Posted in: Comics | Tagged: bane, Batman, chuck dixon, Ra's al Ghul, scarface

Claimbusters: Who Is Chuck Dixon?

That's the question that headlines the front page of the Dixonverse, Chuck Dixon's online home.  According to the site, "Chuck Dixon is recognized across the industry as the most prolific writer working in comics today." Hmm… there are quite a few writers that would disagree with that. For example, Brian Michael Bendis' name pops up seven times in the January 2012 solicitations for new material, so I'd put good money on him putting out more new material in January than Mr. Dixon. Heck, Joshua Hale Fialkov has as many new books coming out in January (three) as Mr. Dixon, and that's with three different companies.

That's not the claim to bust though, although that was fun too. No, the claim to bust here comes a couple of sentences later, where he says, "He is (along with artist Graham Nolan) the creator of the Batman villain Bane, the first permanent addition to the Dark Knight's rogues gallery in forty years and for which he won 1993's Wizard Fan Award for best new character."

And that's where we have a problem. That ignores Scarface and the Ventriloquist, created four years before Bane by Alan Grant, John Wagner, and Norm Breyfogle. Not only did Scarface come before Bane, but he had also broken into the public consciousness well before Bane's debut, appearing in two episodes of Batman: the Animated Series before Bane made his first appearance.

It also ignores Anarky, another Grant/Breyfogle creation. Unlike Bane, Anarky has held his own series.

And that also ignores Clayface III, who first popped up in Detective Comics #478 and has made scores of appearances, including a classic Alan Moore story in Batman Annual 11.

It also ignores Harley Quinn, whose first appearance on Batman: the Animated Series came in the episode, "The Joker's Favor," which aired for the first time on September 11, 1992. Since then, she's been easily one of the most popular Bat-villains.

Then there's Killer Croc, who made his first appearance in Detective Comics #523, coming out in February 1983.

The Calculator, who has received a significant bump since Infinite Crisis in his status in the DCU, debuted in September 1976 in Detective Comics #463.

Speaking of a significant bump in importance in the DCU, Black Mask dominated a couple of years' worth of stories as Gotham's crime boss. His first appearance came in 1985 in Batman #386.

One could also make an argument for Deadshot, who made one ridiculous appearance in 1950 as a guy in a tux and top hat before being reborn in 1977 courtesy of Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers.

There is plenty of boasting he could do about Bane, who does hold a critically important place in Batman's history, but this claim is most definitely busted.

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