Steve Englehart
Encyclopedia
Steve Englehart is an American
novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book
writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics
and DC Comics
, particularly in the 1970s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
, where he was a member of The Kappa Alpha Society
, earning his Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1969. He had served in the United States Army
, but was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector
to the Vietnam War
.
on a story in Warren Publishing
's black-and-white horror comics
magazine Vampirella
#10 (March 1971). However, Englehart found his true calling as a writer. Influenced by writer Roy Thomas
, who edited his first stories for Marvel, Englehart brought a complex, freewheeling style to Marvel's comics, often dealing with philosophical or political issues in a superhero story, such as a celebrated run on Captain America
(with artists Sal Buscema
and Frank Robbins
) that reflected the then-ongoing Watergate scandal
.
Thomas said in a 2007 interview that Englehart:
from 1972 to 1976. During his time on that title, he wrote several major storylines including "The Avengers Defenders War", the "Celestial Madonna", and "The Serpent Crown". Englehart had a potent run on Doctor Strange
(originally with artist Frank Brunner
, later with Gene Colan
), in which Strange's mentor, the Ancient One
, died, and Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme. Englehart and Brunner, audaciously, also created a multi-issue storyline in which a sorcerer named Sise-Neg
("Genesis" spelled backward) goes back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation (Marvel Premiere #14). Editor-in-chief Stan Lee
, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, so as to avoid offending religious readers. The writer and artist concocted a fake letter
from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas; Marvel unwittingly printed the letter, and dropped the retraction order.
Englehart reconciled the existence of Captain America
and sidekick Bucky
in Marvel's 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics
, an anomaly that had been ignored since Cap
's 1964 reintroduction to Marvel, in which his newly-retconned history stated that the 1950s Captain America had been a different character. This was followed by an extended storyline of Steve Rogers becoming so profoundly disillusioned with the United States that he temporarily abandoned his Captain America identity to become Nomad
until he decided to refocus his purpose as the defender of America's ideals, not necessarily its government.
, Batman
, Flash
, and Green Lantern
. To that end, he wrote Justice League of America #139-146 and 149-150, with artist Dick Dillin
, and an eight-issue arc of Batman
stories in Detective Comics
#469-476,with pencilers Walt Simonson
and Marshall Rogers
and inker
Terry Austin
. In this arc, he recreated the Batman as a pulp-oriented, dark character; recreated the Joker as a true homicidal maniac; and introduced a sexual love interest for a superhero for the first time, in Silver St. Cloud
. This storyline was dubbed "the definitive Batman," and adapted as the first Batman film
in 1989, with Englehart providing the development. The comic was reprinted in trade paperback in 1999 as Batman: Strange Apparitions.
Englehart temporarily left comics at this juncture, moving to Europe before his first issue of Detective was published. During this time he wrote a fantasy
/occult
novel, The Point Man, which was republished in 2010.
An Englehart-Rogers story featuring Madame Xanadu
that sat in inventory for a few years would be published as a one-shot in 1981, in DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market
" of fans and collectors.
In the early 1980s, he worked as a game designer for Atari
, and has done freelance work in the field since on such games as Tron 2.0
and Bard's Tale IV.
imprint Epic Comics
published Coyote
, a series he had earlier created at Eclipse Comics
with Rogers, in collaboration with artist Steve Leialoha
(and later Chas Truog and Todd McFarlane
).
Englehart returned to mainstream Marvel comics later that decade with stints on West Coast Avengers
, the second Vision and the Scarlet Witch miniseries (with artist Richard Howell), Silver Surfer
(again with Rogers), and Fantastic Four
(during which editorial disputes led to his using the pseudonym John Harkness, a name he had first used on his last issue of Mister Miracle
.)
Simultaneously, Englehart wrote DC Comics' Green Lantern
, and in 1987 wrote the DC crossover series Millennium
.
comics universe for Malibu Comics
and wrote Night Man
and the superhero-team series The Strangers. Night Man
was later adapted for a syndicated
television series (NightMan) which ran for two seasons. Englehart wrote three episodes of the television series.
For Claypool Comics
, he wrote the supernatural series Phantom of Fear City #1-12 (May 1993 - May 1995).
Throughout the remainder of the 1990s, he wrote a series of young adult books for Avon
, including the DNAgers series (with his wife, Terry) and the Countdown series. Countdown to Flight was selected by NASA for its school curriculum on the Wright Brothers. He also worked in animation, with episodes of Streetfighter
and GI Joe: Extreme, and wrote one of the three episodes in Disney's Atlantis: Milo Returns film.
He wrote a screenplay for an unproduced film, Majorca. The screenplay was published as a book by Black Coat Press. He has admitted to writing the novel Hellstorm in the TALON Force series under the house pseudonym Cliff Garnett.
In the early 2000s, Englehart returned to comics briefly, and in 2005, he reunited with Rogers and Austin on the miniseries
Batman: Dark Detective, elements of which were adapted into the Batman film The Dark Knight.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, particularly in the 1970s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early life
Steve Englehart majored in psychology at Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, where he was a member of The Kappa Alpha Society
Kappa Alpha Society
The Kappa Alpha Society , founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It was the first of the fraternities which would eventually become known as the Union Triad...
, earning his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1969. He had served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, but was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Career
Englehart's first work in comics was as an art assistant to Neal AdamsNeal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
on a story in Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
's black-and-white horror comics
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
magazine Vampirella
Vampirella
Vampirella is a fictional character, a comic book vampire heroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and costume designer Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine Vampirella #1 . Writer-editor Archie Goodwin later developed the character from horror-story hostess, in...
#10 (March 1971). However, Englehart found his true calling as a writer. Influenced by writer Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, who edited his first stories for Marvel, Englehart brought a complex, freewheeling style to Marvel's comics, often dealing with philosophical or political issues in a superhero story, such as a celebrated run on Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
(with artists Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema
Silvio "Sal" Buscema is an American comic book artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of The Incredible Hulk...
and Frank Robbins
Frank Robbins
Franklin "Frank" Robbins was a notable American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition of American...
) that reflected the then-ongoing Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
.
Thomas said in a 2007 interview that Englehart:
Marvel Comics
Englehart wrote The AvengersAvengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
from 1972 to 1976. During his time on that title, he wrote several major storylines including "The Avengers Defenders War", the "Celestial Madonna", and "The Serpent Crown". Englehart had a potent run on Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
(originally with artist Frank Brunner
Frank Brunner
Frank Brunner is an American comic book artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s.-Comics:...
, later with Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
), in which Strange's mentor, the Ancient One
Ancient One
The Ancient One is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. He was the mentor of Doctor Strange and preceded him as Sorcerer Supreme.-Fictional character biography:...
, died, and Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme. Englehart and Brunner, audaciously, also created a multi-issue storyline in which a sorcerer named Sise-Neg
Sise-Neg
Sise-Neg is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Marvel Premiere #13 and was created by Steve Englehart, Neal Adams and Frank Brunner.-Publication history:...
("Genesis" spelled backward) goes back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation (Marvel Premiere #14). Editor-in-chief Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but a god, so as to avoid offending religious readers. The writer and artist concocted a fake letter
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas; Marvel unwittingly printed the letter, and dropped the retraction order.
Englehart reconciled the existence of Captain America
Grand Director
The Grand Director , also known as the Captain America of the 1950s is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe...
and sidekick Bucky
Nomad (comics)
Nomad is the name of a number of superhero characters who have appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Nomad name and costume was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema as an alternate identity for the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, in Captain America #180...
in Marvel's 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
, an anomaly that had been ignored since Cap
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
's 1964 reintroduction to Marvel, in which his newly-retconned history stated that the 1950s Captain America had been a different character. This was followed by an extended storyline of Steve Rogers becoming so profoundly disillusioned with the United States that he temporarily abandoned his Captain America identity to become Nomad
Nomad (comics)
Nomad is the name of a number of superhero characters who have appeared in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Nomad name and costume was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema as an alternate identity for the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, in Captain America #180...
until he decided to refocus his purpose as the defender of America's ideals, not necessarily its government.
DC Comics
In 1976, following a falling out with a new editorial regime at Marvel, Englehart moved to DC Comics to revamp all of their main characters, including SupermanSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
, and Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
. To that end, he wrote Justice League of America #139-146 and 149-150, with artist Dick Dillin
Dick Dillin
Richard Allen "Dick" Dillin was an American comic book artist best known for an extraordinarily long 12-year run as the penciler of the DC Comics superhero-team series Justice League of America. He drew 115 issues from 1968 up until his death, bridging the venerable title's Mike Sekowsky and...
, and an eight-issue arc of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
stories in Detective Comics
Detective Comics
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#469-476,with pencilers Walt Simonson
Walt Simonson
Walter "Walt" Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist. After studying geology at Amherst College, he transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1972. His thesis project there was The Star Slammers, which was published as a black and white promotional comic book...
and Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers was an American comic-book artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics in the 1970s, particularly as one of the illustrators of Batman and Silver Surfer...
and inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
Terry Austin
Terry Austin (comics)
Terry Austin is an American comic book artist, working primarily as an inker. He is best known for his work embellishing John Byrne's pencils on The Uncanny X-Men from 1977–1981.-Early life and career:...
. In this arc, he recreated the Batman as a pulp-oriented, dark character; recreated the Joker as a true homicidal maniac; and introduced a sexual love interest for a superhero for the first time, in Silver St. Cloud
Silver St. Cloud
Silver St. Cloud is a fictional character who appears in Batman comics set in the . She is a recurring love interest of Batman/Bruce Wayne, debuting in Detective Comics #470, written by Steve Englehart. The issues featuring her earlier appearances have been collected in trade paperback form as...
. This storyline was dubbed "the definitive Batman," and adapted as the first Batman film
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
in 1989, with Englehart providing the development. The comic was reprinted in trade paperback in 1999 as Batman: Strange Apparitions.
Englehart temporarily left comics at this juncture, moving to Europe before his first issue of Detective was published. During this time he wrote a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
/occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
novel, The Point Man, which was republished in 2010.
An Englehart-Rogers story featuring Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
that sat in inventory for a few years would be published as a one-shot in 1981, in DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to the "direct market
Direct market
The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
" of fans and collectors.
In the early 1980s, he worked as a game designer for Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, and has done freelance work in the field since on such games as Tron 2.0
Tron 2.0
Tron 2.0 is a first person shooter computer game developed by Monolith Productions. According to Tron creator Steven Lisberger, Tron 2.0 was the official sequel to the 1982 film Tron, but was later declared non-canon by Tron: Legacy director Joesph Kosinski. The PC version of the game was released...
and Bard's Tale IV.
Return to Marvel
In 1983, Marvel's creator-ownedCreator ownership
Creator ownership is an arrangement in which the creator or creators of a work of fiction retain full ownership of the material, regardless of whether it is self-published or by a corporate publisher. In some fields of publishing, such as fiction writing, creator ownership is a standard arrangement...
imprint Epic Comics
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
published Coyote
Coyote (comics)
Coyote is a comic book character created by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers.-Publication history:The characters first appeared in in Eclipse Magazine #2-8. It would later be reprinted in a color trade paperback, I Am Coyote....
, a series he had earlier created at Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
with Rogers, in collaboration with artist Steve Leialoha
Steve Leialoha
Steve Leialoha is an American comic book artist whose work first came to prominence in the 1970s. He has worked primarily as an inker, though occasionally as a penciller, for several publishers, including Marvel Comics and later DC Comics.-Biography:Leialoha's professional career began in 1975...
(and later Chas Truog and Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
).
Englehart returned to mainstream Marvel comics later that decade with stints on West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
, the second Vision and the Scarlet Witch miniseries (with artist Richard Howell), Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
(again with Rogers), and Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
(during which editorial disputes led to his using the pseudonym John Harkness, a name he had first used on his last issue of Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 and was created by Jack Kirby.-Publication history:...
.)
Simultaneously, Englehart wrote DC Comics' Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, and in 1987 wrote the DC crossover series Millennium
Millennium (comics)
"Millennium" was a comic book crossover story line that ran through an eight-issue, self-titled, limited series and various other titles cover dated January and February 1988 by DC Comics. The limited series was published weekly, which was a departure for an American series...
.
Other work
In 1992, he co-created the UltraverseUltraverse
The Ultraverse was the name given to a comic book imprint published by the American company Malibu Comics. The Ultraverse was a shared universe in which a variety of characters — known within the comics as "Ultras" — acquired super-human abilities.-History:...
comics universe for Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
and wrote Night Man
Night Man
Night Man is an American action/adventure/sci-fi series that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on a comic book published by Malibu Comics and was created by Steve Englehart and developed for television by Glen A...
and the superhero-team series The Strangers. Night Man
Night Man
Night Man is an American action/adventure/sci-fi series that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on a comic book published by Malibu Comics and was created by Steve Englehart and developed for television by Glen A...
was later adapted for a syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series (NightMan) which ran for two seasons. Englehart wrote three episodes of the television series.
For Claypool Comics
Claypool Comics
Claypool Comics is an American comic book publishing company created in 1993, known for publishing such titles as Peter David's Soulsearchers and Company and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark comics, as well as Richard Howell's Deadbeats and, , Phantom of Fear City...
, he wrote the supernatural series Phantom of Fear City #1-12 (May 1993 - May 1995).
Throughout the remainder of the 1990s, he wrote a series of young adult books for Avon
Avon (publishers)
Avon Publications was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. As of 2010, it is an imprint of HarperCollins, publishing primarily romance novels.-History:...
, including the DNAgers series (with his wife, Terry) and the Countdown series. Countdown to Flight was selected by NASA for its school curriculum on the Wright Brothers. He also worked in animation, with episodes of Streetfighter
Streetfighter
A streetfighter is a sport bike that is customized by removing the fairing, and making other changes that result in an overall more aggressive look. Beyond simply removing fairings, specific changes that exemplify the streetfighter look are a pair of large, round headlights, tall, upright...
and GI Joe: Extreme, and wrote one of the three episodes in Disney's Atlantis: Milo Returns film.
He wrote a screenplay for an unproduced film, Majorca. The screenplay was published as a book by Black Coat Press. He has admitted to writing the novel Hellstorm in the TALON Force series under the house pseudonym Cliff Garnett.
In the early 2000s, Englehart returned to comics briefly, and in 2005, he reunited with Rogers and Austin on the miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Batman: Dark Detective, elements of which were adapted into the Batman film The Dark Knight.
Novels
In the mid-2000s, Englehart turned his 1980 novel, The Point Man, into Book Zero for a series concerning its hero, Max August. The first sequel, The Long Man, was published in 2009, and The Plain Man in 2011. In the series, Max became immortal in 1985 and is dealing with the consequences two decades later in real time.Personal life
Englehart married Marie-Therese (Terry) Beach in 1975. They have two sons, Alex and Eric.Quotes
Awards
- 1977: nominated for Favourite Comicbook Writer at the Eagle Awards
- 1978: Favourite Writer at the Eagle Awards
- 1978: Roll of Honour at the Eagle Awards
- 1978: nominated for Favourite Single Story at the Eagle Awards for Detective Comics #472: I am the Batman with Marshall RogersMarshall RogersMarshall Rogers was an American comic-book artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics in the 1970s, particularly as one of the illustrators of Batman and Silver Surfer...
- 1978: nominated for Favourite Continued Story at the Eagle Awards for Detective Comics #471-472 with Marshall Rogers
- 1979: Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
- 1979: nominated for Best Comic Book Writer (US) at the Eagle Awards
- 1979: nominated for Best Continued Story at the Eagle Awards for Detective Comics #475-476 with Marshall Rogers