Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer, best known for his work for

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 ...

. He co-created the

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

as well as characters such as Lance Bruner,

Metamorpho Metamorpho (Rex Mason) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, the character debuted as the lead feature in The Brave and the Bold, ''The Brave and the Bold'' (January 1965). ...

, Eclipso,

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

, and the

Super-Sons The Super-Sons are a pair of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The characters were created by Bob Haney and Dick Dillin and first appeared in '' World's Finest Comics'' #215 (January 1973). The charac ...

Biography

Early life and career

Haney grew up in Philadelphia, where he read popular newspaper

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

such as '' Prince Valiant'' and '' Flash Gordon'', and was a regular listener of radio dramas. Haney attended Swarthmore College. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and saw action during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

. After the war, he earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and then embarked on a writing career, publishing a number of novels under a variety of assumed names. In 1948, Haney entered the comic book industry. His first published comics story was "College for Murder" in ''

Black Cat A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...

'' #9 (January 1948). From 1948 to 1955 Haney wrote crime and war comics for a number of publishers, including Fawcett, Standard,

Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had ...

, Harvey, and St. John.

DC Comics

In large part due to the anti-comic book campaign launched by

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...

's ''

Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a harmful form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...

'' and the

United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was established by the United States Senate in 1953 to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency. Background The subcommittee was a unit of the United States Senate Judiciary Co ...

in 1953, most of Haney's publishers went out of business in the 1950s. In 1955 he connected with DC Comics and his first DC credit was the story "Frogman's Secret!" in '' All-American Men of War'' #17 (January 1955). Thus began a long association with DC, which lasted almost thirty years, with Haney scripting just about every sort of comic DC published. Haney was the writer of the story "The Rock of Easy Co.!" in '' Our Army at War'' #81 (April 1959), the first appearance of Sgt. Rock. Haney and artist

Lee Elias Lee Elias (May 21, 1920 – April 8, 1998) was a British- American comics artist. He was best known for his work on the '' Black Cat'' comic book published by Harvey Comics in the 1940s. Biography Emigrating to the United States from Manches ...

created the

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

Eclipso in '' House of Secrets'' #61 (August 1963). Haney frequently claimed to have co-created the

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...

with Arnold Drake and worked with him on the first few issues, but Drake insisted that Haney worked on the first issue only, and that his only role in creating Doom Patrol was co-creating the character Negative Man. In 1964, Haney created the

with artists Bruno Premiani and

Nick Cardy Nicholas Viscardi (October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013), known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was induct ...

. Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad teamed up in ''

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 ...

'' #54 (July 1964) to defeat a weather-controlling villain known as Mister Twister. They subsequently appeared under the name "Teen Titans" in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #60 in July 1965, joined by

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 ...

's younger sister Wonder Girl in her first appearance. After next being featured in '' Showcase'' #59 (Dec. 1965), the team was spun off into their own series with ''Teen Titans'' #1 (February 1966). The

character was created by Haney and artist Ramona Fradon in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #57 (January 1965). Haney stated in 1995 that "The most creative single thing I ever did was Metamorpho". The character was featured in his own title, also written by Haney, from 1965 to 1968. Metamorpho later appeared in a series of back-up stories in ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #413–418 and ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is 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 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #218–220 and #229. Haney and artist Howard Purcell created the supernatural character the Enchantress in '' Strange Adventures'' #187 (April 1966). The Enchantress appears in the 2016 live-action movie ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'', portrayed by actress Cara Delevingne. Haney was the writer of many of the issues of ''The Brave and the Bold'' including #59 (April–May 1965) which featured

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 ...

's first team-up in the title. Haney scripted issue #85 (Aug.-Sept 1969) wherein artist

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

updated

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

's visual appearance by designing a new costume for the character. Haney frequently disregarded continuity by scripting stories which contradicted DC's

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

or by writing major heroes in an out-of-character fashion. Haney himself, along with artist

Jim Aparo James N. Aparo (; August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre (DC Comics character), Sp ...

, appeared as a character in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #124 (January 1976). Haney's final story of the series was a Batman and Kamandi team-up in issue #157 (Dec. 1979). Among his contributions to the ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'' mythos are the characters Tula introduced in ''Aquaman'' #33 (May–June 1967) and Nuidis Vulko in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #73 (Aug.–Sept. 1967). The

, Superman Jr. and Batman Jr., were co-created by Haney and Dick Dillin in ''World's Finest Comics'' #215 (January 1973). Haney introduced Batman's older brother, Thomas Wayne Jr., in ''World's Finest Comics'' #223 (May–June 1974). This story was used a basis for a plot detail in the " Court of Owls" story arc in 2012. The '' House of Mystery's'' host

, a character modeled on writer

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

, was created by Haney with artist Jack Sparling and editor

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian Americans, Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' and ...

. His later war comics work included the four-page "Dirty Job," illustrated by Alex Toth, for '' Our Army at War'' #241 (February 1972), which has been described as Haney's "true masterpiece". He wrote the " Unknown Soldier" feature in '' Star Spangled War Stories'' in 1971 and 1972. He returned in 1977 and oversaw the series being renamed after the character. He wrote the retitled series until its cancellation with #268 (October 1982). Haney's stories in the 1960s and 1970s, especially with the Teen Titans and the Super-Sons, often dealt with youth culture and current issues, but by the late 1970s and early 1980s, Haney struggled to produce material that DC's editors considered timely or contemporary. This led to clashes with the DC editorial staff and ultimately to his departure from the comics industry.

Animation

In the 1960s Haney contributed scripts to '' The New Adventures of Superman'' and '' The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure'' cartoon shows; and in the 1980s, after leaving DC, wrote for several Rankin/Bass animated shows, including ''

ThunderCats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

'', '' Silverhawks'' and '' Karate Kat''.

Later life

When comics and animation work petered out in the late 1980s, Haney turned to other forms of writing, including a book on carpentry. He wrote a few additional comics scripts for DC including '' Elseworlds 80-Page Giant'' #1 (August 1999); ''Silver Age: The Brave and the Bold'' #1 (July 2000); and the posthumously published ''Teen Titans Lost Annual'' #1 (March 2008). His last few years were spent in San Felipe,

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, Mexico. Haney died at age 78 on November 25, 2004, in La Mesa, California. He is interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California.

Awards

Haney's industry recognitions included the 1968 Alley Award for Best Full-Length Story ("Track of the Hook" in ''

'' #79, drawn by

) and a 1997

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. He was awarded the Bill Finger Award posthumously in 2011.

Family

Haney's brother-in-law was Ned Chase, the father of actor

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...