LEN WEIN

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Len Wein (1948 – ) initially intended to become a comic artist but instead went on to become one of the top writers in the industry. Hired along with Marv Wolfman by DC editor Joe Orlando as a freelance writer, Wein’s first professional work appeared in Teen Titans #18 in 1968. He soon begin writing horror stories for The House of Secrets and, at Marvel, Tower of Shadows and Chamber of Darkness. From their his career went on to include not only a virtual who’s who of some of the biggest super heroes – including Superman, The Flash, the JLA, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Thor, and the Fantastic Four – but also romance comics, Hot Wheels toy tie-in comics, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Microbots, Star Trek and Twilight Zone.

And while many comic creators have perhaps one big single claim to fame, Wein has three. He was instrumental in reviving Marvel’s X-Men comics (co-creating Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus and paving the way for the explosion in popularity of the series in the late 1970’s and 1980’s). He also co-created, along with Bernie Wrightson, DC’s tragic Swamp Thing (the most popular and enduring character to emerge from DC’s horror titles of the 1960’s). And finially, and perhaps most importantly of all, Wein co-creating Marvel’s most famous mutant, Wolverine, in The Incredible Hulk #181 in 1974.

Later on, Wein served as editor-in-chief of Disney Comics and also wrote episodes of several animated television series (X-Men, Batman, Spiderman, Phantom 2040, Marvel Super Hero Squad, and Godzilla among others). Most recently, Wein wrote the storyline for the Watchmen video game as well as several of DC’s nostalgic Retroactive comics. He also wrote DC Legacies, a comprehensive story of DC’s comic history.

Wein has received two Shazam Awards, an Inkpot Award, the Comics Buyers Guide Award, and First Place Award from First Comics News. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.

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