We have some sad news to share today, as it's been confirmed that legendary comic book writer Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil passed away at home from natural causes yesterday. He was 81.
Best known for writing the main Batman title, O'Neil also worked on Detective Comics and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. He edited DC Comics' line of Batman comics for fourteen years from 1986 to 2000, and he's among the people (alongside editor Julius Schwartz and Neal Adams) who are credited with bringing Batman back to his darker roots after those campy 1960s stories.
As well as creating the likes of Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, and Azrael, he also breathed new life into villains like The Joker and Two-Face. He also paired up Green Arrow and Green Lantern in that critically acclaimed run, and penned that now iconic Superman vs. Muhammad Ali one-shot.
At Marvel Comics, he helped create Lady Deathstrike, Obadiah Stane, Hydro-Man, and Madame Web. As if that's not enough, he worked on Transformers and helped name Optimus Prime.
His work was also seen on television through Batman: The Animated Series and Logan's Run.
Needless to say, this is a terrible day for the comic book industry, and DC writer and artist Jim Lee took to Twitter earlier today to share his thoughts on O'Neil's passing and his legacy.
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