I remember reading Denny O’Neil’s “From the Den” letters page, back when he was Editor for “Batman,” in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. Back then, I never missed an issue of “Batman,” and reading the letters page was just as much a part of the monthly ritual as reading the stories themselves. It wasn’t until later that I learned how big his contributions to both DC and Marvel comics, were. From his Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics putting the spotlight on social issues, to his creation of R’as Al Ghul and Azrael. He was one of the greats.
His death hits me in an eerie way, as the coronavirus has made me contemplate more about mortality. That he left behind a legacy on print at DC and Marvel, and behind the scenes for Transformers, and therefore is a legacy that should be celebrated, doesn't lessen this feeling I have. O'Neil's body of work for Marvel is listed here, with some odd non-O'Neil issues thrown in for whatever reason. Meanwhile, CBR's Brian Cronin is soliciting on Twitter suggestions for next week's "Line It is Drawn" feature for his Comics Should be Good column, the theme of which is O'Neil-written issues. Though he didn't write the Transformers issues for Marvel, I did tweet to Cronin that he did name "Optimus Prime" so maybe Transformers comics with Prime can qualify.
A sad time indeed. To think he's the man responsible for not only making Batman into more of what he was originally again but also being the reason why Transformers came to be in general is amazing. May he rest in peace.
RIP to a legend. His work on The Question is one of my all-time favorite comic series of any kind, superhero or otherwise. I won a charity auction for an autographed DC Direct Question figure some 10-15 years ago and briefly corresponded with him via email; we didn't talk long but he seemed very gracious that his work had affected people in the way it had. Even if he didn't work on Transformers very long his work was monumental in establishing the universe, and he'll be remembered for his contributions to comic history overall.
Finally, Marvel did a tribute to him today: Remembering Denny O'Neil, 1939-2020 DC Comics did theirs on Friday: DC Remembers Denny O'Neil, 1939 - 2020
