Tales of Steve
An anonymous person has begun posting a biography of S. Gerber over at this link. Someone on Heidi MacDonald’s message board guessed I was the author but I assure you, I’m not. For one thing, there are a couple of mistakes in the narrative that I would not have made.
You’ll probably want to check it out, though I’m reserving judgment until I read more of it. The whole matter of Steve’s legal problems with Marvel, which the biographer will begin addressing in the next chapter, is a very complicated situation which has never been accurately described in any past reporting. I’ll be interested to see if the anonymous author gets it right. If he/she does, then I think I know who’s behind this biography…
I’m closing down the comment thread on all messages except this one.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:33 AM
I’m afraid I’m the one who broke this story on my own blog, at least to judge from the attributions as it spread across the web…and part of me now regrets this. I certainly didn’t expect my posting would subject the anonymous author to quite this much scrutiny for a work in progress. (Though of course you don’t post things on a website in the first place if you don’t want them seen by the public!) I haven’t got a clue who the author may be, but I hope he or she continues the project and isn’t disturbed by all this attention.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:03 AM
It’s a great read and a great peak into the mind of a genius. Can’t wait to read more of it.
January 10th, 2009 at 6:58 PM
Maybe it’s secretly Jim Shooter.
January 30th, 2009 at 10:48 PM
I work as part of the comics review team at aintitcool.com and I’m compiling our tribute to comics creators who passed away in 2008. Our 2008 Year In Review column runs the same week as the Oscars are telecast. I just wanted to let you know that I borrowed the picture of Steve from this site to run in our column if that is ok and also to just say that I corresponded back and forth with Steve a few times through the wonder of the internet. Truly a once in a lifetime talent and one whose death still saddens me even though I never had the joy of meeting him face to face.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:02 PM
One year ago on this day Steve died and with him one of the greates comicwriters of all time. Not only did he influence many (mostly american) comicreaders, but he also tought me a lot about american culture and politics. Even though I didn’t really know him I still miss him.
February 10th, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a year.
February 10th, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Still missed as if it was yesterday…
February 10th, 2009 at 7:28 PM
One of my favorite memories from around when I was 13 or something like that was awaking really early one morning about 5AM and reading through a second hand copy of HTD #5; it felt something had changed, like I’d turned an important corner in my understanding of the world. Thanks Steve.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:02 PM
One of my favourite comics he wrote was HTD #9. I don’t know if he ever visited Canada, but I have to believe he did, or at least knew some Canadians, because he wrote the most incisive take on Canada vis-a-vis the US that I have encountered, in any medium. He captured not only the real sense of resentment that Canadians feel towards the US, but also the general ignorance Americans have about Canada that is partly the source of that resentment. And he made it extremely funny. After so many years, I’m still grateful I encountered his work.
February 11th, 2009 at 10:35 AM
I thought about him all day yesterday. I miss him too. I feel priviledged that I had the opportunity to know him.
February 15th, 2009 at 7:09 AM
Thought about Steve on January 10, but didn’t post till now. I remember emails he sent, always signed, “more later.” Wish that were true.
February 28th, 2009 at 8:09 AM
I lost my dad shortly after his 60th birthday, also to pulmonary fibrosis. it is a painful way to live and takes great courage to endure. My condolences to Steve’s family and friends. I love his work; Essential HTD vol. 1, $400, a bag of clothes, a bag of hand written books, and a guitar were all I had when I came to California, not knowing a soul. Steve, feel free to whisper your insightful takes if you have catching me drawing something or writing something clever one night…Cecil
March 12th, 2009 at 4:19 AM
I just finished Reign in Hell and even though I liked what Giffen did there in general he totally destroyed the last great work of Steve and that really made me sad.
Now Dr. Fate is just another Wizard Type character out to protect the universe.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Stefan — you make me glad that I didn’t buy that series. I was under the assumption that Fate would not be used for a while ( it seems that I read Dan Didio stating that in an interview).
However, I believe Bill Willingham will make use of Steve’s Kent Nelson when Matt Sturges and Wilingham start writing JSA. So, whatever is happening in Reign in Hell might not be used.
http://billwillingham.blogspot.com/2009/01/and-heres-another-one.html
March 15th, 2009 at 1:51 AM
Don’t get me wrong. Reign in Hell is a good series on itself. Not superbe or excelent but good. It is more in the direction of lighthearted Giffin fun. I perhaps even would have liked the Dr. Fate used there, if not for Steves outstanding work on that character.
But since Steve DID outstanding work it would have been better if Giffen didn’t used that character at all. A short scene where Kent is approached but to drunk to be of use would have been much better that what was used now.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:03 AM
On a whim I thought I’d take a peek and see if people were still posting here…
It makes my heart glad to see that they are.
Thank you, Mark, for keeping this portal to Steve open.
February 15th, 2016 at 7:47 PM
I met Steve only once. We were both clients of Mike Friedrich, when Mike had his Star*Reach agency. And during the fat years, the early nineties, Mike had dinners or picnics for his clients concurrent with the San Diego con. It was a picnic.
The memory that stays with me was Steve telling me that he had a neurological condition which caused him to wake up hundreds of times per night. It sounded intolerably exhausting. That, and he was a high-energy Type A personality (maybe he learned that way of being when living in New York). Fast-talking, smart, full of information and personal disclosure.
The other thing that sticks out about that afternoon is Gerry Conway swinging his four-year-old daughter around in a circle. “As much as I fret about my career,” he said, “I have this to remind me — it’s this that’s important.”