Kim Yale

Kim Yale (November 22, 1953[1] – March 7, 1997) was an American writer and editor of comic books for several publishers including DC Comics, Eclipse Comics, First Comics, Marvel Comics, and WaRP Graphics.[2]

Kim Yale
Born(1953-11-22)November 22, 1953
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1997(1997-03-07) (aged 43)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Editor
Notable works
Grimjack
Suicide Squad
Manhunter
Spouse(s)John Ostrander

Biography

Yale was born in Evanston, Illinois, to the Reverend Richard A. Yale, son of Charles Oliver Yale, and Theresa Yale.[3] Her grandfather Charles was a construction business owner, building churches, post offices, and bridges, a Freemason of Philadelphia, and a member of the Episcopal Church of St. Luke.[4] Her father was a Navy chaplain and Lieutenant Commander, which meant that for many years she and her family moved to various locations in the United States and elsewhere before resettling in Evanston during her teen years.[5] She earned a B.A. in English from Knox College.[6]

Yale's first published comics work appeared in 1987 in the New America limited series,[2] a spin-off of Timothy Truman's Scout series published by Eclipse Comics. She married fellow comics creator, and frequent collaborator, John Ostrander the same year. Yale and Ostrander developed the character of Barbara Gordon into Oracle,[7] and wrote her origin in the short story "Oracle: Year One" published in The Batman Chronicles #5 (Summer 1996).[2][8] Her husband, John Ostrander, also worked on various comics such as Star Wars, Batman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Punisher, and X-Men.

The two co-wrote Manhunter, a series which DC launched in the wake of the Millennium crossover.[2] Their collaboration on Suicide Squad[9] included the "Janus Directive" storyline in issues #27–30 and the creation of the character Dybbuk in issue #45 (Sept. 1990).[10] Yale served as an editor for DC from 1991–1993 and oversaw licensed titles such as Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Star Trek, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.[11]

Friends of Lulu

Yale was heavily involved with the Friends of Lulu, an organization promoting women in comics that operated from 1994–2011. Yale served as a member of the board and Vice-President of the New York chapter.[6] The Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent, an award given by the Friends of Lulu organization, was named in her honor.[9]

Cancer

Yale wrote an ongoing column in the Comics Buyer's Guide, in which she detailed her battle against breast cancer. Following her diagnosis, the cancer spread to her abdomen and pelvis, a process she described in detail to the readers of the column. The cancer made it very difficult for her to write, and the origin story for Oracle included in The Batman Chronicles #5 (1996) was her last project. Yale died of breast cancer in 1997 at the age of 43.[12]

Bibliography

DC Comics

Eclipse Comics

First Comics

  • The Gift: A First Publishing Holiday Special #1 (1990)
  • Grimjack #44–45, 48, 53, 58–59, 61, 64, 66, 70–81 ("Munden's Bar" backup stories) (1988–1991)
  • Munden's Bar Annual #2 (1991)

Marvel Comics

  • Double Edge: Omega #1 (1995)
  • Excalibur Annual #2 (1994)

WaRP Graphics

  • ElfQuest: Kahvi #1–6 (1995–1996)
  • ElfQuest: New Blood #9 (1993)

DC Comics

References
  1. Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  2. Kim Yale at the Grand Comics Database
  3. The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 19 Dec 1974, p. 52
  4. The Morning Call Allentown, Pennsylvania, 19 Dec 1974, p. 52
  5. Reverend Richard A. Yale, The Virginian-Pilot, Richard Yale Obituary, 2014
  6. Bails, Jerry (n.d.). "Yale, Kim". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on May 11, 2007.
  7. Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Barbara [Gordon] set herself as an information guru...Called Oracle, Barbara was recruited by the Suicide Squad in the pages of issue #23 of the Squad's comic, written by John Ostrander and Kim Yale, and pencilled by Luke McDonnell. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Ostrander, John (June 19, 2008). "Comic Reality Bytes". ComicMix.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  9. Ulaby, Neda (August 4, 2016). "The Unsung Heroine Who Helped Shape 'Suicide Squad'". NPR. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  10. Beatty, Scott (2008), "Dybbuk", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley, p. 111, ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1
  11. Kim Yale (editor) at the Grand Comics Database
  12. Cronin, Brian (May 30, 2009). "The Comic Book Alphabet of Cool – Y". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Yale was sadly quite sick at the time with breast cancer.
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