Pop Culture

The Friendliest Titan

How a Nice Guy From Tulsa Helped Save the Marvel Universe

The American comic book industry has always been a crucible of creativity…brimming with innovative artists, brilliant storytellers, and forward-thinking editors willing to challenge artistic standards. Among these pop cultural craftsmen several names stand out as true titans of the industry…Stan Lee (Spider-Man, Avengers, and X-Men), Jack Kirby (Thor, Captain America and Black Panther), and Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (the teenage duo who invented the modern superhero genre by creating Superman in 1938).

 

 

As it turns out, though, a Tulsan also belongs in this lofty comics pantheon. His name is Archie Goodwin, and his legacy as a compelling writer, groundbreaking publisher, and arguably the most beloved editor in the medium’s history is virtually unmatched. Over a five-decade career, his creative insights dramatically redesigned the look and feel of both Marvel and DC Comics.

Born in Kansas City, MO on Sept. 8, 1937, Archie Goodwin’s family moved to Tulsa during his teenage years. There he attended Will Rogers High School, a vibrant environment that provided the necessary spark for his explosive artistic talents. It was a life-changing experience for Goodwin, who would proudly describe Tulsa as his ultimate hometown in later interviews about his life.

As a kid, Goodwin spent countless hours scouring Tulsa’s used magazine stores, hunting down sought-after comics and honing his emerging storytelling skills. More importantly, though, Goodwin’s tenure at Rogers High School provided him with a tight-knit group of friends, all of whom would eventually go on to successful artistic careers. They included Broom-Hilda comic strip creator Russell Myers and future acclaimed illustrator Paul Davis.

Goodwin and his crew co-founded their very own cartoonists’ club, meeting daily at the Owl Drugstore at 11th St. and Pittsburg. There they would sketch, collaborate, and evaluate each other’s drawings. As it turns out, this cooperative and helpful (yet still competitive) artistic camaraderie provided the eventual blueprint for Goodwin’s beloved style of editorial leadership, both at Marvel and DC Comics. His friendly, egalitarian approach to the artistic process became a hallmark of his career, gaining him devoted friends and colleagues throughout the entire comic book industry.

The Marvel Era

After graduation, Goodwin spent one year at the University of Oklahoma before packing his bags for the east coast to pursue a formal art education at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York City. Because he didn’t come from wealth, Goodwin financed his entire education by working full-time commercial design jobs during the day and attending art classes at night.

Due to the school’s concentrated focus on narrative flow and composition, however, Goodwin soon realized his artistic talents were actually scripting and structural pacing rather than artwork. This led him to rethink his original goal of becoming a professional magazine illustrator. Writing and editing, he realized, were his true superpowers.

After art school, Goodwin’s professional career began with a string of jobs working for various publishers and newspaper syndicates throughout the early-to-mid 1960s. He eventually landed at Marvel Comics in 1968 where he was hired as a freelance writer. Goodwin quickly impressed the company with his versatile storytelling skills. He authored The Invincible Iron Man, a series that explored a bold new take on Tony Stark, the armored superhero’s alter ego, grounding the character with deep, personal vulnerabilities. Within his very first year at Marvel, Goodwin had already left an indelible mark on the company.

By the early 1970s, Goodwin was profoundly aware of the evolving social climate and the burgeoning blaxploitation film genre. To be a part of this fervent cultural zeitgeist, Goodwin co-created Luke Cage alongside artist John Romita Sr., penciler George Tuska, and editor Roy Thomas. The character made history as Marvel’s first black superhero to headline his own title, and definitively proved that gritty, urban characters already had a sizable, enthusiastic audience eager to be recognized.

Despite these successes, however, the mid-’70s saw Marvel struggling to financially stay afloat. The company’s leadership was seriously considering bankruptcy due to a crippling nationwide recession that had slashed Marvel’s income to the bone. Comic sales were plummeting as printing costs skyrocketed…and there was no end in sight. When Goodwin was asked to step into the role of Marvel’s eighth Editor-in-Chief, he did so reluctantly.

But all was not lost. Goodwin’s keen storytelling sensibility and uncanny knack for discerning what Marvel’s readers really wanted would soon help bolster the struggling company’s fortunes…yet again.

The Force Was Definitely With Him

In 1977, Marvel Comics secured the publishing rights to the Star Wars franchise. At the time, this was a financial gamble for the company. Writer/director George Lucas only had one major Hollywood release under his belt at that point…and the word around Hollywood was that his quirky space opera would flop without much notice. Lucas famously waived upfront licensing fees, allowing Marvel to print their initial six-issue film adaptation with minimal financial risk. Writer Roy Thomas initially brought the risky project to Marvel and convinced Stan Lee to take a meeting, but it was Goodwin as Editor-in-Chief who oversaw the contract and spearheaded the rollout. It was make it or break it time at Marvel.

And so a month before Star Wars hit theaters…a month before anyone had even caught a glimpse of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader on the silver screen, Marvel took a giant leap of faith and released their comic adaptation of George Lucas’s passion project to retail outlets nationwide. And then held their breath.

The release, of course, went supernova. Copies of Marvel’s Star Wars flew off the shelves at an astonishing rate. The public couldn’t get enough.

 

 

And then things got even better for Marvel. The film exploded too.

Here’s where Marvel’s precarious financial gamble really paid off: The runaway success of Star Wars caught the entire entertainment industry by surprise…even Lucas himself. Toy and merchandise production was so far behind schedule, in fact, that Marvel’s comic book was the only piece of Star Wars merchandise available to fans for months after the film’s release. It sold more than a million copies, outselling almost the entire rest of the Marvel line combined. This huge influx of cash generated enough capital to erase Marvel’s massive printing debts, stabilizing the company.

According to successive Marvel executives like Former Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, if Marvel hadn’t published Star Wars, the company would have gone completely out of business.

After stepping down as Editor-in-Chief, Goodwin transitioned into a creative role at the company, taking over as the primary scriptwriter for Marvel’s ongoing Star Wars comic series, beginning with issue #11. He teamed up with artist Al Williamson to write more than 30 issues over a three-year span, including Marvel’s official adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. He and Williamson also co-created the syndicated Star Wars daily newspaper comic strips from 1981 to 1984.

Goodwin’s last contribution to Marvel was the creation of the Epic Comics imprint and magazine in the 1980s. Ever the champion for the little guy, Goodwin recognized that the traditional work-for-hire model so common in the comics industry was subduing original ideas. His new publication changed all that by allowing freelance writers and artists to retain full ownership of their intellectual property. At the time, this was considered a radical corporate shift…one that paved the way for modern creator-owned publishers.

The DC Years

Archie Goodwin’s creative influence in the comics universe wasn’t limited to Marvel alone. He also made major contributions to their main competitor: DC Comics.

Goodwin’s history with that storied publishing powerhouse spans two major eras.

From 1973-1974 he had a brief, though influential, stint as a writer/editor. During this time, he replaced Julius Schwartz as the editor of Detective Comics (beginning with issue #437), creatively controlling DC’s iconic Batman series for nearly a year.

Teaming up with artist/writer Walt Simonson, Goodwin revived DC’s Manhunter series, reimagining the main character as a clone-hunting martial artist whose complex story culminated in a finale in which the hero actually died—and stayed dead—pushing back against traditional superhero storytelling tropes. The series is widely considered one of the greatest short-form stories in comic book history.

Fifteen years later, during Goodwin’s second stint at DC (as a celebrated senior editor and writer from 1989 until his passing in 1998) he turned his keen editorial attention to Batman, revamping both the main character and the overall series, making them much darker and grittier than they’d ever been. These thematic alterations had a profound effect on the tone and popularity of the series, creating many of the bleak psychological elements that define Batman to this day.

Mr. Nice Takes His Leave

Archie Goodwin’s reputation as a genuinely nice, kind, and humble person is a legendary part of comic book history. From his teenage days in Tulsa comparing sketches with his buddies down at the Owl Drugstore to his high-pressure jobs at Marvel and DC—and all the way to the end of his life—Goodwin’s easygoing kindness endeared him to friends and co-workers everywhere. When he passed away from cancer in 1998, the outpouring of grief from staff members and management at both Marvel and DC was enormous, resulting in numerous tribute issues dedicated to his memory and generosity. He was so collectively adored for his sweet, helpful demeanor that DC writers Kelley Puckett and Mike Parobeck caricatured him in The Batman Adventures as a villain named “Mr. Nice”—a criminal who was completely incapable of being mean or rude.

Goodwin was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame the year he passed away. His storied career proves it’s possible to be successful (even legendary) in a highly competitive creative industry known for fierce egos and intense corporate politics…while remaining unwaveringly kind.