This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Tenebrae (talk | contribs) at 15:00, 22 November 2005 (corrections on TV-series titles and Emmy details). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:00, 22 November 2005 by Tenebrae (talk | contribs) (corrections on TV-series titles and Emmy details)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Steve Gerber (born 20 September, 1947, St. Louis, Missouri, United States) is an American comic book writer best known as the creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. He was among the 1970s wave of writers such as Steve Englehart, Don McGregor and Doug Moench who took often minor characters and helped create a writerly Renaissance.
Early life and career
After corresponding with fellow youthful comics fans Roy Thomas and Jerry Bails, and starting one of the first comics fanzines, Headline, at age 13 or 14, Gerber attended college at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and St. Louis University, where he finished his communications degree and did some post-graduate work. He then began work as a copywriter for a St. Louis advertising agency.
In early 1972, Gerber asked Thomas, by now Marvel editor-in-chief, about writing comics; Thomas sent him a writer's test — six pages of a Daredevil car-chase scene drawn by Gene Colan — which Gerber passed. He accepted a position as an associate editor and writer at Marvel Comics for $125 a week — $25 less than at the ad agency — and $13 a page for writing.
Marvel Comics
Gerber initially penned standard superhero stories for titles such as Daredevil and Sub-Mariner, but soon developed an individual voice that which mixed adventure with social satire and absurdist humor. In one issue of The Defenders, for example, a group of supervillains, tired of always being beaten by the good guys, seeks out a self-help guru for motivation.
Besides a lengthy run on The Defenders, Gerber is noted for scripting Man-Thing (a quasi-horror title); Omega The Unknown (which explored the strange link between a cosmic superhero and a small boy); and Howard the Duck, probably his best-known work. He was also responsible for the short-lived but unique Marvel comic based on the band KISS.
Steve Gerber is noted for his memorable supporting or guest characters who become almost cult favorites in their own right. His best known such characters are probably the born loser Richard Rory, who has appeared off and on in most of the Gerber books, and the Foolkiller, a psychopathic vigilante who inspired several different individuals to adopt his identity over the years and acquired his own 10-issue limited series in 1990. He is also responsible for the creation of the Silver Samurai during his Daredevil run.
Battle for Howard the Duck
Gerber left Marvel in 1979 and launched a lengthy legal battle for control of Howard the Duck. During the late 1970s and 1980s he did some work for DC (including a 1981 Superman miniseries, The Phantom Zone) and for independent comic companies.
In 1982 he teamed with Jack Kirby to create Destroyer Duck, a satirical comic that raised funds for his court case and Kirby's similar legal battles against Marvel. Gerber and Marvel reached a settlement on the case.
Later career
Since that time, Gerber has worked sporadically in comics, writing several miniseries for Marvel (including Void Indigo for the Epic Comics imprint in 1983) and DC (including Nevada for the Vertigo imprint in 1998). In 2002 he created a new Howard the Duck miniseries for Marvel's MAX line. For DC he then created Hard Time, which outlasted the short-lived imprint DC Focus.
He has also worked in television animation, working as story editor on the animated series G.I. Joe and Dungeons & Dragons; creating Thundarr the Barbarian, and sharing a 1998 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class — Animated Program, for the WB program The New Batman/Superman Adventures.
References
- stevegerber.com
- Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Daytime Emmy Awards
- Comic Book Artist Collection Volume 3 (TwoMorrows Publishng, 2005): "Steve Gerber's Crazy Days" (reprinted from Comic Book Artist #7 (Feb. 2000) (offline)