{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Short description|American comic book writing team}} {{Infobox comics creator
| image = | caption = | birth_name = Tom Bierbaum<br /><hr />Mary-Catherine Gilmore<ref>"Mail it to Mar-Vell," ''Captain Marvel'' #48 (January 1977)</ref> | birth_date = (Tom) {{birth year and age|1956}}<hr />(Mary) {{birth year and age|1955}} | birth_place = (Tom) Dover, Delaware, U.S.<hr />(Mary) Long Beach, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | area = Writers | alias = | signature = | notable works = ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' | awards = | website = }} '''Tom and Mary Bierbaum''' are an American husband-and-wife writing team, known for their work on the DC comic book ''Legion of Super-Heroes''.
==Biography== The Bierbaums entered the world of professional comic book writing through Legion fandom. Tom Bierbaum grew up as a Legion fan, first becoming exposed to the characters via ''Adventure Comics'' #310 (July 1963).<ref name="companion">Tom and Mary Bierbaum interview in Cadigan, Glen and Shooter, Jim. ''The Legion Companion'' (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003).</ref><ref name="Bierbaum">Bierbaum, Tom & Mary. "Legion Outpost," ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' vol. 4, #3 (January 1990).</ref> Meanwhile, Mary Gilmore became a serious Legion fan in the late 1970s.<ref name="companion" />
=== Interlac and marriage === Tom joined the Legion fan club The Legion Outpost, and then the Legion amateur press association Interlac, where he met fellow member Gilmore, who had joined the APA around the same time.<ref name="Bierbaum" /> Through Interlac, the two struck up a relationship. Gilmore lived in California, and as Bierbaum had designs on getting into the entertainment industry, he moved out west, and the two began living together, eventually getting married.<ref name="Broertjes">Broertjes, Harry. [http://members.aol.com/interlac/ "The History of Interlac (and Legion fandom, too!)," Interlac APA website.] Accessed September 15, 2008.</ref>
Early on in their relationship, the Bierbaums wrote stories together, their first published piece being a Halloween-themed short story for a local newspaper which was a Legion of Super-Heroes story with the characters' names and situations changed.<ref name="companion" /> They also submitted and published articles and stories in Interlac, which attracted the attention of veteran ''Legion'' artist Keith Giffen and future ''Legion'' editor Mark Waid (both of whom were also Interlac members).<ref name="companion" /><ref name="Haeleury">Haeleury, Michael. [http://www.lonely.geek.nz/giffenlegionv4.html "A Preview Of DC's New Legion of Super-Heroes," ''Amazing Heroes'' #172, (Oct. 1989).] Accessed September 28, 2008.</ref>
=== Keith Giffen and early writing work === Recognizing the Bierbaum's devotion to the Legion, Giffen contacted them, at first using them as a sounding board for his ideas about the Legion.<ref name="companion"/> Giffen also utilized a new costume idea for Element Lad that Tom suggested.<ref name="companion" />
In 1984, when Giffen was looking for a scripter for his "Lightning" stories in Deluxe Comics' ''Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', he recruited the husband and wife writing team for the job. That, along with their work for DC's ''New Talent Showcase'' editor Sal Amendola, convinced the editors at DC (specifically Dick Giordano)<ref name="companion" /> that they were ready to become ''Legion'' scripters.
=== Legion of Super-Heroes: "Five Years Later"=== The Bierbaums wrote the first fifty issues of ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' vol. 4, from 1989 to 1993, except for the main Story in issues 21–24, written solo by Al Gordon. Working under editor Waid and alongside Giffen and Al Gordon (who was a co-writer and inker on the book) for the first 36 issues, the Bierbaums dialogued the "Five Years Later" storyline. The revival of the title was controversial with many longtime Legion fans, as it incorporated several major retcons: the editorially-mandated excision of Superboy from Legion history, the reveal that Proty's consciousness had been inhabiting Lightning Lad's body following his resurrection, and the reveal that Shvaughn Erin was a trans woman.<ref name="companion" />
After Giffen's departure, the Bierbaums continued on the title for another year, overseeing the return of several classic characters, until leaving for ''Legionnaires'' (a spin-off title) after ''Legion'' issue #50 (November 1993). They wrote ''Legionnaires'' for its first 15 issues, until 1994.
The Bierbaums and Giffen also worked together on DC's short-lived offbeat title ''The Heckler'' in 1992–1993.
=== Image and other publishers === After their DC work, the Bierbaums went on to write various titles for Image Comics, including ''Supreme'', ''SuperPatriot'', ''Star'', and ''Youngblood: Strikefile'', as well as ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' and ''Jurassic Park'' for Topps Comics, ''Wonderlanders'' for Oktomica, and ''StormQuest'' for Caliber Comics.
=== Personal life=== The Bierbaums live in Erie, Pennsylvania, with their two children. Mary retired from being a nurse in 1991;<ref name="Broertjes" /> Tom used to freelance for ''Variety'' before becoming a staffer at the short-lived entertainment/business website Inside.com. In 2001, he began work at NBC as a ratings analyst.<ref>[http://www.legiononline.net/volume5/creators.html Bierbaum bio in the Legion of Super-Heroes Online Companion: Volume 5.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004050625/http://www.legiononline.net/volume5/creators.html |date=October 4, 2007 }} Accessed September 15, 2008.</ref>
== Writing method == As writing partners, the Bierbaums evolved a unique collaborating style. Generally, they work together in the conceptual stage, and then Tom writes the first draft. Mary works closely with Tom on the plotting, while Tom mainly writes the dialogue, with Mary acting as a sounding board for overall "feel and direction.<ref name="Haeleury" />
== Notes == {{reflist}}
== References == {{refbegin}} * [http://www.legiononline.net/volume5/creators.html The Legion of Super-Heroes Online Companion: Volume 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004050625/http://www.legiononline.net/volume5/creators.html |date=October 4, 2007 }} *{{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=1713|title=Tom Bierbaum}} *{{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=1714|title=Mary Bierbaum}} {{refend}}
{{s-start}} {{succession box | title=''Legion of Super-Heroes'' vol. 4 writers |with = Keith Giffen (until 1992)| before=N/A| after=Tom McCraw| years=1989–1993}} {{succession box | title=''Legionnaires'' writers| before=N/A| after=Mark Waid| years=1993–1994}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control|additional=auto}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bierbaum, Tom and Mary}} Category:Living people Category:American comics writers Category:Married couples Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
==External links== *{{YouTube|bf-Gs4w1YP0|The Bierbaums, interviewed at ConTinual}}