The Denny O'Neil Tapes: A Conversation About Comics, Culture And America, 1970

In 1970, Denny O'Neil, a scriptwriter for DC Comics based in New York City, rose to fame in pop culture due to his revolutionary works, such as GREEN LANTERN, JUSTICE LEAGUE, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN, and BAT LASH. During his tour, the 31-year-old returned to his hometown St. Louis, Missouri, and engaged in a lengthy chat with a group of comic book enthusiasts - one of which was a 15-year-old Walt Jaschek, the author. 

The topic of THE DENNY O'NEIL TAPES is Denny's revamps of DC characters, and how they connect to popular culture. Discussion covers his views on art, collaborations, heroism, and the future of comics. First published in 1970, through GRAFAN, this interview was read by less than 100 people and has never been reprinted until now.

As an additional bonus, I'm delighted to present readers with scans of the original, typewritten script for GREEN LANTERN #63 ("This is the Way the World Ends", 1968) which I received as a generous gift from the writer after the interview. I've also included select pages from the published issue so that readers may compare the script with the edited-in-pencil version made by DC Comics' Julius Schwartz, as well as a first-hand peek at the creative process of these outstanding creative minds.

With additional comic pages of Denny’s work from that era sprinkled through the interview to give to context, and a postscript inclusion of his complete Wikipedia bio, the book is, I hope, a small but worthy salute to the late, Missouri-born comics storytelling master