Leonard Norman "Len" Wein, famous for creating Wolverine, the feral Canadian loose cannon who once said, "I'm the very best there is at what I do. Unfortunately, what I do ain't pretty," as well as his fellow X-Men, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Storm, passed away on September 10,2017, making an already sad time of year in the United States even moreso. Born on June 12, 1948 in New York City, Lively Len, as Stan Lee called him,also created DC Comics' muck-encrusted monster Swamp Thing and edited the groundbreaking WATCHMEN series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. He fell in love with comics at age 7 when his father brought him a stack in the hospital. After much encouragement, he decided to devote his full energies to breaking into the comics business. His friend and fellow fanboy, Marv "The" Wolfman ,accompanied him on monthly visits to DC Comics, where he met, among others, legendary editor Julius "Julie" Schwartz.
Len sold his first professional story, "Eye of the Beholder", (TEEN TITANS 18, December 1968) starring Red Star, the DC Universe's first Russian super hero and Len and Marv's first published creation. In no time, he began writing horror, romance,and Western stories not just for DC, but also for Gold Key, Skywald, and the company where he would score the triumphs that would lead him to the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame, Mighty Marvel. After creating Swampy and other DC super stars, Len took his talents to Marvel where he not only created the all-new, all-different X-Men, but also wrote for Spider-Man,the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, the Incredible Hulk, and the Mighty Thor. His "Between Hammer and Anvil!" (THE INCREDIBLE HULK volume 2, number 182,December 1974) was cited in Tony "The Tiger" Isabella's "1000 Comics You Must Read." He also wrote the textual novels "Mayhem In Manhattan" (starring Spider-Man) and "Cry Of The Beast" (starring the Hulk) with Marv.
After a fallout with the editor-in-chief many fans compared to J.R. Ewing, Jim "Trouble" Shooter, (FULL DISCLOSURE: Jim is a CWPF of the author, as was Len.) Len returned to DC, where he ran the gamut from the hilarious Superman story "Too Many Crooks!" to the tear-jerking Wonder Woman starrer, "Be Wonder Woman And DIE!" He also wrote for JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and a special magazine for the Rutland (VT) Halloween Parade along with Stainless Steve Englehart, Merry Gerry Conway, and the coloring work of his wife, the former Glynis Oliver.
In the 1990's, Len moved to California and edited The Walt Disney Company's reboot of its classic comics line after the family-owned Gladstone Publishing (ironically named for lucky Disney character Gladstone Gander)decided to concentrate on other projects. After Len turned in his mouse ears, he wrote for such animated series as BATMAN and SPIDER-MAN, BEN 10, and MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD. Among other later accomplishments was an adaptation of an unproduced script by science fiction scribe Harlan Ellison for the Batman TV series pitting the Caped Crusader against the villainous Jekyll-Hyde baddie Two-Face.
After he divorced Glynis, he married photographer Christine Valada and became the stepfather of her son Michael. His home burned down in 2009 taking his awards and the family dog with it, but his wife appeared on JEOPARDY! to win $60,000 to replace most of the books lost in the fire.
In 2015, Len underwent triple-bypass surgery. Two years later, on September 10, he died, leaving behind some of the greatest comics stories ever written, and a legion of saddened super-fans. He took his characters seriously, but never himself. (When I once saw him in person long ago, he asked me, "Why aren't you in school? These comic books can do a number on your mind!")
Happy first Rosh Hashonah in Heaven, Len. Say hi to Siegel, Shuster, and Kirby for me. (And while you're at it, send a shout out to Dickens and Hugo too. You deserve to be associated with THOSE guys. too.)
Steve
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