Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas
Thomas at the Big Apple Con, November 14, 2008.
Born	Roy William Thomas, Jr. (1940-11-22) November 22, 1940 (age 76) Jackson, Missouri
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Editor
Notable works	The Avengers Alter Ego Conan the Barbarian The Defenders Invaders Uncanny X-Men Ghost Rider Iron Fist All-Star Squadron Arak, Son of Thunder Infinity, Inc. Secret Origins Young All-Stars
Awards	Alley Award, 1969 Shazam Award, 1971, 1973, 1974

Roy William Thomas, Jr. (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E. Howard's character and helped launch a sword and sorcery trend in comics. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes – particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America – and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Thomas was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2011.

Thomas was born in Jackson, Missouri, United States. As a child, he was a devoted comic book fan, and in grade school he wrote and drew his own comics for distribution to friends and family. The first of these was All-Giant Comics, which he recalls as having featured such characters as Elephant Giant. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1961 with a BS in Education, having majored in history and social science.

Thomas became an early and active member of Silver Age comic book fandom when it organized in the early 1960s – primarily around Jerry Bails, whose enthusiasm for the rebirth of superhero comics during that period led Bails to found the fanzine Alter Ego, an early focal point of fandom. Thomas, then a high school English teacher, took over as editor in 1964 when Bails moved on to other pursuits. Letters from him appeared regularly in the letters pages of both DC and Marvel Comics, including The Flash #116 (Nov. 1960), Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962), Fantastic Four #15 (June 1963), and Fantastic Four #22 (Jan. 1964).