The Heart and Soul of Marvel: Mark Gruenwald Appreciation

[Zero Hunter]

He wrote almost the entire run of Quasar which was one of my personal favorites of the time.

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http://13thdimension.com/mark-gruenw...-ashes-and-me/ http://comicsalliance.com/tribute-mark-gruenwald/

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He was great at making changes in storylines and characters while retaining the essential core of the character and their world, a skill that I'd say is in short supply these days

so very much agree!

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He wrote characters that seemed so darned human and real. That doesn't mean they swore or slept around or killed someone every five minutes, but rather that they struggled with the same stuff we all did and still came out seeming heroic. I read Mark's stories and felt like I really knew and understood the folks he was writing about.

Reading present day marvel comics does not give me the feeling that the majority of so-called 'writers' working for marvel comics really know and understand the folks he/she are writing about.

[Nomads1]

http://13thdimension.com/mark-gruenw...-ashes-and-me/ http://comicsalliance.com/tribute-mark-gruenwald/

Although I'd say Waid and Garney's run is my favorite Captain America run, this story arc is without a doubt my favorite Captain America saga of all time.

Peace

[strathcona]

He wrote almost the entire run of Quasar which was one of my personal favorites of the time.

Quasar is still my favourite character of all time because of Gruenwald's run. My favourite series of all time was also Gru's, Squadron Supreme mini. Great stuff. I recommend it to all comic fans. Gru's take on Cap is still my favourite of all time too. Really, when it comes down to it, he was my favourite writer ever, a few have come close, but none have surpassed him yet.

[comicscollector]

His Captain America run is made of win.
Have not read many Quasar stories writen by Mark Gruenwald,but the ones i read were great as well.

[Chainsaw Vigilante]

Marvel today could very much use someone like Mark, I felt the presence of the guard he was part of has been missing since somewhere in the early 2000's, not just in terms of keeping order and continuity and the like, but keeping the heart and soul of Marvel intact. I still remember all the bits they used to do in letters pages and the like about Mark, Ralph, and Tom DeFalco.

[Rincewind]

I just realized that I am now older than Mark Gruenwald when he died.

Gruenwald is one of the few comic book professionals who is just as famous for his editorial legacy as he is his writing legacy.

His writing output should be the envy of any professional comic writer. He wrote/cowrote:

A stellar run on Marvel Two In One with cowriter Ralph Macchio and artists George Perez/John Byrne/Gene Day
The Hawkeye mini series
The longest run on Captain America by any writer
Quasar
DP7 - the only new universe title to have the same creative team for its entire run
Squadron Supreme mini and graphic novel

He created Project Pegasus, revitalized the Captain America villains and supporting characters, changed Hawkeye from an impulsive hothead to a more mature hero ready to become a leader, took the obscure character of Quasar (Marvel Boy in his first appearance) and made him a fully developed character, really explored the differing morals and beliefs of the characters he was writing.

His writing itself is undervalued for his plotting skills. The ending of the Squadron Supreme Graphic Novel with the last scene of Scarlet Centurion is a masterpiece. The entire climax of the GN shows how carefully he plotted out the story.

He did have his weaknesses though. He retconned Captain America into never killing anyone, despite many Lee/Kirby comics that showed otherwise. I personally think he took his views on continuity much too far. We got many mediocre or boring stories that addressed some plot point from years ago that few ever cared about. He also fired Roger Stern from the Avengers for not wanting to follow his plans. And he also was part of the trend of editorial overruling the writers that alienated many writers during the late 80s and early 90s. He also ran out of steam on his lengthy Captain America run. The last few years included goofy plots like Cap becomes a werewolf and Cap infiltrates an all women villain gathering by dressing in drag.

I do find it ironic that many posters love his writing, but hate the hero vs. hero aspect of the Marvel Universe. The SS mini is basically a template for heroes addressing an issue, disagreeing, and coming to violence (that led to several deaths). His run on Captain America included the fight with Iron Man that tied into Armor Wars, and he highlighted the differing views on killing in the Galactic Storm story. Even his early of Quasar showed him meeting Spider-Man and the two heroes taking an immediate dislike to each other. He often had characters having different views that led to conflict between them. He extended this to show the conflicts between villains as well. The Magneto vs. Red Skull, and Kingpin/Red Skull conflicts are a highlight of his CA run.

Despite the (in my view) minor weaknesses, he left a lasting legacy at Marvel. He had a love of Marvel history that could be infectious, he wrote a lot of great stories, and he always made the process of making comics look fun.

[tliscord]

I'd echo your sentiments.
I didn't realize he'd fired Roger Stern from the Avengers, another of my favorite writers.
I had to backtrack through through the eighties to appreciate his impact. I agree he created an impressive array of Cap villains. As well as a nice run with the Red Skull. And of course he gave us John Walker too.

[Rincewind]

I'd echo your sentiments.
I didn't realize he'd fired Roger Stern from the Avengers, another of my favorite writers.
I had to backtrack through through the eighties to appreciate his impact. I agree he created an impressive array of Cap villains. As well as a nice run with the Red Skull. And of course he gave us John Walker too.

Yeah, the Stern firing is probably the worst thing Grueny did. Basically, Stern had spent years developing Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) from a novice to an experienced hero ready to lead the Avengers. Grueny wanted Captain America back as the leader, so he told Stern to have CM screw up as leader and have CA come in to save the day. Stern felt that this went against what he was writing and didn't want to do it. Stern thought they could work out a story that they would both be happy with. Instead, Grueny fired Stern and hired Walt Simonson to write the direction he wanted. Ironically, Simonson left the title early because he was told that he was told he couldn't use Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman after he had already written the story where they joined.


And Simonson was replaced by John Byrne, who quit when Grueny quashed his Scarlet Witch storyline that the WCA editor had already approved. The late 80s through late 90s was not a time of editorial/writer compatibility.

[Nomads1]

Yeah, the Stern firing is probably the worst thing Grueny did. Basically, Stern had spent years developing Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) from a novice to an experienced hero ready to lead the Avengers. Grueny wanted Captain America back as the leader, so he told Stern to have CM screw up as leader and have CA come in to save the day. Stern felt that this went against what he was writing and didn't want to do it. Stern thought they could work out a story that they would both be happy with. Instead, Grueny fired Stern and hired Walt Simonson to write the direction he wanted. Ironically, Simonson left the title early because he was told that he was told he couldn't use Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman after he had already written the story where they joined.


And Simonson was replaced by John Byrne, who quit when Grueny quashed his Scarlet Witch storyline that the WCA editor had already approved. The late 80s through late 90s was not a time of editorial/writer compatibility.

Thus beggining a real dryspell for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Nobody seemed to stick with the book for more than half a dozen or so issues. Fabian Nicieza fineshed Byrne's storylines, did a cool crossover with Alpha Flight (another book he was writing that, IMHO, he also left way too sonn) and the Winter Guard and left. Larry Hama came in, full of enrgy, wrote some, IMHO, tepid issues and then also left midstory. (I wonder if those departures also had to do with editorial oversight. I never knew). More fill-in issues. The book only seemed to regain it's footing when Harras and Epting came along. That's a long time for a top selling series to be rudderless. In more recent days, cancelation and relaunching would have been a sure thing.

Peace

[Anthony Shaw]

I love Mark Gruenwald. I loved his Cap run as a kid.

I knew about the friction with Roger Stern regarding Monica Rambeau.

However, I did not know that started a chain of events that pretty much derailed the Avengers' line. IMO, Avengers had a decades long run of really great stories. I think Stern was the last great writer until Busiek came along. I thought the Simonson was weird. The Byrne run really damaged Vision, Wanda, & Wonder Man for a long time.

[Anthony Shaw]

One thing about Gru that I loved was that he would post what I think was called a "continuity corner" on the letter's page of Cap every few months.

He would detail Cap's most recent appearances in chronological order. As a kid I would organize my books that way.

Gru listened to the fans. Initially, Battlestar was the new Bucky when John Walker became the new Captain America. I fan wrote Gru, and detailed how the term "buck" was a derogatory term used to describe black men. Gru did not know that , but used that as an in-story reason for Lemar Hoskins getting a new identity.

In the end, Battlestar was a far better identity than Bucky for Hoskins.

Gru messed up with Monica, but he got points with Battlestar.

I'd love for a team-up between Monica & Lemar.

The Official Handbook of the MU was my bible in the 1980s.

[Cthulhudrew]

Thus beggining a real dryspell for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Nobody seemed to stick with the book for more than half a dozen or so issues. Fabian Nicieza fineshed Byrne's storylines, did a cool crossover with Alpha Flight (another book he was writing that, IMHO, he also left way too sonn) and the Winter Guard and left.

Do you mean on the main Avengers line? Because it was Roy Thomas who came in and completed the Immortus storyline that Byrne started in West Coast Avengers but dropped when his ideas were vetoed (and to the best of my recollection, it wasn't Gruenwald that was the editor that nixed them; it was DeFalco, the EIC at Marvel at the time.)