Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

writer, best known for his work for

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. He co-created the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

as well as characters such as

Metamorpho Metamorpho (real name Rex Mason, also called The Element Man) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created in 1965 by writer Bob Haney and artist Ramona Fradon. Metamorpho is a founding member of the Out ...

, Eclipso,

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...

, and the Super-Sons.

Biography

Early life and career

Haney grew up in Philadelphia, where he read popular newspaper

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

such as ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

'' and ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

'', and was a regular listener of radio dramas. Haney attended Swarthmore College. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and saw action during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. After the war, he earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and then embarked on a writing career, publishing a number of novels under a variety of assumed names. In 1948, Haney entered the comic book industry. His first published comics story was "College for Murder" in ''

Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

'' #9 (January 1948). From 1948 to 1955 Haney wrote crime and war comics for a number of publishers, including Fawcett,

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had b ...

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

, and St. John.

DC Comics

In large part due to the anti-comic book campaign launched by

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German-American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafargue ...

's ''

Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...

'' and the

United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was established by the United States Senate in 1953 to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency. Background The subcommittee was a unit of the United States Senate Judiciary Co ...

in 1953, most of Haney's publishers went out of business in the 1950s. In 1955 he connected with DC Comics and his first DC credit was the story "Frogman's Secret!" in '' All-American Men of War'' #17 (January 1955). Thus began a long association with DC, which lasted almost thirty years, with Haney scripting just about every sort of comic DC published. Haney was the writer of the story "The Rock of Easy Co.!" in ''

Our Army at War ''Our Army at War'' was an American comic book anthology published by DC Comics that featured war-themed stories and featured the first appearances of Sgt. Rock and Enemy Ace. The series was published from August 1952 to February 1977, then ...

'' #81 (April 1959), the first appearance of Sgt. Rock. Haney and artist

Lee Elias Lee Elias (May 21, 1920 – April 8, 1998) was a British-American comics artist. He was best known for his work on the ''Black Cat'' comic book published by Harvey Comics in the 1940s. Biography Emigrating to the United States from Manchester ...

created the

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

Eclipso in '' House of Secrets'' #61 (August 1963). Haney frequently claimed to have co-created the

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

with

Arnold Drake Arnold Drake (March 1, 1924 – March 12, 2007) was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, amo ...

and worked with him on the first few issues, but Drake insisted that Haney worked on the first issue only, and that his only role in creating Doom Patrol was co-creating the character

Negative Man Negative Man is a superhero from DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Haney, Arnold Drake, and Bruno Premiani and made his first appearance in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963). Negative Man has appeared in numerous cartoon telev ...

. In 1964, Haney created the

with artists

Bruno Premiani Giordano Bruno Premiani (January 4, 1907 – August 17, 1984)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia, which notes, "Most American sources ...

and

Nick Cardy Nicholas Viscardi (October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013), known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was induct ...

. Robin,

Kid Flash Kid Flash is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first version of the c ...

, and

Aqualad Aqualad is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The first Aqualad, Garth, debuted in February 1960 in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 and was created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist ...

teamed up in ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'' #54 (July 1964) to defeat a weather-controlling villain known as Mister Twister. They subsequently appeared under the name "Teen Titans" in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #60 in July 1965, joined by

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

's younger sister

Wonder Girl Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in ''The Brave and the ...

in her first appearance. After next being featured in ''

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

'' #59 (Dec. 1965), the team was spun off into their own series with ''Teen Titans'' #1 (February 1966). The

character was created by Haney and artist

Ramona Fradon Ramona Fradon (born October 2, 1926) is an American comics artist known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950. Early life Ramona Fradon was born in Chicago and mov ...

in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #57 (January 1965). Haney stated in 1995 that "The most creative single thing I ever did was Metamorpho". The character was featured in his own title, also written by Haney, from 1965 to 1968. Metamorpho later appeared in a series of back-up stories in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics ...

'' #413–418 and ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #218–220 and #229. Haney and artist

Howard Purcell Howard Purcell (November 10, 1918 – April 24, 1981)Howard Purcell
at the Social S ...

created the supernatural character the Enchantress in '' Strange Adventures'' #187 (April 1966). The Enchantress appears in the 2016 live-action movie ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'', portrayed by actress

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

. Haney was the writer of many of the issues of ''The Brave and the Bold'' including #59 (April–May 1965) which featured

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

's first

team-up In superhero comic books, a team-up is a fictional crossover where two or more superheroes or superhero teams who usually do not appear together work together on a shared goal. Overview The first team-up between characters published in different c ...

in the title. Haney scripted issue #85 (Aug.-Sept 1969) wherein artist

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

updated

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

's visual appearance by designing a new costume for the character. Haney frequently disregarded continuity by scripting stories which contradicted DC's

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

or by writing major heroes in an out-of-character fashion. Haney's final story of the series was a Batman and

Kamandi Kamandi () is a fictional comic book character created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series ''Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth'', which ran from 1972 to 1978. Kamandi is a ...

team-up in issue #157 (Dec. 1979). Among his contributions to the ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

'' mythos are the characters Tula introduced in ''Aquaman'' #33 (May–June 1967) and

Nuidis Vulko Nuidis Vulko is a fictional DC Comics character and one of the most frequently recurring members of the Aquaman supporting cast. Vulko is the chief scientific adviser of the fictional undersea realm of Atlantis. Aquaman eventually makes Vulko his ...

in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #73 (Aug.–Sept. 1967). The Super-Sons, Superman Jr. and Batman Jr., were co-created by Haney and

Dick Dillin Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States

Court of Owls The Court of Owls is a criminal organization and secret society appearing in DC Comics continuity as adversaries of the superhero Batman. The Court is described as an organization of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the city of Got ...

" story arc in 2012. The '' House of Mystery's'' host

, a character modeled on writer

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...

, was created by Haney with artist

Jack Sparling John Edmond Sparling (June 21, 1916 – February 15, 1997), was a Canadian comics artist. Biography Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sparling moved to the United States as a child. He received his early arts training at the Arts and Crafts Club in New ...

and editor

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...

. His later

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...

work included the four page "Dirty Job," illustrated by

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

, for ''

'' #241 (February 1972), which has been described as Haney's "true masterpiece". He wrote the " Unknown Soldier" feature in '' Star Spangled War Stories'' in 1971 and 1972. He returned in 1977 and oversaw the series being renamed after the character. He wrote the retitled series until its cancellation with #268 (October 1982). Haney's stories in the 1960s and 1970s, especially with the Teen Titans and the Super-Sons, often dealt with youth culture and current issues, but by the late 1970s and early 1980s, Haney struggled to produce material that DC's editors considered timely or contemporary. This led to clashes with the DC editorial staff and ultimately to his departure from the comics industry.

Animation

In the 1960s Haney contributed scripts to ''

The New Adventures of Superman ''The New Adventures of Superman'' is a half-hour series of six-minute animated Superman adventures produced by Filmation that were broadcast Saturday mornings on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 5, 1970. The 68 segments appeared as part ...

'' and ''

The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure ''The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'' is a Saturday morning Filmation animated series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1968. Premiering on September 9, 1967, this 60-minute program included a series of six-minute adventures featuring various DC ...

'' cartoon shows; and in the 1980s, after leaving DC, wrote for several

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

animated shows, including '' ThunderCats'', ''

Silverhawks ''SilverHawks'' is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1986. The animation was provided by Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation. In total, 65 episodes were ...

'' and ''

Karate Kat ''The Comic Strip'' is an American animated series that features four rotating cartoon segments: ''The Mini-Monsters'', ''Street Frogs'', ''Karate Kat'' and ''TigerSharks''. The 90-minute series ran in first-run syndication during the 1987 season. ...

''.

Later life

When comics and animation work petered out in the late 1980s, Haney turned to other forms of writing, including a book on carpentry. He wrote a few additional comics scripts for DC including ''

Elseworlds 80-Page Giant ''Elseworlds 80-Page Giant'' is an 80-page collection of '' Elseworlds'' stories published by DC Comics. The collection was withdrawn and pulped after DC became concerned about a scene in one of the stories. Publication history This comic includ ...

'' #1 (August 1999); '' Silver Age: The Brave and the Bold'' #1 (July 2000); and the posthumously published ''Teen Titans Lost Annual'' #1 (March 2008). His last few years were spent in San Felipe,

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico. Haney died at age 78 on November 25, 2004, in La Mesa, California. He is interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California.

Awards

Haney's industry recognitions included the 1968

Alley Award The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with th ...

for Best Full-Length Story ("Track of the Hook" in ''

'' #79, drawn by

) and a 1997

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...

at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

. He was awarded the Bill Finger Award posthumously in 2011.

Family

Haney's brother-in-law was Ned Chase, the father of actor

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

References

External links

Robert Gilbert “Bob” Haney Jr.
at

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

*
"DC Profiles #11: Bob Haney"
at the Grand Comics Database
Bob Haney
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

an

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haney, Bob 1926 births 2004 deaths American comics writers American expatriates in Mexico United States Navy personnel of World War II American television writers Columbia University alumni Golden Age comics creators Inkpot Award winners Bill Finger Award winners Silver Age comics creators Swarthmore College alumni United States Navy sailors Writers from Philadelphia 20th-century American screenwriters