Comic and film elite to visit Rockland as Dennis O’Neil, visionary behind “Batman,” receives lifetime achievement award at Garner Arts

PRESS RELEASE

GARNER Arts Center will honor the career of esteemed comic book writer/editor Denny O’Neil, a Rockland County resident, on March 5, 2016.

The event, sponsored by DC Entertainment, is timed with the release of the new “Batman v. Super-man: Dawn of Justice” film (March 25, 2016) and is a part of GARNER’s 2015-2016 Season.

O’Neil, known as the Dean of American Comics, is responsible for the vision of Batman in current comic and film lore. He has worked as an editor/writer for DC Comics and Marvel Comics and as a writer at Charlton Comics. O’Neil has received numerous awards throughout his ca-reer and was honored with the 2014 Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award at Comic-Con.

GARNER will present O’Neil with its first Lifetime Achievement Award. “GARNER’s Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates the significant and sustained contributions of artists whose pioneering work has had national, and in some cases, international impact. Mr. O’Neil’s work on “Batman” and other titles inspires legions of comic, film and television fans and professionals throughout the world. O’Neil’s focus on social, psychological and political issues in his work gives his characters a depth which trans-cends the world of fantasy”, states Robin E. Rosenberg, GARNER’s President.

In exploration of an extraordinary career, O’Neil will participate in conversation at the GARNER event with Michael Uslan (executive producer of upcoming “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice;” producer & writer of “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” & “The Dark Knight Rises”), which will be moderated by Paul Levitz (former president & publisher, DC Comics). GARNER’s Dye Works space will be filled with artwork, posters, and videos from O’Neil’s extensive collection.

O’Neil began his writing career as a newspaper reporter, coming to New York as Stan Lee’s editorial assistant at Marvel Comics. In 1967, O’Neil joined DC where, in addition to editing the “Batman” titles, O’Neil, a group editor, scripted such titles as “Wonder Woman,” “The Justice League of America” and 13 issues of “Superman.”

After the cancellation of the “Batman” television show, Mr. O’Neil and artist Neal Adams took the character back to his roots and created the version of Batman that has inspired all recent Batman movies and animated series. O’Neil and Adams collaborated to produce the “Green Lantern-Green Arrow” series, which earned praise and media attention for its ground-breaking combination of flamboyant fantasy and social themes.

During his career, O’Neil has written stories for numerous DC and Marvel Comics’ major titles, including “Batman,” “Spiderman,” “Iron Man,” “Hawkman,” “The Atom” and “Daredevil,” as well as for Gentlemen’s Quarterly and New York Magazine. O’Neil has authored numerous books and teleplays, and adapted Batman movies into comic books and novels, most recently “Batman Begins,” which was partially based on O’Neil’s work.

Tickets for this event are $65 for the VIP Meet & Greet with O’Neil and the panelists (includes one hour open bar and hors d’oeuvres – limited to 50 attendees) or $40 for general admission tickets to the panel discussion and award presentation.

Tickets and more information can be found at www.garnerartscenter.org.