DENNY O'NEIL - The Writer Who Saved Batman
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- In this video, Owen explains the real-world history behind Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' classic 1970's run on Batman, and how the two legendary creators saved the Dark Knight, and created the modern iteration of Batman we know today.
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▶ Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:02 - Rebuilding the Bat
6:52 - A New Golden Age
12:41 - Conclusion
▶ Further Reading:
Glenn Weldon, The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture
Les Daniels, Batman - The Complete History: The Life and Times of the Dark Knight
Roberta Pearson and William Uricchio, ‘Notes from the Batcave: An Interview with Dennis O’Neil’, The Many Lives of the Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and His Media
▶ Credit to DC Comics, Syfy Wire, The Comic Archive, DialBforBLOG, Tom Barker, and Warner Bros. Entertainment for footage
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#Batman #DennyONeil #DCComics - Розваги
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Great video! Thanks Owen :)
Awesome video!
You can definitely tell O’Neil’s era was one of the main influences for Bruce Timm on Batman The Animated Series. Especially with the direct adaptation of the Ra’s Al Ghul storyline.
Apart from Bill Finger, I don’t think there has every been a more influential contributor to Batman’s character development as Denny. Don’t forget he was also the editor durning the Knightfall story arc back in the 90s.
he was the guy behind most of Alan Grant, Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon's run in the 90s
Yeah, without Bill there is no Batman. Bob Kane was nothing but a con-man and a greedy thief.
How about Tom King😏
(Im joking lmao)
@@bobbybrown2291ah yes the guy who came up with idea for Batman
This video is like Batman swordfighting shirtless in the desert: THE BEST THING EVER.
"bare-chested love God Batman" - Grant Morrison
One aspect I loved about the Dennis O'Neil run on Batman was the way he balanced the tone of his stories. Unlike writers such as Frank Miller who often try to make Batman way too dark, to the point he becomes a "punisher wannabe". O'Neil was able to give Batman stories with more mature tone but still keeping the enjoyble spirit of the classic super hero comics. His Batman version was still a vigilante badass but he also had moments that humanized him (the story There's no hope in the Crime Alley, which introduce Leslie Thompkins is great exemple of this).
Definitely, O'Neil found a great balance between making Batman mature and deep, but also fun and enjoyable for all ages.
@@OwenLikesComics Not just Batman. O'Neil was responsible for redefine many characters in the comics such as Green Arrow in his amazing Green Lantern/Green Arrow run
This was also before we got the post-crisis 'mentally unstable, tactical genius who can take on anyone with enough prep-time' version of Batman. Which I think helped his Batman be alot more human. I miss how street-level Batman used to be back then. How he would not consider stopping a random mugging on the street to be 'below his level', because no crime was ever truly too small or too insignificant for the Batman.
@@marvelfannumber1 Agreed. While I still enjoy some Batman stories nowadays, I miss the classic street level detective Batman, who protect the gotham citzens from thugs, mob bosses, and costume crazy villains. For me Batman dealing with more global threats should happen only in his battles against villains like Ra's Al Ghul (who is the only villain who challenges Batman in a more global scale) or in his adventures with the Justice League.
@@alexandrefrauches132 agreed Batman's greatest stories are him being a street-level Detective not him fighting Global threats
Denny O'Neil created the modern Batman. Even today, those stories stand the test of time.
Disagree, to me Dennis O'Neil perfected the classic Batman. He belongs to the pre-crisis continuity and we're proud to say that. The modern Batman from the post-crisis is nowhere as good as the silver/bronze age one.
Thank you. Denny O'Neil is the responsible for all we know about Batman. He certainly made Batman dark and grim again, as well as bringing Two Face and Joker, and introducing new characters and places like Arkham Asylum, Crime Alley, Ra's Al Ghul, and Leslie Thompkins. Even as an editor, he created great characters like Tim Drake and Jean-Paul Valley. Detective Comics 457 is my personal favorite Batman story.
jean-paul's time as batman was just a parody of every 90s hero.
The 70's is my favorite era of Batman. The perfect blend of dark, vengeful and detective . The at times psycho Batman of today I am not a fan of. People praise The Dark Knight Returns, but I hated it, it was the birth of brooding psycho Batman and even then I could see it coming.
Thank you for this.
It has bothered me for such a long time how widespread the myth that "Frank Miller is the one who made Batman dark again" is. Fact is, that by the time Miller started working on Batman, the character had already been returned to his dark roots for almost two full decades.
It is a shame Denny O'Neil hasn't got much recognition for his defining run until after his passinig.
As a kid I was actually lucky enough to have reprints of his run. So despite the fact that I was born well after his run ended, I was lucky enough to be exposed to his version of Batman from an early age. Because of this, it became really apparent to me how many of his fingerprints still are all over more modern versions of Batman, in particular the animated series, especially once I learned the wider context of his run and how Batman was before his run started.
I agree, Frank Miller has gotten undeserved credit for Batman's rebirth on the backs of O'Neil and Adams.
Joker’s Five Way Revenge and Ra’s Al Ghul’s first appearance are two of my favorite Pre-Crisis Batman stories. He (re)defined both villains and Batman himself in his Bronze Age work.
Definitely!
Glad to see O'Neil and Adams get the credit they deserve. Not to put down Miller or Burton (though I'm not a fan of neither) but they don't deserve the honor for this one but the public doesn't realize that. Thanks for getting the word out.
You're absolutely right about O'Neil and Adams. Truth to power, Miller and Burton, don't deserve the overly enamored praise they've received for Batman.
@@DavidRamirez-wq6zi burtons biggest effect on batman was the look of his city and suit.
O’ Neil is 100x better comicbook writer (or just writer in general) than Miller. Miller is just grit. O’Neil knew what a comic is and should be.
I remember my dad (who is a huge marvel fan) owns a majority of o’neil’s Batman work. Amazing video Owen.
Glad you enjoyed it!
R.I.P Dennis O'Neil. I'll admit that while I couldn't deny both Miller's work and influence on the character, it's frustrating how O'Neil's run"s influence often goes either understated or straight up over-looked many of the times despite it saving Batman comics, being the first to bring him to his darker roots, and introduced many staples of the Bat-lore. All that on top of just being one of the best-written/illustrated Batman runs of all time and I'm glad that next year's The Batman is being inspired in many ways by this legendary take with the esthetics and muscle car.
Denny O’Neil was my first exposure to Batman. The campier version was what I was used to seeing on super friends. But when it came to the comics, I read mainly Mr. O’Neill‘s stories! Rest in peace sir!
I would place him as DENNY O'NEIL the king of the bronze age of comics.
Hell yeah. Neil Adams drew my fav Batman. Muscular but lean.
It puts a really big smile on my face to see O'Neil credit Bill Finger, this is such an important thing to see. Everything we love about Batman, starts there. Finger was the one who called him the Dark Knight Detective. I hope one day you make a video on him, also everyone should watch the Bill Finger documentary, its very eye-opening.
I love learning about the history of comics and characters and writers. A great video. Thank you
A large portion of our current pop culture has comics as it’s foundation.
artists?
Cool video
Agreed. If you haven't, check out the early episodes of the podcast Fatman on Batman where Kevin Smith interviews Mr. O'Neil and Adam's! Super interesting. Great video.
I recently got the Shaman story that kicked off Legends of the Dark Knight and I have "There is No Hope in Crime Alley", "Half an Evil", "The Demon Saga" & "Venom" on my radar
You never REALLY appreciate an artist and their work until they're gone...RIP Mr. O'Neil. Thank you for all you have done, your legacy will live on forever.
For anyone who loves the great storytelling in The Animated Series but are perhaps less familiar with the comics... this does an EXCELLENT job of showing how much the series writers drew from and adapted this material. Well done @Owen Likes Comics!
This was so interesting, maybe I’ll go back and read his Batman run
You should, his run with Neal Adams is only 11 issues (he did other writing with different artists, and then was editor of Batman for years too), but it's so great.
@@OwenLikesComics Yes. Any Batman fan needs to read the Denny/Neal era
Denny O'Neil was a rare breed, a man who was solid gold with almost every book he wrote.
And while his impact has been felt across characters like Batman, the Question, Green Lantern/Green Arrow... the man himself, sadly, is obscure outside of comic nerds.
Don't forget O Neil's time as Group Editor on the Batman title: now THAT was a Golden Age!
Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams definitely saved Batman, and set the tone for the character in the 1970s and beyond, but as you pointed out, they really only did a handful of Batman stories. For the 1970s, at least, it was up to other writers and artists to consistently come up with Batman stories in between the O'Neil/Adams stories. People like Frank Robbins, Len Wein, Bob Haney, Irv Novick, Jim Aparo, Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and others. They may have borrowed the tone of the O'Neil/Adams stories, but they're the ones who actually kept Batman, Detective Comics, and the Brave and the Bold going through the 70s.
It's also worth mentioning that while the O'Neill/Adams stories were special and Adams was a fan favorite, many of O'Neill's stories in this period were ably illustrated by Irv Novick on pencils, and a unity of style was maintained by Dick Giordano inking both Adams' and Novick's stories. Giordano only rarely pencilled a story, though the classic "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" is his solo work (pencils and inks).
Denny O'Neil was my favorite writer. His 80s run on The Question was amazing.
I was 10 years old when the O'Neil / Adams Batman was in his heyday. Those were the best Batman stories in my humble opinion. Man, I read that Ras Al' Ghul series of stories over and over again. I couldn't agree more with you assessment.
Denny O'Neil didn't make Batman too dark like they do nowadays but he was certainly one of the first people to be like "Yeah, this guy has lost his mind."
RIP
Excellent! I've long thought that Denny O'Neil's contribution to the Batman mythos can't be overstated, and it's great to see the recognition he deserves for that being brought to light. Especially in Owen's very capable style!
Denny O'Neil was the true definition of GOAT.
Neal adams art is so price and timeless, thats my batman... startet reading the comics in 1971. Picked up the new issue every friday at the barber store on the corner of my street! Good times! Thats where my money went :D
He also save Green Arrow and for that im forever grateful to Denny O'Neil.
O'Neil's 5 part 'Venom' story arc from the Legends of the Dark Knight series is hands down my all time favorite of his
I have, tragically, never read any of Dennie O' Neil's stories (and to think I call myself a Batman fan lol! Time to get started on that soon), but even then I have always believed that it was more so his and Neal Adams' run on the Dark Knight that really redefined him into what we know today more than Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (even though it had an considerable part in it). And this video perfectly explains why. Thanks for making it man!!! :) And may Dennis O' Neil forever RIP!
it didn't "play a considerable part in it" because none of the bat title's writers followed suit. o'neil's batman stuck, miller's didn't.
I've been arguing for Denny O'Neill to be more recognized as THE important Batman writer who got most of the credit he deserved gobbled up by Miller. Miller had ONE good decade and TWO four issue stories on Bats. O'Neill kept coming back and refining the Dark Knight as both writer AND editor. He just deserves more love, you know?
R'as al Ghul is such an awesome villain. A global villain. Batman has so few of those
Great video! The influence of O'Neil and Adams cannot be overstated! Without them and a lot of other talented artists along the way laying the foundation for everything that came after, another legendary run from the 70's is the Steve Englehart and pencilers Walt Simonson and Marshall Rogers with Len Wein immediately following up Englehart with the creation of Clayface III, these creators along with Julius Schwartz saved Batman and paved the way for all the amazing Batman runs that came later, and that's not even counting Denny being the editor of Batman during the from 1986 to 2000! Denny O'Neil was the man!
Arguably the single greatest Batman writer of all time. Rest in peace, Mr. O'Neil.
Nobody ever talks about how wonderful Denny O’Neil’s writing on Iron Man is. I love those issues.
I read the Ra's al Ghul stories when they first came out. I was so happy when they did the Batman Animated series that was pretty much word for word.
Funny for me the first thought of Batman is the way Neal Addams drew it, for me that is still the greatest era of Batman.
Testament to this is perhaps any merchandise depiction of Batman, it’s almost funny that whenever I see the dark knight depicted on lunch boxes, paper plates or glasses, it’s always the design out of the Addams and O’Neil era, despite this not being the look in comics or movies for decades. There is just one iconic design, and I’m so glad it is still recognized.
There's a really good reason for that, which is that much of that merchandising artwork was done out of Neal Adams' and Dick Giordano's Continuity Studios by a group of artists known as the Crusty Bunkers.
Neal Adam's Batman Drawing is the best ..always my Favourit until today.
One of the things I love about Mr O'Neil's writing is how he played Devil's advocate. He was willing to look at both sides of the argument. Great video as always.
I was a kid during the O'neil years. Some of the best comics ever. And Adams was one of my favorite artists.
The Bronze Age of Batman is awesome. most of it is just a bunch of one shot stories but really good stories. truly a great time to have been a fan of the character
This is great. Denny O’Neil is a legend. Thanks for bring him much deserved recognition.
Bronze Age Batman may very well be the most definitive Batman, rivaled only by it’s descendant, the Animated Series
(Side note: it is a crime that you can’t collect these stories as they were originally presented because Neal Adams wanted to reink and recolor all of his old work)
I been looking forward for a video about Dennis O' Neil.
And now you have it!
@@OwenLikesComics ;)
I was introduced to Denny O'Neil's writing via his Iron Man run as I was a latecomer to D.C. and Batman.
Prior to this video I too overlooked O’Neil’s rich contribution in reviving the Batman character and mythos. A true legend. RIP 🙏🏾
I loved O'Neil and Adams Batman. This is the go to guys for making him great. I never cared for Frank Miller. I once talked to Roy Thomas and he and I agreed that Miller wasn't the one who saved Batman.
As much as he did for Batman, and as great as that run is, what I feel is the greater overlooked masterpiece of O’Neill’s career was his absolutely brilliant Question run with Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz.
That's my man, there. I love his writing. His characters know how to throw them hands. Read the novelization of Knightfall. Compared to Bane batman's other foes look like comic-book villains. He's criminally underwritten in the comics medium. Rest In Peace Denny O'Neil
Just what I needed ....reading Denny o Neil run
I'm glad Bill Finger is getting more public recognition
Green Lantern/ Green Arrow debuts just a bit after O'Neil and Adams teamed up for Detective 395. Beautiful library of images, mate. I'm working on my podcast and video. It's good t o see quality material coming out still, as I hoped, this far after Denny's passing.
I don’t like how people credit Frank Miller for saving Batman. Neal Adams is the man who saved Batman
Taking the character back to basics. His run was before my time but its influence cannot be denied!
I enjoyed your video, Owen, thank you. I will point out that you jumped a little at the beginning, though. While Batman had remained fairly true to his roots for many years, it wasn't until the mid-1950s that he began losing readers with DC trying to copy what had been going on in the Superman books - i.e. a family of characters and pets, aliens, time travel and general stories that were outright bizarre for Batman to be in. Julius Schwartz's 1964 revitalisation of the character saved Batman from cancellation and it was those 'back to basics' stories that inspired William Dozier to suggest the 60s TV series. The massive and instant impact of the TV series had DC now following that for inspiration as the camp approach was mirrored there. Basically, the company took Schwartz's success and made a right turn into embracing camp for the character. It briefly took Batman to the top of the sales charts, but that quickly backlashed when the market finally collapsed from oversaturation. That's when sales began to flag again 1968. Enter, the brilliant work of Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams. This time, DC ensured the character stay true to his darker roots and avoided ties to the often silly Superfriends cartoons. Subsequent writers and artists kept with the O'Neil/Adams blueprint, itself an update of the original Bill Finger stories. Standouts are the prolific Jim Aparo as well as an outstanding run of issues from writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers, the latter two coming up with one of the finest Joker stories ever done with the laughing fish.
As for Frank Miller and the Dark Night stories, that was more Miller imagining a darker future and a retired Batman seeing the need for him was still strong. But, by then, he'd become angry and vicious. Personally, I hated those stories then and still do now, but that's just me. They're far too dark, in my opinion. Despite how influential that series has been, it's such a shame that those who follow have chosen the Miller Batman as their model. Lost is one of the greatest assets Batman possesses - his great deductive intellect.
Very Well Done. Denny O'neil deserves a lot of respect on revitalizing Batman just as much as Frank Miller did. :-)
I hadn't heard if his passing. He was a giant in the industry and I loved his work. R.I.P.
Not only did he save Batman but he also saved Green Arrow too! If it weren't for his amazing Green Lantern/Green Arrow story the character would have fallen to obscurity.
I wish I could like this video more. Great piece. O'Neil is a true legend.
Dennis O'Neil and Frank Miller are Batman's fathers and Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman's Grandfathers. He was an amazing writer and understood so much of Batman that you couldn't think Batman comic books without O'Neil or Frank Miller nowadays. It's impossible.
Frank Miller’s Batman is definitely the most violent version of this character even to date, but I did not know he had been influenced by someone before him in the 70s. Great video!
There a reason he voilent
As a kid, Denny O'Neil may have been the first creator i truly knew the name of. That era of Batman was amazing from my perspective. Batman was presented as a detective, again, who tackled mysterious events and faced masterminds rather than his rogues gallery. I loved Adam's ability to have peril and surprise catch Batman and his expressions were remarkable. The world has lost another great creator.
My heartfelt gratitude for this Denny O'Neil tribute. For epic Denny Dark Knight stories (writer), see Sword Of Azrael and the opening arc of the Legends Of the Dark Knight series. RIP Sensei. MTGGLF, Gorf
It’s funny how batman one of the best heroes ever created almost got cancelled
Brilliant discourse... this is the first I've heard of Denny O'Neil's passing... very sad.
He was a legend. He was the one who made Joker and Two-face a thing. R.I.P
Thank you for this great history lesson on Denny O’Neal and his impact. I definitely learned a lot that made me appreciate his work more
Dennis O'Neil's version is the one Batman Animated Series is mostly based on.
Which is why any given episode of that series is better than any of the live-action movies.
You should read his work on The Shadow, including two crossovers with Batman. Fantastic writing that I've been reading lately
another excellent video! these are just getting better and better, I especially appreciate how you don't insert yourself into the show as so many other hosts do. your calm, intelligent voice is a nice counterpoint to the loud, vibrant images you put on screen. Mr. O'Neil's contribution stands as testament to how an individual writer can give other writers a legacy to build upon. thank you.
Thank you for giving some props to O'Neil. I loved the 70's period in Batman comics; it had the best writing, underappreciated.
Been waiting for this one
This is awesome! I love their version of the Bat suit and storylines. Thanks for making this.
This is a great tribute. Denny O'Neill and Neal Adams were the reasons I loved Batman comics so much as a little boy. I still have many of the books highlighted in this video. Thanks so much for doing this .
Just stumbled upon this wonderful tribute. Absolutely loved it - thank you for this!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m a huge Batman fan and I learned so much from this vid , glad it came up on my recommended. Definitely going to sub
I remember reading batman in the eighties and he was far from the silver age batman. Miller just made him psycho and that helped usher in the era where you'd REALY have to be crazy to not recognize Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent because they were huge and had no neck. I remember classic batman stories like where he's buried in a coffin six feet under and has to get out, or where joker has him staked to the ground waiting for the tied to come in. That was already the 'modern batman', then they made psycho batman. This was long before killing off robin and the Bane storyline.
Chris from ComicTropes promised me you had a good Denny O'Neil video coming up... I was not disappointed! Great job!
another fantastic take!
Your videos are amazing! You got me back into comics.
That means a lot, thank you. I'm glad I could help reignite that interest for you.
Amazing vid thank you for your work 💙🤘
I just discovered O'Neil and Adams Run consists of 12 issues, if you include The Brave and the Bold #93.
Great video. This explains why I loved Brave and the Bold so much! 'The Demon Lives Again' story is amazing. For me, Neal Adam's art was what lured me in and the stories by Denny O'Neal was what kept me wanting the next issue/s. What I loved is how mature the stories were and the action depicted by Adam's art is the amongst best I've seen for Batman.
Love your channel as I've been inro comics since the early 70s this stuff takes me back to being a kid and going to my friend's house and trading comics twice a month. Count me as a subscriber 👏👏👏💯
Well done. O’Neil was amazing.
You may enjoy his run on The Question.
Great work!
I was fortunate to briefly meet O'Neil in person back in 1997 in a comic book convention in Mexico City. He was signing his then freshly released 'Azrael/Ash' crossover, I hope it's still in that box I stored at my brothers' basement...
I didn't quite grasp his contribution to the Batman mythos back then, but he will remain as one of the most influential Batman writers of the modern era.
Nice work!
Back here after hearing the news about Neal Adams :\
RIP Neal Adams
Ras Al Ghul is my absolute favorite Batman villain, and Deadman, another creation of O'Niel, is one of my favorite supernatural characters in dc.
I was born in 1973. Sure I knew the Adam West etc, would grow up with the modern movies and animations, but my Image of Batman was created by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams.
I still have the Batman comics with that Joker story when he evens had the chance to kill Batman, but stops to reflect if that was the way to end their "relationship".
One of the first stories published in Brazil by Abril Comics in early 80s, still a masterpiece that defined how Joker worked as a Batman nemesis.
Thanks for teaching me more about comics
Fantastic channel, great videos, i just love it, and of course i love comics
*denny o' neil and roy thomas are **_par excellence_** ... they got it all started for me lol*
Great video. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Love your videos man
Thank you!
Interestingly enough, O'Neil and Frank Miller worked together in Batman in a pretty nice, late 70s Christmas short story, which was also, by the way, Miller's first time drawing the bat. Then, as far as I know, they only worked together again twice: at Marvel, with that great Amazing Spider-Man Annual story involving Dr Strange, Dr Doom, and Dormammu, and in some Bizarre Adventures issue.
RIP Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, comics legends.