David Vern Reed
Encyclopedia
David Vern Reed born David Levine, was an American
writer, best known for his work on the Batman comic book during the 1950s, in a run that included a revamp of the Batplane
in Batman #61 and the introduction of Deadshot
in Batman #59.
s, amongst them David Vern, Alexander Blade, Craig Ellis, Clyde Woodruff and Peter Horn. In the 1940s, he wrote such science fiction
stories as the novella
"The Metal Monster Murders" in Mammoth Detective vol. 3, #4 (Nov. 1944).
He was hired to write comic book scripts by his friend, Julius Schwartz
, an editor of DC Comics
. It was at DC where Levine — who like all Batman writers and artists of this time ghosted under Bob Kane
's byline — would eventually become best known to Batman fans as "David V. Reed." He and artist Lew Schwartz
created the villain Deadshot
in Batman #59 (July 1950).
Reed's first story published by DC, "Ride, Bat-Hombre, Ride", was the start of his four-year period chronicling Batman
's adventures. Reed wrote such key stories as "The Birth of Batplane
II" in Batman #61 (Nov. 1950), "The Joker's Millions" and "Two-Face Strikes Again", the latter two featuring the return of the original villains introduced by Kane and writer Bill Finger
. Another story from this period, "The Joker's Utility Belt", once mistakenly believed to have been written by Finger, was eventually adapted for Cesar Romero
's first appearance as the Joker
on the 1960s Batman television series
, broadcast as the episodes "The Joker Is Wild" and "Batman is Riled".
Besides Batman, Vern Reed wrote for Superman
, World's Finest
and several of DC's non-superhero books. He later left comics to return to prose fiction, writing such science fiction
novels as Murder in Space (Green Dragon Books / Ideal Publishing, 1945), and stories for such magazines as Amazing Stories
, Fantastic Adventures
and Astounding Science Fiction
. He also wrote for glossy magazines,including Cosmopolitan
, Good Housekeeping
, Collier's, Argosy
, and Mademoiselle
.
Reed returned to comic books in the 1970s and to Batman in 1975. Initially ignoring the character's large rogues gallery, he engaged the superhero in a series of bizarre mysteries such as "The Daily Death of Terry Tremayne" and "The Underworld Olympics '76!" However, supervillain
s would occasionally surface in tales like "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?". Reed's version would greet his foes with a dry quip, to which some readers objected as out of character for a "dark knight". Other fans acknowledged that deadpan humor had been a part of the character's personality since his earliest appearances. Reed remained on Batman for three years before leaving comics again.
He died in 1989.
, Good Housekeeping
, Collier's, Argosy
, and Mademoiselle
. His work also appeared in pulp magazines like Amazing Stories
, Fantastic Adventures
and Astounding Science Fiction
. and published novels such as Murder in Space.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer, best known for his work on the Batman comic book during the 1950s, in a run that included a revamp of the Batplane
Batplane
The Batplane, later known as the Batwing, is the fictional aircraft for the comic book superhero Batman. The vehicle was introduced in "Batman Versus The Vampire, I", published in Detective Comics #31 in 1939, a story which saw Batman travel to continental Europe...
in Batman #61 and the introduction of Deadshot
Deadshot
Deadshot is a fictional character, a supervillain/assassin in the DC Universe and an enemy of Batman. He first appears in Batman #59 and was created by Bob Kane, David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz....
in Batman #59.
Biography
Born David Levine, David Vern Reed grew up to become a writer, with his work appearing under several Anglicized pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s, amongst them David Vern, Alexander Blade, Craig Ellis, Clyde Woodruff and Peter Horn. In the 1940s, he wrote such science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
stories as the novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
"The Metal Monster Murders" in Mammoth Detective vol. 3, #4 (Nov. 1944).
He was hired to write comic book scripts by his friend, Julius Schwartz
Julius Schwartz
Julius "Julie" Schwartz was a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in the Bronx, New York...
, an editor of 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...
. It was at DC where Levine — who like all Batman writers and artists of this time ghosted under Bob Kane
Bob Kane
Bob Kane was an American comic book artist and writer, credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman...
's byline — would eventually become best known to Batman fans as "David V. Reed." He and artist Lew Schwartz
Lew Schwartz
Lew Schwartz was an American comic book artist, ad-man and award winning film-maker, credited as a ghost artist for Bob Kane on DC Comics superhero Batman from either 1946 or 1947 through to 1953...
created the villain Deadshot
Deadshot
Deadshot is a fictional character, a supervillain/assassin in the DC Universe and an enemy of Batman. He first appears in Batman #59 and was created by Bob Kane, David Vern Reed and Lew Schwartz....
in Batman #59 (July 1950).
Reed's first story published by DC, "Ride, Bat-Hombre, Ride", was the start of his four-year period chronicling 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...
's adventures. Reed wrote such key stories as "The Birth of Batplane
Batplane
The Batplane, later known as the Batwing, is the fictional aircraft for the comic book superhero Batman. The vehicle was introduced in "Batman Versus The Vampire, I", published in Detective Comics #31 in 1939, a story which saw Batman travel to continental Europe...
II" in Batman #61 (Nov. 1950), "The Joker's Millions" and "Two-Face Strikes Again", the latter two featuring the return of the original villains introduced by Kane and writer Bill Finger
Bill Finger
William "Bill" Finger was an American comic strip and comic book writer best known as the uncredited co-creator, with Bob Kane, of the DC Comics character Batman, as well as the co-architect of the series' development...
. Another story from this period, "The Joker's Utility Belt", once mistakenly believed to have been written by Finger, was eventually adapted for Cesar Romero
Cesar Romero
Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
's first appearance as the Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
on the 1960s Batman television series
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
, broadcast as the episodes "The Joker Is Wild" and "Batman is Riled".
Besides Batman, Vern Reed wrote for Superman
Superman
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...
, World's Finest
World's Finest Comics
World's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name...
and several of DC's non-superhero books. He later left comics to return to prose fiction, writing such science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels as Murder in Space (Green Dragon Books / Ideal Publishing, 1945), and stories for such magazines as Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, Fantastic Adventures
Fantastic Adventures
Fantastic Adventures was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Ray Palmer, who was also the editor of Amazing Stories, Ziff-Davis's other science fiction title. The first nine issues were in bedsheet format, but in June 1940...
and Astounding Science Fiction
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
. He also wrote for glossy magazines,including Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, Collier's, Argosy
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
, and Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
.
Reed returned to comic books in the 1970s and to Batman in 1975. Initially ignoring the character's large rogues gallery, he engaged the superhero in a series of bizarre mysteries such as "The Daily Death of Terry Tremayne" and "The Underworld Olympics '76!" However, supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s would occasionally surface in tales like "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?". Reed's version would greet his foes with a dry quip, to which some readers objected as out of character for a "dark knight". Other fans acknowledged that deadpan humor had been a part of the character's personality since his earliest appearances. Reed remained on Batman for three years before leaving comics again.
He died in 1989.
Other works
Outside comic books, Vern Reed wrote for several magazines. These included CosmopolitanCosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
, Collier's, Argosy
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
, and Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
. His work also appeared in pulp magazines like Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, Fantastic Adventures
Fantastic Adventures
Fantastic Adventures was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Ray Palmer, who was also the editor of Amazing Stories, Ziff-Davis's other science fiction title. The first nine issues were in bedsheet format, but in June 1940...
and Astounding Science Fiction
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
. and published novels such as Murder in Space.