Dennis O' Neil

**Dennis O' Neil (full name: Dennis Joseph O'Neil)** also known as **Denny O' Neil** was a Marvel editor who edited each issue in the first Hawkeye comic run. He was born on May 3, 1939 in St. Louis, Missouri and died on June 11, 2020 in Nyack, New York.

## Biography

### Early life

On May 3 1939, **Dennis Joseph O' Neil** was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Joseph and Ruth O'Neil. Since his childhood, Dennis was a fan of comic books and enjoyed content featuring superheroes such as *The Adventures of Superman* and *Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy*. During Sunday afternoons, he would often accompany his father and grandfather to grocery stores in order to buy comic books. He particularly enjoyed Superman, Green Arrow, Batman–who he would later write about–and Vigilante. In 1961, Dennis graduated from Saint Louis University, a university that was rated near the top 100 nationally by U.S. News & World Report as of 2022. At college he had studied English literature, creative writing, and philosophy. In 1962, during the Korean War, O'Neil was drafted into the United States Navy and served on the *USS Champlain*. The *Champlain* took a position in the United States blockade at Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After his discharge, O'Neil took a job as a reporter in a newspaper known as *The Southeast Missourian*. Denny wrote two articles about the comic books for the children's section of newspaper, which brought him to the attention of an English highschool teacher known as Roy Thomas, who would open O'Neil up to the world of writing comic books.

### Marvel Comics

After Roy Thomas took a job at Marvel Comics, he implored O'Neil to join as well. After passing a quick test, Dennis was given a position as a writer and editor.

#### Hawkeye Volume One

After a brief hiatus, Dennis O'Neil returned to Marvel. In one of his projects he worked with Mark Gruenwald and Jim Shooter on the first comic book series featuring Clint Barton as Hawkeye. The first issue of the comic book was released on September 1st, 1983. The second issue was released on October 1st, 1983. The third issue was released on November 1st, 1983. The fourth and final issue was released on December 1st, 1983.

### Death

O'Neil died on June 11th, 2020 at his home in Nyack, New York due to cardiac arrest.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Miller, John Jackson (2005-06-10). Comics Industry Birthdays. *CBGxtra*. F+W. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. “MAY 3: John Cullen Murphy (1919), Mell Lazarus (1927), **Denny O Neil (1939)**”
2. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2020-06-18). Denny O’Neil, Writer Who Left His Mark on Batman, Dies at 81. *The New York Times*. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. “Dennis Joseph O’Neil was born on May 3, 1939, in St. Louis. His father, Joseph, owned a grocery store; his mother, Ruth (Noonan) O’Neil, was a homemaker. As a child Denny was a fan of comic books, movies and radio shows like 'The Adventures of Superman' and 'Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy.'”
3. ↑ Mandias, Ouzo. Talent Pool 19 - Dennis O'Neil. *Talent Pool 19*. FortuneCity. Archived from the original on March 24, 2003. “He still recalls from his youth the Sunday afternoon ritual where he would accompany his father or his grandfather to the store for some light groceries and an occasional comic book; in that period, he took a ken to characters such as Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, and the Vigilante.”
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sandomir, Richard (2020-06-18). Denny O’Neil, Writer Who Left His Mark on Batman, Dies at 81. *The New York Times*. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. “But comic books had faded in his life by the time he graduated, in 1961, from Saint Louis University, where he studied English literature, creative writing and philosophy.”
5. ↑ Saint Louis University. *U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking*. U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
6. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2020-06-18). Denny O’Neil, Writer Who Left His Mark on Batman, Dies at 81. *The New York Times*. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. “He went on to serve in the Navy and was aboard the aircraft carrier Champlain during the United States’ naval blockade of the Soviet Union during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.”
7. ↑ Brayshaw, Michael (2020-06-04). Great Lake: The Fascinating History of NNSY's World War II Aircraft Carrier USS Lake Champlain. *United States Navy*. United States Government. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. “The naval blockade, fortified by the carrier, was a key contributor preventing military supplies from reaching Cuba and forcing the withdrawal of the Soviet missiles.”
8. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2020-06-18). Denny O’Neil, Writer Who Left His Mark on Batman, Dies at 81. *The New York Times*. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. “After his discharge, Mr. O’Neil was hired as a reporter for The Southeast Missourian in Cape Girardeau, Mo., where he wrote two articles about comic books for the children’s page. They came to the attention of Roy Thomas, a high school English teacher who edited a comic-book fanzine.”
9. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2020-06-18). Denny O’Neil, Writer Who Left His Mark on Batman, Dies at 81. *The New York Times*. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. “In their first meeting, Mr. Thomas opened the world of comics culture to Mr. O’Neil, who was fascinated. When Mr. Thomas took a job at Marvel soon after they met, he urged Mr. O’Neil to take the company’s writer’s test. Mr. O’Neil passed the test and joined Marvel in Manhattan at its Madison Avenue offices in September 1965.”
10. ↑ Hawkeye #1. *comics.org*. Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022.
11. ↑ Hawkeye (1983) #1. *marvel.com*. Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021.
12. ↑ Hawkeye (1983) #2. *marvel.com*. Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021.
13. ↑ Hawkeye (1983) #3. *marvel.com*. Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018.
14. ↑ Hawkeye (1983) #4. *marvel.com*. Marvel Comics. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021.
15. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2020-06-18). Denny O’Neil, Writer Who Left His Mark on Batman, Dies at 81. *The New York Times*. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. “...died on June 11 at his home in Nyack, N.Y. He was 81. His son, Lawrence, said the cause was cardiopulmonary arrest.”