Louise Simonson
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Louise Simonson (born Mary Louise Alexander, September 26, 1946 in Atlanta, Georgia, formerly Louise Jones) is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as Power Pack, X-Factor, New Mutants, Superman, and Steel. She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Weezie".
In 1971 Simonson (then Louise Jones) modelled for artist Berni Wrightson's cover of DC Comics House of Secrets #92 (June-July, 1971), a comic which later became famous as the first appearance of Swamp Thing.[1]
Three years later in 1974, Jones started her professional comic book career at Warren Publishing. She went from assistant to senior editor of the comics line (Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella) before leaving the company at the end of 1979.
In January, 1980, she joined Marvel Comics, where she initially worked again as an editor, most notably on Uncanny X-Men, which she edited for almost four years (#137–182).
Louise Jones met the comic book writer and artist Walt Simonson in 1973. The two were married in 1980. At the end of 1983, she quit her editing job at Marvel to try her hand at freelance writing. As "Louise Simonson", she became a freelance writer with multiple assignments at her former employer Marvel. Louise also helped her husband color his 1983 Marvel graphic novel Star Slammers.
In August 1984, Simonson and artist June Brigman created Power Pack. The title featured the adventures of four pre-teen superheroes and was an immediate sales and critical success. Simonson would write the majority of the title's first forty issues, even coloring one issue (#18).
In 1986, Simonson returned to the X-books to begin a long stint as writer of X-Men spin-off X-Factor with #6. In that issue, she and artist Jackson Guice introduced Apocalypse, a character who would go on to play a major role in the X-Men franchise. From #10 of the title, she was joined by her husband, Walt Simonson, on pencils. In #25, the creators gave the character Angel blue skin and metal wings in a process which would lead to his being renamed as Archangel. She ended her run on the title with #64 in 1991
Simonson (as Louise Jones) had edited another X-Men spin-off, The New Mutants (1st series), at its debut in 1983 (after leaving the book, she would have a "cameo" in New Mutants #21, drawn in as a slumber party guest by artist Bill Sienkiewicz [2]). Subsequently, with #55 in 1987 she became the title’s writer, writing it for 3 1/2 years until #87 in 1991. It was during this run that she and artist Rob Liefeld introduced Cable, another important character in the X-Men franchise.
In 1990, Simonson began writing for Marvel’s rivals, DC Comics. She, artist Jon Bogdanove, and editor Mike Carlin launched a new Superman title, Superman: Man of Steel — a title she would write for eight years until #86 in 1999. During this run, Simonson (along with Carlin, Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern and others) was one of the chief architects of the The Death of Superman storyline, in which Superman died and was resurrected. It was during that story, in Superman: Man of Steel #19, that Simonson and Bogdanove introduced their character Steel, who graduated to his own title in 1993, with Simonson as writer until #31. The character went on to feature in an eponymous feature film starring Shaquille O'Neal in 1997.
In 1999, Simonson returned to Marvel to write a Warlock series, which featured a character from her previous New Mutants run. Also at Marvel that year, she wrote a miniseries, Galactus the Devourer, in which Galactus died temporarily.
In 2002 and 2003, Simonson wrote two books for teens based on the Justice League cartoon: Wonder Woman (The Gauntlet) and Wild at Heart published by Bantam Books.
More recently she has been involved with writing new stories featuring Magnus Robot Fighter for the publisher ibooks.
In 2007, it was announced that Simonson will be writing a one-shot starring Magik of the New Mutants as part of a four-issue event known as Mystic Arcana.
[edit] Selected comics work
- New Mutants vol. 1 #55-80, 82-91, 93-97
- New Mutants Annual #4-6
[edit] Other work
Simonson made frequent in-class appearances when her husband Walt Simonson taught a Graphic Storytelling course at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts in the 1990s.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Chris Claremont |
New Mutants (vol. 1) writer 1987–1991 |
Succeeded by Fabian Nicieza |
| Preceded by Bob Layton |
X-Factor (vol. 1) writer 1986–1991 |
Succeeded by Whilce Portacio |
| Preceded by NA |
Superman: The Man of Steel writer 1991–1998 |
Succeeded by Doug Schultz |
