Mark Gruenwald

Mark Eugene Gruenwald (

Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity. Before being hired by Marvel, he wrote text articles for DC Comics’ official fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Articles by Gruenwald include "The Martian Chronicles" (a history of the Martian Manhunter) in issue #13^[4] and several articles on the history of the Justice League in issue #14.^[5]

Entry to Marvel

In 1978 he was hired by

During the years 1982–1984, Gruenwald did fill-in pencil work for a handful of Marvel comics, most notably the 1983 Hawkeye limited series, but also issues of What If?, Marvel Team-Up Annual, The Incredible Hulk, and Questprobe.^[10]

The cover of

In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions,^[13] the first limited series published by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe^[14] and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America (from 1985 to 1995) – during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.^[15] At one point Gruenwald owned a replica of Captain America's shield – the same shield now owned by Stephen Colbert.^[16]

His 60-issue run on Quasar^[17] (1989–1994) realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue maxiseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet. Gruenwald was highly loyal to each series he wrote. In addition to his lengthy stint on Captain America, he wrote the entire runs of both Quasar (save for one issue) and D.P.7,^[18] and Jim Salicrup recalled that when Gruenwald was taken off of Spider-Woman after only 12 issues, he "was crushed."^[19]

Executive editor

On September 1, 1987, Gruenwald became Marvel's executive editor,^[15] with a particular remit as the keeper of continuity. Gruenwald was famous for a perfect recollection of even the most trivial details.

In the pages of Fantastic Four, Walt Simonson paid homage to Gruenwald by having the Time Variance Authority (TVA)'s staff all be clones of Gruenwald; no one could keep track of everything but him.

Gruenwald was a recurring character with Tom DeFalco in the single-panel comic The Bull's Eye that ran in Marvel comics in the late 1980s–early 1990s, created by Rick Parker and Barry Dutter. These strips, which ran on the Bullpen Bulletins page during the majority of DeFalco's run as editor-in-chief, featured Gruenwald depicted as a caricature and foil for DeFalco's antics.

Death

In 1996, Gruenwald succumbed to a heart attack, the result of an unsuspected congenital heart defect. Gruenwald was a well-known practical joker and, due to his young age, many of his friends and co-workers initially believed the reports of his death to be just another joke. Just days prior, he had done one of his trademark cartwheels down the halls of the Bullpen. A longtime lover of comics, Gruenwald made it known among his friends and family that his one desire was to have his ashes used in part of a comic. In accordance with his request, he was cremated, and his ashes were mixed with the ink used to print the first printing of the trade paperback compilation of Squadron Supreme.^[20]

Personal life

Gruenwald married singer Belinda Glass in May 1981.^[21] They later divorced, and he married Catherine Schuller on October 12, 1992, in New York after a year's courtship; she was the executor of Gruenwald's famous will. Gruenwald had a daughter, Sara.^[2]

Legacy

The Amalgam Comics book The Exciting X-Patrol #1 (June 1997) and the Marvel Comics book Generation X #21 (November 1996) are dedicated to Gruenwald's memory as was Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 which saw the return of Norman Osborn after his supposed death twenty years earlier.

In the DC Universe, a building in Gotham City was named the Von Gruenwald Tower,^[22] and in the novel Captain America: Liberty's Torch written by Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll, the lawyer kidnapped to defend the similarly kidnapped Captain America in a mock trial before a militia is named Mark Gruenwald, and is described with the same general physical attributes and personality as the real Gruenwald. The lawyer acts heroically throughout the story.^[23]

In Richard Starkings' Elephantmen, the executive director of the Information Agency where almost all of the main characters of the series work is called Gruenwald and bears a strong resemblance to Gruenwald. In an interview with Newsarama, Richard Starkings confirmed that the character was based on his friend.^[24]

In volume four of Nova from Marvel Comics, the new director of Project Pegasus is named Dr. Gruenwald.^[25]

In 2006, Gruenwald was officially named the "Patron Saint of Marveldom" in the new "Bullpen Bulletins" pages.^[26]

In the

Jason Olsen's Mark Gruenwald and the Star Spangled Symbolism of Captain America, 1985-1995, a book about Gruenwald's run on Captain America, was published by McFarland & Company in 2021.^[28]

Selected bibliography

Regular writer

• Spider-Woman #9–20 (December 1978 – November 1979) – (#17–20 with outside plot assists)
• Marvel Two-in-One #53–58, 60–72 (July 1979 – February 1981) – (co-writer #53-58, 60, 64–72)
• Thor #299-302, 304–307 (September 1980 – May 1981) – (co-writer)
• Thor #303 (January 1981) – (second story), 311–314 (September 1981 – December 1981) – (Tales of Asgard story; co-writer)
• What If? #25–28 (February 1981 – August 1981) – (Eternals story)
• Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1–3 (June 1982 – August 1982) – (limited series; co-writer)
• Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1–15 (January 1983 – March 1984) – (limited series; co-writer #4–14)
• Hawkeye #1–4 (September 1983 – December 1983) – (limited series)
• Captain America #307–422, 424–443, Annual #8, 10-12 (July 1985 – September 1995)
• Squadron Supreme #1–12 (September 1985 – August 1986) – (limited series)
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (vol. 2) #1–20 (December 1985 – March 1987) – (limited series; co-writer)
• D.P.7 #1–32, Annual #1 (November 1986 – June 1989)
• The Pitt (March 1988) – (one-shot; co-writer)
• The Draft (July 1988) – (one-shot; co-writer)
• "The Saga of the High Evolutionary: Parts 1–11" (1988) – (back-up story in most 1988 Marvel Annuals)
• Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe (1989) – (one-shot)
• Quasar #1–58, 60 (October 1989 – July 1994)
• The Avengers #319–324 (July 1990 – October 1990) – (Avengers Crew back-up stories)
• U.S. Agent
  #1–4 (June 1993 – September 1993) – (limited series)
• Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1–4 (September 1993 – December 1993) – (limited series)
• Starblast
  #1–4 (January 1994 – April 1994) – (limited series)
• Starmasters #1–3 (December 1995 – February 1996) – (limited series)
• Combo Man #1 (January 1996) – (one-shot)
• Captain America: The Legend #1 (September 1996) – (one-shot)
• Thor: The Legend #1 (September 1996) – (one-shot)

Fill-in writer

• Thor #281–282 (March 1979 – April 1979), #318 (second story) – (April 1982) – (co-writer)
• The Defenders #77 (November 1979) – (co-writer)
• The Avengers #185–187 (July 1979 – September 1979) – (co-writer)
• The Avengers #189 (November 1979) – (co-writer)
• "The First Celestial Host!"
  Celestials
  story)
• The Amazing Spider-Man #208 (September 1980) – (co-writer)
• ROM
  #24 (November 1981) – (co-writer)
• Marvel Team-Up #113 (January 1982)
• "Gore Galore." Bizarre Adventures #31 (April 1982) – (Hangman story)
• What If? #32 (April 1982) – (Avengers story)
• The Defenders #108–109 (June 1982 – July 1982) – (co-writer)
• "The Prophet." Bizarre Adventures #32 (August 1982) – (
  Aquarian
  story)
• What If? #34 (August 1982) – (co-writer)
• Marvel Team-Up Annual #5 (1982)
• ROM Annual #1 (1982) – (co-writer)
• Thor Annual #10 (1982) – (co-writer)
• Bizarre Adventures #34 (February 1983)
• "What if the Universe Ceased to Exist?" What If? #43 (February 1984)
• Fantastic Four Annual #18 (November 1984) – (co-writer)
• Daredevil #234 (September 1986)
• Kickers, Inc. #5 (March 1987) – (co-writer)
• New Mutants Annual #4 (1988)
• Justice #15 (January 1988) – (co-writer)
• The Avengers #290 (April 1988) – (co-writer)
• West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #40 (January 1989)
• "The Initiation of Quasar." The Avengers Annual #18 (1989) – (Quasar story)
• "Inferno Aftermath." X-Factor Annual #4 (1989)
• "Rate the Hunks."
  Avengers West Coast Annual
  #4 (1989)
• "It Came From Within." Marvel Comics Presents #29 (October 1989) – (Quasar story)
• "The Savior of Lost Artifacts." Fantastic Four Annual #22 (1989)
• "Acts of Vengeance: Epilogue." Avengers Annual #19 (1990)
• "Girls Don't Wanna Have Fun!" Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular #1 (August 1990) – (Quasar story; co-writer)
• The Avengers #325 (October 1990)
• "Brothers." Captain America Annual #10 (1991) – (Bushmaster story)
• "Test Flight." Captain America Annual #11 (1992) – (Falcon story; co-writer)
• Fantastic Four Annual #25 (1992) – (Citizen Kang, Part 3)
• Avengers Annual #21 (1992) – (Citizen Kang, Part 4)
• Fantastic Four Annual #27 (1994)
• Over the Edge #2 (December 1995) – (Doctor Strange story)
• Fantastic Four: The Legend #1 (October 1996) – (one-shot)
• Sensational Spider-Man '96 #1 (November 1996) – (Spider-Woman story; one-shot)
• New Mutants Annual #4