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Mark Verheiden (born March 26, 1956) is an American television, movie, and comic-book writer. He was a co-executive producer for the television series '' Falling Skies'' for
DreamWorks Television DreamWorks Television was an American television distribution and production company based in Universal City, California, that was a division of DreamWorks. History DreamWorks Television was formed in December 1994 as DreamWorks Pictures ag ...
and the TNT network.


Career


Comics and comic-related work

Verheiden's introduction into writing comics came in June 1987, when he penned '' The American'', which was published by
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
in its second year of operation. Starting in March of the following year, he wrote what was to be the first of many Verheiden/Dark Horse
comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
based on the
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
film-series '' Aliens'', and comics based on the similarly licensed property ''
Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
'' soon followed. A character in the 2004 film '' Alien vs. Predator'', involving a crossover conflict between the Aliens and Predators, was named after him. In January 1989, he wrote the first of several stories featuring
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
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 ...
' then-weekly title ''
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 ...
'', from #635. Verheiden later wrote scripts for the 2001 ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' television series featuring Clark Kent in his pre-Superman teen years, and was supervising and then co-executive producer for ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
'' during its first three seasons. He also wrote for DC's tie-in ''Smallville'' comic. He contributed to the 1989 Harvey and Eisner ''A1'' anthology series. Commencing in the same year, his ''Phantom'' stories featured in a 13-issue maxi-series from
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 ...
(following a four-issue Peter David-written
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
) and took on 'real-world issues', such as
poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
ing, illegal weapon trading,
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
, and toxic dumping. The stories usually took a more psychological approach than the
Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...
-written comic strips. Luke McDonnell was the regular artist. He followed this in 1990 as co-writer on
Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of American publishing company Marvel Comics, active from 1982 to ...
' 12-issue series '' Stalkers''. Verheiden contributed to scripts for the feature films '' The Mask'' and '' Timecop'', both based on Dark Horse comics, and the latter based on Verheiden's creation. Verheiden was also the creator/writer and supervising producer on the ABC television series '' Timecop''. In 2007, Verheiden began work on the live-action screenplay for a
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 ...
film for
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 ...
, as well as an adaptation of his own ''Ark'' (written for ''
Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by Dark Horse Comics from 1986 in comics, 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 in comics, 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was publishe ...
'' in the mid-1990s) with
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
. In the mid-2000s, Dark Horse Comics gained the '' Evil Dead'' comics licence, and from January–April 2008, Verheiden wrote the four-issue miniseries based on the
Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...
movie, with art by
John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican Party (United States), Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to ...
. Verheiden was no stranger to the ''Evil Dead'' team, having previously worked with Raimi on ''Timecop'', written a pilot for Rob Tapert and produced the screenplay for Bruce Campbell's '' My Name is Bruce''. Verheiden was a writer and executive producer on NBC's short-lived 2014–15 series '' Constantine'' based on the Vertigo/DC
Hellblazer ''John Constantine, Hellblazer'' is an American contemporary Horror fiction, horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introd ...
comic. Verheiden has been a writer for the Netflix and Marvel television series '' Daredevil'' since 2016. In 2020, HBO announced the development of a '' Hellraiser'' television series with Verheiden attached as writer and executive producer.


Non-comics work

Verheiden was consulting producer on the 1999–2000 UPN series '' The Strip''. Verheiden was a writer and co-executive producer on the television series ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
'' since season two, and wrote nine episodes of the series. Verheiden wrote "Rebirth", the first regular-series episode of '' Caprica'', the prequel to ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
''. The episode aired in January 2010. Verheiden joined the staff of '' Heroes'' as writer and consulting producer in 2008. He wrote two episodes of the season-three "Fugitives" storyline. He returned to ''Heroes'' for season four as writer and consulting producer, rejoining the staff with episode 407 and co-writing episodes 410 and 417. In 2009, DreamWorks announced Verheiden was writing ''Quatermain'', a live-action feature project. In 2010, Verheiden joined the staff of new TNT television series ''Falling Skies'' as writer and co-executive producer. In 2011, Verheiden was named executive producer and writer for '' The Dark Tower'' television series associated with the in-development movie series. In 2012, Verheiden was named executive producer and writer for '' Hemlock Grove'', a television series produced by Gaumont International Television for
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. Verheiden was also executive producer of "The Family", a project developed for the SyFy Network. In 2013, CBS Films announced that Verheiden was writing the feature screenplay adaptation of Trevor Shane's novel '' Children of Paranoia'', in association with producer
Akiva Goldsman Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...
and Weed Road Films. In 2017, Verheiden was named executive producer for season three of '' Ash vs Evil Dead''. In 2018, DC Comics and Warner Bros. named Verheiden executive producer/showrunner for the first season of a live-action '' Swamp Thing'' series for the
DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...
streaming service.


Selected filmography


Films


Television


References


External links

*
Interview about Verheiden's work on ''The Phantom''Mark Verheiden's blogVideo interview from 'Connected Life'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verheiden, Mark American television writers American male television writers American comics writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters American male screenwriters American science fiction writers American fantasy writers Living people 1956 births Inkpot Award winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers