Home > J. M. DeMatteis

He began as a music critic before turning to comics. Getting his start at DC Comics in the late 1970s, DeMatteis was a prolific contributor to the company's line of horror comics. He began to work at Marvel Comics during the late 1970s and early 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends. His first work was on Marvel's "non-team" team book The DefendersThe Defenders was a comic book series about a loosely-organized team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The Defenders first appeared in Marvel Feature (volume 1) #1, where the founding members gathered to battle the alien techno-wizard Yandroth, and he also had a lengthy run on Captain AmericaCaptain America (Steve Rogers) is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of The Invaders and The Avengers. He was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Captain America #1 ( 1941). Although he is not the firs (paired with penciller Mike Zeck ).

DeMatteis also wrote a graphic novelA graphic novel is a novel or novella done in the medium of comics. It is typically a long-form work rather than a short publication such as an individual comic book, analogous to a novel rather than a short story. A graphic novel need not be a complete w, Moonshadow , for Marvel's EpicEpic Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982. It was oriented towards an older audience. After discontinuing this imprint in the 1990s Marvel started another older-audience imprint called MAX. Yet, in 2003, Epic was brought back, with the C line during this time. Illustrated by artist Jon J. Muth , this story of an enlightened child may be his most personal work.

Moving back to DC, DeMatteis took over from Gerry ConwayGerry Conway is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his runs on Amazing Spider-Man in the 1970s (which included the death of Gwen Stacy) and on Justice League of America in the 1970s and 1980s (which included the co-creation of the ato as the writer of Justice League of AmericaThe Justice League is a team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The roster includes some of the most famous superheroes in pop culture. The team has also gone by the names Justice League of America Justice League America JLA and Justice. When that title was cancelled in the wake of the Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths was a 12 issue comic book mini-series produced by DC Comics in 1985 in order to clean up their 50-year-old, convoluted and confusing continuity. Written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by George Perez, Dick Giordano and Jerry Ord, DeMatteis stayed as it was relaunched as Justice League International, scripting over the plots of Keith Giffen.

JLI took a bunch of second-string DC characters - Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Mister Miracle, Captain Atom, Power Girl, et. al. - and turned the then-current preoccupation with "grim 'n' gritty" superheroes on its head. It emphasised the sheer absurdity of a bunch of people with strange powers, wearing day-glo costumes, running around fighting evil doers. While the Justice League had its serious side and often faced the usual universe-threatening villains, it also featured such characters as G'nort, the worst Green Lantern in the corps; Mr. Nebula, the interplanetary decorator; the Injustice League, a bunch of bumbling losers; and a flock of vampire penguins.

Paradoxically, by not taking their characters seriously, DeMatteis and Giffen made them seem much more "human" and well-rounded than the usual superheroes.

DeMatteis stayed with JLI for five years, often scripting its spin-offs (such as a Mister Miracle solo title, or a European branch of the Justice League). He returned to Marvel in the mid 1990s, working on characters such as Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Man-Thing, and the Silver Surfer. He continues to work for DC, contributing tales about Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to various titles; redefining The Spectre, through the character of Hal Jordan, as a spirit of redemption rather than of vengeance; and in 2003 he and Giffen revived the JLI for a new mini-series, Formerly Known as the Justice League.

More recently he launched a fantasy title, Abadazad , for CrossGen Comics.

Also a musician, J.M. DeMatteis released one album in the late 1990s.