Sad to read the news about this comic book writer passing who oddly had the same name as Sam Neill’s character in Jurassic Park. He was part of DC Comics’ influx of UK-based writers and artists who made comics and superheroes more sophisticated for a larger audience. Alan isn’t as famous as Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, Watchmen) or Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Green Lantern) yet I used to own his run of Detective Comics:Batman in the late Eighties with Norm Breyfogle doing the art. I think he also got the nod to write Batman’s team up with Judge Dredd, which is the family of characters he originally worked on to get DC’s attention. Alan’s other lasting contribution was for Batman. He created the funny and odd villain The Ventriloquist. You’d think Batman would’ve had such a foe way back in the Forties or Fifties. Nope. The character even made the jump to great Nineties cartoon because Alan’s creation was that good.
Thanks for everything Alan. You were part of a great vanguard responsible for making comic book characters more popular to a larger audience through your perspective.