Mark E. Gruenwald (June 18, 1953 - August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity. In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career.
Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In the late 1980s Gruenwald became executive editor, with a particular remit as the keeper of Marvel continuity. Gruenwald was famous for a perfect recollection of even the most trivial details. An annual contest where fans tried to stump him with obscure questions was eventually discontinued by Marvel as it became clear he would never lose. Most fans, as well as Gruenwald's colleagues at Marvel, believe that had there not been a restructuring of the entire company by the owners in the early 1990s, he would have become editor-in-chief. Gruenwald married singer Belinda Glass in May 1981. They later separated, and he married Catherine Schuller. Gruenwald had a daughter, Sara.
Writer
As a writer, Gruenwald is best-known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America (from 1985 to 1995) ... during which he introduced Crossbones. During his period as writer, he was in possession of a replica of Captain America's shield ... the same shield now owned by Stephen Colbert.
Although it suffered from low sales, his sixty-issue run on Quasar (1989—1994) realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, his magnum opus is widely regarded to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intentioned superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet. Gruenwald's work is notable for the realistic touch he brought to his characters. For example, in the D.P.7 series he created for Marvel's New Universe, the main characters were all regular people who gained odd abilities, and never put on a single costume.
The Bull's Eye
Mark Gruenwald (or "Gru" or "Grueny" as he was often referred to) was a recurring character along with Tom DeFalco in the single-panel comic The Bull's Eye that ran in "Bullpen Bulletins". These strips ran as filler pages in comics during the majority of DeFalco's run as editor-in-chief, and Gruenwald was often depicted as a caricature and foil for DeFalco's antics.
Death and legacy
In 1996, Gruenwald succumbed to a heart attack, the result of an unsuspected congenital heart defect. Gruenwald was a well-known practical joker, and due to his young age, many of his friends and co-workers initially believed the reports of his death to be just another joke. Just days prior, he had done one of his trademark cartwheels down the halls of the Bullpen. In accordance with his request, he was cremated, and his ashes were mixed with the ink used to print the first trade paperback compilation of Squadron Supreme.
The Amalgam Comics book The Exciting X-Patrol #1 is dedicated to his memory. In the DC Universe, a building in Gotham City was named the Von Gruenwald Tower, and in the novel Captain America: Liberty's Torch (written by Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll), the lawyer kidnapped to defend the similarly kidnapped Captain in a mock trial before a militia is named Mark Gruenwald, and is described with the same general physical attributes and personality as the real Gruenwald. The lawyer acts heroically throughout the story.
In the pages of Fantastic Four, writer/artist Walt Simonson created the Time Variance Authority, a cosmic bureaucracy that regulates the Marvel Multiverse. Simonson paid homage to Gruenwald by having the TVA's staff all be clones of Gruenwald; no one could keep track of everything but him.
In volume four of Nova from Marvel Comics, the new director of Project Pegasus is named Dr. Gruenwald.
In 2006, Gruenwald was officially named the "Patron Saint of Marveldom" in the new "Bullpen Bulletins" pages.
The artwork of Merlyn in Who's Who in the DC Universe is the only known artwork by Gruenwald for a comics company aside from Marvel Comics. Before being hired by Marvel, he wrote text articles for DC Comics official fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics. Articles by Gruenwald include "The Martian Chronicles" (a history of the Martian Manhunter) in issue #13 and several articles on the history of the Justice League in issue #14.
