Post by Chris on Mar 2, 2019 20:55:49 GMT -5
Since E. Nelson Bridwell has been mentioned in two separate threads (and that's just today), I decided to post some information about him, since he seems to be a figure of mystery or even completely unknown to many comics fans.
First, Back Issue magazine tells us (to borrow an old DC catchphrase) who ENB is and how he came to be -
As noted in the article, Bridwell did indeed send letters to DC. Here's one circa 1962, commenting on the famous "Last Days of Superman" story -
As an aside, the letter and reply right above Bridwell's comment on a now-forgotten slang term -
... which ENB later used himself, when he gave secret identities to (believe it or not) Zan and Jayna.
Whether Bridwell swiped that term from the letter column above, or he already knew it, I can't say. I just happened to notice the synchronicity there.
And yes, he wrote backup stories in Super Friends about the Wonder Twins. And they were good.
So just what did the "E" stand for, anyway?
Just about everyone addressed him as "Nelson," I believe.
After he died in January of 1987, a couple of tributes appeared in various DC comics. One was from Dick Giordano -
And another was from Denny O'Neil -
A few years later, Amazing Heroes magazine published this in their "Perspective" column -
It's a shame he isn't better known, he was criminally underrated. I'm not saying every story he ever wrote was pure gold - there were a few that were, well, not so great - and he did sometimes go a little overboard on explaining continuity glitches or connecting everything to everything else (sometimes I think if he had his way, he would have attempted to reconcile things where even Philip Jose Farmer would fear to tread). But overall, he was a great writer and excellent custodian of the iconic characters Superman and Captain Marvel.
First, Back Issue magazine tells us (to borrow an old DC catchphrase) who ENB is and how he came to be -
As noted in the article, Bridwell did indeed send letters to DC. Here's one circa 1962, commenting on the famous "Last Days of Superman" story -
As an aside, the letter and reply right above Bridwell's comment on a now-forgotten slang term -
... which ENB later used himself, when he gave secret identities to (believe it or not) Zan and Jayna.
Whether Bridwell swiped that term from the letter column above, or he already knew it, I can't say. I just happened to notice the synchronicity there.
And yes, he wrote backup stories in Super Friends about the Wonder Twins. And they were good.
So just what did the "E" stand for, anyway?
Just about everyone addressed him as "Nelson," I believe.
After he died in January of 1987, a couple of tributes appeared in various DC comics. One was from Dick Giordano -
And another was from Denny O'Neil -
A few years later, Amazing Heroes magazine published this in their "Perspective" column -
It's a shame he isn't better known, he was criminally underrated. I'm not saying every story he ever wrote was pure gold - there were a few that were, well, not so great - and he did sometimes go a little overboard on explaining continuity glitches or connecting everything to everything else (sometimes I think if he had his way, he would have attempted to reconcile things where even Philip Jose Farmer would fear to tread). But overall, he was a great writer and excellent custodian of the iconic characters Superman and Captain Marvel.
