Gary Friedrich

Gary Friedrich (born August 21, 1943; died August 29, 2018) was a comic book writer. He is best known as a writer on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, The Monster of Frankenstein, and as the co-creator of Ghost Rider and Son of Satan. He is acknowledged for his work on, , , and.

Biography
Growing up, he was friends with Roy Thomas.

He started his career working at Charlton Comics developing romance stories. He worked with Steve Ditko. He went to work for Marvel Comics writing Westerns where he helped create the original Ghost Rider, later renamed Phantom Rider. He later worked on the parody series Not Brand Echh before working on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. He went on to work on The Incredible Hulk, Tales to Astonish, The Uncanny X-Men, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Black Widow. He then created the demonic motorcycle riding superhero Ghost Rider. He would do a faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley's book into The Monster of Frankenstein. He created Son of Satan after suggested a character with that name.

In later years, there was a dispute to Friedrich's contributions to the character of Ghost Rider as well as the rights. An initial court decision sided with Marvel saying that Friedrich had signed away the rights. However, the Second Court of Appeals overturned this decision. Eventually, both sides came to an agreement.

Friedrich passed away on August 29, 2018, the same day as colorist Marie Severin, at the age of seventy-five following at a battle with Parkinson's. Thomas announced his death. He is survived by his wife Jean. Thomas wrote, "[O]ne of my oldest and dearest friends, Gary Friedrich, passed away last night, from the effects of Parkinson's, which he had had for several years. That and his near-total hearing loss had left him feeling isolated in recent years, and his wife Jean seems content that he is finally at peace."