Bio

In 1983, Fabian entered the lucrative world of paperback book publishing when he was hired in the production department of Berkley Publishing, a subsidiary of G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Although he was paid in lint, he loved the job and the people working there. But, in the summer of 1985, the opportunity to live out a childhood dream lured him to Marvel Comics.

Though starting in Marvel’s manufacturing department for Fisher-Price licensed activity books (it’s not as glamorous as it sounds), by 1986, Fabian became Marvel’s Advertising Manager. He was responsible for promoting the company’s publishing and licensing output through trade ads, house ads, promotional giveaways, posters, sell sheets, and in-store point-of-purchase displays.

During that time, Fabian also began writing for Marvel on a freelance basis. His first published book was PSI-FORCE #9 in 1987. While maintaining his staff job, over the next few years he wrote stories for various titles before landing the book that would help cement his career: NEW WARRIORS.

Released in 1990, the title was a surprise hit and, working with artists Mark Bagley and Darick Robertson, Fabian would go on to write the first 53 isssues of the book, as well as several limited series and solo character spin-offs.

During this time, Fabian became an editor for Marvel, responsible for the company’s licensed titles, including REN & STIMPY and two BARBIE titles among several other properties. While promoting TEKWORLD, he even got a spontaneous (and pretend) Heimlich Maneuver from WILLIAM SHATNER in front of 2,500 people at San Diego Comic Con.

Clearly a glutton for punishment, Fabian also began writing several of Marvel’s top-selling X-titles, including X-FORCE, CABLE and the company’s #1 selling book, X-MEN. These books not only sold millions of copies to gazillions of readers and forty-seven speculators, Fabian also got to star in a series of X-Men Pizza Hut videos. So, between the Heimlich Maneuver and the videos, what more was left?

How about providing the voice to a character who has become synonymous with subtlety and maturity? With visual and foundational elements created by Rob Liefeld, Fabian gave the mouth to the “Merc with a Mouth,” investing DEADPOOL with humor, insanity, and a tragic backstory that made him an instant hit.

In 2004, Fabian sort-of cast Deadpool in issue #2 of CABLE & DEADPOOL, with Marvel’s crack lawyers asking for the name to be "changed" in print so that the real guy wouldn't get mad at us! Go figure, right? Lawyers are goofy. So, ten years later the real guy starred in what is now a billion-dollar franchise!

Before, during, and after all that DEADPOOL fun, Fabian has written a whole bunch of stuff, including long runs on Marvel's CABLE & DEADPOOL and THUNDERBOLTS, DC's TRINITY and ROBIN/RED ROBIN series, as well as working with his co-creator Reilly Brown on OUTRAGE, a digital comic available for free on Webtoon.

And outside of comics, Fabian has worked with STARLIGHT RUNNER ENTERTAINMENT for 20 years on story world development and franchise management consultation for some of the biggest entertainment companies on some of the biggest properties. And no, you have not lived until you’ve watched Will Smith walk on to a movie set in his Men In Black suit!

And because he is such an insatiably curious tyke, from 2009-2012, Fabian was a co-founder of FUNGOPLAY, a kids’ sports themed virtual world, creating a story world and a few dozen characters. Meant to entice kids to take real world play and turn it into on-line rewards, the desktop subscription virtual game world never got a chance to take off because Apple released their darned iPad and that was all she wrote for newbie desktop gaming! Grrrr.

All of a sudden, Fabian is hard at work on a new mystery book where–what a coincidence–everyone at Apple is found murderered! Fabian is just kidding as he wrote that and you read it. If you are a lawyer for Apple, we would like to repeat, Fabian was just kidding. Everyone reading that understood it was a joke, so hopefully you will, too.

Anyway… if we neglected to mention a comic you enjoyed over the last thirty years, we apologize (this was actually the short version of the long bio).

All of this brings you–and Fabian–full circle–because his first novel, SUBURBAN DICKS, will be published by the company he first worked for out of college – G.P. Putnam’s Sons (and Titan Books in the U.K. market). But… the story about that story will be told in Fabian’s first newsletter, so please go subscribe today!