Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil has died at age 81. As confirmed by his family, the legendary comic book writer died at home of natural causes on the night of June 11.
O’Neil was best known for his work on Batman, which included writing Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, as well as editing DC’s Batman titles from 1986 to 2000. He, editor Julius Schwartz, and artist Neal Adams are credited for guiding the Dark Knight back to his darker roots after a period of campiness brought on by the success of the 1960s Batman TV series.
Also at DC, he wrote the iconic Superman vs. Muhammad Ali one-shot, the Armageddon 2001 event, as well as memorable runs on Justice League and the Question.
O’Neil also enjoyed a fruitful stint at Marvel, writing Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Daredevil, and was involved in the creation of Madame Web, Hydro-Man, Obadiah Stane, Lady Deathstrike, and the concept for the Transformers - including naming Optimus Prime. During his time editing at Marvel, he was the one who hired then-newcomer Frank Miller to take over the Daredevil title.
In addition to writing and editing, O’Neil taught at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts, was on the Hero Initiative’s Board of Directors, and wrote the instructional book The DC Guide to Writing Comics.