Fox, Gardner F
Entry updated 18 November 2024. Tagged: Author, Comics.
(1911-1986) US lawyer and author, who began writing in 1937 for DC Comics, including Superman. Arguably his most important work was for Comics: though it is claimed that he published at least 160 books under various names – not all are given here; some are Westerns with fantastic elements – this total pales beside his 4000 or more comic-book stories, also under a variety of names. He created The Flash as well as the first Superhero team, the Justice Society of America, in 1940; in the 1960s he was one of those responsible for reviving many of the superheroes from the 1940s, such as The Atom (considerably reimagined) and Hawkman, and also created new characters like Adam Strange. He began publishing sf/fantasy in non-graphic form with "The Weirds of the Woodcarver" for Weird Tales, September 1944. He used several pseudonyms at this time, including Jefferson Cooper, Jeffrey Gardner and James Kendricks, though not for sf. He was an active contributor to Planet Stories from 1945, and soon established a reputation for historical romances such as The Borgia Blade (1953), not beginning to publish sf novels, either under his own name or under his later pseudonyms Rod Gray, Simon Majors and Bart Somers, until Jules Verne's Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), which novelizes the film of the Jules Verne novel.
Fox's first sf novel proper is Escape Across the Cosmos (1964), in which a man fights a menace from another Dimension; his best is probably The Arsenal of Miracles (1964 dos), which places a Space Opera narrative within a Galactic Empire frame, with a romantically conceived hero who prefigures the interest in Heroic Fantasy which dominated Fox's later output. His sf series are the two fantasy-like Alan Morgan adventures – Warrior of Llarn (1964) and Thief of Llarn (1966) – and the Commander Craig space operas: Beyond the Black Enigma (1965) as by Bart Somers and Abandon Galaxy! (1967) as by Bart Somers. Fox was an efficient storyteller with no visible pretensions to significance or thematic originality.
For his comics work he was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1999. [JC/PN/DRL]
see also: The Avenger, Jet, Mystery in Space; Strange Adventures; Strange Worlds; Wonder Woman.
Gardner Francis Fox
born New York: 20 May 1911
died Jamesburg, New Jersey: 24 December 1986
works
series
Alan Morgan
- Warrior of Llarn (New York: Ace Books, 1964) [Alan Morgan: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- Thief of Llarn (New York: Ace Books, 1966) [Alan Morgan: pb/Gray Morrow]
Commander Craig
- Beyond the Black Enigma (New York: Paperback Library, 1965) as by Bart Somers [Commander Craig: pb/]
- Abandon Galaxy! (New York: Paperback Library, 1967) as by Bart Somers [Commander Craig: pb/]
Coxeman
- The Best Laid Plans (New York: Paperback Library, 1969) as by Troy Conway [#10 in series: Coxeman: pb/]
- Up and Coming (New York: Paperback Library, 1972) as by Troy Conway [#30 in series: Coxeman: pb/]
Kothar
- Kothar – Barbarian Swordsman (New York: Belmont Books, 1969) [Kothar: pb/Jeff Jones]
- Kothar of the Magic Sword! (New York: Belmont Books, 1969) [Kothar: pb/Jeff Jones]
- Kothar and the Demon Queen (New York: Tower Books, 1969) [Kothar: pb/Jeff Jones]
- The First Kothar the Barbarian Megapack (Cabin John, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2016) [omni of the above three: pb/Andrey Kiselev]
- Kothar and the Conjuror's Curse (New York: Belmont Books, 1970) [Kothar: pb/Jeff Jones]
- Kothar and the Wizard Slayer (New York: Belmont Books, 1970) [Kothar: pb/Jeff Jones]
- The Second Kothar the Barbarian Megapack (Cabin John, Maryland: Wildside Press, 2016) [omni of the above two: pb/Andrey Kiselev]
Lady from L.U.S.T.
- The Poisoned Pussy (New York: Tower Books, 1969) as by Rod Gray [soft porn written under a House Name: Lady from L.U.S.T.: pb/Paul Rader]
- Laid in the Future (New York: Tower Books, 1969) as by Rod Gray [soft porn written under a House Name: Lady from L.U.S.T.: pb/]
- Blow my Mind (New York: Tower Books, 1970) as by Rod Gray [soft porn written under a House Name: Lady from L.U.S.T.: pb/]
- The Copulation Explosion (New York: Tower Books, 1970) as by Rod Gray [soft porn written under a House Name: Lady from L.U.S.T.: pb/]
Kyrik
- Kyrik: Warlock Warrior (New York: Leisure Books, 1975) [Kyrik: pb/Ken Barr]
- Kyrik Fights the Demon World (New York: Leisure Books, 1975) [Kyrik: pb/Ken Barr]
- Kyrik and the Wizard's Sword (New York: Leisure Books, 1976) [Kyrik: pb/Ken Barr]
- Kyrik and the Lost Queen (New York: Leisure Books, 1976) [Kyrik: pb/Ken Barr]
individual titles
- Jules Verne's Five Weeks in a Balloon (New York: Pyramid Books, 1962) [tie to the 1962 film: pb/]
- Escape Across the Cosmos (New York: Paperback Library, 1964) [pb/Richard Powers]
- Titans of the Universe (New York: Manor Books, 1978) as by Moonchild [rev vt of the above: a plagiarized edition with only some of the names changed: pb/]
- Star Chase (New York: Elsevier/Nelson Books, 1979) as by Brian James Royal [vt of the above: the same plagiarization republished the following year; copyright in the name of James Harvey: hb/]
- Titans of the Universe (New York: Manor Books, 1978) as by Moonchild [rev vt of the above: a plagiarized edition with only some of the names changed: pb/]
- The Arsenal of Miracles (New York: Ace Books, 1965) [dos: pb/Jack Gaughan]
- The Hunter Out of Time (New York: Ace Books, 1965) [illus/Frank Frazetta and Jack Gaughan: pb/Gray Morrow]
- The Druid Stone (New York: Paperback Library, 1967), as by Simon Majors [pb/Victor Kalin]
- Conehead (New York: Ace Books, 1973) [pb/J H Brenslow]
- The Man Who Was God (New York: Leisure Books, 1978) as by Glen Chase [authorship not secure: pb/]
- The Warlock of Sharrador (Medford, Oregon: Armchair Fiction, 2015) [dos: first appeared March 1953 Planet Stories: pb/Allen Anderson]
- Vassals of the Lode-Star (Medford, Oregon: Armchair Fiction, 2016) [dos: first appeared Summer 1947 Planet Stories: pb/Allen Anderson]
- The Return of Dargoll & Other Pulp Stories (no place given: Gardner Francis Fox Library, 2018) [coll: hb/Kurt Brugel]
comics reprints
- Showcase Presents: Green Lantern, Volume 1 (New York: DC Comics, 2005) [coll: graph: pb/Gil Kane]
- Showcase Presents: Green Lantern, Volume 2 (New York: DC Comics, 2007) [coll: graph: pb/Gil Kane]
- Showcase Presents: The Atom, Volume 1 (New York: DC Comics, 2007) [coll: graph: pb/Gil Kane]
- Showcase Presents: Adam Strange (New York: DC Comics, 2007) [coll: graph: pb/Carmine Infantino]
- Showcase Presents: Hawkman, Volume 1 (New York: DC Comics, 2007) [coll: graph: pb/Joe Kubert]
- The Flash of Two Worlds (New York: DC Comics, 2009) [coll: graph: hb/Carmine Infantino]
collections
- Sword of the Seven Suns (no place given: Kurt Brugel, 2016) with Kurt Brugel [coll: chap: pb/Kurt Brugel]
- Tonight the Stars Revolt! (no place given: Kurt Brugel, 2016) with Kurt Brugel [coll: chap: pb/Kurt Brugel]
- Vassals of the Lode-Star (no place given: Kurt Brugel, 2016) with Kurt Brugel [coll: chap: pb/Kurt Brugel]
- 10 Gardner Francis Fox Planet Stories Collected & Illustrated (no place given: Gardner Francis Fox Library, 2017) [coll: stories first appeared 1944-1953 Planet Stories: pb/Kurt Brugel]
- Niall of the Far Travels Collected (no place given: Gardner Francis Fox Library, 2017) [coll: pb/Kurt Brugel]
about the author
- Jennifer DeRoss. Forgotten All-Star: A Biography of Gardner Fox (Orlando, Florida: Pulp Hero Press, 2019) [nonfiction: biography: pb/photomontage]
links
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