History Creator / MarkEvanier

Additionally, he often posts obits of a lot of lesser known comic creators and Hollywood actors, writer and producers that often get completely overlooked in the mainstream. Sadly, his obits were so good and so frequent as The Golden Age population began dying out, his website has often been mis-identified as an "Obituary Site." For this reason, he is in high demand to host panels at [[FanConvention San Diego Comic Con]], especially relating to the GoldenAge of comics. He hosts well over a dozen every year.

In comics he is the co-writer (with Creator/SergioAragones) of ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', and co-creator of ''ComicBook/TheDNAgents'' and ''Crossfire''. He has written a well-regarded run on ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}''. He wrote Franchise/LooneyTunes and other licensed funny cartoon comics for Creator/GoldKeyComics. In his early years in comics, he worked as a production assistant for Creator/JackKirby, of whom he has published a biography.

His early television work was mostly in sitcoms, including ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'', on which he was a story editor, but he is better known as a writer (and sometimes voice director) of animated series, including ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' (of which he wrote nearly every episode), ''WesternAnimation/TheGarfieldShow'', ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' (which he helped develop and wrote the pilot episode of), ''WesternAnimation/ThundarrTheBarbarian'', and ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''.

Mark Stephen Evanier (born March 2, 1952) is an American television and comic book writer.

!! Tropes present in his work:

Mark Evanier is an American television and comic book writer.

Additionally, he often posts obits of a lot of lesser known comic creators and Hollywood actors, writer and producers that often get completely overlooked in the mainstream. Sadly, his obits were so good and so frequent as The Golden Age population began dying out, his website has often been mis-identified as a "Obituary Site." For this reason, he is in high demand to host panels at [[FanConvention San Diego Comic Con]], especially relating to the GoldenAge of comics. He hosts well over a dozen every year.

Evanier writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From ME]]. His website is chock full of bits of show biz and comic history often not documented anywhere else. Particularly of Creator/JackKirby (his mentor) whom he wrote an exhaustive book about, and the classic comedy ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (he had a hand in the recent restorative blu-ray release). He's also an unabashed fan of the late Creator/JuneForay, whom he cast in several of his shows, was partly responsible for her first Emmy nomination, and even organized her public memorial just two months after she died.

In comics he is the co-writer (with Creator/SergioAragones) of ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', and co-creator of ''ComicBook/TheDNAgents'' and ''Crossfire''. He has written a well-regarded run on ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}''. He wrote Franchis/LooneyTunes and other licensed funny cartoon comics for Creator/GoldKeyComics. In his early years in comics, he worked as a production assistant for Creator/JackKirby, of whom he has published a biography.

For the latter, he had the unenviable job of writing the episode that introduced the infamous [[TheScrappy Scrappy-Doo]]. Relating the episode's history in a series of articles called [[http://www.newsfromme.com/writings/scrappy-days/ Scrappy Days]], he argues that Scrappy's {{hatedom}} is mostly a modern phenomenon, and at the time, the character actually helped keep the show on the air.

In comics he is the co-writer (with Creator/SergioAragones) of ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', and co-creator of ''[=The DNAgents=]'' and ''Crossfire''. He has written a well-regarded run on ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}''. He wrote Franchis/LooneyTunes and other licensed funny cartoon comics for Creator/GoldKeyComics. In his early years in comics, he worked as a production assistant for Creator/JackKirby, of whom he has published a biography.

Evanier writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From ME]]. His website is chock full of bits of show biz and comic history often not documented anywhere else. Particularly of Creator/JackKirby (his mentor) whom he wrote an exhaustive book about, and the classic comedy ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (he had a hand in the recent restorative blu-ray release). He's also an unabashed fan of the late Creator/JuneForay, whom he cast in several of his shows, and was partly responsible for her first EmmyAward nomination.

Evanier writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From ME]]. His website is chock full of bits of show biz and comic history often not documented anywhere else. Particularly of Creator/JackKirby (his mentor) whom he wrote an exhaustive book about, and the classic comedy ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (he had a hand in the recent restorative blu-ray release). He's also an unabashed fan of Creator/JuneForay, whom he cast in several of his shows, and was partly responsible for her first EmmyAward nomination.

In comics he is the co-writer (with Creator/SergioAragones) of ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', and co-creator of ''[=The DNAgents=]'' and ''Crossfire''. He has written a well-regarded run on ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}''. He wrote Franchis/LooneyTunes and other licensed funny cartoon comics for Creator/GoldKey. In his early years in comics, he worked as a production assistant for Creator/JackKirby, of whom he has published a biography.

In comics he is the co-writer (with Creator/SergioAragones) of ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', and co-creator of ''[=The DNAgents=]'' and ''Crossfire''. He has written a well-regarded run on ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}''. In his early years in comics, he worked as a production assistant for Creator/JackKirby, of whom he has published a biography.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: {{Defied}}. In some of his TV scripts in TheEighties, Evanier was forced by MoralGuardians to include this {{Aesop}}, which he hated due to its UnfortunateImplications of groupthink. When he had more creative control over his scripts, he took every opportunity to parody it devastatingly. The best example of this would be "The Buddy Bears" from ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends''.

* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: On one of the variety shows where Evanier worked as head writer, he realized he could ask the producers for anything and they would get it for the show-- so he [[RefugeInAudacity wrote a sketch that called for a live elephant]]. The joke was meant to be that an {{infomercial}} advertiser [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom didn't notice an elephant in his studio]], but it got even funnier when the elephant decided to... Just go read it [[http://www.newsfromme.com/pov/col226/ here]].

Evanier writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From Me]]. His website is chock full of bits of show biz and comic history often not documented anywhere else. Particularly of Creator/JackKirby (his mentor) who he wrote an exhaustive book about, and the classic comedy ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (he had a hand in the recent restorative blu-ray release). He's also an unabashed fan of Creator/JuneForay, whom he cast in several of his shows, and was partly responsible for her first EmmyAward nomination. Additionally, he often posts obits of a lot of lesser known comic creators and Hollywood actors, writer and producers that often get completely overlooked in the mainstream. Sadly, his obits were so good and so frequent as The Golden Age population began dying out, his website has often been mis-identified as a "Obituary Site." For this reason, he is in high demand to host panels at [[FanConvention San Diego Comic Con]], especially relating to the GoldenAge of comics. He hosts well over a dozen every year.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: {{Defied}}. In some of his TV scripts in TheEighties, Evanier was forced by MoralGuardians to include this {{Aesop}}, which he hated due to its UnfortunateImplications of groupthink. When he had more creative control over his scripts, he took every opportunity to parody it devastatingly. The best example of this would be "The Buddy Bears" from ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' (an excerpt of his explanation for why these characters exist is the quote on this trope's page).

Evanier writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From Me]]. His website is chock full of bits of show biz and comic history often not documented anywhere else. Particularly of Creator/JackKirby (his mentor) who he wrote an exhaustive book about, and the classic comedy ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (he had a hand in the recent restorative blu-ray release). Additionally, he often posts obits of a lot of lesser known comic creators and Hollywood actors, writer and producers that often get completely overlooked in the mainstream. Sadly, his obits were so good and so frequent as The Golden Age population began dying out, his website has often been mis-identified as a "Obituary Site." For this reason, he is in high demand to host panels at [[FanConvention San Diego Comic Con]], especially relating to the GoldenAge of comics. He hosts well over a dozen every year.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: {{Defied}}. In some of his TV scripts in TheEighties, Evanier was forced by MoralGuardians to include this {{Aesop}}, which he hated due to its UnfortunateImplications of groupthink. When he had more creative control over his scripts, he took every opportunity to parody it devastatingly. The best example of this would be "The Buddy Bears" from ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' (an excerpt of his explanation for why these characters exist is the quote on this trope's page).

In comics he is the co-writer (with Creator/SergioAragones) of ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'', and co-creator of ''[=The DNAgents=]'' and ''Crossfire''. He has written a well-regarded run on ''ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}}''.

In his early years in comics, he worked as a production assistant for Creator/JackKirby, of whom he has published a biography.

Evanier writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From Me]].

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Evanier's website [[http://www.povonline.com/ POV Online]] is a treasury of fascinating bits of entertainment history, and he writes a popular blog entitled [[http://www.newsfromme.com/ News From Me]].

NeedsMoreLove.

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!!Tropes:

* BerserkButton: He '''''hates''''' it when children's shows glorify groupthink and ostracize non-team-players (see below). Similarly, he hates having to create characters whose sole purpose is to be the the pessimistic complainer that's always ignored and/or shunned.
** Coleslaw, one of his least favorite foods. Complains that it gets put into/onto all sorts of foods he likes without disclosure.
** Candy Corn, which he insists no one actually likes, yet shows up every Halloween.
** Putting odd ingredients into tuna salad.
** A lot of his food pet peeves stem from food allergies, which he says he has a laundry list of (he says he has gone to restaurants and being unable to order one item off their menu...Mexican food in general he is uanble to eat for this reason).
* ConspiracyTheorist: Self-admitted he was one about the JFK assasination for years, and even attended a convention once. Nowadays, tends to the believe the single-shooter theory.
** Jokingly says there's a conspiracy within the home movie industry to make him buy a new version of ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' every few years (8mm, Beta, VHS, special edition VHS, Laserdisc, special edition Laserdisc, DVD, [[Creator/TheCriterionCollection Criterion Collection]] DVD, etc)...he finally broke down and got the blu-ray a few years ago when someone bought him a BR player for Christmas, tho he'd been staving off upgrading to BR for just this reason).
* DeadpanSnarker: As often seen on the letter's pages of Groo and on his website and twitter account.
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: One of Evanier's most hilarious experiences as a TV writer was the day he realized he could ask the producers for anything and they would get it for the show-- even a live elephant. The joke was meant to be that an {{infomercial}} advertiser [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom didn't notice an elephant in his studio]], but it got even funnier when the elephant decided to... Just go read it [[http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL226.htm here]].
* FollowInMyFootsteps: Averted. His father was an accountant for the IRS and ''hated'' it. While wary of his son trying to make it in writing, he was mostly happy with him doing ''anything'' but that.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: His best friend and creative partner Creator/SergioAragones.
* JustHereForGodzilla: Spent a few years in his childhood obsessively collecting baseball cards, despite not being a particular fan of the sport.
* OldShame: By his own admission, pretty much every cartoon he had any hand in during TheEighties, except for ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' (which he enjoyed to the point that he's still involved with the franchise 25 years later).
** He also was head writer of the disastrous flop ''Series/PinkLadyAndJeff''. Pretty much any variety show he worked on was short-lived.
** Though you wouldn't know it reading his recollections on his website, he worked on many shows that were successful...but tales of spectacular bombs are just funnier.
** One of his favorite running jokes for years was the spectacular bomb his short-lived comic ComicBook/HollywoodSuperstars was, despite heavily promoting it in Groo.
* PromotedFanboy: As a boy, Evanier says that he enthusiastically admired comedy writers, cartoonists, and voice actors. No surprises what he grew up to be.
** Also, he was inspired to get into TV comedy writing by ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow''.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Anyone flipping through old silver age comics are bound to see his name show up dozens of times in the letter's pages.
* TheScrappy: Not the literal trope namer, (IE, he didn't create Scrappy, but was responsible for developing the character and wrote his origin). As above, he wrote a long essay defending/explaining the character, and points out that originally the character brought the ratings up.
* SexSells: Is fond of lamenting that an article on his website about nude scenes in movies (which is actually pretty PG) has the highest hit count of anything he's written on there.
** And along with a bit of OldShame, wrote an essay about how once early in his career he wrote a pornographic novel under a psuedonym for some extra cash. He was...somewhat inexperienced at the time in the actual mechanics of sex, and just kind of winged it. Despite this, he said the editor/publisher loved it and wanted to hire him on retainer.
* StylisticSuck: Invoked in [[http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL198.htm this story]] about an AnimatedAdaptation of the children's book "Mama Don't Allow." The story is about a bad saxophone player, but the professional saxophonist they hired for the part had a very hard time playing badly enough.
* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: {{Defied}}. In some of his TV scripts in TheEighties, Evanier was forced by MoralGuardians to include this {{Aesop}}, which he hated due to its UnfortunateImplications of groupthink. When he had more creative control over his scripts, he took every opportunity to parody it devastatingly. The best example of this would be "The Buddy Bears" from ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' (an excerpt of his explanation for why these characters exist is the quote on this trope's page).
* TheHistorian: His website is chock full of bits of show biz and comic history often not documented anywhere else. Particularly of Creator/JackKirby (his mentor) who he wrote an exhaustive book about, and the classic comedy ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (he had a hand in the recent restorative blu-ray release).
** Additionally, he often posts obits of a lot of lesser known comic creators and Hollywood actors, writer and produers that often get completely overlooked in the mainstream. Sadly, his obits were so good and so frequent as The Golden Age population began dying out, his website has often been mis-identified as a "Obituary Site."
** For this reason, he is in high demand to host panels at SanDiegoComicCon, especially relating to the Golden Age of comics. He hosts well over a dozen every year.