Jump to content

Louise Simonson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louise Simonson
Simonson at the 2012New York Comic Con
BornMary Louise Alexander
(1946-09-26)September 26, 1946(age 77)
Atlanta,Georgia,U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Editor,Colourist
Pseudonym(s)Louise Jones, Weezie
Notable works
New Mutants,Power Pack,Steel,Conan(as editor),Superman: The Man of Steel,X-Factor
AwardsEagle AwardforPower Pack;
Comics Buyer's GuideAward forThe Death of Superman;
Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comic Arts

Louise Simonson(néeMary Louise Alexander;born September 26, 1946[1]) is anAmericancomic bookwriter and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such asConan the Barbarian,Power Pack,X-Factor,New Mutants,Superman: The Man of Steel,andSteel.She is often referred to by the nickname "Weezie".Among the comic characters she co-created areCable,Steel,Power Pack,Rictor,Doomsdayand the X-Men villainApocalypse.

In recognition of her contributions to comics,ComicsAlliancelisted Simonson as one of twelve female comics creators deserving of lifetime achievement recognition.[2]

Early life and career

[edit]

In 1964 while attendingGeorgia State College,Louise met fellow studentJeffrey Catherine Jones.The two began dating and were married in 1966.[3]Their daughter Julianna was born the following year. After graduation, the couple moved to New York City. Louise modeled for artistBernie Wrightson's cover ofDC Comics'House of Secrets#92 (June–July 1971),[4][5]the first appearance ofSwamp Thing,[6]and was hired by McFadden-Bartell, a magazine publisher and distributor and worked there for three years.[3]She and Jones split up during this time but she continued to use the nameLouise Jonesfor several years afterward.[3]

Louise met the comic book writer and artistWalt Simonsonin 1973, began dating in August 1974,[7]and married in 1980.[8]They collaborated onX-Factorfrom 1986 to 1989.

Career

[edit]

Comics editor

[edit]

In 1974, Jones started her professional comic book career atWarren Publishing.She went from assistant to senior editor[8]of the comics line (Creepy,Eerie,andVampirella) before leaving the company at the end of 1979.[9]

In January 1980, Jones joinedMarvel Comics,where she initially worked again as an editor, most notably onUncanny X-Men,which she edited for almost four years (#137–182) andConan the Barbarian(#114–148 ). Simonson (as "Louise Jones" ) edited another X-Men spin-off,TheNew Mutants,at its debut in 1983. After leaving the series, shehad a "cameo"inNew Mutants#21, drawn in as a slumber party guest by artistBill Sienkiewicz.[10]During this period, she also edited Marvel'sStar WarsandIndiana Jonescomics.[9][11]

In 2017, she edited the graphic novelSon of Shaolinfor Image Comics.[12]

Comics writer

[edit]

At the end of 1983, Jones quit her editing job at Marvel to try her hand at full-time writing asLouise Simonson.She created theEagle Award-winningPower Pack.[13]The title, which debuted in August 1984, featured the adventures of four pre-teen superheroes. Simonson wrote the majority of the title's first forty issues, even coloring one issue (#18). Her other Marvel writing work includedStarriors,Marvel Team-Up,Web of Spider-Man,[14]andRed Sonja.Louise helped her husbandWalt Simonsoncolor his "Star Slammers"story inMarvel Graphic Novel#6 (1983).

In 1986Bob Layton,writer of the X-Men spin-offX-Factor,was running late on a deadline, and Simonson was called in to write a fill-in issue ofX-Factor.This story was never published, since Layton ultimately turned his story in on time, but while writing it Simonson found herself inspired by the characters, to the point where she brought a list of her ideas to editorBob Harrasin the hopes that Layton might use them for the series.[15]Instead, Layton ended up droppingX-Factorshortly after, and atChris ClaremontandAnn Nocenti's suggestion, Harras chose Simonson as his replacement.[15]In #6, her first issue, she and artistJackson GuiceintroducedApocalypse,[16]a character who would go on to makerepeated appearancesin the X-Men franchise. From #10 of the title, she was joined by her husband, Walt Simonson, on pencils. In #25, the creators gave the character,Angel,blue skin and metal wings in a process which led to his being renamed as "Archangel". It was at Simonson's suggestion that X-Men writer Chris Claremont's "Mutant Massacre"story idea was turned into a crossover through all the" X-books ", the first of its kind.[17]Her run onX-Factorincluded the relevant installments of "Mutant Massacre", and the subsequent crossovers "Fall of the Mutants,""Inferno",and"X-Tinction Agenda".[18]She ended her run on the title with #64 in 1991.

In 1987, beginning with issue #55, she became theNew Mutantsscripter. Similarly toX-Factor,she was originally brought in as a fill-in writer so that Chris Claremont could launch two other titles,[17]but ended up writing the series for three and a half years, ending with #97 in 1991. It was during this run that she and artistRob LiefeldintroducedCable,another important character in the X-Men franchise.[19]In 1988–89, she and her husband co-wrote theHavokandWolverine:Meltdownlimited series painted byJon J MuthandKent Williams.

In 1991, Simonson began writing forDC Comics.She, artistJon Bogdanove,and editorMike Carlinlaunched a new Superman title,Superman: The Man of Steel[20]— a title she wrote for eight years until #86 in 1999. She contributed to such storylines as "Panic in the Sky" in 1992.[21]Later that year, Simonson (along with Carlin,Dan Jurgens,Roger Sternand others) was one of the chief architects of "The Death of Superman"storyline, in which Superman died and was resurrected. It was during that storyline, inThe Adventures of Superman#500 (June 1993),[22]that Simonson and Bogdanove introduced their characterSteel,who graduated to his own title in February 1994,[23]with Simonson as writer until #31. The character went on to feature in aneponymous feature filmstarringShaquille O'Nealin 1997. Simonson was one of the many creators who worked on theSuperman: The Wedding Albumone-shot in 1996 wherein the title character marriedLois Lane.[24]

In 1999, Simonson returned to Marvel to write aWarlockseries, which featured a character from her previousNew Mutantsrun. That same year, she wrote a miniseries,Galactusthe Devourer,in which Galactus died temporarily. In 2005, she wrote stories featuringMagnus, Robot Fighterfor the publisher Ibooks, Inc. In 2007, Simonson wrote a one-shot starringMagikof the New Mutants as part of a four-issue event known asMystic Arcana.[25]In 2009, she wrote two issues ofMarvel AdventuresfeaturingThor.The next year, she scripted the five-part limited seriesX-Factor Foreverand reunited withJune Brigmanfor a newPower Packstory inGirl Comics#3. Simonson also co-wrote the comicWorld of Warcraft,based on the multi-million player internet game, for Wildstorm, and a manga story, based in theWarcraftuniverse, forTokyopop.In 2011, DC hired Louise Simonson to writeDC Retroactive:Superman - The '90s,pencilled by herMan of Steel-collaborator Jon Bogdanove.

Simonson wrote the "Five Minutes" chapter inAction Comics#1000(June 2018)[26]and a twelve-part webcomic tie-in toThe Death of Supermananimated movie.[27]In 2019, she contributed two stories toDC Primal Age#1 and teamed up with June Brigman again for the one-shotPower Pack: Grow Up.[28]In 2020 she scripted the comic adaptation ofLeigh Bardugo's novelWonder Woman: Warbringeras well as a comic tie-in to the movieWonder Woman 1984.Simonson revisited her runs onX-FactorandNew Mutantswith new stories forX-Men Legends,pencilled by her husband Walt and published in 2021 and 2022.[29][30]

In April 2022, Simonson and her husband were reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed toOperation USA's benefit anthology book,Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds,a project spearheaded byIDW PublishingSpecial Projects EditorScott Dunbier,whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[31][32]Simonson teamed up with artistJune Brigmanto produce an original story with new characters created specifically for the anthology.[33]

In 2023, she wrote a four-issueJean Greymini-series for Marvel Comics. In 2024, the five-issue retro seriesPower Pack: Into the Stormby Simonson and June Brigman, with a story that takes place during their original run, was published by Marvel.[34]

Novelist

[edit]

From 1993 through 2009, she wrote five picture books and eleven novels for middle-readers, many of which featured characters from DC Comics. Two YA novels,Justice League:The Gauntlet[35]andJustice League: Wild at Heart,[36]published byBantam Books,were based on the Justice League cartoon. She wrote an adultBatmannovel and the non-fictionDC Comics Covergirls.[37]

Awards

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]

Capstone Publishers

[edit]
  • Far Out Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven RobotsOGN (2015)

Dark Horse Comics

[edit]

DC Comics

[edit]

Ibooks

[edit]

IDW

[edit]

Image

[edit]

Marvel Comics

[edit]

Tokyopop

[edit]

Valiant

[edit]

Virtual Comics

[edit]
  • The 6#2–3 (1996)

Warren Publishing

[edit]

Welsh Publishing Group

[edit]
  • Superman & Batman Magazine#5 (1994)

References

[edit]
  1. ^Miller, John Jackson(June 10, 2005)."Comics Industry Birthdays".Comics Buyer's Guide.Iola, Wisconsin. Archived fromthe originalon February 18, 2011.RetrievedDecember 12,2010.
  2. ^"A Life's Work: 12 Women Who Deserve Lifetime Achievement Recognition".ComicsAlliance.January 29, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2016.Louise Simonson has influenced superhero comics to a degree that few women have.
  3. ^abcCooke, Jon B. (Spring 1999). "'Weezie' Jones Simonson - Louise discusses her life & times as a Warren editor ".Comic Book Artist(4). Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing:92–94.
  4. ^Levitz, Paul(2010). "The Bronze Age 1970-1984".75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking.Cologne, Germany:Taschen.p. 481.ISBN978-3-8365-1981-6.When Swamp Thing debuted in this issue ofHouse of Secretsas a "one-shot", no one could have known it would lead to an enduring hit franchise, least of all its cover model, future comics writer Louise Simonson.
  5. ^Keily, Karl (May 28, 2014)."Louise Simonson Declares War on Cartoon Network in IDW'sSuper Secret Crisis War".Comic Book Resources.Archivedfrom the original on August 16, 2014.RetrievedMay 29,2014.
  6. ^Cooke, Jon B. (Summer 1999)."Like a Bat Out of Hell Chatting with Bernie Wrightson, DC's Monster Maker".Comic Book Artist(5). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing.RetrievedJune 13,2013.
  7. ^Cooke, Jon B. (October 2000). "Simonson Says The Man of Two Gods Recalls His 25+ Years in Comics".Comic Book Artist(10). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 23.
  8. ^abShooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins",Marvel Comics cover-dated July 1981.
  9. ^abLouise Jones (editor)at theGrand Comics Database
  10. ^"New Mutants#21 (November 1984) ".UncannyX-Men.net. Archived fromthe originalon October 30, 2013.RetrievedJune 2,2013.
  11. ^Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins," Marvel Comics cover-dated November 1983.
  12. ^"Son Of Shaolin OGN".Image Comics.Retrieved2019-06-17.
  13. ^DeFalco, Tom;Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1980s".Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 218.ISBN978-0756641238.Working with artist June Brigman...Louise created the preteen super-hero team called Power Pack.{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1980s".Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 147.ISBN978-0756692360.Spider-Man swung into the pages of an all-new ongoing series in this first issue by writer Louise Simonson and penciler Greg LaRocque.{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^abSanderson, Peter(October 1986). "Walt & Louise Simonson".Comics Interview.No. 39.Fictioneer Books.pp. 42–57.
  16. ^DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 227: "Simonson liked the idea of introducing a Darwinian character who would initiate disasters to help stimulate humanity's evolution."
  17. ^abGrant, Paul J. (August 1993). "Poor Dead Doug, and Other Mutant Memories".Wizard:X-Men Turn Thirty.pp. 66–69.
  18. ^Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 251
  19. ^Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 248: "Writer Louise Simonson and penciller Rob Liefeld introduced one of the hottest stars of the 1990s, the mysterious mutant known only as Cable."
  20. ^Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1990s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 250.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.DC editorial saw the chance to give their hero a fourth ongoing monthly book,Superman: The Man of Steelwas born, with the first issue written by Louise Simonson and with art by Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, Bob McLeod, and Dan Jurgens.{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 253: "In this seven-part adventure...writers Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, and Louise Simonson, with artists Brett Breeding, Tom Grummett, Jon Bogdanove, and Bob McLeod assembled many of DC's favorite characters to defend the world."
  22. ^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 259: "The issue also featured four teaser comics that introduced a group of contenders all vying for the Superman name...Construction worker John Henry Irons found a new purpose in life as the future Steel in a story by Louise Simonson, with art by Jon Bogdanove"
  23. ^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 265: "Steel finally stepped out of Superman's shadow in his own ongoing series by writers Jon Bogdanove and Louise Simonson, and artist Chris Batista."
  24. ^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 275: "The behind-the-scenes talent on the monumental issue appropriately spanned several generations of the Man of Tomorrow's career. Written by Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern, the one-shot featured the pencils of John Byrne, Gil Kane, Stuart Immonen, Paul Ryan, Jon Bogdanove, Kieron Dwyer, Tom Grummett, Dick Giordano, Jim Mooney, Curt Swan, Nick Cardy, Al Plastino, Barry Kitson, Ron Frenz, and Dan Jurgens."
  25. ^Furey, Emmett (May 8, 2007)."Louise Simonson - Where has the 'Magik' gone?".Comic Book Resources.Archivedfrom the original on December 14, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 27,2010.
  26. ^Johnson, Jim (April 18, 2018)."Action Comics#1000 Shows Superman Still Looks Good at 80 Years Old ".Newsarama.Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2018.Louise Simonson and Jerry Ordway typify the Man of Steel's miracles in 'Five Minutes,' while providing a fun look at the conflict Superman creates in the life of Clark Kent.
  27. ^"DC Returns to The Death of Superman in New Comic".Comic Book Resources.2018-08-01.Retrieved2020-10-04.
  28. ^Grunenwald, Joe (2019-05-14)."POWER PACK returns in new one-shot by Louise Simonson, June Brigman, and Gurihiru".The Beat.Retrieved2019-06-17.
  29. ^Adams, Tim (2021-01-06)."X-Men Legends Recruits Louise and Walter Simonson for a New X-Factor Story".Comic Book Resources.Retrieved2022-05-25.
  30. ^Varona, Henry (2021-10-08)."X-Men Legends Begins the Search for Apocalypse's Next Horseman".Comic Book Resources.Retrieved2022-05-25.
  31. ^Kaplan, Rebecca O. (April 18, 2022)."ZOOP launches benefit anthology COMICS FOR UKRAINE: SUNFLOWER SEEDS".The Beat.Archivedfrom the original on April 18, 2022.RetrievedApril 26,2022.
  32. ^Brooke, David (April 18, 2022)."'Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds' to benefit Ukrainian refugees ".AIPT.Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2022.RetrievedApril 26,2022.
  33. ^Kit, Borys (April 20, 2022)."Comic Book Creators Team for Ukraine Relief Effort Anthology 'Sunflower Seed'".The Hollywood Reporter.Archivedfrom the original on April 20, 2022.RetrievedApril 30,2022.
  34. ^Johnston, Rich (2023-09-13)."Louise Simonson & June Brigman Revive Power Pack From Marvel Comics".bleedingcool.com.Retrieved2024-05-11.
  35. ^Simonson, Louise (2002).Justice League: The Gauntlet.New York, New York:Bantam Books.pp.160.ISBN978-0553487732.
  36. ^Simonson, Louise (2003).Justice League: Wild at Heart.New York, New York: Bantam Books. pp.160.ISBN978-0553487756.
  37. ^Simonson, Louise (2007).DC Comics Covergirls.Milan, Italy:Rizzoli Universe Promotional Books.p.208.ISBN978-0-7893-1544-1.
  38. ^"Inkpot Award Winners".Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2012.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toLouise Simonson.
Preceded by Power Packwriter
1984–1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by X-Factorwriter
1986–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Mutantswriter
1987–1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
n/a
 Superman: The Man of Steelwriter
1991–1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by World of Warcraftwriter
2009–2010
(with Walt Simonson) 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louise_Simonson&oldid=1235603122"