Who is Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas was the first writer Stan Lee hired who stuck, and he became the man who kept Marvel running when Lee stepped back. He took over as the company’s second editor-in-chief, co-created a deep bench of characters, the Vision, Ultron, Carol Danvers, Iron Fist, Morbius, Ghost Rider, and expanded Marvel beyond superheroes into sword-and-sorcery and licensed adaptation. Born in 1940 and raised in comics fandom, he is also the medium’s most dedicated historian.
First Marvel work
Thomas joined Marvel in 1965 after a brief start at DC, the first of Lee's writer hires to become a fixture. He came directly out of fan culture, having edited the fanzine Alter Ego, and brought an encyclopedic knowledge of comics history to the job. Within a few years he was scripting the company's flagship titles and absorbing Lee's editorial role.The Vision, Ultron, and a deep roster
Thomas's co-creations run long. In the Avengers alone he co-created Ultron (1968) and the [Vision](/characters/vision/) (Avengers #57, 1968). Elsewhere he co-created [Carol Danvers](/characters/captain-marvel/), Iron Fist, Morbius, [Ghost Rider](/characters/ghost-rider/), Luke Cage, the [Defenders](/groups/defenders/), and the Invaders, and he co-created [Wolverine](/characters/wolverine/). Few writers introduced so many durable characters across so many titles.Conan the Barbarian
Thomas brought Robert E. Howard's Conan to American comics in Conan the Barbarian #1 (1970). It launched the sword-and-sorcery genre in the medium and became one of Marvel's most successful licensed properties, proving the company could sell books well outside the superhero lane.Star Wars
Thomas pushed Marvel to license [Star Wars](/characters/darth-vader/) before the film proved itself, and adapted it in Star Wars #1 (1977). The book was a surprise blockbuster, and the revenue is widely credited with helping keep Marvel solvent through a lean stretch.Roy Thomas’s Impact on Comics
Thomas is the connective tissue of Marvel’s first two decades: the writer who learned the house style directly from Lee, then carried it forward as editor-in-chief and out into new genres. His character co-creations alone, the Vision, Ultron, Carol Danvers, Wolverine, would make him a top-tier creator; the Conan and Star Wars books make him the person who proved Marvel was more than superheroes. For collectors, his late-1960s and 1970s debuts are scattered across an unusually wide range of key issues.
