Will Murray, Co-Creator Of Squirrel Girl, Dies, Aged 73

Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: rip, squirrel girl, steve ditko, Will Murray

Will Murray, Co-Creator Of Squirrel Girl, Dies, Aged 73

Will Murray, Co-Creator Of Squirrel Girl With Steve Ditko, Dies Aged 73, RIP

Published Tue, 01 Sep 2026 07:57:10 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Will Murray, author, editor, journalist, pulp historian, and co-creator of Squirrel Girl, died late last month, on the 25th of August, aged 73.

Born on the 29th of April, 1953, in Boston, Will Murray grew up in Jamaica Plain and later North Quincy. He graduated from North Quincy High School in 1971 and later from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and by his early twenties, he was already a serious student of pulp fiction, editing the fanzine Duende and helping write The Duende History of The Shadow Magazine. In 1979, at 26, he received Pulpcon's Lamont Award.

That same year, he became literary agent for the Lester Dent estate. From Dent's unused outlines, he built a new Doc Savage novel, Python Isle (1991), published under the house name Kenneth Robeson. More than twenty authorised Doc Savage books followed. He also wrote dozens of Destroyer novels, continued The Spider, Tarzan, King Kong, and other licensed heroes, and produced short fiction starring Sherlock Holmes, the Phantom, Zorro, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and many more.

In comics, he is best known for one character. Asked in 1991 for an Iron Man story, he invented Doreen Green, a cheerful young woman who talks to squirrels. Steve Ditko drew her debut in Marvel Super-Heroes #8 and added the knuckle spikes. Murray later said the idea mixed Mary Martin's Peter Pan, a friend named Doreen Greely who loved animals, and the squirrels that ran across his roof. The story was a one-off. Decades later, Squirrel Girl became a cult favourite, then a mainstream Marvel heroine with her own acclaimed series. Murray returned for later appearances, including The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #16 and Marvel Comics #1001.

He also wrote introductions for Marvel reprint collections, scripted The Destroyer magazine, and contributed stories of Iron Man and the Punisher. For DC Comics, he wrote anthology tales for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Joker. He covered films for Starlog and remained a fixture at PulpFest as a dealer, panellist, a 2013 guest of honour, and contributed to every issue of The Pulpster from 1991 through 2026. He was awarded the Comic Book Marketplace research prize in 1999, the Pulp Ark Award, the Golden Lion for Tarzan scholarship, and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 2023.

Will Murray is survived by his sister, Mary Power. His family has suggested donations to World Central Kitchen.

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