Gerry Conway, the writer and editor whose work helped define the landscape of superhero comics across the 1970s, 1980s and beyond, has passed away. He was 73.
Marvel announced his death on behalf of his family. No cause of death was given. Conway had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 and underwent surgery to remove the tumor before declaring himself cancer-free in September 2023.
“From Spider-Man to the Avengers, Iron Man to Captain Marvel, Gerry Conway has deftly written almost every character in the Marvel Universe,” said Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski. “He thrilled us with new characters like the Punisher and broke our hearts in emotional tales like ‘The Night Gwen Stacy Died,’ a story that affects Spider-Man to this day. Gerry Conway’s legacy has made an undeniable and indelible impact on the super hero stories we know and love. He will be dearly missed.”
Conway was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 10, 1952 and was a comics fan from an early age. He had a letter published in Fantastic Four #50 when he was 13 and began his professional career at 16. His first published work was a horror story, “Aaron Philips’ Photo Finish,” that appeared in DC Comics’ House of Secrets #81. He continued writing short stories over the next two years for Marvel’s Chamber of Darkness and Tower of Shadows, as well as DC’s All-Star Western and Super DC Giant. That led to a story in The Phantom Stranger #10, which got him on the path to writing super heroes, which was his real ambition.
“I’d been writing for DC Comics for two or three years,” he told Back Issue magazine, “but to paraphrase the joke about the actor’s ambitions to be a director, what I really wanted to do was write superheroes – specifically Marvel heroes.”
Roy Thomas gave him the Marvel writer’s test, and liked what he saw enough to offer him assignments, including scripting Ka-Zar. He went on to write Daredevil, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and other titles. He also didn’t move to far away from horror, scripting and co-creating Man-Thing and Werewolf by Night, and also helping to bring Dracula into the Marvel Universe by scripting Tomb of Dracula.
By 19, he had taken over from Stan Lee as writer of The Amazing Spider-Man with #111, a distinction that would have been remarkable for a veteran, let alone a teenager. He wrote issues #111-149, which included the milestone “Death of Gwen Stacy” storyline, and the introduction of the Punisher, the Jackal and the infamous Spider-Clone, now known as Ben Reilly. He also wrote extensive runs of Fantastic Four and Thor, where he introduced Galactus’ herald Firelord.
In the mid-1970s, Conway returned to DC, writing titles like Hercules Unbound, Kong the Untamed, Swamp Thing and All-Star Comics, where he co-created Power Girl. Having proved himself to both Marvel and DC, he was selected to script their first inter-company crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1. His work at DC continued with Superman, Detective Comics and a very long stint on Justice League of America, among other titles. At Marvel, he helped launch the Ms. Marvel series in 1977, establishing Carol Danvers on the path that would eventually make her Captain Marvel.
“Ask a Marvel fan about Gerry Conway and you’re likely to get an answer involving Gwen Stacy. Ask a DC fan about Conway and the answer may well involve his eight years as regular writer of Justice League of America,” wrote our own Tom Bondurant during his look back at the title. “We’ve mentioned his statistics already, but they bear repeating: Gerry Conway wrote 102 of JLA‘s 261 issues (including 81 in the Satellite Era), plus one of its three annuals. Original JLA writer Gardner F. Fox is in second place with 65 issues.”
Conway had a very brief run as Marvel’s editor-in-chief in 1976, replacing Marv Wolfman for about a month before handing over the reins to Archie Goodwin and returning to freelance writing. He continued writing comics in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s; his resume includes co-creating Firestorm, Jason Todd, Vixen, Killer Croc, Firehawk, Killer Frost, Vibe, Gypsy, Tombstone, Commander Steel, the Atari Force crew and many more. Outside of the big two, he worked on the Star Trek comic strip, as well as for publishers like Warren, Atlas, First Comics and Eclipse.
“Gerry Conway wrote the first superhero comic I remember reading in my life—Spider-Man dealing with Gwen’s death. But without a doubt, my favorite work, among others, of his was Atari Force, one of those comics that inspired me to become an artist. Thank you so much, maestro!” wrote artist Javier Rodriguez on social media.
Conway also found success in screenwriting, working with Thomas, his frequent collaborator, on the animated film Fire and Ice, and the live-action Conan the Destroyer. The pair also wrote an X-Men film in the 1980s that was never made, which was also around the time they worked on the first JLA/Avengers crossover that was never published. Conway’s TV work included writing and producing shows like Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Father Dowling Mysteries, Diagnosis: Murder, Matlock, Jake and the Fatman, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Baywatch Nights and more, as well as episodes of Transformers, G. I. Joe and Batman: The Animated Series.
Despite his success in TV, Conway was never quite done with comics. After an absence from the medium, he returned in the 2010s to write a Carnage series and the alternative universe title The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, well as issues of the Punisher, What If? and various one-shots. He also wrote the character he co-created, Firestorm, for a Legends of Tomorrow comic series.
In 2020, following the death of George Floyd and the creation of Black Lives Matter, Conway spearheaded a fundraising initiative for the organization that sold shirts featuring altered versions of the Punisher logo.
“For too long, symbols associated with a character I co-created have been co-opted by forces of oppression and to intimidate black Americans,” Conway said at the time “This character and symbol was never intended as a symbol of oppression. This is a symbol of a systematic failure of equal justice. It’s time to claim this symbol for the cause of equal justice and Black Lives Matter.”
“Gerry fought like a goddamn lion for a long time and was never anything less than… yknow. *gerry.* and when he was sick and hurting and fighting for every moment left he could grab, he still had the steel to tell these nazi geeks to get fucked. let his memory be a blessing — and a goddamn roadmap,” writer Matt Fraction said on social media.
Earlier this year, Conway was selected to be inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, as part of the class of 2026. He’s survived by his wife, Laura Conway, and countless friends and fans.
That’s a really sad loss. Gerry’s work on The Punisher was hugely influential and shaped so much of the character’s early story.