Gardner Fox
Birth name	Gardner Francis Fox
Born	May 20, 1911 Brooklyn, New York
Died	December 24, 1986 (aged 75)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer
Pseudonym(s)	Jefferson Cooper Bart Sommers Paul Dean Ray Gardner Lynna Cooper
Awards	Alley Award Best Script Writer (1962) Best Book-Length Story (1962, with Carmine Infantino) Favorite Novel (1963, with Mike Sekowsky) Best Novel (1965, with Murphy Anderson)

Gardner Francis Fox (May 20, 1911, Brooklyn, New York – December 24, 1986) was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic-book historians estimate that he wrote over 4,000 comics stories. May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... For other meanings, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). ... NY redirects here. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... For other meanings, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). ... NY redirects here. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ...

Biography

Early life and career

Fox received a law degree from St. John's College and was admitted to the New York bar in 1935. He practiced for about two years, but as the Great Depression dragged on, Fox took work writing for DC Comics editor Vin Sullivan. His first story was for the feature "Steve Mallone, District Attorney". He later contributed scripts for many DC characters, including Zatara, Batman and especially Starman.He was also a frequent contributor of prose stories to the pulp science fiction magazines of the 1930s and 1940s. There are a number of colleges with the name St. ... The Great Depression was a time of economic down turn, which started after the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. ... Vincent Vin Sullivan (died on February 3, 1999) is an early comic book editor, artist, and publisher. ... Giovanni Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Universe. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Starman is Ted Knight, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. ...

Golden Age of comic books

Fox, along with writer Bill Finger, was instrumental in the evolution of Batman, introducing such crimefighting tools as the Batarang and the Batplane. He also co-created numerous DC characters including the Sandman with Bert Christman, Starman with Jack Burnley, and Doctor Fate with Howard Sherman. Bill Finger (February 8, 1914–January 18, 1974) was an American writer best remembered (though not officially credited) as the co-creator of the character Batman with Bob Kane as well as the co-architect of the series development. ... The Sandman, alias Wesley Dodds, is a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe, best known for his stories set during the 1940s and his costume consisting of a green business suit, fedora, and gas mask. ... Starman is Ted Knight, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. ... Jack Burnley is the pen name of Hardin Burnley, a comic-book artist active from 1929 until 1976. ... Doctor Fate is a DC Comics superhero and wizard, best known as a member of the Justice Society of America. ...

Though he continued to script for Detective Comics, Inc., Fox became the head writer for the affiliated All-American Publications. There, Fox created such iconic superhero characters as the Flash (with artist Harry Lampert), and Hawkman (with Dennis Neville). With editor Sheldon Mayer and artist E. E. Hibbard, Fox created the first superhero team, the Justice Society of America. The All-American logo, used on their titles during the 1945 split with National All-American Publications is one of three American comic book companies that combined to form the modern-day DC Comics, one of the worlds two largest comics publishers. ... The Flash is a name shared by several DC Comics superheroes. ... Harry Lampert seen at Motor City Comic-Con 2002 Harry Lampert (November 3, 1916 in New York - November 13, 2004 in Boca Raton, Florida) was a cartoonist and author. ... For other meanings of the term, see Hawkman (disambiguation) Hawkman is a fictional DC Comics superhero. ... Sheldon Mayer was an American comic book writer. ... The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. ...

During World War II, Fox took over a variety of characters and books of several of his colleagues who had been drafted. He worked for numerous companies including Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics; Vin Sullivan's Magazine Enterprises, where he created Skyman; and at EC, where he served a brief stint as head writer. With the waning popularity of superheroes, Fox contributed western, science fiction, humor, romance, and funny animal stories. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Conscript redirects here, to artificial script. ... Marvel Comics (Stan Lee is behind many of the superheros) is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... Timely Comics is the 1940s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. ... Vincent Vin Sullivan (died on February 3, 1999) is an early comic book editor, artist, and publisher. ... Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and childrens comics, with virtually no superheroes. ... Entertaining Comics was headed by William Gaines but is better known by its publishing name of EC Comics. ... Western fiction is a genre of literature that is typically set in any of the American states west of the Mississippi River and between the years of approximately 1860 and 1900. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Look up humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. ... Bugs Bunny, a typical funny animal character Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals. ...

Silver Age of comic books

In the late 1950s editor Julius Schwartz revived many golden age heroes, including The Flash. Fox contributed to this revival period by reinventing the Atom and Hawkman and reviving the Justice Society as the Justice League of America. Fox also wrote scripts for Batman reintroducing villains such as The Riddler and The Scarecrow, who would go on to become some of Batman's most famous foes. Gardner Fox is also credited with creating the DC Multiverse concept, which was a recurring theme for decades. Julius Schwartz, editor for DC Comics Julius Julie Schwartz (June 19, 1915 - February 8, 2004) was a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. ... The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a fictional DC Universe superhero team. ... Detective Comics #140 (October 1948), the first appearance of The Riddler. ... The Scarecrow is one of the many supervillains of Gotham City, home of Batman in the DC Comics series. ...

Return to novels

The Arsenal of Miracles, one of Fox's science fiction novels

Fox stopped receiving work in 1968 when DC Comics refused to give health insurance and other benefits to its older creators. Fox, who had written a number of prose science fiction novels in the 1940s, returned to producing novels, both under his own name and several pseudonyms. He briefly worked for DC's rival publisher, Marvel Comics, writing scripts for features such as Dr. Strange and Red Wolf. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 404 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1254 × 1862 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 404 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1254 × 1862 pixel, file size: 1. ... A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ... Red Wolf is the name of a number of fictional charcters in the Marvel Universe. ...

Fox wrote over 100 novels in genres such as science fiction, sword and sorcery, espionage, crime, fantasy, romance, western, and historical fiction. His pen names included Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, and Lynna Cooper. This article is about a fantasy sub-genre. ... The genre of spy fiction — sometimes called political thriller or spy thriller or sometimes shortened simply to Spy-fi — arose before World War I at about the same time that the first modern intelligence agencies were formed. ... For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ... A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ...

Later life

Upon his death, Fox was survived by his wife Lynda, his son Jeffrey, his daughter Lynda, and four grandchildren.

Awards

Fox won two 1962 Alley Awards — for Best Script Writer and for Best Book-Length Story ("The Planet that Came to a Standstill" in Mystery in Space #75), with penciler Carmine Infantino) — as well as a 1963 Alley, for Favorite Novel ("Crisis on Earths 1 and 2" in Justice League of America #21-22, with penciler Mike Sekowsky), and the 1965 Alley for Best Novel ("Solomon Grundy Goes on a Rampage" in Showcase #55) with penciler Murphy Anderson). The Alley Awards are comic book awards originally sponsored by Alter-Ego magazine, edited by Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas, Ronn Foss, and, in 1978, Mike Friedrich. ... Mystery in Space was a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics from 1951 to 1966, and later in 1980/81 (issues #111-117). ... Cover for Spider-Woman #8 (November 1978). ... The Justice League, sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short, is a fictional DC Universe superhero team. ... The cover of Brave and the Bold #28, 1960, featuring the first appearance of the Justice League and art by Mike Sekowsky. ... A showcase is a performance or exhibit highlighting the work of a performer or group of performers, a particular culture or ethnic group, or of a nationality. ... Murphy Anderson (born 1926) is an American comic book penciller and inker who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over 50 years, starting in the 1930s-40s Golden Age of Comic Books. ...

Legacy

In 2002, the Cartoon Network aired an episode of the animated TV series Justice League titled "Legends", an homage to Fox's Justice Society and his annual Silver Age Justice Society/Justice League crossovers. The episode was dedicated to Fox. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An animated television series or cartoon television series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. ...

References

• Gardner F. Fox at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• SciFan: Gardner F. Fox Bibliography
• The FictionMags Index: Fox , Gardner F(rancis)
• JSA Members: The Sandman
• Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Sandman
• Once Upon a Dime (Spring 1997): "Enter the Sandman"
• Who's Who of American Comic Books