Steven Grant (born October 22, 1953)[1] is an American comic book writer best known for his work with Trouser Press, his 1985–1986 Marvel Comicsmini-seriesThe Punisher with artist Mike Zeck, and for his creator-owned character Whisper.
Biography
Comic books
Grant has written for both major publishers such as Marvel Comics and DC Comics, as well as smaller companies including First Comics and Dark Horse Comics.
Beginning in the 1980s, Grant wrote a number of works for Marvel. In addition to bringing the Punisher back into the forefront of the Marvel Universe
Coincidentally one of Moon Knight's secret identities is named Steven Grant.
Grant wrote a conclusion to Steve Gerber's Omega the Unknown series in two issues of The Defenders at the end of which most of the original series' characters were killed.While Gerber seemed unhappy with Grant's conclusion,[2] it nevertheless tied up the loose ends of the comic series.[3] In 1982, Grant, Mark Gruenwald, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions,[4] the first limited series published by Marvel Comics.Grant and artist Mike Zeck produced a Punisher limited series in 1986[5] and an original hardcover graphic novel of the character three years later.[6]
Grant's creator-owned character, the female ninja Whisper, debuted at Capital Comics in 1983,[7] though the company's publishing arm folded after only two issues and a promotional poster of the series were published.[8] Several months after First Comics picked up two other Capital publications (Nexus and the Badger), they published a one-shot entitled Whisper Special which led to Whisper being featured in the anthology series First Adventures and eventually to her own ongoing series in June 1986.[9] During this time, Grant wrote American Flagg! (he was personally selected by Howard Chaykin to take over scripting the title after Chaykin's departure), a fill-in run on Shatter, a short-lived comic book of his own creation called Psychoblast and a few issues of Classics Illustrated at First.
At Dark Horse Comics, Grant wrote several limited and ongoing series in the short-lived Dark Horse shared superhero continuity, including the entire two-year run of the series X. His creation Enemy, published by Dark Horse, was optioned and produced as a Fox pilot, but ultimately did not air. He wrote numerous stories for DC Comics in the 1990s and created new versions of Manhunter and the Challengers of the Unknown.He continued to periodically write for Marvel Comics, his last major contribution being X-Man in collaboration with Warren Ellis and Ariel Olivetti.Among his other creator-owned works of the 1990s were the superhero comic Edge, with Gil Kane, published by Malibu Comics/Bravura, and the crime series Damned with Mike Zeck, published by WildStorm.
His two long-running columns exposing the inner workings of the comics industry, "Master of the Obvious" and "Permanent Damage", ran from 1999–2010 at the Comic Book Resources website.
Since 2005, Grant has written several works for IDW Publishing including original comics featuring the characters from the television show CSI.He wrote a one-shot featuring an updated version of his character Whisper and created a crime series, 2 Guns, about undercover cops, for Boom! Studios.At Avatar Press, he produced two creator-owned mini-series, Mortal Souls and My Flesh Is Cool, as well as adapted Frank Miller's original Robocop screenplays to comics format, which deviated considerably from the filmed versions.
Novels
In addition to comic book work, Grant has written a number of Hardy Boys novels for young adults under the pen-name Franklin W. Dixon, as well as Tom Swift and various "choose-your-own-adventure" type books, a posthumous collaboration with science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.
Film
Grant's 2 Guns has been made into a motion picture from Universal Studios starring Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Bill Paxton and Paula Patton.[10]
Grant is working on the sequel to 2 Guns as well as an updating of Gil Kane's spy thriller His Name Is... Savage
Bibliography
The Hardy Boys Casefiles (under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon)
2.Steve Gerber. The Omega Flap June 14, 2005, retrieved December 23, 2006^
3.Peter Sanderson. Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History Dorling Kindersley, 2008^
4.DeFalco, Tom "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 208: "Plotted by Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo, and penciled by John Romita Jr., Contest of Champions eventually saw print in June 1982"^
5.Steven Grant. Punisher: Circle of Blood Marvel Comics, 2008^
6.Steven Grant. The Punisher: Return to Big Nothing Marvel Comics, 1989^
7.Stephan Friedt. The Whisper Interview: Whisper in the Hands of Steven Grant and Norm Breyfogle Back Issue!, TwoMorrows Publishing, February 2017^
