Archie Goodwin (comics) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Archie Goodwin |
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| Born | September 8, 1937 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | March 1, 1998 (aged 60) New York City, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Writer, Penciller, Editor |
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Notable works
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Vampirella, Manhunter |
| Awards | Shazam Award Eisner Award Bill Finger Award Inkpot Award |
Archie Goodwin (born September 8, 1937 – died March 1, 1998) was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He was a very important person in the world of comics. Archie worked on many famous comic strips and comic books.
He is well-known for his work with Warren and Marvel Comics. At Warren, he was the main writer and editor for popular horror magazines like Creepy and Eerie. This was between 1964 and 1967. Later, at Marvel, he became the company's editor-in-chief from 1976 to 1977. In the 1980s, he also edited Epic Illustrated magazine and the Epic Comics line. Archie Goodwin also worked on Star Wars comics and newspaper strips. Many people remember him as one of the most loved comic book editors ever.
Archie Goodwin's Life and Career
Early Days and First Jobs
Archie Goodwin was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He grew up in many small towns. He considered Tulsa, Oklahoma his hometown. There, he spent his teenage years at Will Rogers High School. He loved searching for EC Comics in used magazine stores.
At Will Rogers, he had classmates like illustrator Paul Davis and Broom-Hilda creator Russell Myers. They even formed a cartoonists' club. After one year at the University of Oklahoma, Goodwin moved to New York City. He went to classes at what is now the School of Visual Arts.
Goodwin started his career drawing cartoons for magazines. He also helped Leonard Starr with his newspaper comic strip Mary Perkins, On Stage. His first editing job was for Redbook magazine from 1960 to 1964. He also drew cartoons for Fishing World magazine in 1959.
Working at Warren Publishing
Archie Goodwin's first story was published in 1962. By 1964, he was the main writer for Warren's Creepy magazine. His work there often paid tribute to the E.C. line he loved as a kid.
He quickly became editor of all of Warren's comics. These included Creepy, Eerie, and Blazing Combat. He worked for Warren from 1964 to 1967. He helped create the background story for the classic Vampirella character. He also wrote many of her best stories. After leaving Warren in 1967, he still wrote stories for them sometimes. He even returned as editor for a short time in 1974.
His Real Name
Archie Goodwin's first story for a regular magazine was for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. The magazine worried he was using a fake name. This was because "Archie Goodwin" was a character in the Nero Wolfe mystery books. But it was his real name! The magazine was so happy they used this story as an introduction to his work.
Comic Strips and Blackmark
From 1967 to 1980, Goodwin wrote for King Features Syndicate. He wrote the daily strip Secret Agent X-9. He also helped write other strips like Captain Kate. He worked on Flash Gordan comics too.
He also wrote for the Star Hawks comic strip from 1979 to 1980. This strip was created by Ron Goulart and Gil Kane. His experience writing for other strips inspired one of his own stories. It showed a comic creator who only signed his name to a strip.
Archie Goodwin also wrote Blackmark in 1971. This was a paperback book that was one of the first American graphic novels. It was drawn by Gil Kane.
Time at DC Comics
Goodwin worked for DC Comics in the 1970s. He edited war comics like G.I. Combat and Our Fighting Forces. He also edited Detective Comics for a year. His work on the "Manhunter" stories in Detective Comics won several awards. He also wrote Batman stories for Detective Comics.
Working at Marvel Comics
Goodwin started at Marvel Comics in 1968. He was the first writer for the Iron Man series. He and artist George Tuska created the villain Controller.
He also helped create Luke Cage in 1972. Luke Cage was the first African American superhero to have his own Marvel comic. Goodwin also introduced Rachel van Helsing in The Tomb of Dracula. He co-created the first Spider-Woman with Marie Severin.
Goodwin also helped create Marvel's New Universe line of comics. He came up with many of the ideas for these new series.
Star Wars Comics
In 1976, Goodwin became the eighth editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. This was a temporary job. While he was editor-in-chief, Marvel got the rights to publish Star Wars comics. The Star Wars comics sold incredibly well. This was a big help to the comic industry at the time.
Goodwin continued the Star Wars story in comic books and a daily comic strip. He wrote the strips under his own name. During his time, Marvel's Star Wars series was one of the best-selling comics. He also wrote comic book versions of other science-fiction films. These included Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner. In 1979, he wrote the comic version of the first Alien movie.
Epic Comics
After Marvel decided not to publish a magazine like Heavy Metal, they created Epic Illustrated. Archie Goodwin became its editor in 1979. He also helped create Epic Comics. This was a line of comics where creators owned their own work.
Goodwin brought the first English translation of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira to America. He also published English versions of work by Jean Giraud, also known as Moebius. Archie gave many writers and artists their first jobs in comics. One of them was Todd McFarlane.
Back to DC Comics
Goodwin returned to DC Comics as an editor and writer in 1989. He wrote the graphic novel Batman: Night Cries in 1992. In the 1990s, he edited many Batman projects. These included Batman: Thrillkiller and Batman: Mitefall. He also worked on the Armageddon 2001 crossover story.
Some of his last big projects included Starman and Batman: The Long Halloween. Many creators said Goodwin inspired their work. He edited Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight and Azrael. His work on Creepy also inspired the Batman: Black & White series.
His Passing
Archie Goodwin passed away from cancer on March 1, 1998. He had been fighting the illness for 10 years.
Archie Goodwin's Archives
The Archie Goodwin Archive and Collection are kept at OKPOP. This is the Oklahoma Museum of Pop Culture in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His children, Jennifer and Seth Goodwin, donated them.
Awards and Recognition
Archie Goodwin won many awards for his work.
- He won the Shazam Award for Best Writer in 1973 and 1974. This was for his work on the Manhunter series in Detective Comics.
- He also won Shazam Awards for Best Short Story and Best Feature-Length Story. These were for his Manhunter episodes with Walt Simonson.
- Fans and other comic professionals really liked his Manhunter work. He updated an old hero and even bravely killed him off in the last episode.
- Goodwin said Manhunter was one of the highlights of his career.
- He won the "Bob Clampett Humanitarian" Eisner Award in 1992.
- He was named Best Editor by the Eisners in 1993.
- In 1998, he was added to the Eisner Hall of Fame.
- In 2008, he received the Bill Finger Award. This award honors comic creators.
- He was also added to the National Comics Award Roll of Honour in 1998.
- In 2007, Goodwin was inducted into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame.
Appearances in Comics
Archie Goodwin sometimes appeared as a character in comics!
- He made a small appearance in Ms. Marvel volume 1 #15.
- In The Batman Adventures, he appeared as Mr. Nice. This character was a super-strong but innocent super-villain.
- His name was even used backward, "Niwdoog Eihcra," in Marvel's Star Wars comics.
- A character based on him appeared in Cerebus #82.
- The airport in Gotham City, Batman's home, is named Goodwin after Archie.
- In Marvel Comics' What The--?! #5, Goodwin appeared as King Archibald the First.
