She married Roy Thomas in May 1981[3] and legally changed her first name from Danette in the early 1980s.[4]
Biography
Dann Thomas' earliest comic book credit appears on "The Sea of No Return" (credited as "Adapted from a story by Danette Couto") in Savage Sword of Conan #66 (July 1981).[5] Her husband credits her with the original idea for Arak, Son of Thunder, noting, "Danette Couto (soon to be Dann Thomas) had this idea: What if a Native American had discovered Europe?"[1] She began co-writing the Arak title with issue #12 (Aug. 1982) and would work with Thomas on most of his projects afterwards. Roy Thomas explained in 2011 that "Dann and I co-wrote Infinity [Inc.] from the beginning, coplotting it, with Dann usually, if not always, doing the first draft on the script, which I then rewrote. Not that she was openly credited as co-writer right away; I had to take it slow in that area."[6] Dann Thomas co-wrote Wonder Woman #300 (Feb. 1983)[7] and, as Roy Thomas noted in 1999 "became the first woman ever to receive scripting credit on the world's foremost super-heroine."[4] A rare example of Dann Thomas' solo writing appeared in the Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series published by Deluxe Comics.[8] Roy Thomas' contractual obligations to DC Comics prevented him from working on the series but Dann Thomas was able to work on it.[9]
In 2003, she obtained her Masters of Arts degree from California State University. Her thesis was entitled "Comic Books 1938-1945: A Study of the Evolution of Attitudes Towards the Enemy Nations and Their Populations In American Comic Books During World War II." In it, she credits her "husband, Roy Thomas, for his encouragement and support, and for the use of his library of comics-related materials."[11]
Tributes
The super-heroine Firebrand of the All-Star Squadron takes her civilian name, Danette Reilly, from Dann Thomas.[12] Dann Thomas co-wrote later issues of All-Star Squadron. Another character based upon Dann Thomas is a woman named Danette who appeared in the story "What If Conan the Barbarian Walked the Earth Today?" published in What If? #13 (Feb. 1979).[13]
^Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 200. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. The Amazing Amazon was joined by a host of DC's greatest heroes to celebrate her 300th issue in a seventy-two-page blockbuster...Written by Roy and Dann Thomas, and penciled by Gene Colan, Ross Andru, Jan Duursema, Dick Giordano, Keith Pollard, Keith Giffen, and Rich Buckler.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Dallas, Keith (2013). "Chapter Five: 1984". American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 121. ISBN978-1605490465.
^Boyd, Jerry (February 2017). "Lightning Does Strike Twice! How the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents stormed back into comics in the 1980s". Back Issue! (94). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 63–65.
^Thomas, Dann M. (Fall 2003). Comic Books 1938-1945: A Study of the Evolution of Attitudes Towards the Enemy Nations and Their Populations In American Comic Books During World War II. A thesis presented to the Faculty of California State University Dominguez Hills.
^Thomas, Roy (January 2002). "Hail, Hail, Now the Gang's Really All Here!". Alter Ego. 3 (12). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 31.
^Christiansen, Jeff (January 3, 2004). "Danette". The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013.
