Legendary comic book writer Gerry Conway has thankfully come out on the other side of some serious health complications.
Conway recently took to Twitter/X to explain his prolonged absence from the platform and detail his struggles over the past several months. “By the way, you might have noticed my conspicuous absence from this social media platform (WTF is it called now?) most of this year. In addition to Elon’s making it a hell hole, I’ve had health issues,” he wrote. “I’m ready to talk a bit about then [sic] finally. Last October I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I had Whipple surgery to remove the tumor, including my gall bladder, some of my intestines, and rearrange most of my lower body parts.”
Conway continued, “The good news is, praise Cthulhu, as of January, I’m now cancer free. The bad news is, praise Cthulhu, there were complications … I’ve been dealing with those complications since last December and it’s been a lot. Three hospitalizations including weeks in an ICU I don’t remember because I was in an induced coma and various other issues too fun to discuss here.”
The writer clarified that he is not trying to “grab for sympathy,” but instead express his “sincere gratitude to the wonderful team at UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital who saved my f*cking life.” Conway also thanked his family and friends for being by his side. “I don’t have a high opinion of my worth,” he wrote. “Their generous support was a revelation.”
Conway concluded, “Fingers crossed, I believe I’m well on the road to recovery. I’ve been in a dark place and I’ve come out. My heart is filled with gratitude. There’s a ways to go still but the bottom line is … I’m back, baby, ready to take names and kick ass.”
Gerry Conway’s comic book legacy
Conway is known for his lengthy run writing Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics. Among his contributions to the wall-crawler’s mythos is the infamous 1973 story arc “The Night Gwen Stacy Died.” Conway also co-created such iconic Marvel characters as the Punisher, Ms. Marvel, Ben Reilly, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, the publisher’s version of Dracula, and more.
Conway has also made major contributions to DC‘s comic book universe. Some of the characters he co-created for the Distinguished Competition include Jason Todd, Power Girl, Killer Croc, Killer Frost, Slipknot, and Felicity Smoak.
