Tom Bondurant and his wife are currently relocating to Memphis, so filling in for Tom this week is former Great Curve contributor, Tim O’Shea, who can regularly be found at his own blog, TalkingwithTim.com.
I fully admit that I am jumping the gun with this column topic, but when I have a high-traffic platform like this blog, I might as well make the most of it. Next month, March 1, will mark 10 years since Archie Goodwin died. I really hope no one reading this is asking: “Who is Archie Goodwin?”
DC’s Paul Levitz may have said it best in the official DC press release (thanks 1998 Michael Doran!) noting Goodwin’s passing:
“If the ultimate test of an editor is the quality of work produced under his auspices, Archie goes unchallenged as the ultimate editor. In almost four decades behind an editor’s desk, the best talent in comics consistently did their best work for him, and asked for the opportunity to do more. And yeoman talent often rose to heights they would not equal in their careers.”
Given that I did not start reading comics until 1977, I first learned of Goodwin in a rather backward way. From the start, one of my favorite artists was Walt Simonson, so in the 1980s when I stumbled across a reprint of Goodwin/Simonson’s 1973 Manhunter back-up feature in Detective Comics, I immediately scooped it up. And after reading that, before long, I quickly began noticing the Archie Goodwin name (and talents) far more frequently.
Look up Goodwin’s name at Amazon, and soon you will find his name attached to myriad comic books, horror magazines, comic strips dating back to the late 1960s.
I’m not a fan of horror, but the comics industry (and its loyal readership) are well stocked with EC Comics loyalists. Goodwin was no exception, growing up on a steady diet of EC Comics. That early influence came in handy during his stint as an editor-in-chief at Warren Publishing in the 1960s. As little as I enjoy horror, however, I do own (and enjoyed) a trade paperback of Goodwin’s Vampirella work.
While editor-in-chief of Marvel from 1976 to 1978, he was credited in the late 1970s with securing the publishing rights for Star Wars. Given how successful Marvel is these days–making movies out of their own characters and such–securing Star Wars may not seem like that big of a deal. But back in a 2000 interview with CBR, Jim Shooter said: “If we hadn’t done Star Wars … well, we would have gone out of business. Star Wars single-handedly saved Marvel… ”
In terms of his work with Marvel, some feel his later stint in the 1980s editing Marvel’s Epic Illustrated and Epic (creator-owned) comics line is of equal, if not greater, importance. The Epic line gave Marvel the opportunity to publish a variety of unique (to Marvel mainstream) creators, including Moebius, Katsuhiro Otomo, and Harlan Ellison.
I sometimes wonder how the DC universe would have evolved had Goodwin not passed away. His impact on the last title he edited was evident. Consider this–try to single out a successful long-term, ongoing series that came out of DC’s 1994 Zero Hour event. I can only think of one–James Robinson and Tony Harris’ Starman. I’ll always have immense respect for what Robinson did with the Starman credits after Goodwin passed away: Goodwin’s title went from editor to “Guiding Light”, as it stayed until the series ended in 2001.
A year or so after Goodwin’s passing, in the summer of 1999, Comic Book Profiles (published by As You Like It Publications) released A Tribute Issue to Archie Goodwin. The 74-page issue had recollections of Goodwin by people from every phase of his career, as well as his wife (Anne T. Murphy) and children (Jennifer and Seth). In a magazine that featured interviews with Alex Toth, Gene Colan, Al Williamson, Michael Kaluta, Denny O’Neil and James Robinson (among others), it’s hard to single out one interview worth quoting more than the others. But in re-reading the issue, I found a great bit of insight from Walt Simonson: “There was a quality he brought everywhere he worked of enthusiasm, and of integrity, above and beyond what you run into in everyday life. It makes everybody else try a little bit harder, and that’s a rare gift. I’m pleased to have worked with him, I’m delighted to have known him, and it makes me sad every day that he’s not around.”
One wonders how Goodwin would react to the seemingly consistent presence of editorial mandate to stories at DC and Marvel these days. Will Marvel and DC ever benefit from a storyteller and editor of Goodwin’s caliber again? I hope so.
After mulling this over a bit, actually, it might be great if you’ve never heard of Archie Goodwin before. Because now that you know who he is, you should seek out his work. And if you’ve never read something of his, be it something he wrote or something he edited, trust me when I say you’re in for a treat.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I met Archie at a party in the late 80’s (It must have been when he left Marvel.) I was a nobody there with a friend of mine who was doing free lance work for Marvel. When we were introduced, he could not have been nicer. He bent over backward in our short 5 minute conversation to not only make me feel welcome but he truely seemed to care what I had to say. Not only was he an incrediblt talented creator, he was a hell of a nice guy. I feel honored that I had the chance to spend some time with him.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Archie Goodwin gave me my first American comics work and basically taught me the superhero genre. I owe him my career, and I still miss him.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Goodwin’s personality bled all over the pages of the titles he oversaw, especially the Epic line and Marvel Fanfare. He always made the reader feel truly connected to the books. I feel like a schmoe for not even knowing he passed away years ago until now. Bah!
February 7th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I never had the privilege of meeting and/or working with the man, but speaking as a fan, I have fond memories of his time at Epic/Marvel and his work on James Robinson’s Starman and will always be grateful for the intelligence and maturity he brought to the comics he worked on.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I’m constantly amazed at how many great comics he was a part of. It’s always a treat to read his work.
February 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
As far as I’m concerned, that Manhunter backup story is as good as comics get.
February 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I always loved the little cartoons Goodwin drew (starring himself), on the inside cover of the Epic books he edited…
February 7th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Archie is one of the people in comics that I’m sorry I never got to meet. Every person I’ve met who knew Archie has nothing but good things to say about him. His legacy, both his work and the people he inspired, is second to none.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
One of the greats; his work and the titles he edited left an indelible mark on my childhood. He’s one of the guys that when his name is mentioned, I’m immediatley filled with nostalgia for my youth. The comics industry could use a few more like Archie, especially nowadays.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Class act and a creative writer on his own merits, aside from having been a great guiding influence at either Marvel or DC.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Archie Goodwin was the first writer and first editor I ever noticed when reading comics as a kid. His stories always made sense. For me, his name was the mark of quality.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
10 years have gone by? My God. I think it’s safe to say that Goodwin did more for comics than anyone since Jack & Stan. Thank God there’s such a great history of his work still available, thanks to TPBs. He may b gone, but Archie Goodwin, and his influence on the world of popular comics, will never ever be forgotten.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Last year I lucked out and found the Manhunter special edition trade, the one with the silent tribute story, on Amazon. It still holds up incredibly well.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Archie Goodwin’s work is one of the first things I’ve ever read as a child. I remember getting the Star Wars comics written by Archie Goodwin and devouring every page. It took me a long time to figure out who wrote those comics. By that time, I had found all the wonderful comics that he edited…from Warren Ellis’ books to James Robinson’s work on Starman.
Now that I find myself working for publications and doing work of my own, and even though I don’t work in comics, I always ask myself “What Would Archie Goodwin Do?”
He is missed.
February 7th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I met Goodwin only once, it was at a Marshall Law panel during UKCAC 1989 ( I think )
I wanted to talk to Pat Mills and show him what was then my first published work, but I couldn’t get though the crowd. Then I noticed Archie standing to the side, waiting for the crowd to subside too. I took my opportunity and asked him for any advice he might have. Though obviously tired, he graciously flicked through my early awkward scribblings and made about 5 very good observations in less than a minute, then he was gone. I’ve been doing this for 20 years now and I still think he offered me more good advice in that minute than I’ve had from any Editor since.
February 8th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I only met Archie Goodwin once. He was doing a signing at a local comic show, nothing big or fancy. I had some things I wanted him to sign, mostly epic stuff (including the great G_d story) as well as the Manhunter collection, which is still one of my favorites. It was a bit of a down time in my life, don’t remember exactly what or why, but he picked up on it and talked with me for a few minutes about nothing in particular while taking a good deal of time signing my books, including his archie sketches. After he signed all of my books, he looked at me for a minute with his head tilted to one side. He asked me to wait , and walked away. He was back a minute or so later and gave me a hardback copy of “Batman Night Cries” which he had signed for me. The man was a talented class act whose few minutes with a single fan having a down day has never been forgotten.
February 8th, 2008 at 3:21 am
I met Archie at a convention in Texas back in the late ’80s/early ’90s. He was sitting at the DC booth and I saw his name on his shirt and I was momentarily stunned. I was in the presence of (to me) a living legend! I walked up to the booth and I shook his hand and told him how much I loved the work he had done over the years. He actually blushed and VERY humbly thanked me. It was only a couple of minutes before I ran off to the next panel on my list but It’s something I will never forget and I am glad I had the opportunity to tell him how I felt. The comics world is poorer without his writing AND editing skills.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:59 am
I was Archie Goodwin’s assistant editor for several years, up until his passing. I’m still astounded that someone could be so talented and yet remain so kind and down to Earth. He’ll always be my role model.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:00 am
I met Archie at OzCon in Sydney for a few minutes in the early ’90s. I remember getting him to sign something he’d edited a little while earlier (I think it was Batman:LoTDK #50, which would probably make it around 1994).
What has stayed with me was how gracious and self-effacing he was - he actually took the time to thank me for reading it and for allowing him to sign it!
Definitely one of the good guys.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:19 am
To tie this to another story on Newsarama’s front page, Marvel’s “Star Wars” is what brought me to comics. That was the first book I read regularly and his stories were *GREAT* (Don’t believe the revisionist history that paints those stories in a bad light - he was working under lots of mystery and subterfuge from Lucasfilm that makes his stories even *BETTER* in hindsight).
“Star Wars” brought me to “Uncanny X-Men” then Byrne’s run on “Fantastic Four” and the X-Men/Teen Titans team-up book brought me to “Teen Titans” and DC and thousands and thousands of books that I’m proud to own and keep in my basement for my future and my children’s future enjoyment.
Thank you for your hard work Mr. Goodwin and thanks for the reminder of his greatness Mr. O’Shea.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
It’s impossible to capture in one posting or story what Archie Goodwin was like. It just would take too long. He cut such a wide swath not only as a professional working in an industry that he so obviously loved but was an incredibly giving soul to all who knew him. It’s truly a testament to him that everyone who knew him loved him so much. He was smart as a whip. I never spent a minute with him when I didn’t feel better afterwards. He always made you want to be a better person and he was funny as hell. Back when he was at Marvel editing the Epic line, Archie was getting grief from the powers that be for not arriving at the office in a, let’s say, less than punctual manner. They pointed this out to him and asked him to get there “on time”. The next day, I saw Archie walking around the office with a cup of coffee in his hand wearing his pajamas. The point was made and nothing was ever said to him again.
February 8th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
dc fuckedup when they killed off the real manhunter!paul kirk!
February 8th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I read alot of Archie Goodwin’s Star Wars and nearly every issue of Starman. I’m re-reading Starman from the Zero Issue.
He was also immortalized as part of The Terrible Trio in The Batman Adventures as the cordial villain, Mr. Nice. The issue that Mr. Nice makes his exit always brings a tear to my eye.
February 8th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I invited Archie to my very small comic book convention in 1983. Picked him up at the new Greensboro airport. He looked just like the drawings he did of himself.
We jumped into my 1976 260 Z and took off for the hotel.It was too much for me to hold back so I began to ask him about two hundred questions about Creepy and Eerie. First I asked about Crandall and Williamson, He was very kind anwsering all these fanboy questions. About the time I got around to asking about Manny Stallman and Donald Norman I realized we were lost.
So I told Archie.
He was very calm about this whole deal. Well, about five minutes later I figured out where we were. Archie turned to me slyly and said,
“John, I have never been to North Carolina before so if you have just kept your mouth shut for another ten minutes I doubt I would have noticed we were lost.”
I just about wrecked the car laughing at that line and I knew right then that I was dealing with a very smart and funny guy.We remained good friends from that day on.
Archie Goodwin is still my favorite writer and I miss him every day.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
The Legion reboot also came out of Zero Hour. Definitions of “successful” may vary, but it lasted for 10 years and around 170 issues of 5 or more titles.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Archie took time out of his day to encourage me in my comics career when I was in my early 20s, visiting the DC offices. I mean, I didn’t even have an apointment with the guy, and he sat with me and talked about what it would take to get into the business. I wish I’d had the opportunity to get to know him better.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I met Archie Goodwin a couple of times early on in my conventiongoing and was struck by his professionalism. He was a great writer, a unique editor and he is still missed…
February 8th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
>I met Archie at OzCon in Sydney for a few minutes in the early ’90s. I remember getting him to sign something he’d edited a little while earlier (I think it was Batman:LoTDK #50, which would probably make it around 1994).
What has stayed with me was how gracious and self-effacing he was - he actually took the time to thank me for reading it and for allowing him to sign it!
Definitely one of the good guys.
Pete>
I briefly met Archie at the same Con (he was enthusing about the soon-to-be published Robinson “Starman”), and you’ve pretty much summed up my reaction. I was even more impressed to see him happily chatting about comics with a kid who couln’t have been more than about eight years old. A very, very nice bloke who is sorely missed.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Every time I met him at the UKCACs cons. he was the most polite kind and helpfull person there. and the world is a smaller place without him here.
February 10th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Archie Goodwin was one of the best editors, but people really shouldn’t forget how great of a writer he was. To this day, I still feel he wrote the best version of Two-Face’s origin story ever!