Classic Silver Age DC comics writer Bob Haney passed away not too long ago - and who better to remember on MEMORIAL DAY than the scribe who had the knack to chronicle the adventures of the unlikeliest hero of all, DC's own version of the Unknown Soldier (the true harbinger of Darkman - who, by the looks of him, above and at left, owed something to the Invisible Man too... And isn't that so true of wordsmiths, the weavers of stories, especially back then in the Sixties and Seventies, who remain invisible indeed while they work their magic...! And none needs to know - or so were the rules back when Bob Haney wrote these wondrous tales!)







Nowadays, no one compares to Mr. Bob Haney when it comes to chronicling the adventures of The Unknown Soldier, Teen Titans, Aquaman, The Brave & The Bold, Batman, Deadman and many more... No one, including Garth Ennis who helmed the revival of the eclectic character attempted in recent years - a revival that failed for it strayed too much from the classic original concept. Mr. Haney may have overlooked it - I hope so, for his sake - for he had far more ominous things on his mind... At the age of 78, he died of complications following a treacherous stroke.
I had never known that one of my favorites shared a most insidious bane on one's health with my very best friend in the whole wide world...
Small world - getting ever smaller, in every single way too...




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Bob Haney led the way for sequential art authoring in his day. He elevated it to true literary merit, despite directives to do the opposite... He did not garner the acclaim a Stan Lee garnered, but those 'in the know' knew that Bob was every bit as good as Stan; he just did not receive the same express order (to create new characters - in total utter desperation to keep the company afloat!) and he did not get carte blanche either... Had things been different, and had Bob and Stan actually switched places, my guess is that Mr. Bob Haney would have created a BETTER MARVEL UNIVERSE! As it is, he bettered the DC Universe immensely by his mere presence on its staff.

He is missed as he has been missed already for a very long time now; ever since he retired from DC - they never recuperated from that loss.

Labels: Bob Haney, lugubrious simulcast, Unknown Soldier