Gerry Conway, the beloved writer of too many seminal comics to list (though we’ll attempt to do so below), has died at age 73.
The news comes via his long-time employer Marvel Comics, who shared that Conway had passed away on behalf of his family. “Gerry Conway was a gifted writer. He was thoughtful, deeply attuned to the emotional and moral core of storytelling, and a wonderful and articulate advocate for comics and creators. His writing has inspired all of us at Marvel, and will continue to inspire generations of writers, readers and fans to come,” said Dan Buckley, President of Marvel Comics and Franchise, via the site.
Along with co-creating The Punisher, Conway is likely best known for his work on the notorious Clone Saga, where he created Ben Reilly and the Jackal. However, a far more impactful story for the publisher was writing the story “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” in The Amazing Spider-Man. He’s also credited with launching Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel, and pursuant to the recent DC/Marvel crossovers, is responsible for writing what is considered the first ever: Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man.
Born in Brooklyn in 1952, Conway published his first comic book work at age 16 for DC Comics, writing for anthologies like House of Secrets and All-Star Western. However, his best known work was for Marvel, which kicked off in 1970 in Astonishing Tales #3. Working with Roy Thomas and Stan Lee, including at the ripe old age of 19 co-creating Man-Thing.
Also at 19? Conway took over Amazing Spider-Man from Lee, where he killed Gwen Stacy and introduced The Punisher. A few years later he returned to DC to create Power Girl (something writer Gail Simone cheekily riffed on with her recent Power Girl/Punisher crossover story), before he wrote the 96-page Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man.
After DC, he moved back to Marvel where he was briefly made Editor-in-Chief, then continued to write for the publisher on titles ranging from The Avengers to Iron Man and everything in between.
Other characters either co-created or introduced by Conway include Firestorm, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy, Killer Croc, Jason Todd, and many more.
More recently, in 2020 Conway spoke out about the misappropriation of The Punisher emblem, helping launch a drive to take back in the symbol during the prime of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Wrote Conway, “For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans. This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. It’s time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter.”
Conway was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022, but was declared cancer-free after several surgeries. He is survived by his wife, Laura Conway. Our thoughts are with Conway and his family at this time.
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