This one hurts. Denny was one of the few remaining links to the golden age having been of the generation that first came to know comics and grow up with them and super hero characters as a given. His career as writer would have been enough for comics but his editorial guidance and mentoring of talent is another of his legacies. People we regard as comic book legends today began work under Denny. Denny's work was always something you could point to and say, "That? That's what can be done with this medium." It's not just family friendly kids entertainment... It never was. It's pulpy, it's fantastical, but you have to believe the characters and situations are real and have some urgency to them. There has to be some kind of "realness", otherwise it's just mental *********ion with bright colored action figures. There's always been a handful of comic book greats I've always wanted to meet. Definitely in the top 5 was Denny.
And lest we forget... Denny gave us these:
A true comics legend. RIP Denny O'Neil. A huge influence on my early comics reading life. Thanks for everything - especially dark Batman.
