Don McGregor
| Don McGregor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rhode Island |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer |
Notable works | Sabre; "Killraven"; "The Black Panther" |
| http://www.donmcgregor.com | |
Donald F. McGregor (born June 15, 1945, Rhode Island, United States) is an American comic book writer, and the author of one of the first graphic novels.
Biography
Early career
McGregor's first appearances in print were in the letters-to-the-editor columns of various Marvel Comics titles. He had his first broke into print in 1971, initially with stories in Warren Publishing's black and white science fiction and horror anthology titles.
Marvel Comics career
McGregor became a proofreader for Marvel Comics in late 1972,[1] before establishing himself as a Marvel editor and writer. He soon became one of the 1970s wave like Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber and Doug Moench who took often minor characters and helped create a writerly Renaissance. Former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas said in 2007,
[T]here was a lot of invention and experimentation going on during that period.... Steve [Gerber] and Don turned out be [writers] who advanced the field. ... I don't think Don's work sold terribly well, but I always thought he was doing some interesting things, and I thought, 'Well, the kind of stuff we put him on was the kind of stuff that we didn't expect to become great sellers anyway.... So let him experiment with it and see what happens'. And he certainly did a lot of interesting things with it.[2]
McGregor established himself with two series that remain among comics' most acclaimed:[3] "Killraven, Warrior of the Worlds", in Amazing Adventures vol. 2, #21-39 (Nov. 1973 - Nov. 1976, except for fill-in issues #33 and 38); and "Black Panther", in Jungle Action #6-24 (Sept. 1973 - Nov. 1976, except for #23, a reprint).
Unusually for mainstream comics, the Panther stories were set mostly in Africa, in the Panther's fictional homeland Wakanda rather than in Marvel's usual American settings. As with the futuristic stories of Killraven, McGregor's settings were enough outside the Marvel mainstream that he was able to explore mature themes and adult relationships in a way rare for comics at the time. Like Jim Steranko, a direct influence[citation needed] who had pushed similar boundaries in the late 1960s, McGregor often found himself at the limits of acceptability with both Marvel and the Comics Code Authority.[citation needed] He and artist P. Craig Russell engineered color comic books' first known interracial kiss, between the "Killraven" characters M'Shulla and Carmilla Frost, in Amazing Adventures #31 (July 1975). Three years earlier, McGregor and artist Luis Garcia had already presented the first known interracial kiss in mainstream comics (as opposed to underground comix) in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics magazine, Creepy #43 (Jan. 1972), in the story "The Men Who Called Him Monster".
More than two decades after the "Killraven" feature ended, comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that,
It was writer Don McGregor who transformed the Killraven saga ... into a classic. Of all of Marvel's writers, McGregor has the most romantic view of heroism. Killraven and his warrior band were also a community of friends and lovers motivated by a poetic vision of freedom and of humanity's potential greatness. McGregor's finest artistic collaborator on the series was P. Craig Russell, whose sensitive, elaborate artwork, evocative of Art Nouveau illustration, gave the landscape of Killraven's America a nostalgic, pastoral feel, and the Martian architecture the look of futuristic castles.[4]
McGregor also wrote stories for the Marvel characters Luke Cage, Morbius the Living Vampire, and Spider-Man, and created the detective feature "Hodiah Twist", seen in the black-and-white magazines Marvel Preview #16: Masters of Terror (1973) and Vampire Tales #2 (1975).[5]
Graphic novel pioneer
With artist Paul Gulacy, McGregor created one the first modern graphic novels, Eclipse Comics' Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species, a near future dystopian science fiction story which introduced the title character. McGregor's work premiered in August 1978, two months before Will Eisner's more famous graphic short story collection A Contract with God. Slow Fade... did well enough financially that Eclipse published 14 issues continuing the story in conventional comic book format.
Also for Eclipse, McGregor authored Detectives Inc., a pair of graphic novels set in contemporary New York City and starring the interracial private eye team Ted Denning and Bob Rainier. Detectives Inc.: A Remembrance of Threatening Green (1979), with artist Marshall Rogers, and Detectives, Inc.: A Terror Of Dying Dreams, with veteran Marvel artist Gene Colan, who would become a frequent collaborator, comprised the series.
During this period, McGregor also wrote the two prose works Dragonflame and Other Bedtime Nightmares (Fictioneer Books, 1978) and The Variable Syndrome (Fictioneer, 1981).
Later comics
Other work includes the DC Comics' miniseries Nathaniel Dusk (1984) and Nathaniel Dusk II (1985–1986), both with Colan; and, for New Media Publishing's Fantasy Illustrated (1982), "The Hounds of Hell Theory", starring the husband-and-wife detective team Alexander and Penelope Risk, with artist Tom Sutton.[6]
McGregor revisited the Black Panther with Colan in "Panther's Quest", published as 25 eight-page installments within the bi-weekly omnibus series Marvel Comics Presents (issues #13-37, Feb.-Dec. 1989); and, later, with artist Dwayne Turner in the squarebound miniseries Panther's Prey (Sept. 1990 - March 1991). Later in the decade, McGregor became one of the primary writers of the Zorro canon, with Topps Comics' Zorro and Lady Rawhide comic books; Image Comics' adaptation of the movie The Mask of Zorro; two years of the Zorro newspaper comic strip (with artists Tod Smith and Thomas Yeates, premiering April 12, 1999); and Papercutz's 2005 "American manga"-style Zorro series,[7][8] which was collected as a graphic novel the same year.
Quotes
Artist Rich Buckler:
Doug Moench and Don McGregor, two of my absolutely favourite writers. They had the same drive and enthusiasm, and just huge amounts of talent and energy".[9]
Artist Dwayne McDuffie on the 1970s "Black Panther" series:
This overlooked and underrated classic is arguably the most tightly written multi-part superhero epic ever. If you can get your hands on it (and where's that trade paperback collection, Marvel?), sit down and read the whole thing. It's damn-near flawless, every issue, every scene, a functional, necessary part of the whole. Okay, now go back and read any individual issue. You'll find seamlessly integrated words and pictures; clearly introduced characters and situations; a concise (sometimes even transparent) recap; beautifully developed character relationships; at least one cool new villain; a stunning action set piece to test our hero's skills and resolve; and a story that is always moving forward towards a definite and satisfying conclusion. That's what we should all be delivering, every single month. Don [McGregor] and company did it in only 17 story pages per issue".[10]
See also
Notes
- ^ Bullpen Bulletins: "Four or Five Phenomenal Flashes, Fitfully Fashioned to Fight Lethargy (Or: Those Wedding Bells are Waking Up that Old Gang of Mine)", in Marvel Comics cover-dated March 1973, including Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #108.
- ^ Alter Ego #70 (July 2007), p. 54
- ^ In addition to contemporaneous reviews in the 1970s, latter-day reviews include:
- "Don McGregor took over the 'Killraven' writing chores, and was joined soon after by P. Craig Russell. With their combined talents, and the freedom that comes with working on a low-selling book that could be cancelled at any moment, the two of them produced a groundbreaking series that explored philosophy, madness, love, violence, and the nature of freedom". (Christos N. Gage, FeoAmante.com);
- "Though quite a few folks had their hand in the original run back in Amazing Adventures, it was the words-and-pictures team of Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell that made my tentacles twitch. ...a classic". (Michael Sangiacomo, Newsarama.com, January 25, 2003);
- "As his work progressed, readers saw P. Craig Russell take artistic ownership of 'Killraven'. ... Much like Jim Steranko's work on Marvel's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, events flowed through some pages in a style that was as reminiscent of fine art as it was of comic art. Also impressive was his sense of design. Russell arguably produced some of the most imaginative, and visually horrific, monsters and villains in Marvel's history. Don McGregor handled the writing for this issue-run, and credit must be given to his involved plots, as well as his ability to pack a lot of story into a 32-page pamphlet". (Michael Vance, SciFiDimensions.com, Aug. 17, 2001) WebCitation archive.
- ^ Sanderson, Peter. Marvel Universe (Harry N. Abrams, 1998) ISBN 0810981718, ISBN 978-0810981713, p. 175
- ^ Nevins, Jess. "Hodiah Twist" at A Guide to Marvel's Pre-FF #1 Heroes. Archive.org archive
- ^ "Alexander and Penelope Risk", ThrillingDetective.com. WebCitation archive.
- ^ Zorro authors at Papercutz.com
- ^ Zorro Returns to Comics in May, Newsarama, February 25, 2005
- ^ Rich Buckler interview, Adelaide Comics and Books. Archive.org archive.
- ^ McDuffie, Dwayne. "To Be Continued..." (column) #3, circa October 1999. WebCitation archive.
References
- Don McGregor at the Grand Comics Database
- Don McGregor at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Don McGregor at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- Don McGregor at Noirfictions
- The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
External links
- Official website WebCitation archive
- Gay League LGBT Comics Timeline
- Home of the Silver Screen Cowboys
- "Interview With Don McGregor" AbsoluteWrite.com, 1999–2000
- "Interview With Don McGregor" MileHighComics.com, no date
- Don McGregor interview, "The Warren Magazines: Interviews" (requires scrolling down). February 3, 2010 update with nine interviews. Accessed 22 September 2010. WebCitation archive.