Jo Duffy

How many people can say they were in a comic before actually working on them?

Yep – Jo Duffy can. That’s her above asking for Iron Man’s autograph in issue #103. It was around that time that Ms. Duffy went to work for Marvel as an editor. Among the first titles she worked on was The Incredible Hulk #213 (1978s “Panic in the Night”) and The Spectacular Spider-Man #26 (1978s “To Die in Darkness”), where she is credited as Jo “Cool” Duffy.

The editorial staff already knew of Jo before she ever showed up on their doorstep after her letters showed up in their letter columns.

One of Ms. Duffy’s early career highlights came as a writer when she was handed the keys to the Power Man and Iron Fist series. Her work on the title helped elevate Colleen Wing’s and Misty Knight’s exposure and gave the book a more natural feel.

Among all of her achievements, she can also claim a much-herished run on the original Star Wars comic series. Her first crack at the title came with issue #24 (“Silent Drifting”), and then she hopped into the writer’s chair with issue #70 (“The Stenax Shuffle”). She finished off the series 37 issues later with #107.

DC fans might also remember Ms. Duffy’s work on the early 90’s Catwoman series. The first fourteen issues were written by her and set the stage for everything that followed.

An accomplished screenwriter, Ms. Duffy can also boast that her credits include Puppet Master 4 and Puppet Master 5.

I have no doubt her work is not done.

Mary Jo Duffy (Born Feb. 9, 1954)