# Comic book \*characters\* who're published authors?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 20, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267 "2003-11-20T06:59:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/1 "2003-11-20T06:59:35Z")
…I’m inspired to ask this question after seeing a recent _Wonder Woman_ comic, in which it’s shown that our esteemed Ms. Diana has just published a collection of her essays and speeches.
I’ll tell ya’, you ain’t going to see _that_ happening in “Wolverine” anytime soon. 😃
So, how many _other_ comic characters are supposed to be published authors?
Works published under a “Secret Identity” name count, of course.
And the only other character I could think of would be Clark Kent, with his newspaper articles (Didn’t he even win a Pulitzer?).
Anyone else?
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### Author:  [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/2 "2003-11-20T07:14:46Z")
Depending upon which version of Superman you’re reading, Lois Lane, Perry White, and Clark Kent have all won Pulitzers.
Professor X (X-Men) has published papers and books on genetics. Hank McCoy was also a published researshc scientist.
Nite Owl 1 (Watchmen) published a book about his days as a member of a JSA type supergroup. Nite Owl 2 was a published writer of articles about birds for nature magazines. Ozymandias wrote about his spritual journey and early adventures in a book.
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### Author:  [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/3 "2003-11-20T07:30:00Z")
Peter “Spider-Man” Parker had a book published. “Webs” was a collection of his best Spidey photos, IIRC. Not sure if that counts as an “author”, though.
(And IIRC [again], if **Slapstick** #2 is to be believed, “Webs” bombed at the bestsellers list and ended up in the bargain bins… 😃 )
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/4 "2003-11-20T07:46:04Z")
Grant Morrison wrote _himself_ into Animal Man, does that count?
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### Author:  [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/5 "2003-11-20T10:41:00Z")
The Tarantula was an early DC character who was brough back for All Star Squadron.
He was IIRC a mystery novelist who later wrote a book on superheroes based on his experiences with the Squadron.
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### Author:  [@Marlow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlow)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/6 "2003-11-20T12:29:20Z")
There’s Spider Jerusalem, and Art Speigleman (kinda).
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/7 "2003-11-20T13:29:58Z")
In _Angel And The Ape_, the Ape (named, charmingly “Sam Simeon”) writes & draws a comic book.
Iris Allen, the late wife of the Silver Age Flash, published a biography of her husband while time traveling in the 25th Century.
DC Comics later published the book in RL, & I own a copy.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/8 "2003-11-20T13:42:32Z")
Dave Sim put himself (as the author) in Cerebus and had a long discussion with the aardvark on the level of control he had on Cerebus’ life.
Weird, man. And Sim claimed the last 20+ years of the book had all be leading up to that point.
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### Author:  [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/9 "2003-11-20T13:46:00Z")
For a while, Steve (Captain America) Rogers worked as a commercial artist. He eventually became the artist on the Marvel Universe version of the Captain America comic book. (Marvel comics exist in the Marvel Universe, but they publish “official licensed version” comics of the FF, Avengers, etc.
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/10 "2003-11-20T17:04:26Z")
In _Jon Sable, Freelance_ (First Comics, early to mid 1980s), the title character’s day job was an author of a popular series of children’s books. If memory serves, he wrote under the pen name “B.B. Flemm,” and had to wear a disguise to do public appearances as Flemm.
His other job, of course, was crimefighter, mercenary-for-hire, that sort of thing. He wasn’t a superhero, but artist and writer Mike Grell told some damn good adventure stories with him.
One of the more interesting issues was the one that told one of Flemm’s stories, in comic form. Sergio Aragones took over from Mike Grell to do the art for that one.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/11 "2003-11-20T17:24:22Z")
Daredevil is/was a lawyer in his civilian life so the likelihood is good that he has published at the very least articles in various law reviews and/or journals. Ditto Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk.
Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards is a world-renowned scientist and has undoubtedly published any number of scientific papers. The same might go for Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Howard the Duck ran for president so he may have published one of those campaign biographies that seem to be required of candidates.
Green Lantern/Kyle Ranier is a freelance artist and so is published in the same way Captain America is as noted earlier.
Captain Carrot/Rodney (ne “Roger”) Rabbit is a cartoonist, most known for his work on _Justa Lotta Animals_. His teammate Yankee Poodle/Rova Barkit is a gossip columnist.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/12 "2003-11-20T18:51:35Z")
Jesse Quick, the super-fast daughter of the Golden Age speedster Johnny Quick and heroine Liberty Belle, wrote a book about growing up around the Justice Society of America.
The Tarantula, aka Jonathan Law, wrote a similar book about his experiences as a superhero (as mentioned above). So did the original Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, from Watchmen.
Ethan Crane, aka Supreme, works for Dazzle Comics as the artist of the Omniman comic book series (which mirrors his own adventures as Supreme in many ways).
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### Author:  [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/13 "2003-11-20T20:01:38Z")
Many of the characters in Alex Robinson’s critically-acclaimed _Box Office Poison_ are published authors, including lead characters Ed, Jane, Stephen and Dorothy.
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### Author:  [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/14 "2003-11-20T20:50:07Z")
Doc Savage’s crew appeared in Marvel comics, and Long Tom published at least one book, so advanced that the average electrical engineer had to struggle for it. It’s a safe bet that the rest of the gang published papers in various journals.
I believe Dragon of the Southern Knights wrote sci-fi paperworks under a pseudonym
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### Author:  [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/15 "2003-11-20T20:52:26Z")
Clark Kent has published novels. In one fight scene a decade or so ago, he was punched through a bookstore window and saw a stack of one of his novels, remaindered.
Superman: “Remaindered? _Now_ I’m really in a bad mood.”
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-book-characters-whore-published-authors/214267/16 "2003-11-20T21:52:44Z")
Lois Lane (post Crisis) is also a novel writer. One of her books was an Edgar Award-winning mystery titled “Shadows in the Grass”.