|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Julius "Julie" Schwartz (June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in the Bronx, New York. Life and careerIn 1932, Schwartz co-published (with Mort Weisinger and Forrest J. Ackerman) Time Traveller, one of the first science fiction fanzines. Schwartz and Weisinger also founded the Solar Sales Service literary agency (1934-1944) where Schwartz represented such writers as Alfred Bester, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, and H. P. Lovecraft, including some of Bradbury's first published work and Lovecraft's last. In addition, Schwartz helped organize the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939.
In the 1960s, Schwartz began editing the Batman titles, helping craft the "new look" Batman which indirectly led to the Batman television series. He also helped writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams come to prominence at DC Comics. From 1971 to 1985 Schwartz was the editor of the Superman titles, helping to modernize the settings of the books and move them away from "gimmick" stories to stories with more of a character-driven nature. This included an attempt to scale back Superman's powers while removing kryptonite as an overused plot device. This proved short-lived, with Schwartz bowing to pressure to restore both elements in the titles. As an editor, Schwartz was heavily involved in the writing of the stories published in his magazines. He worked out the plot with the writer in story conferences. The writer would then break down the plot into a panel-by-panel continuity, and write the dialogue and captions. Schwartz would in turn polish the script, sometimes rewriting extensively.
Schwartz retired from DC in 1986 after 42 years at the company, but continued to be active in comics and science fiction fandom until shortly before his death. As a coda to his career as a comic book editor, Schwartz edited seven DC science fiction graphic novels, adapted from classic science fiction works by Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Bradbury, and others. In 2000 he published his autobiography, Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics, co-authored with Brian Thomsen. His wife, Jean (who had been his secretary before they married), died in 1986 from emphysema, after 34 years of marriage. Schwartz's relationship with Jean had been particularly close, and he never remarried or dated following her death. Not many years later, Schwartz's stepdaughter Jeanne — Jean's daughter from a previous marriage — died from the same illness under similar circumstances. He remained a "Goodwill Ambassador" for DC Comics and an Editor Emeritus up until his death. He was a popular guest at comic book conventions, often attending between ten and twelve conventions a year. Schwartz was so popular that he could often not get through a meal in convention hotel restaurants without being asked to sign autographs and answer comic book history questions from fans. In 1998, Dragon*Con chairman Ed Kramer established the Julie Award, bestowed for universal achievement spanning multiple genres and selected each year by a panel of industry professionals. The inaugural recipient was science fiction and fantasy Grand Master Ray Bradbury. Additional awards, presented by Schwartz each year, included Forrest J. Ackerman, Yoshitaka Amano, Alice Cooper, Will Eisner, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, Carmine Infantino, Anne McCaffrey, and Jim Steranko. Schwartz received a great deal of recognition over the course of his career, including the 1962 Alley Award for Best Editor, and the Shazam Award for Superior Achievement by an Individual in 1972 for bringing the Marvel Family back into print. Schwartz died on February 8, 2004, at the age of 88, after being hospitalized for pneumonia. He was survived by his son-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom he encouraged to refer to him not as "Great-Grandpa" but as "Super-Grandpa." Allegations of sexual harassmentAfter Schwartz's death, The Comics Journal printed an article which contained allegations by Colleen Doran, Jo Duffy, and Jill Thompson of sexual harassment dating back to the 1980s. These incidents are alleged to have occurred in a period just after the death of Jean and before his retirement from full-time work with DC. Although the accusations of impropriety had been floating around and had been the subject of gossip for years, it was only upon his death that such criticism saw print. Throughout his life, however, Schartz was credited with promoting the careers of young women in publishing, especially during his retirement. He often recommended young women for positions and encouraged their struggles against the glass ceiling. He was publicly supportive and complimentary of DC's first female president, Jenette Kahn. As a young man, Schwartz was also close with influential female science fiction writers such as Leigh Brackett and C.L. Moore. Schwartz also maintained close friendships with women in the field such as Ricia Mainhardt of the RMA Literary Agency; Lisa Feerick Pollison of Dahvli Productions (formerly of Davis Publications); Trina Robbins, comic artist/writer; Simone Welch, formerly VP of Bridge Publictions; Beth Gwinn, photographer and numerous other prominent young female professionals, some of whom have disputed the accusations of inappropriate behavior. In an interview with CBR News, Pollison credits him with bringing her into science fiction publishing from her previous position on Wall Street. She has frequently spoken at conventions and in interviews of Schwartz's influence on her career and that of other women of her generation and describes him as a feminist.
|
Sites |
Searched sites for "Julius Schwartz" |
|
No sites found. |
Sorry, no matching site records were found. |
Want your site listed here?
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
