Michael Netzer
Michael Netzer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 9, 1955 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. |
| Residence | Ofra, Israel |
| Nationality | U.S.A. |
| Alma mater | Wayne State University |
| Known for | Growing Earth, Open Probability Science |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Artist |
Michael Netzer (born October 9, 1955), formerly known as Michael Nasser, is an American-Israeli artist best known for his comic book work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics in the 1970s, and for his subsequent online presence. He is an advocate of the Growing Earth theory and has promoted a collaborative, open approach to inquiry he terms Open Probability Science.
Biography
Michael Nasser was born on October 9, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan. His father was of Druze background and his mother of Druze-Lebanese and Jewish-Lebanese descent. As an infant he contracted polio, which partially affected his left leg, and he spent part of his childhood in Lebanon before returning to Detroit in 1967.
He attended Wayne State University in Michigan for two years. Introduced to the artist Neal Adams at a Detroit comics convention in 1974, he was invited to join Continuity Studios in New York, where he trained and began his professional career.
In 1981 Netzer traveled to Lebanon and, after being caught up in the Lebanon War, crossed into Israel in 1983. He subsequently converted to Judaism and changed his surname from the Arabic Nasser to the Hebrew Netzer. In 1985 he settled in Ofra, in the West Bank, where he has continued to live and work.
Work
During the peak of his comics career in the mid-1970s, Netzer produced art for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, including work on Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary in World's Finest Comics, Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up, and numerous covers. In 1987 he co-produced Uri-On, described as Israel's first superhero comic book. He later returned to mainstream American comics and to titles including Detective Comics and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and has been active online as an advocate for comics creators' rights.
Outside of his art, Netzer has written and campaigned in support of the Growing Earth (expanding Earth) model, which holds that the Earth's surface area has increased over geological time. He has also advanced the idea of Open Probability Science, a proposal for open, collaborative and participatory scientific discussion. These positions fall outside the scientific mainstream and are presented here as his stated views.