Golden Age Fox's earliest stories for
DC Comics featured the fictional district attorney
Speed Saunders with art by
Creig Flessel and later
Fred Guardineer beginning at least with
Detective Comics #4 (June 1937). Speed Saunders was initially credited to "E.C. Stoner," which many believe to be a Fox pseudonym, and Fox has gone on record as claiming he created the character, "cashing in on my law school work". As the 1930s progressed, Fox added writing credits for Steve Malone and Bruce Nelson for
Detective Comics to his workload, as well as
Zatara for early issues of
Action Comics. During
World War II, Fox assumed responsibility for a variety of characters and books of several of his colleagues who had been
drafted. He worked for numerous companies including
Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor,
Timely Comics;
Vin Sullivan's
Magazine Enterprises,
Columbia Comics where he created
Skyman; and at
EC, where he served a brief stint as chief writer. With the waning popularity of superheroes, Fox contributed
western,
science fiction, humor,
romance, and
talking animal stories.
Batman During July 1939, just two issues after the debut of the character Batman by artist
Bob Kane and scripter
Bill Finger, Fox wrote the first of his several tales for that character, introducing an early villain in the story "The Batman Meets
Doctor Death". Alongside Kane and Finger, Fox contributed to the evolution of the character, including the character's first use of his
utility belt, which "contain[ed] choking gas capsules," Fox returned to the Batman in 1964.
(See below) Sandman During 1939, Fox and artist
Bert Christman co-created the character of the
Sandman, a
gasmask-wearing costumed crime-fighter whose first appearance in
Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939) was pre-empted by an appearance in ''
New York World's Fair Comics''.
The Flash Fox is credited with writing the first three of six stories in the inaugural issue of
Flash Comics (Jan. 1940), including the debut of the titular character, The
Flash. 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. The character went on to appear in a host of nineteen-
forties comics, including
All Star,
Comic Cavalcade,
The Big All-American Comic Book,
Flash Comics and his own title,
All-Flash, Debuting as the third story in
Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940) — "Fox's imagination [transformed] that bird [into] the soaring, mysterious Hawkman." 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.
The Justice Society of America Regularly writing more than six stories in five titles per month, every month throughout the early 1940s, Fox continued to create new features. At the time, DC Comics consisted of two discrete sub-companies,
Max Gaines'
All-American Publications and
Harry Donenfeld &
Jack Liebowitz's
National Periodical Publications. Though he continued to script for National/Detective Comics, Inc., Fox became the chief writer for All-American. While Fox's Dr. Fate (and other titles) was published by National; Sandman, Hawkman and the Flash were released by All-American. For Winter 1940, the third issue of All-American's
All Star Comics debuted the
Justice Society of America, the first superhero team in comics. Fox had worked on the Hawkman, Flash and Sandman features in
All-Star for its first two issues (Summer and Autumn 1940), but from issue #3 (Winter), he assumed full writing duties for the issue, with all features by different artists working within the
framing device wherein the characters were described as part of a "Justice Society". 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. and the character would later join the JSA. 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.
Non-DC work #1, June 1950, art by
John Giunta. Between 1940 and 1941, Fox wrote for the Columbia Comic Corporation, penning stories featuring characters including "Face," "Marvelo," "Rocky Ryan," "Skyman," and "Spymaster." and of "Kenton of the Star Patrol." During 1953, he entered into correspondence with fan
Jerry Bails, which initially emphasized Bails' fondness for the Justice Society and
All-Star Comics, but ultimately became a friendship that not only influenced the beginning of comics' so-called "Silver Age", but also comics
fandom, in which Bails had a major role. During the mid-1950s, after
Fredric Wertham's publication of
Seduction of the Innocent and the
United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings on the dangers of comic books, the content of comics was changed and became subject to censoring by the private
Comics Code Authority. In partial response to this shift, DC editor
Julius Schwartz began a widespread reinvention/revival of many earlier characters, and "Fox was one of the first writers... Schwartz called in to help". 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. The Adam Strange stories were co-plotted by Fox and the character's creator, Julius Schwartz. With the "creative guidance" of Fox and Schwartz, "
Hawkman and the
Atom were given new costumes, new identities," and drew an audience of fans old and new. Fox penned the reinvention of the new Hawkman in
The Brave and the Bold #34 (March 1961) and the Atom, who debuted in
Showcase #34 (Sep–Oct. 1961) with art by
Gil Kane.
Justice League of America Another of Fox's major achievements was his revival of the concept of the
Justice Society as the
Justice League of America, debuting in the comic book
The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb.–Mar. 1960). Soon given their own title during Oct.–Nov. 1960, the Justice League would become the basis of the DC Universe. The supervillain
Doctor Light first battled the team in issue #12 (June 1962).
Justice League of America #21 and #22 (August–September 1963) featured the first team-up of the Justice League and the
Justice Society of America as well as the first use of the term "Crisis" in reference to a crossover between characters. The next year's team-up with the Justice Society introduced the threat of the
Crime Syndicate of America of
Earth-Three. 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. 1967). Fox and Sekowsky were the creative team for the title's first eight years. Sekowsky's last issue was #63 (June 1968) and Fox departed with #65 (September 1968).
Multiverse Fox's script for "
Flash of Two Worlds!", from
The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961), introduced the concept that the Golden Age heroes existed on a parallel Earth named
Earth-Two, as the current Flash,
Barry Allen, travels to the Earth of
Jay Garrick, the 1940s Flash. This event heralded more generally the concept of the DC Comics
Multiverse, a decades-long recurring theme of the DC Comics universe, allowing old and new heroes to co-exist and crossover.
Silver Age Batman During 1964, Schwartz was made responsible for reviving the Batman titles and Fox returned to writing Batman stories. Eighteen issues later, Fox and Moldoff similarly resuscitated and relocated Professor Jonathan Crane, launching the Earth-1 Scarecrow in "Fright of the Scarecrow",
Batman #189 (Feb 1967). He and artist Carmine Infantino created the
Blockbuster in
Detective Comics #345 (Nov. 1965) and the
Cluemaster in issue #351 (May 1966). Fox and Infantino introduced
Barbara Gordon as a new version of
Batgirl in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" in
Detective Comics #359 (January 1967). Fox's final Batman story, "Whatever Will Happen to Heiress Heloise?", was published in
Detective Comics #384 (Feb. 1969). and four books about the adventures of "Kyrik," starting with
Warlock Warrior (1975). For
Tower Books,
Belmont Books, and
Belmont-Tower, he produced between thirteen and twenty-five "Lady from L.U.S.T." (
League of
Undercover
Spies and
Terrorists) novels between 1968 and 1975 using the name Rod Gray. (see also:
The Man from O.R.G.Y.) With Rochelle Larkin and
Leonard Levinson, Fox used the pen-name "Glen Chase" to write entries in the "Cherry Delight, The Sexecutioner" series.
Later comics work During the early 1970s, Fox briefly worked for DC's rival publisher,
Marvel Comics, writing scripts for
The Tomb of Dracula,
Red Wolf, and the "
Doctor Strange" feature in
Marvel Premiere. During 1971,
Skywald Publications reprinted some of his earlier work in titles such as
Demona,
Nightmare,
Red Mask and
Zanagar, and Fox also found work with
Warren Publications on
Creepy and
Eerie during the same period. Towards the end of his life, during 1985, he worked briefly for
Eclipse Comics including on the science fiction anthology
Alien Encounters. Fox died on December 24, 1986. He died at Princeton Medical Center in Princeton, New Jersey from pneumonia. He is interred in Holy Cross Burial Park and Mausoleum in East Brunswick, New Jersey, alongside his wife Lynda. ==Hobbies and achievements==