Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950 in Noblesville, Indiana) is an American comic book author and novelist.
Biography
Early career
In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL (Contemporary Pictorial Literature), one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne. CPL rapidly became a popular fan publication, and led to the two forming an alliance with Charlton Comics to produce and publish "the now-famous Charlton Bullseye magazine". During the mid-1970s, both Marvel and DC were publishing in-house "fan" publications (FOOM and The Amazing World of DC Comics respectively), and Charlton wished to make inroads into the superhero market, as well as "establish a fan presence," leading to the alliance with CPL to produce the Charlton Bullseye. This led to Charlton giving Layton and Stern "access to unpublished material from their vaults by the likes of Steve Ditko, Jeff Jones and a host of others."
Comics
Stern broke into the industry as a writer in 1975 as part of the Marvel Comics "third wave" of creators, which included artists John Byrne and Frank Miller, and writers Jo Duffy, Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. Stern worked as an editor from 1976 to 1980. Jim Shooter claims that Stern co-plotted (as a ghostwriter) his last few stories for DC Comics in 1976. Stern wrote the "Guardians of the Galaxy" feature in Marvel Presents #10-12 in 1977. He briefly collaborated with Byrne on Captain America. The two produced a story wherein Captain America considered running for the office of President of the United States, an idea originally developed by Roger McKenzie and Don Perlin. Stern, in his capacity as editor of the title, had originally rejected the idea but later changed his mind about the concept. McKenzie and Perlin received credit for the idea on the letters page at Stern's insistence. Stern became the writer of The Spectacular Spider-Man with issue #43 (June 1980). He then took over The Amazing Spider-Man with issue #224 (January 1982). In addition to his Spider-Man work, Stern is known for his lengthy stints on Doctor Strange, and The Avengers. In 1982, he co-created Marvel's second Captain Marvel and the Hobgoblin, both with artist John Romita, Jr.. Stern wrote "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" in The Amazing Spider-Man #248 (January 1984), a story which ranks among his most popular. Stern ended his run with Amazing Spider-Man #250 (March 1984), chiefly due to his difficulty working with new Spider-Man editor Danny Fingeroth. Later that same year, he co-created the Avengers spin-off The West Coast Avengers, with artist Bob Hall.
In 1987, after a dispute with editor Mark Gruenwald over upcoming storylines, Stern was fired from The Avengers. He began freelancing for DC Comics, where he was one of the core Superman writers for almost a decade, working on Superman (vol. 2), Action Comics, and Superman: The Man of Tomorrow. He contributed to such storylines as "Panic in the Sky" and "The Death of Superman" which revived interest in the character in the early 1990s. He created the Eradicator in Action Comics Annual #2 and later incorporated the character into the "Reign of the Supermen" story arc beginning in The Adventures of Superman #500. Stern wrote the 1991 story wherein Clark Kent finally revealed his identity as Superman to Lois Lane In Summer 1995, Stern and artist Tom Grummett created a new quarterly series, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow. Additionally, Stern was one of the many creators who worked on the Superman: The Wedding Album one-shot in 1996 which featured the title character's marriage to Lois Lane. Other work for DC included a relaunched Atom series drawn by Dwayne Turner and the co-creation of the Will Payton version of Starman with artist Tom Lyle.
In 1996, Stern returned to Marvel to write the miniseries Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives, and contributed to three issues of Spectacular Spider-Man in 1998 which featured the first confrontation between Norman Osborn and Roderick Kingsley. Over the next four years, he wrote the short-lived Marvel Universe series, as well as such miniseries as Avengers Two, Avengers Infinity, and Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin. Stern collaborated with Avengers writer Kurt Busiek on Iron Man and the miniseries Avengers Forever, and with Byrne on Marvel: The Lost Generation.
After a major editorial shuffle at Marvel in 2000 left him without assignments, Stern began writing for European publishers Egmont, for whom he produced scripts for Fantomen (The Phantom), and Panini UK, for whose Marvel Rampage magazine he wrote Spider-Man and Hulk stories. Stern and Busiek co-wrote the Darkman vs. Army of Darkness limited series which was drawn by artist James Fry and published by Dynamite Entertainment. In 2007, Stern wrote an issue of The All-New Atom and reunited with Byrne to produce a five-issue story arc for JLA Classified for DC. The next year, Stern returned to Marvel, where he wrote new stories for Giant-Size Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Young Allies, Amazing Spider-Man Family, Captain America, and Web of Spider-Man. He collaborated again with Busiek, co-writing several issues of Marvels: Eye of the Camera, the sequel to the acclaimed Marvels miniseries. Stern has continued to freelance for Marvel, writing the 2010 miniseries Captain America: Forever Allies, and the one-issue special Doctor Strange: From the Marvel Vault.
Graphic Novels
Stern has also written a number of graphic novels, including Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment; Superman for Earth; The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman; Superman: A Nation Divided; and Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounters.
Prose
In addition to his comics work, Stern has written three novels: The Death and Life of Superman (Bantam Books, 1993), Smallville: Strange Visitors (Warner Books, 2002), and Superman: The Never-Ending Battle (Pocket Books, 2005). The Death and Life of Superman was a New York Times bestseller in hardcover and was released as a mass market paperback in 1994; a new trade paperback edition was released by Barnes & Noble Books in 2004.
Personal life
Stern married Cornell University chemistry teacher Carmela Merlo in Ithaca, New York, in June 1982, at a ceremony attended by many Marvel staffers, including editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
Selected bibliography
DC
- 9-11 â€" The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember Volume 2 (2002)
- Action Comics No. 601â€"642, 644â€"657, 659â€"665, 667â€"693, 696â€"700, 737, Annual No. 2â€"3
- The All-New Atom No. 16
- Adventures of Superman No. 453â€"454, 457, 462, 500
- Doomsday Annual No. 1
- Green Lantern Corps Quarterly No. 1â€"4
- JLA Classified No. 50â€"54
- Legion of Super-Heroes No. 91, 100, 105
- Legionnaires No. 35â€"53, 55â€"74, 76â€"77, Annual No. 3
- Power of the Atom No. 1â€"11, 14â€"15
- Secret Origins No. 29
- Showcase ’95 No. 4â€"5
- Starman No. 1â€"28
- Supergirl vol. 3 No. 1â€"4
- Supergirl and Team Luthor No. 1
- Superman (vol. 2) No. 23â€"28, 30â€"34. Annual No. 2, 7
- Superman: A Nation Divided
- Superman: For Earth
- Superman: Newstime
- Superman Secret Files No. 1
- Superman: The Legacy of Superman No. 1
- Superman: The Man of Steel No. 1, 57
- Superman: The Man of Tomorrow No. 1â€"10
- Superman: The Sunday Classics 1939â€"1943
- Superman: The Wedding Album
- Superman Villains Secret Files No. 1
- Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear No. 1
- Who's Who in the DC Universe No. 3â€"7, 10â€"14, 16
- Who’s Who in the DC Universe Update 1993 No. 1â€"2
Marvel
- The Amazing Spider-Man No. 206, 224â€"227, 229â€"252, 580, 627â€"629, Annual No. 15â€"17, 22, Annual '97
- Amazing Spider-Man Family No. 7
- Avengers 1½
- Avengers No. 189â€"191, 201, 227â€"279, 281â€"288, Annual No. 13â€"14
- Avengers Forever No. 3â€"12
- Avengers Infinity No. 1â€"4
- Avengers: The Ultron Imperative
- Avengers Two: Wonder Man and Beast No. 1â€"3
- Captain America No. 230, 247â€"255, 600
- Captain America: Forever Allies No. 1â€"4
- Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty No. 6â€"7
- Crazy No. 63, 65 (incorrectly marked as No. 66 on cover)
- Doctor Strange Vol. 2 No. 27â€"30, 32â€"33, 35â€"37, 46â€"62, 65â€"73, 75
- Doctor Strange/Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment
- Epic Illustrated No. 20
- Fantastic Four No. 183, 294â€"295, 297â€"302
- FOOM No. 7, 14, 21â€"22
- Ghost Rider No. 68â€"70, 72â€"73
- Giant-Size Incredible Hulk No. 1
- Heroes for Hire No. 1
- Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 No. 218â€"221, 223â€"229, 231â€"243, Annual No. 7â€"8
- Iron Man vol. 3 No. 14â€"25
- Iron Man Annual No. 4
- Iron Man/Captain America Annual '98
- The Many Loves of Spider-Man No. 1
- Marvel Age No. 3, 33
- Marvel Age Annual No. 3â€"4
- Marvel Fanfare No. 6, 12, 18, 57
- Marvel No-Prize Book No. 1 (research)
- Marvel Premiere No. 50
- Marvel Presents No. 8, 10â€"12
- Marvel Preview No. 20â€"21, 23
- Marvel Super-Heroes No. 103â€"104
- Marvel Team-Up Annual No. 3
- Marvel: The Lost Generation No. 1â€"12 (12â€"1)
- Marvel Treasury Edition No. 13
- Marvel Universe No. 1â€"7
- Marvels: Eye of the Camera No. 3â€"6
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe No. 5
- Omega the Unknown No. 8
- Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol. 2 No. 156.1
- Power Pachyderms No. 1
- The Rampaging Hulk No. 23
- Shadows and Light Vol. 2 No. 3
- Solo Avengers No. 2â€"4
- The Spectacular Spider-Man No. 43, 45â€"52, 54â€"61, 85, 259â€"261, Annual No. 3
- Speedball No. 1â€"8
- Spider-Man: Dead Man’s Hand
- Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives No. 1â€"3
- Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin No. 1â€"3
- Spider-Man Team-Up No. 2
- Thor No. 394â€"397, Annual No. 6
- Thunderbolts No. 7â€"9
- Untold Tales of Spider-Man No. â€"1, 25
- Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounter
- Web of Spider-Man No. 12
- Web of Spider-Man Annual No. 3
- West Coast Avengers (mini-series) No. 1â€"4
- What If? Vol. 1 No. 31, 34
- X-Men: Odd Men Out No. 1
- X-Men vs. The Avengers No. 1â€"3
- Young Allies No. 1
DC/Marvel
- Incredible Hulk vs. Superman
- Spider-Boy Team-Up (Amalgam) No. 1
Other
- Charlton Bullseye No. 1â€"2, 4â€"5
- The Complete Rog 2000
- Contemporary Pictorial Literature No. 9/10 (Double), 11â€"12
- Don Rosa's Comics and Stories No. 1
- Fantaco Chronicles No. 5
- Images of Omaha No. 2
- Magnus Robot Fighter No. 15â€"17
- The Phantom (Egmont) No. 13/2004 (No. 1334) â€" published as “Fantomen†in Sweden, “Fantomet†in Norway, and “Mustanaamio†in Finland
- Stray Bullets No. 2A
- The Spirit No. 30
- Writer's Block 2003 No. 1
References
External links
- Roger Stern at the Comic Book DB
- Roger Stern at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
- Roger Stern at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- Interview with Roger Stern on ScifiChick.com
- Marvel Hotline: Roger Stern
