Scott Snyder

Scott Snyder

Snyder at a signing for
Batman: Gates of Gotham at
Midtown Comics in Manhattan.
Born New York City, New York, United States
Occupation Writer
Genre Fantasy, horror, superhero fantasy

Scott Snyder is an American writer. He is known for his 2006 short story collection Voodoo Heart, and his comic book writing, including American Vampire, Detective Comics, Batman, Batman: Gates of Gotham and Swamp Thing.

Early life

At the age of nine, Snyder attended a summer camp where one of the counselors read Stephen King's Eyes of the Dragon to him over the summer, an experience that Snyder says "really jump-started my love of story-telling."[1] He was also influenced by the writing of Denis Johnson, Raymond Carver, Rick Bass, Joy Williams, and George Saunders.[1]

Snyder graduated from Brown University in 1998 with a degree in creative writing, and then worked at Walt Disney World for about a year.[2] Snyder's Disney World stint strongly influenced his writing; he later recalled, "it did a world of good for my writing...All the things I ended up writing about, those things that are deeply frightening to me—fear of commitment and growing up, fear of losing loved ones, the wonder and terror of falling in love—all of it was constantly being played out all around me in this weird, cartoonish, magnified way at Disney."[2]

Snyder received his MFA from Columbia University in 2002.

Career

Snyder signing copies of American Vampire and Detective Comics at a September 21, 2011 store appearance.

Prose fiction

His first collection of stories, Voodoo Heart, was published by the Dial Press in June 2006. The collection received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was a Kirkus Reviews "Hot Debut" of the year. The New York Times published a positive review by author Andrew Sean Greer in the Sunday Book Review.[3]

Stephen King picked two of the included stories—"Wreck" and "Dumpster Tuesday"—for the 2007 The Best American Short Stories anthology shortlist. Voodoo Heart was shortlisted for The Story Prize in 2006.[4]

Snyder teaches writing at New York University,[5] Columbia University,[6] and Sarah Lawrence College.[7]

Comics

Cover from Batman Vol. 2 #1 (Nov. 2011). Story by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion.

In 2009, Snyder began writing for Marvel Comics. His first foray into the genre was a one-shot focusing on the first Human Torch, part of Marvel's 70th anniversary celebrations. He later wrote the 4-issue miniseries, Iron Man: Noir, which debuted in April 2010.

Vertigo began publishing American Vampire,[8] Snyder's first creator-owned ongoing series, in March 2010.[9] The first five issues feature an original storyline by Stephen King.[10][11] American Vampire won the 2011 Eisner Award for Best New Series, as well as the 2011 Harvey Award for Best New Series.

His run as writer of Detective Comics began with issue No. 871 of that title, which marked the beginning of his exclusive contract with DC Comics.[12] He and Kyle Higgins wrote the Batman: Gates of Gotham miniseries which debuted in May 2011.[13]

Since September 2011, Snyder has been writing both Batman[14] and a new Swamp Thing ongoing series as part of The New 52, DC Comics' company-wide relaunch of all of its titles.[15][16][17] Snyder later became the co-writer of Talon, a spin-off of the "Court of Owls" storyline in Batman, which will focus on a rogue Talon from the Court.[18]

It was announced at the 2012 New York Comic Con[19] that Snyder would be writing a new Superman ongoing series, titled Superman Unchained, with art by Jim Lee. The series began publication in June 2013.[20]

In May 2013 Vertigo premiered The Wake, a 10-issue, ocean-based horror miniseries written by Snyder and drawn by Snyder's American Vampire: Survival Of The Fittest collaborator Sean Murphy. The series follows marine biologist Lee Archer, who along with the Department of Homeland Security, discovers a potential threat to humanity that may involve strange, humanoid creatures that inhabit the ocean depths. The story shifts between three time periods: the near future, two centuries in the future and the distant past. The covers of the first five issues form a mural when placed side by side.[21][22][23]

The same month, DC published a Free Comic Book Day sneak preview of Superman Unchained, an ongoing series written by Snyder and illustrated by Jim Lee, which was later published on June 12, 2013, and intended to coincide with the feature film Man of Steel, which opened two days later. Snyder explained his approach to the series: "The way to approach a character as iconic as him is you just come at it from a standpoint of what you love the most about the character, and then write a story that explores that, tear it down and build it back up."[24]

Snyder is one of the co-writers of the Batman Eternal series which launched in April 2014.[25]

Personal life

Snyder is married, with two children.[21]

Bibliography

DC Comics/Vertigo

Other publishers

Awards

Nominations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Henderson, Susan (August 31, 2006). "Scott Snyder". Susan Henderson's Lit Park. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Borondy, Matt (July 10, 2006). "Scott Snyder". Identity Theory. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  3. ↑ Greer, Andrew Sean (July 16, 2006). "Flights of Fancy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Other noteworthy story collections". The Story Prize. 2006. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012. Other auspicious debuts include Scott Snyder’s Voodoo Heart (The Dial Press) with its imaginative and authentic stories.
  5. ↑ Watson, Sasha (September 27, 2010). "A Literary Imagination Goes Graphic". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012. In a creative writing class that Scott Snyder teaches at NYU, "The Monster Under Your Story," students discuss the intersections of literary fiction, genre fiction, and comics.
  6. ↑ Hill, Tommy (April 22, 2009). "Professor’s stories combine the strange and silly". Columbia Daily Spectator. Columbia University. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012. This is the philosophy of Scott Snyder, Columbia professor and author of the critically acclaimed short story collection Voodoo Heart.
  7. ↑ "SLC Faculty". Sarah Lawrence College. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Vertigo Readying New Comic Series American Vampire". Dread Central. October 26, 2009. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  9. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (October 26, 2009). "Stephen King Brings an American Vampire Tale to Vertigo". Newsarama. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Variant Cover Revealed for Vertigo's American Vampire No. 1". Dread Central. February 23, 2010. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ Cowsill, Alan; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "2000s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 340. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The first five double-sized issues consisted of two stories, illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque. Scott Snyder wrote each issue's lead feature, and Stephen King wrote the back-up tales.
  12. ↑ Phegley, Kiel (July 14, 2012). "Snyder Goes Exclusive With Detective Comics". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Batman: Gates of Gotham #1". DC Comics. May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  14. ↑ Phegley, Kiel (June 27, 2011). "The Bat Signal: Snyder Relaunches Batman". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  15. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (July 5, 2011). "Scott Snyder Wants DCnU Swamp Thing to Build on Legacy". Newsarama. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  16. ↑ Phegley, Kiel (August 24, 2011). "Snyder Dredges Up A Human "Swamp Thing"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  17. ↑ Walecka, Travis (September 20, 2011). "Batman and Swamp Thing: Scott Snyder’s dark plans for DC". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  18. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (June 8, 2012). "DC Adds Four to New 52, Including DiDio's Phantom Stranger". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012. This new comic...introduces a new "anti-hero on the run" to the DCU. Calvin Rose, the only Talon to escape from the control of the Court of Owls, will be traveling all around the DCU as he is hunted by his former masters. While the story spins out of the Court of Owls storyline that is running through the first year of Snyder's Batman, the title character is a brand new one.
  19. ↑ Truitt, Brian (October 11, 2012). "Snyder, Lee team for new Superman comic in 2013". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ Truitt, Brian (March 5, 2013). "DC Comics makes the most of Superman's 75th year". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Campbell, Josie (March 29, 2013). "Snyder & Murphy Tackle The Primal Fear Of The Unknown In The Wake". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  22. ↑ Wilson, Matt D. (June 4, 2013). "Intrigue Abounds In Scott Snyder & Sean Murphy's The Wake #1". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (April 24, 2013). "The Wake: Snyder, Murphy Dive Into Underwater, Sci-fi Horror". Newsarama. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  24. ↑ Esposito, Joey (March 4, 2013). "Scott Snyder and Jim Lee's Superman Unchained Confirmed for June". IGN. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (January 10, 2014). "Scott Snyder Explains Batman: Eternal Structure, Talks Bat-verse Changes". Newsarama. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014.
  26. ↑ Melrose, Kevin (July 23, 2011). "SDCC ’11 Winners announced for 2011 Eisner Awards". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  27. ↑ Cavna, Michael (August 21, 2011). "Baltimore Comic-Con: Your 2011 Harvey Award winners are...". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  28. ↑ Spurgeon, Tom (May 25, 2012). "Your 2012 Eagle Awards Winners". The Comics Reporter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012.
  29. ↑ Melrose, Kevin (May 21, 2012). "Scott Snyder and Sara Pichelli dominate Stan Lee Awards". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Spurgeon, Tom (May 21, 2012). "Your 2012 Stan Lee Awards Winner". The Comics Reporter. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "2014 Eisner Awards Nominations". San Diego Comic-Con International. April 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
  32. ↑ Melrose, Kevin (March 14, 2011). "Voting opens for 2011 Eagle Awards". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  33. ↑ Flanagan, Josh (July 5, 2011). "2011 Harvey Award Nominees". iFanboy. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013.
  34. ↑ "2013 Final Ballot". Harvey Awards. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.

External links

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