Robert Kanigher (/ˈkænɪɡər/; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)[1] was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades.
He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over twenty years, taking over the scripting from creator William Moulton Marston.
In addition, Kanigher spent many years in charge of DC Comics's war titles and created the character Sgt.
Kanigher scripted what is considered the first Silver Age comic book story, "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!
[7][17][18] Comics historian Bill Schelly noted that "Kanigher's scripts were built on well-orchestrated dramatic sequences, with the story's objects not war-time danger and violence, but the impact these events had on the men of Easy Company.
"[19] In 1956, DC editor Julius Schwartz assigned Kanigher and Infantino to the company's first attempt at reviving superheroes: an updated version of the Flash that would appear in issue #4 (Oct. 1956) of the try-out series Showcase.
The eventual success of the new, science-fiction oriented Flash heralded the wholesale return of superheroes, and the beginning of what fans and historians call the Silver Age of comics.
[20] Artist Ross Andru began a nine-year run on Wonder Woman, starting with issue #98 (May 1958), where he and Kanigher reinvented the character, introducing the Silver Age version and her supporting cast.
Rock character in Our Army at War #81 (April 1959)[24] The creative team co-created the original version of the Suicide Squad in The Brave and the Bold #25 (September 1959).
[27][28] Kanigher also created other popular action series features, such as "Enemy Ace",[29] "The Losers", and The Unknown Soldier.
[33] In the late 1950s and 1960s, Kanigher had a hand in creating many other characters, including the Viking Prince, Balloon Buster, and the Batman villain Poison Ivy.
Among fellow comic creators, Kanigher was as well known for his unstable personality and violent temper as he was for his brilliance as a writer, and collaborators such as Gene Colan and John Romita Sr. have commented on the difficulty of working with him.
"[35]Reuniting with Andru, Kanigher co-created the "Rose & The Thorn" backup feature in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #105 (October 1970).
[2] Kanigher was still working for DC into the early 1980s, most notably on the Creature Commandos feature in Weird War Tales.
When told the comic was being canceled, Kanigher wrote a one-page Creature Commandos story where the team of military superhumans and himself were rocketed off into space.