Tom and Mary Bierbaum

Tom and Mary Bierbaumare an American husband-and-wife writing team, known for their work on theDCcomic bookLegion of Super-Heroes.

Tom and Mary Bierbaum
Born	Tom Bierbaum Mary-Catherine Gilmore (Tom) 1956 (age 67–68) (Mary) 1955 (age 68–69) (Tom)Dover, Delaware,U.S. (Mary)Long Beach, California,U.S.
Area(s)	Writers
Notable works	Legion of Super-Heroes

Biography

The Bierbaums entered the world of professional comic book writing through Legionfandom.Tom Bierbaum grew up as a Legion fan, first becoming exposed to the characters viaAdventure Comics#310 (July 1963).Meanwhile, Mary Gilmore became a serious Legion fan in the late 1970s.

Interlac and marriage

Tom joined the Legion fan clubThe Legion Outpost,and then the Legionamateur press associationInterlac,where he met fellow member Gilmore, who had joined the APA around the same time.Through Interlac, the two struck up a relationship. Gilmore lived in California, and as Bierbaum had designs on getting into the entertainment industry, he moved out West, and the two began living together, eventually getting married.

Early on in their relationship, the Bierbaums wrote stories together, their first published piece being a Halloween-themed short story for a local newspaper. (The story was actually a thinly veiled Legion of Super-Heroes story with the characters' names and situations changed.)They also submitted and published articles and stories in Interlac, which attracted the attention of veteranLegionartistKeith Giffenand futureLegioneditorMark Waid(both of whom were also Interlac members).

Keith Giffen and early writing work

Recognizing the Bierbaum's devotion to the Legion, Giffen contacted them, at first using them as a sounding board for his ideas about the Legion.Giffen also utilized a new costume idea forElement Ladthat Tom suggested.

In 1984, when Giffen was looking for a scripter for his "Lightning" stories inDeluxe Comics'Wally Wood'sT.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents,he recruited the husband and wife writing team for the job. That, along with their work for DC'sNew Talent ShowcaseeditorSal Amendola,convinced the editors at DC (specificallyDick Giordano)that they were ready to becomeLegionscripters.

Legion of Super-Heroes: "Five Years Later"

The Bierbaums wrote the first fifty issues ofLegion of Super-Heroesvol. 4, from 1989 to 1993, except for the main Story in issues 21–24, written solo byAl Gordon.Working under editor Waid and alongside Giffen andAl Gordon(who was a co-writer andinkeron the book) for the first 36 issues, the Bierbaums dialogued the "Five Years Later" storyline. The revival of the title was controversial with many longtime Legion fans, as it incorporated several major "retcons,"including the editorially-mandatedexcision ofSuperboyfrom Legion history; the housing ofProty's consciousness inLightning Lad's body; and the revelation that formerScience PoliceliaisonShvaughn Erinwas actually a formerly maletranssexualwho used drugs to maintain her female identity, while her longtime beauElement Ladwas of ambiguous sexuality and would not have required her to be female.

The team createdDevlin O'RyanandKonofor the Legion.

After Giffen's departure, the Bierbaums continued on the title for another year, overseeing the return of several classic characters, until leaving forLegionnaires(a spin-off title) afterLegionissue #50 (November 1993). They wroteLegionnairesfor its first 15 issues, until 1994.

The Bierbaums and Giffen also worked together on DC's short-lived offbeat titleThe Hecklerin 1992–1993.

Image and other publishers

After their DC work, the Bierbaums went on to write various titles forImage Comics,includingSupreme,SuperPatriot,Star,andYoungblood: Strikefile,as well asXena: Warrior PrincessandJurassic ParkforTopps Comics.Most recently, they worked onWonderlandersforOktomicaandStormQuestforCaliber Comics.

Personal life

Never full-time comics writers, the couple live inErie, Pennsylvania,with their two children. Mary retired from being a nurse in 1991;Tom used to freelance forVarietybefore becoming a staffer at the short-lived entertainment/business websiteInside.com.In 2001, he began work atNBCas a ratings analyst.

Writing method

As writing partners, the Bierbaums evolved a unique collaborating style. Generally, they work together in the conceptual stage, and then Tom writes the first draft. Mary works closely with Tom on the plotting, while Tom mainly writes the dialogue, with Mary acting as a sounding board for overall "feel and direction.

References

• The Legion of Super-Heroes Online Companion: Volume 5ArchivedOctober 4, 2007, at theWayback Machine
• Tom Bierbaumat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
• Mary Bierbaumat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)

External links

• The Bierbaums, interviewed at ConTinualonYouTube