son, but years later (and after losing her husband and son in a car accident), regretted her decision. When the Titans refused to take her back, Donna became a Darkstar instead.
After leaving that group, Donna discovered she was actually a magical duplicate of Diana, the true Wonder Woman, and regained her powers before being acknowledged by Queen Hippolyta as a true Amazon princess. Since then Donna has discovered the existence of the Multiverse and the fact that she is the only person to remember all of her changing origins. As such, she has become the key to nurturing and protecting the new Multiverse.
Fri Apr 25, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Peter Sanderson
Comic book historian adds another year
Born in Milton, Massachusetts in 1952, Peter John Sanderson, Jr. is proof that an obsession for comic books and consistency can be made into a viable career.
Sanderson is a comic book critic and historian, as well as a teacher at New York University (NYU). He is best known for his work with both Marvel and DC, helping each of those companies catalog their characters and continuities. Sanderson’s first professional job in the comic book industry—he had written for comic fanzines in the early 1980s—was reading every comic book DC had published since 1935.
That research was instrumental for both Marv Wolfman’s Crisis on Infinite Earths and Len Wein’s Who’s Who in the DC Universe. Sanderson then moved to Marvel, becoming their archivist and assisting with the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. He also wrote the Marvel Saga and Wolverine Saga limited series.
Currently, he writes the online column “Comics in Context,” reviews for Publishers Weekly, and teaches at NYU.
Thu Apr 24, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Howie Schneider
Of Mice and Men and the men who draw them
Born in the Bronx, NY in 1930, Howie Schneider is best remembered for Eek & Meek, the comic about two mice (later two men) he created for the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) in 1965 and ran for 35 years.
Schneider also published several cartoon books, wrote a daily cartoon called Unschucked for the Provincetown Banner after he moved there in the mid-1970s, and in 2003 launched a new daily syndicated strip, The Sunshine Club. Schneider served on the Newspaper Features Council board for 20 years, and on the National Cartoonists Society board for eight.
He won the New England Press Association award for Best Editorial Cartoon twice. Schneider died in 2007 from complications after heart surgery.
Wed Apr 23, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Myron Waldman
The man partially responsible for Betty Boop
Born in 1908 in Brooklyn, NY, Myron Waldman always loved to draw. He went to Pratt Institute and majored in Art, graduating in 1930.
Shortly after that, Waldman got a job with Max Fleisher Studios. He started as an inker, but by 1934 was one of Fleisher’s lead animators, working on Betty Boop, Popeye, Raggedy Ann, and even Superman. When war broke out, Waldman joined the Army, and served for three years—upon his return he went to work for Paramount’s Famous Studios, handling Casper the Friendly Ghost.
From 1958 to 1968 Waldman worked for Hal Seeger Productions, reviving the old Fleisher series Out of the Inkwell and helping to create Milton the Monster. Waldman also drew the 1940s comic strip Happy the Humbug, and wrote Eve: A Pictorial Love Story, one of the earliest American graphic novels.
In 1997, he received the Windsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement in animation. Waldman passed away in 2006 but his influence is still felt by animators and cartoon artists everywhere.
Tue Apr 22, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Steve Englehart
A star creator for several companies
Born in 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Steve Englehart graduated college from Wesleyan University and served briefly in the Army before moving to New York. He got his comic book start working as Neal Adams’ art assistant at Warren Publishing.
Art was not Englehart’s chief interest, however, and he soon switched to different areas, going to work for Marvel as a proofreader. Then he got the opportunity to write a story for Amazing Adventures, and from then on it was writing all the way.
Englehart wrote The Avengers from 1972 to 1976 and also wrote Doctor Strange, Captain America, and The Hulk before moving over to DC Comics to help revamp their core characters in Detective Comics, Superman, Flash, and other titles. Englehart left comics and the U.S. in the late '70s and early '80s to travel Europe and work on a novel, but later returned to design video games and created Coyote for Eclipse.
Englehart has since written Green Lantern, Fantastic Four, Night Man, and several others, and has written more videogames and several animated series as well.
Mon Apr 21, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Phantom Girl
A Legionnaire who's hard to hold
Born on the 4th-dimensional planet Bgztl in the 30th Century, Tinya Wazzo shared the rest of her people’s ability to phase out of reality, becoming completely intangible.
Tinya decided to use those abilities to help others and sought out the Legion of Super-Heroes, becoming their fifth member as Phantom Girl.
She was a Legionnaire in good standing for many years, and was romantically involved with one of her teammates, Jo Nah (Ultra Boy).
Sun Apr 20, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: John Ostrander
One of ComicMix's favorite writers!
Born in 1949, ComicMix creator/columnist John Ostrander loved comics from early on but initially followed a different love: religion. Raised Roman Catholic, Ostrander wanted to become a priest and attended a year of seminary before deciding it wasn’t right for him. Instead he turned to acting.
Ostrander was part of a Chicago theater company in the early '80s, and in addition to acting he co-wrote a play called Bloody Bess with William J. Norris. ComicMix Editor-in-Chief Mike Gold was starting First Comics at the time and had seen and liked the play—he knew Ostrander was a big comics fan and invited him to try his hand at writing comics. Ostrander wrote several stories for First’s Warp series before creating the character of GrimJack.
By the time First Comics closed in 1991, Ostrander was working for other comic companies as well, and he continued to do so. He has written The Spectre, Firestorm, Justice League of America, and Wasteland for DC, X-Men, Heroes for Hire, and The Punisher for Marvel, Lady Death for Chaos!, Eternal Warrior for Valiant, Star Wars: Republic for Dark Horse, and many many others. Ostrander has also written audio plays and short stories, and he currently writes for ComicMix, producing both a regular column and new issues of GrimJack and Munden's Bar.
Fri Apr 18, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Keith R.A. DeCandido
A major player in the Star Trek universe
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Born in New York's the Bronx in 1969, Keith R.A. DeCandido was a science-fiction fan from the very start—his parents were fans of the original Star Trek, as well as classic SF/Fantasy novelists like Heinlein, Le Guin, and Tolkien.
DeCandido attended Fordham University and edited the college newspaper, and after graduating he worked for several New York publishing houses.
In 1990, he and John Drew created the public-access SF TV show The Chronic Rift, which DeCandido also co-hosted. In the late '90s, DeCandido worked for Byron Preiss, editing anthologies and novels, and began writing stories for Preiss as well.
DeCandido's first novel, Spider-Man: Venom’s Wrath (written with Jose R. Nieto) was published in 1998. In 1999 DeCandido got the opportunity to write for the Star Trek franchise, authoring the four-issue comic book miniseries Star Trek: The Next Generation: Perchance to Dream. Since then he has written over a dozen Star Trek novels and over a dozen novels for other licenses.
Thu Apr 17, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Ben Dunn
One of America's foremost Manga creators!
Born in 1964 in Pin-Tung, Taiwan, Ben Dunn emigrated to the U.S. a year later.
Growing up, he enjoyed reading comics and tried his hand at drawing, but it wasn’t until he returned to Taiwan for six months in 1976 that Dunn was first exposed to—and fell in love with—manga. Eight years later, tired of working for other people, Dunn decided to try his hand at comic books himself.
He founded Antarctic Press and began to produce Manga-style American comics. Dunn’s first title, Ninja High School, has remained one of Antarctic's most popular and is still being published today—Dunn created, wrote, and drew the series for many years before handing it off to other artists and writers.
In 2003, Dunn sold Antarctic and started a new development company, Sentai Studios, but that venture failed and he later returned to Antarctic. He was also a major artist on Marvel’s "Mangaverse" line and has worked for Image and other publishers.
Wed Apr 16, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Leonard Rifas
A leading comics scholar and educator
Born in 1951, Leonard Rifas loved comics but found cartooning to be hard work. He wanted to make sure the stories and messages he conveyed were important enough to demand such time and attention, so he turned to educational comics.
In 1976, he produced All-Atomic Comics, about the use of nuclear energy. That same year he created Educomics, a publishing label for educational comics, under which he has published such titles as Gen of Hiroshima and his own An Army of Principles: The History and Philosophy of the American Revolution.
Rifas has also taught cartooning to people of all ages, and has written books and articles about comics.
Tue Apr 15, 2008 — by Aaron Rosenberg
Happy Birthday: Leonardo da Vinci
The true Renaissance master
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Born in Vinci, Florence, Italy in 1452, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was the illegitimate son of a local notary and a peasant girl. He showed an early talent for art, and at the age of 14 he was apprenticed to the renowned Florentine painter Verrocchio.
In 1472, at the age of 20, Leonardo qualified as a master with the Guild of St. Luke and his father set him up in his own workshop. Lorenzo de Medici was so impressed by the young artist that in 1482 he sent Leonardo to serve Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan.
Leonardo remained there until 1499, when he fled to Venice to escape a French invasion. He returned to Florence the following year, and continued to travel between and work among those three cities and more for the rest of his life.
Leonardo da Vinci is considered the examplar of the Renaissance man: a brilliant painter and sculptor but also a talented mathematician and scientist and a renowned scholar. Several of his works, like the Mona Lisa, are still considered among the greatest masterpieces of all time.
