Arnold Jack Drake was born March 1, 1924, in New York City. At age 12 he contracted scarlet fever, and while confined to bed he began drawing his own comics. Years later he studied journalism and turned his career toward writing, collaborating with Leslie Waller (as Drake Waller) and artist Matt Baker to create the proto&hyophen;graphic novel, It Rhymes With Lust, in 1950. After meeting Batman creator Bob Kane, who introduced Drake to the editors at DC Comics, he went on to write for them, co‐creating Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy. He also wrote two movie screenplays (The Flesh Eaters and Who Killed Teddy Bear), as well as lyrics for musicals. In 2005, Drake received the first annual Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comics Writing. And after his death from pneumonia on March 12, 2007, Drake was posthumously inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.
