User:Bernard ferrell
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[edit] The RexCave
I have resumed my not-so-secret identity (my pseudonym) because some Wikipedians assumed I was trying to "promote" myself when all along I was trying to do just the opposite.
[edit] An Introduction for visitors to The REXCAVE
In my posts on the various Batman related pages, I have expressed my staunch support for Batman's creator, Bob Kane, and while I do admit to being a fan, this in no way diminishes my love for the work of his one time studio writer, Bill Finger. My argument remains this: I am a vociferous defender of creator rights and uppermost in this support is the right for cartoonists (and occasionally writers) TO OPERATE INDEPENDENT STUDIOS.
I strongly defend the Kane Studio, Iger & Eisner, Eisner's solo studio, The Jack Binder Shop, Todd McFarlane Prod., Aardvark-Vanaheim, WaRP Graphics and many more who either published their own material or worked with a corporate publisher. This is how it has been done in Japan and Europe and it's the only way that makes any sense to me.
Like other fans I used to shake my head in dismay whenever I read about Bill Finger or Steve Gerber's travails--until a funny thing happened: Image. When Image was formed, many of the "veterans" of that period didn't support the Image group but took cheapshots at their drawing or writing efforts, secretly hoping they would fail. That was ridiculous then and remains so to this day. Like they used to say in the 60s: "You're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem!"
The key to the long-term survival of the American Comic Industry is for DC and Marvel to act like REAL PUBLISHERS and less like copyright holders. On the flipside, some of the creators who work on the "assembly line" should worry about what's good for the industry as a whole and less about getting a fraction of a fraction of ownership for a character produced under "work for hire" conditions, in the pathetic hope of getting something from a movie deal...
[edit] David Vern Reed
DAVID VERN REED was born in 1924 as David Levine. He grew up to become a versatile and prolific writer with his work appearing under several Anglicized pseudonyms.He was hired to write comic book scripts by his friend, Julius Schwartz, an editor of National\DC Comics and a future legend of the industry. It was at DC where Levine would become best known to Batman fans as "David V.Reed" as well as the creator of the villain, DEADSHOT. Secret Identities by Bob Rozakis,IT'S BOB RO, THE ANSWER MAN
1950s-Vern Reed's first story published by DC was entitled "Ride, Bat-Hombre, Ride", the start of a four year period where chronicling Batman's adventures dominated his comic book career. Indeed, he was responsible for several key stories such as "The Birth of Batplane 2", "The Joker's Millions",and "Two-Face Strikes Again", which in particular,featured the return of the original villain introduced by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Another story from this period, "The Joker's Utility Belt", once mistakenly believed to have been written by Finger, was eventually adapted for Cesar Romero's first appearance as The Joker on the Batman live-action T.V.show ((The Joker Is Wild\Batman Gets Riled)).Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics and "The Joker's Utility Belt", The Greatest Joker Stories, DC Comics 1990
Besides Batman, Vern Reed wrote for Superman, World's Finast and several of DC's non-super-hero titles. Vern Reed is believed to have left the industry in the aftermath of the comic book crackdown of the middle 1950s.
1970s -Vern Reed returned to comic books and Batman in 1975 where he found that Writers such as Denny O'Neil and Frank Robbins had restored Batman to his gothic roots. As such, Vern Reed chose to emphasize Batman's skills as a detective, Initially ignoring the character's large rogue's gallery, Vern Reed engaged the Dark Knight in a series of bizarre mysteries such as "The Daily Death of Terry Treymane" and "The Underworld Olympics of 1976!"; however, the super-villains would occasionally re-surface in tales like "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?". Either way, these stories are known to have caused a division among some of Batman's fans.
Although Robbins,O'Neil and later, Steve Englehart re-established Batman as a dark avenger,their interpretation of him was stoic and often silent. By contrast, Vern Reed's version would greet his foes with a dry quip not unlike Sean Connery's interpretation of James Bond. Some readers objected that this was out of character for a "dark knight";other fans acknowledged that "deadpan" humor has always been a part of The Batman's personality since his earliest appearances. Even so, Vern Reed remained on Batman for three years before leaving comics again.
Vern Reed passed away in 1989, the year Tim Burton's first BATMAN film was released.
OTHER PUBLISHED WORK -Adept in writing in the combat, western, science-fiction and mystery genres, besides comic books, Vern Reed wrote for several magazines such as COSMOPOLITAN, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, COLLIER'S, ARGOSY, and MADEMOISELLE. His work also appeared in so-called pulp magazines like AMAZING STORIES, FANTASTIC ADVENTURES and ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION and published novels such as MURDER IN SPACE.The FictionMags Index\Last Update: March 7, 2008 and "Letters to The Batman" letter's page, BATMAN #271, 1976
STYLE -No matter what genre he worked in, David Vern Reed made use of what director Alfred Hitchcock called "The MacGuffin", a plot device from which someone could build a story. Vern Reed's "MacGuffin's" are easily indentified within his story titles: "The Man Who Could Change Fingerprints","Battlefield Collector" and "Murder Comes in Black Boxes" are just a handful of such examples.
Another Vern Reed trademark is the wealth of unusual or esoteric trivia. Everything from Nigerian sign language, ancient weaponry, civilizations new and modern to judging the age of a wine bottle by its cork, can be found in a Vern Reed story.
ALIASES -David Levine, is also known as: "David V(ern) Reed", Alexander Blade, Craig Ellis, Clyde Woodruff and Peter Horn.BOOKENDS\ANTIBOOK
