Ron Marz (born November 17, 1965[1]) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as Batman/Aliens, DC vs. Marvel, Green Lantern, Silver Surfer, and Witchblade.

Ron Marz
Marz at the New York Comic Con in Manhattan, October 9, 2010
Born (1965-11-17) November 17, 1965 (age 59)
Kingston, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer
Notable works
Batman/Aliens
DC vs. Marvel
Green Lantern
Silver Surfer
Witchblade

Career

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Marz is known for his work on Silver Surfer and Green Lantern, as well as the DC vs. Marvel crossover[2] and Batman/Aliens. He co-created Genis-Vell in Silver Surfer Annual #6 (1993).[3] Marz worked on the CrossGen Comics series Scion, Mystic, Sojourn, and The Path. At Dark Horse Comics he created Samurai: Heaven and Earth and various Star Wars comics. He has written for Devil's Due Publishing's Aftermath line including Blade of Kumori. In 1995, he had a brief run on X-O Manowar for Valiant Comics. The following year, Marz wrote the DC/Marvel: All Access limited series which was an intercompany crossover between DC and Marvel characters.[4]

While writing Green Lantern, Marz wrote the "Emerald Twilight" storyline,[5] in which the character of Hal Jordan, stricken with grief, became a mass murderer, leading to the destruction of the Green Lantern Corps, and Kyle Rayner being chosen at random as the last Green Lantern.

Marz's 2000s work includes a number of Top Cow Productions comic books, including Witchblade, which he wrote from issue #80 (Nov. 2004) to issue #150, plus a number of specials and crossover stories featuring the character, such as Witchblade/The Punisher in 2007 and Witchblade/Devi in 2008. His other Top Cow work includes Cyberforce #1–6 in 2006 and Cyberforce/X-Men in 2007.

For DC Comics, he has written Ion,[6] a 12-part comic book miniseries that followed the Kyle Rayner character after the One Year Later event, and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Parallax and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, two one-shot tie-ins to the Green Lantern crossover, The Sinestro Corps War.

Marz wrote Moonstone Books' 2006 annual featuring The Phantom, and was responsible for getting writers Chuck Dixon, Mike Bullock, Tony Bedard, and Rafael Nieves to participate with chapters for the book.[7]

Marz became an editor of three of Virgin Comics' Shakti Line titles in 2007 and oversaw Devi, Ramayan 3392 A.D. and The Sadhu.[8] He wrote the Beyond series, based on a story created by Deepak Chopra.

In 2008 Marz wrote Broken Trinity, which featured the characters Witchblade, The Darkness, and Angelus, as well as the tie-in series, Broken Trinity: Witchblade, Broken Trinity: Angelus (2008), and Broken Trinity: Aftermath (2009).[9][10] He signed an exclusive contract with Top Cow, which saw him write three comics a month: two for Marc Silvestri's Top Cow universe, and a creator-owned project.[11]

In 2011, Marz was the writer on Voodoo, which was part of DC Comics' company-wide title relaunch, The New 52.[12]

In 2020 Marz collaborated with Andy Lanning on the nine-issue DC Comics crossover storyline "Endless Winter", which would debut that December.[13]

Women in Refrigerators Trope

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In 1999, Gail Simone introduced the term Women in Refrigerators to highlight a troubling trend in comic narratives: the use of female characters' suffering—through death, injury, or assault—as mere plot devices to advance male protagonists' stories. This concept was sparked by an event in a 1994 Green Lantern issue written by Ron Marz, where Kyle Rayner discovers his girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt's fate at the hands of the villain Major Force, who had murdered her and left her body in a refrigerator. Simone's critique aimed to shed light on the broader issue of gender bias and the disposability of female characters within the genre.[14]

In response, Marz stated: "To me the real difference is less male-female than main character-supporting character. In most cases, main characters, 'title' characters who support their own books, are male. ... the supporting characters are the ones who suffer the more permanent and shattering tragedies. And a lot of supporting characters are female."[15] He also further explained:[15]

I created her [Alexandra DeWitt] with the intention of having her be murdered at the hands of Major Force. I took a lot of care in building her as a character, because I wanted her to be liked and her death to mean something to the readers. I wanted readers to be horrified at the crime, and to empathize with Kyle's loss. Her death was meant to bring brutal realization to Kyle that being GL [Green Lantern] wasn't fun and games. It was also meant to sever his links with his old life, paving the way for his move to New York. And ultimately I wanted her death to be memorable and illustrate just how truly heinous Major Force was. Thus the fridge.

Personal life

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As of 2013, Marz lives in Duanesburg, New York.[16]

Bibliography

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CrossGen

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Dark Horse Comics

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Dark Horse Comics / DC Comics

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DC Comics

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DC Comics / Marvel Comics

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Dynamite Entertainment

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  • John Carter: Warlord of Mars #1-14 (2014-2015)
  • Pathfinder: Goblins! #3 (2013)
  • Prophecy #1-7 (2012-2013)
  • Red Sonja: Sonja Goes East #1 (2006)
  • Red Sonja: She-Devil With a Sword #30 (2008)
  • Savage Tales #1-2 (‘The Witch’s Familiar’ feature only, 2007)
  • Turok #1-5 (2019)

Image Comics

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  • Angelus #1-6 (2009–2010)
  • Artifacts #1-28, 30-32, 40 (2010–2014)
  • Broken Trinity #1-3 (2008)
  • Cyberforce vol. 3 #1-6 (2006)
  • The Darkness #10-13 (2004)
  • Dragon Prince #1-4 (2008)
  • First Born #1-3 (2007)
  • Magdalena vol. 3 #1-12 (2010–2012)
  • Ravine Volumes 1-2 (2013–2014)
  • Shinku #1-5 (2011-2012)
  • Stormwatch #10-24, Stormwatch Special #1-2 (1994-1995)
  • Velocity #1-4 (2010-2011)
  • Wildstorm Rising #2 (1995)
  • Witchblade #80-150 (2004–2011) #170-185 (2013-2015)
  • Zealot #1-3 (1995)

Image Comics / Marvel Comics

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  • Unholy Union #1 (2007)

Marvel Comics

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Valiant Comics

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Virgin Comics

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References

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  1. ^ Marz, Ron (April 23, 2014). "I'm Nov. 17, 1965". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017.
  2. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1990s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Written by Peter David and Ron Marz with art by Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini, this four-issue miniseries event consisted of five major battles voted on in advance by reader ballots distributed to comic stores. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1990s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 265. ISBN 978-0756641238. Writer Ron Marz and penciller Joe Phillips created Genis-Vell...Originally going under the code name Legacy...He was later known as Captain Marvel. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Manning "1990s" in Gilbert, p. 281: "In this four-issue miniseries, writer Ron Marz and artists Jackson Guice and Josef Rubinstein featured interesting pairings, such as Venom battling Superman."
  5. ^ Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 264: "In 'Emerald Twilight', a three-issue saga penned by new writer Ron Marz and drawn by artists Bill Willingham, Fred Haynes, and Darryl Banks, longtime Green Lantern Hal Jordan set out to right the wrongs done to him."
  6. ^ Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 325: "Ron Marz and artist Greg Tocchini reestablished Kyle Rayner as Ion."
  7. ^ G., Lori (October 19, 2006). "Marz, Dixon, Bedard, Nieves & Bullock talk The Phantom Annual". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016.
  8. ^ Brady, Matt (February 28, 2007). "Ron Marz Joins Virgin Comics". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007.
  9. ^ Furey, Emmett (July 17, 2008). "Ron Marz talks Broken Trinity". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008.
  10. ^ Arrant, Chris (July 23, 2008). "Ron Marz on Top Cow's Broken Trinity". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  11. ^ Brady, Matt (September 29, 2008). "Baltimore 08: Ron Marz Signs Top Cow Exclusive". Newsarama. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  12. ^ Manning, Shaun (June 14, 2011). "Ron Marz Works Voodoo". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Johnston, Rich (November 17, 2020). "Enless Winter Preview and Checklist in this Week's DC Comics". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "A Brief History of Fridging in Marvel Comics". August 6, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "WiR - Ron Marz responds". www.lby3.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Uchmanowicz, Pauline (August 13, 2013). "Graphic Novel Galaxy". Chronogram. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
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Preceded by Silver Surfer vol. 3 writer
1990–1995
(with Jim Starlin in 1990–1991)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Thor writer
1993–1994
(with Jim Starlin in 1993)
Succeeded by
Preceded by Green Lantern vol. 3 writer
1994–2000
Succeeded by
Preceded by Green Lantern vol. 3 writer
2004
Succeeded by