Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes Barbara Gordon, the original Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Doctor Fate, Zatanna and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed several of those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America, and later recreated the team as the Justice League of America.

[5][8][9] Unlike many of his contemporaries in the comic book field, such as Jack Kirby and Jerry Siegel, who came from poor backgrounds, Fox came from an affluent family from Long Island.

[10] His family was of Irish and English descent, with his first known American ancestor being the either Irish-or-English born Richard Fox arriving in Connecticut in 1635.

[5] He practiced for about two years,[5] but as the Great Depression continued he began writing for DC Comics editor Vin Sullivan.

Debuting as a writer in the pages of Detective Comics, Fox "intermittently contributed tales to nearly every book in the DC lineup during the Golden Age.

[12] A polymath, Fox included numerous real-world historical, scientific, and mythological references in his comic strips, once saying, "Knowledge is kind of a hobby with me".

[13] For instance, during a year's worth of Atom comic strip stories, Fox referred to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the space race, 18th-century England, miniature card painting, Norse mythology, and numismatics.

He revealed in letters to fan Jerry Bails that he kept large troves of reference material, mentioning during 1971, "I maintain two file cabinets chock full of stuff.

[18] From 1969 to 1970, Belmont Books published a series of sword and sorcery novels by Fox, featuring the barbarian character Kothar.

The story was produced by scripter Roy Thomas and artists John Buscema, Joe Sinnott, Dan Adkins, and Dick Giordano.

With the waning popularity of superheroes, Fox contributed western, science fiction, humor, romance, and talking animal stories.

[34] With a hero described as a "modern-day Mercury", the title feature saw college student Jay Garrick imbued with superhuman speed after inhaling hard water vapors.

Describing the origins of Hawkman, Fox recalled, "I was faced with the problem of filling a new book that publisher Max Gaines was starting... As I sat by the window I noticed a bird collecting twigs for a nest.

[35] Debuting as the third story in Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940) — "Fox's imagination [transformed] that bird [into] the soaring, mysterious Hawkman.

"[14] With art by Dennis Neville,[36] the origin of the 'Winged Wonder' featured archaeologist and collector Carter Hall reliving his past life as Prince Khufu of ancient Egypt, creating a costume (powered by Nth metal), confronting the reincarnation of Hath-Set, his former nemesis, and meeting his reincarnated love interest, Shiera Saunders.

[39][40] In the pages of All-Star Comics #3, in collaboration with editor Sheldon Mayer and with artists including E. E. Hibbard, Fox created the first superhero team, the Justice Society of America.

Fate, the Sandman, the Flash, and Hawkman were joined by Hour-Man, the Spectre, the Atom and Green Lantern – was introduced individually (by Johnny Thunder), and related a solo adventure, before being charged at the title's end with remaining a loose team by the Director of the FBI.

Fox wrote the Justice Society's adventures from All Star Comics #3 until leaving the feature as of issue #34 (April–May 1947) with a story that introduced a new super-villain, the Wizard.

[42][43] Between 1940 and 1941, Fox wrote for the Columbia Comic Corporation, penning stories featuring characters including "Face," "Marvelo," "Rocky Ryan," "Skyman," and "Spymaster.

"[3] For approximately three years (1947–1950), Fox wrote for EC Comics, including scripts and text pieces which appeared in the titles The Crypt of Terror, The Vault of Horror and Weird Fantasy, as well as in the lesser-known Gunfighter, Happy Houlihans, Moon Girl, Saddle Justice and the new trend title Valor, among others.

[14] The Silver Age of Comic Books began in the pages of Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956) with a radically changed Flash character by writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome with penciler Carmine Infantino.

[48] Fox scripted most of the Silver Age adventures of science-fiction hero Adam Strange, who debuted in the comic book Showcase #17 (Nov. 1958) with art by Mike Sekowsky.

[58] The character Zatanna, introduced by Fox and artist Murphy Anderson in Hawkman #4 (Nov. 1964), was the center of a plotline which ran through several DC titles and was resolved in Justice League of America #51 (Feb.

[23] Fox stopped receiving work from DC during 1968, when the comics company refused to give health insurance and other benefits to its older creators.

With Rochelle Larkin and Leonard Levinson, Fox used the pen-name "Glen Chase" to write entries in the "Cherry Delight, The Sexecutioner" series.

Towards the end of his life, during 1985, he worked briefly for Eclipse Comics including on the science fiction anthology Alien Encounters.

[7] He is interred in Holy Cross Burial Park and Mausoleum in East Brunswick, New Jersey, alongside his wife Lynda.

Fox donated over fourteen boxes of comics, books, scripts, plot ideas, and fan letters dating back to the 1940s.

[3] During 2007, Fox was one of the year's two recipients of the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing, given under the auspices of San Diego Comic-Con.

In the sixth episode of the second season of Young Justice, during a disaster which destroys part of the city, the Flash directs a woman to a homeless shelter that is located between streets named Gardner and Fox.