J. M. DeMatteis

John Marc DeMatteis is an American writer of comic books. A follower of the Indian guru Meher Baba, DeMatteis is known both for infusing superhero comics with spiritual concerns, and for his witty, humorous touch.

He began as a music critic before turning to comics. Getting his start at DC Comics in the late 1970s, DeMatteis was a prolific contributor to the company's line of horror comics. He began to work at Marvel Comics during the late 1970s and early 1980s. His first work was on Marvel's "non-team" team book The Defenders, and he also had a lengthy run on Captain America (paired with penciller Mike Zeck). In the late 80's, DeMatteis and Zeck re-teamed for the classic "Kraven's Last Hunt," a six-part epic considered one of the highlights of Spider-Man's forty year history.

DeMatteis also wrote a graphic novel, Moonshadow, for Marvel's Epic line during this time. Illustrated by artist Jon J. Muth, this story of an enlightened child is one of his most personal works. He followed that with "Blood: A Tale," a hallucinatory vampire tale drawn by award-winning illustrator Kent Williams.

Moving back to DC, DeMatteis took over from Gerry Conway as the writer of Justice League of America. When that title was cancelled in the wake of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, DeMatteis stayed as it was relaunched as Justice League International, scripting over the plots of Keith Giffen.

JLI took a bunch of second-string DC characters - Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Mister Miracle, Captain Atom, Power Girl, et. al. - and turned the then-current preoccupation with "grim 'n' gritty" superheroes on its head. It emphasised the sheer absurdity of a bunch of people with strange powers, wearing day-glo costumes, running around fighting evil doers. While the Justice League had its serious side and often faced the usual universe-threatening villains, it also featured such characters as G'nort, the worst Green Lantern in the corps; Mr. Nebula, the interplanetary decorator; the Injustice League, a bunch of bumbling losers; and a flock of vampire penguins.

Paradoxically, by not taking their characters seriously, DeMatteis and Giffen made them seem much more "human" and well-rounded than the usual superheroes.

DeMatteis stayed with JLI for five years, often scripting its spin-offs (such as a Mister Miracle solo title, or a European branch of the Justice League). Back at Marvel in the mid 1990s, he returned to Spider-Man for an acclaimed run and worked on characters such as Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Man-Thing, and the Silver Surfer.

He continued to work for DC, contributing tales about Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to various titles; redefining The Spectre, through the character of Hal Jordan, as a spirit of redemption rather than of vengeance; and in 2003 he and Giffen revived the JLI for a new mini-series, Formerly Known as the Justice League. The series won Giffen, DeMatteis and artist Kevin Maguire the coveted Eisner Award.

DeMatteis's autobiographical graphic novel, "Brooklyn Dreams," now published by DC's Vertigo imprint, was hailed by the American Library Association as one of the Ten Best Graphic Novels and Booklist, in a starred review, called it “As graphically distinguished and creatively novelistic a graphic novel as has ever been...a classic of the form.”

More recently DeMatteis teamed with legendary illustrator Mike Ploog, launching a fantasy title, Abadazad, for CrossGen Comics. DeMatteis and Ploog ultimately sold Abadazad to Disney's Hyperion Books, where it will soon be published as a series of fantasy novels for young readers.

Current projects include another all-ages fantasy with Ploog, "The Stardust Kid," for Desperado/Image and a re-teaming with Keith Giffen for their original super-hero comedy, "Hero Squared," published by Boom! Studios.

DeMatteis also writes for television, having scripted episodes of the 1980's incarnation of the Twilight Zone, The Adventures of Superboy, Earth: Final Conflict and Justice League Unlimited, among others. He has also written films for Twentieth Century Fox, Disney Feature Animation and directors Chris Columbus and Dean Devlin.

Also a musician, J.M. DeMatteis released one album in the late 1990s.