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Jerry Ordway profile picture
Jerry Ordway
Author · 46 books

Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986), his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and for writing and painting the Captain Marvel original graphic novel The Power of Shazam! (1994), and writing the on-going monthly series from 1995-1999. He has provided inks for artists such as Curt Swan, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, John Buscema and Steve Ditko. Ordway was inspired in his childhood by Marvel Comics, and dreamed of drawing Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Avengers. (To date he has only worked on the latter.) He produced occasional work for Marvel between 1984 and 1988, then returned a decade later to write and illustrate a three-issue arc of Avengers (vol. 3) #16-18 (1999), as well as penciling the four-issue crossover mini-series Maximum Security (#1-3 and prologue Dangerous Planet) in 2000-2001. In 1986, along with writer/artist John Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman, Ordway was one of the architects trusted with revamping Superman, in the wake of the Ordway-inked continuity-redefining maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. Launching, with a revised origin and new continuity, in Byrne's miniseries, The Man of Steel, Superman soon returned to featuring in a number of titles. After the titular title Superman was cancelled and replaced with Man of Steel, it was swiftly relaunched as Adventures of Superman, continuing the numbering of the original Superman comic, with Wolfman as writer and Ordway as primary artist. When Wolfman departed the title, John Byrne briefly took over scriptwriting duties before Ordway assumed the mantle of writer-artist and took over the series solely. Switching from Adventures of Superman, Ordway took over as writer-artist on the companion title Superman (vol. 2) between 1989 and 1991, before later returning to Adventures.. as writer. While writing for the Superman family of titles, he helped devise the epic "Death of Superman" storyline in 1992. After seven years working on the character, Ordway largely left the Superman titles in 1993, although he would make frequent returns to the character as writer and artist throughout his career. In 1994, Ordway masterminded the return of the original Captain Marvel to the DC Universe with the 96-page hardcover graphic novel The Power of Shazam!, which he both wrote and painted. The story saw Ordway depict the revamped origins of the former-Fawcett Comics superhero. An early example of the one-shot Original Graphic Novel, it proved to be a success, and was followed by an on-going monthly series, also titled The Power of Shazam! (which ran between 1995 and 1999). Ordway wrote and provided painted covers for the entire run of the regular series, as well as illustrating fill-in issues between series-regular artists Peter Krause and Mike Manley. Towards the end of the series run, he again took on the dual role of writer & artist. For Image Comics, Ordway co-created the character WildStar (with Al Gordon) in 1993, and published his creator-owned one-shot The Messenger in July 2000.

Series

Books

Justice Society of America, Vol. 5 book cover

Justice Society of America, Vol. 5

Black Adam and Isis

2009

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #15 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #15

1996

Superman (1987-2006) #38 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #38

1989

The Power of Shazam! (The Power of Shazam book cover

The Power of Shazam! (The Power of Shazam

1993

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #9 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #9

1995

Superman (1987-2006) #39 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #39

1990

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #10 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #10

1995

Superman book cover

Superman

Funeral for a Friend

1993

Superman book cover

Superman

The Man of Steel Vol. 9 (Superman: The Man of Steel

1988

DC Comics Presents book cover

DC Comics Presents

Superman vs. Shazam

2021

Superman book cover

Superman

La morte di Superman

2004

Superman (1987-2006) #35 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #35

1989

Superman book cover

Superman

Dark Knight over Metropolis

1990

The Power of Shazam! (1995-1999) book cover

The Power of Shazam! (1995-1999)

Annual #1 (The Power of Shazam

1996

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #18 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #18

1996

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #13 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #13

1996

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #37 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #37

1998

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #12 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #12

1995

Superman (1987-2006) #49 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #49

1990

Noches Oscuras book cover

Noches Oscuras

Death Metal #6 Edición Dream Theater

2021

Superman (1987-2006) #45 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #45

1990

The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1 book cover

The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1

2022

Superman (1987-2006) #46 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #46

1990

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #16 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #16

1996

The DC Universe by Mike Mignola book cover

The DC Universe by Mike Mignola

2017

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #41 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #41

1998

Superman (1987-2006) #37 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #37

1989

Superman (1987-2006) #47 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #47

2013

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #26 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #26

1997

Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #10 book cover

Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #10

2015

Superman book cover

Superman

Zero Hour

1994

Adventures of Superman (1987-) #487 book cover

Adventures of Superman (1987-) #487

1991

Lois & Clark book cover

Lois & Clark

The New Adventures of Superman

1994

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #42 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #42

1998

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #29 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #29

1997

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #30 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #30

1997

Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #11 book cover

Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #11

2015

Planetary/JLA book cover

Planetary/JLA

Terra Occulta

2002

Superman (1987-2006) #41 book cover

Superman (1987-2006) #41

1990

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #47 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #47

1999

Superman The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus book cover

Superman The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus

2019

Superman - El Hombre de Acero book cover

Superman - El Hombre de Acero

volumen 9

2014

Superman n. 3 book cover

Superman n. 3

Esiliato

2012

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #24 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #24

1997

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #40 book cover

The Power of Shazam (1995-1999) #40

1998

Avengers Assemble, Vol. 2 book cover

Avengers Assemble, Vol. 2

2005

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