Bob Haney R.I.P.

[Anthonynotes]

Longtime DC Comic writer Bob Haney has recently passed away:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2004_12_05.html#009290


Bob Haney, for (presumably) the younger readers here, gained his main claim to fame as the co-creator of the Teen Titans 40 years ago, and their initial writer (complete with bad attempts at making them speak "hip" dialog).

Haney's also famed for his lax attentiveness to continuity when he wanted to tell a story, particularly in his runs on "World's Finest Comics" (with the "Super-Sons"---the supposed young-adult superheroic sons of Superman and Batman, which he tried claiming was a "legitimate" concept) and "Brave and the Bold" (stuff like the Silver Age Batman operating in World War II *and* the then-present, sans explanation or use of Earth-2 or anything...). Granted, with the muddled mess things are now, Haney's probably had the last laugh...

Mark Evanier has more on Haney:
http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2004_12_07.html#009298

-B.

 

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Meant to include Evanier's comments in today's big pile of links. Like most of his writing, it's rather thought provoking and intelligent.

The more I read about Bob Haney, the more I suspect he was a creator slightly ahead of his time just when sea change in the industry ensured he'd be passed over for flavor-of-the-month simply due to his age. I can't say I'm terribly familiar with his work, but that's a real shame when it happens to any artist.

-- Ed/Ace

 

[Lorendiac]

That raises a question. Just how much of Haney's work has ever been reprinted in TPB? I ask, because from the viewpoint of casual readers who don't have extensive collections of back issues to draw upon, "old stories" only exist if they are available in stores in TPB. (So most of the things DC did in the Silver Age, for example, "don't really exist" anymore because there's no convenient and affordable way for someone browsing in Borders or even the TPB racks at his local comic shop to stumble across that stuff.)

I have a fairly sizeable collection, but I doubt if I've read much more than 6 to 10 stories by Haney myself, offhand. I'd be willing to read more if I didn't have to pay through the nose by ordering individual back issues online.

 

[Anthonynotes]

That raises a question. Just how much of Haney's work has ever been reprinted in TPB? I ask, because from the viewpoint of casual readers who don't have extensive collections of back issues to draw upon, "old stories" only exist if they are available in stores in TPB. (So most of the things DC did in the Silver Age, for example, "don't really exist" anymore because there's no convenient and affordable way for someone browsing in Borders or even the TPB racks at his local comic shop to stumble across that stuff.)

I have a fairly sizeable collection, but I doubt if I've read much more than 6 to 10 stories by Haney myself, offhand. I'd be willing to read more if I didn't have to pay through the nose by ordering individual back issues online.

Hmmm...

If one lived in the UK, one could've gotten the now-rare-due-to-that-"Superman's Babysitter"-Kyle Baker-story "Elseworlds 80-Page Giant" with one of his last stories---a "Super-Sons" story he did (seen it posted [without DC's OK, I'm sure] on a Superman website...)

There's the Silver Age "Teen Titans" Archives edition, and the (affordable) "Teen Titans 80 page Giant" $5 reprint from a few years ago.

Haney's work showed up in various 60's and 70's issues of "Brave and the Bold," and "World's Finest", but DC apparently hasn't bothered to reprint either of these titles much over the decades---though with a release of a Silver Age Batman Archives edition, who knows...

Finally, was wondering if anyone was ever going to respond to this notice---or even knew that he'd died (or, sadly enough, even *heard* of him, esp. in light of his work on Bats/the # of Bat-fans on here...).

-B.

 

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Searching for Bob Haney through Amazon.com is pretty depressing, too. In addition to the titles Brainatra mentioned, you can grab the Sgt. Rock Vol. 1 and the Doom Patrol Vol. 1 Archive Editions. They also have a "Teen Titans Annual" for $5 that they say was published in 1999, but there's pitifully little information on what your $5 lands you.

-- Ed/Ace