Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Career

Television

Alan Brennert's earliest television work was in 1978 when he wrote several scripts for the ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' series. He was story editor for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and wrote seven scripts for that series. He won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

as a producer and writer for ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'' in 1991. For fans of science fiction and fantasy, he might be best known as a writer for the revival series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' and '' The Outer Limits''. One of his best regarded episodes was for ''The Twilight Zone'', "

Her Pilgrim Soul ''The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series), The Twilight Zone'' (1985) is the first of three Revival (television), revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series of the The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), same name. It ran for two se ...

", which became a play. Brennert said that writing "Her Pilgrim Soul" was a deeply cathartic experience which allowed him to get past the death of a woman he had loved. He also wrote two ''The Twilight Zone'' teleplays based on stories by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

, who later said that Brennert was the only writer he would ever allow to adapt his works. Since 2001 Brennert has written episodes of the television series ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...

'' and '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' under the name of Michael Bryant.

Prose

Brennert also writes short stories and novels. His first story, "City of Masques", was published in 1973. In 1975 he was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction. He won a

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

in 1991 and had stories in

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of '' The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fict ...

's Year's Best volumes. His 2003 book ''Moloka'i'' is a historical novel that focuses on life in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and the leper colony at Kalaupapa in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

made famous by

Father Damien Damien De Veuster , popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai ( or '; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts ...

, Mother Marianne Cope, and Lawrence M. Judd, historical people who appear in the novel set in the early 1900s. It received mostly favorable reviews. The decision to write ''Moloka'i'' came after a four-hour miniseries Brennert wrote for NBC was not picked up. According to his website, Brennert wanted to "write something that people would get to see." In 2009, Brennert returned to Hawai'i in ''Honolulu'', a historical novel centering on a Korean picture bride in the early 1900s. The story told in ''Honolulu'' came out of Brennert's research from ''Moloka'i''.

Comic books

Brennert's first work in the comics industry was conducting interviews with A. E. van Vogt,

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

, and

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

which were published in

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

' ''

Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction ''Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction'' was a 1970s American black-and-white, science fiction comics magazine published by Marvel Comics' parent company, Magazine Management. The anthology title featured original stories and literary adaptations ...

'' comics magazine. His first comics story was plotting

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

' ''

'' #231 (May 1977) and #232 (June 1977) which were scripted by

Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...

. Brennert and Pasko collaborated again on ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' #12 (March 1981) for Marvel. That same month, he and artist

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

crafted the lead

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

story for ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #500. This story, "To Kill a Legend", was included in DC's "Year's Best Comics Stories" of 1981 collection. Brennert then wrote four issues of ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by a reprint miniseries in 1988, two original miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology ...

'' featuring Batman team-ups with the Creeper, the Hawk and Dove, the Robin of Earth Two, and the

Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...

. Editor

Dennis O'Neil Dennis "Denny" Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until h ...

had him write '' Daredevil'' #192 (March 1983), which followed

Frank Miller's Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusa ...

run on that title. Due to his television schedule, Brennert did not have the time to write any additional comic books for several years. A

Deadman Deadman or Deadman's may refer to: * "Deadman" or "dead man", are alternative terms for a dead man's switch * "Deadman's foot" is another name for a Salamander (metallurgy), Salamander in metallurgy * "Deadman anchor" is a buried object (log, con ...

story in ''Christmas with the Super-Heroes'' #2 (1989) was his next work in the comics industry, followed by a

Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...

tale in ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

'' vol. 2 #50 (Aug. 1990). He wrote '' Batman: Holy Terror'', the first DC comic book to feature the

Elseworlds Elseworlds is the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that take place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that ...

logo. His final comics story was a " Batman Black and White" backup feature in '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #10 (Dec. 2000) drawn by

José Luis García-López José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish people, Spanish-Argentines, Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he pr ...

. In 2014, Brennert "requested equity in the arbara Kean Gordoncharacter and compensation for her use" in the '' Gotham'' television series due to having introduced the character in ''Detective Comics'' #500. DC Comics and parent company

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

denied the request claiming that the character was "derivative" of an already existing DC character. ''Tales of the Batman: Alan Brennert'', a hardcover collection of Brennert's work for DC Comics, was published in 2016. He has named "The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne" from ''The Brave and the Bold'' #197 (April 1983) as his personal favorite of his DC stories.

Bibliography

Novels and short story collections

*''City of Masques'' (1978) *''Kindred Spirits'' (1984) *''Time and Chance'' (1990) *''Her Pilgrim Soul: And Other Stories'' (1990) *''Moloka'i'' (2001) *''Honolulu'' (2009) *''Palisades Park'' (2013) *''Daughter of Moloka'i'' (2019)

Comic books

DC Comics

* '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #10 (" Batman Black and White") (2000) * '' Batman: Holy Terror'' (

) (1991) * ''

'' #178, 181–182, 197 (1981–1983) * ''Christmas with the Super-Heroes'' #2 (

) (1989) * ''

'' #500, 600 (1981–1989) * ''

'' vol. 2 #50 (

) (1990) * ''

'' #231–232 (1977)

Marvel Comics

* ''

'' #4–5, ''Special'' #1 (text articles) (1975–1976) * ''

'' #12 (1981) * '' Daredevil'' #192 (1983) * '' Sub-Mariner: Marvels Snapshot'' #1 (2020)

Television and film

*''

'' (1978–1979) *'' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' (1979–1980) *''

The Mississippi The Mississippi River is the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota ...

'' (1984) *''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

'' (1983–1985) *''

'' (1985–1989) *''

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe Beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...

'' (1989) *''

'' (1991–1992) *'' The Outer Limits'' (1995–1997, 2001) *'' The Lake'' (1998) *''

Odyssey 5 ''Odyssey 5'' is a Canadian science fiction television series, which was shown in 2002 on Space in Canada and on Showtime in the United States. The premise involves five space travelers who witness the destruction of the Earth; they are given ...

'' (2002) *''

'' (2005)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Biography from Bookbrowse
* * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennert, Alan 1954 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers American comics writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American science fiction writers Primetime Emmy Award winners Living people Nebula Award winners Novelists from New Jersey Writers from Englewood, New Jersey Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from New Jersey UCLA Film School alumni Television producers from California Television producers from New Jersey