Paul Levitz is a comic book writer, editor and executive. Currently the writer of Legion of Super-Heroes and Adventure Comics. He has served as a writer, editor, vice president, executive vice president, president and publisher at DC Comics.
Levitz was born in Brooklyn, New York to Hannah and Alfred Levitz. While he attended Stuyvesant High School, he found time to co-write and publish "The Comic Reader", a popular comic fan magazine. In December 1972, while still in high school, he began to work at DC Comics. Later, Levitz enrolled at New York university, but left to work full time at DC Comics.
Levitz has been an important part of DC since the mid 1970's. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn and editor Dick Giordano, he was responsible for hiring creaotrs such as Alan Moore, Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, George Perez, Keith Giffen and editor Karen Berger.
Levitz has also worked as an editor, most notably on the Batman line of comics. As a writer he is best-known for his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes which he wrote off and on from 1974 until 1989. Of particular note are his collaborations with artists Keith Giffen and James Sherman. He also wrote All-Star Comics during the late 70's after Gerry Conway left the book, featuring the Justice Society of Earth-2. He was the co-creator of the Earth-2 Huntress with artist Joe Staton.
Levitz eventually became an editor, and served as vice president and executive vice president, before assuming the role of President in 2002.
Levitz recently returned to writing the JSA with issue #82 of JSA for one story arc, featuring the Gentleman Ghost.
On September 9, 2009, it was announced that Levitz would step down as President and Publisher of DC Comics to serve as the Contributing Editor and Overall Consultant for the newly-formed DC Entertainment, and become the writer of both Adventure Comics and Legion of Super-Heroes.
Levitz married Jeanette Cusimano in 1980 and has three children, Nicole, Philip, and Garret. One of the characters he introduced to the Legion in his second run on the book, GiGi Cusimano, was named after his wife.
While he has sometimes provoked controversy — for example, an attempt to tone down sexual references in the title, The Authority, spawned a public fight with its then writer, Mark Millar— Levitz's reign at DC helped the company weather steeply declining sales for superhero comics in the late 1990s. Levitz was also instrumental in the push towards graphic novels and trade paperback collections, which could be sold in bookstores and have a longer shelf life than the traditional monthly pamphlet format.
Levitz' book "75 Years of DC Comics: the Art of Modern Mythmaking" won the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book in 2011.
He currently resides in Chappaqua, New York.
Levitz' will be writing one of the new second wave of New 52 comics "Worlds Finest" which will star the Earth 2 versions of Power Girl and Huntress. George Perez and Kevin Maguire will alternate illustrating from different arcs.
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