James Michael Reaves (September 14, 1950 – March 20, 2023) was an American writer, known for his contributions as a script writer and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series. He also wrote media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction, and was one of four credited screenwriters for the animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. His work was often done collaboratively, notably with his then-wife Brynne Stephens (for numerous TV episodes in the 1980s and 1990s), and with Steve Perry, Neil Gaiman, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, and his daughter Mallory Reaves for various novels. Reaves won a 1993 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program for his work on Batman: The Animated Series.

Reaves had Parkinson's disease, and for a time maintained a blog concerning his experiences dealing with the disease and its effects, which included difficulty typing and loss of coherent speech. In 2013, Reaves raised $85,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to fund the filming of a feature-length script he had written called Blood Kiss, with the picture set to star Neil Gaiman in his acting debut. Despite exceeding the stated fundraising goal, the film was never made.

Reaves died in Los Angeles on March 20, 2023, at the age of 72.

Bibliography

Novels

Short fiction

1. Collections

2. Darkworld Detective (1981)

3. The Night People (2005)

4. Stories

Anthologies editor

• Shadows Over Baker Street (2003) (co-editor and contributor)

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1. Bibliography notes

Screenwriting

Animated television

Series head writer credits are denoted in bold

• The New Archie and Sabrina Hour (1977)

• Space Sentinels (1977)

• Web Woman (1978)

• The New Shmoo (1979)

• Blackstar (1981)

• The Smurfs (1981)

• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983)

• The Biskitts (1983)

• Pole Position (1984)

• Mighty Orbots (1984)

• Dungeons & Dragons (1984–1985)

• Challenge of the GoBots (1985)

• Star Wars: Droids (1985)

• Ewoks (1986)

• Potato Head Kids (1986)

• Teen Wolf (1986)

• The Centurions (1986)

• The Transformers (1986)

• My Little Pony (1986–1987)

• The Real Ghostbusters (1986–1987, 1990)

• Bionic Six (1987)

• Jem (1987)

• Spiral Zone (1987)

• Starcom: The U.S. Space Force (1987)

• Superman (1988)

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1988–1990)

• The New Adventures of He-Man (1990)

• Tiny Toon Adventures (1990)

• Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates (1990–1991)

• Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995)

• Bobby's World (1992)

• Conan and the Young Warriors (1994)

• Phantom 2040 (1994–1995)

• Gargoyles (1994–1996)

• Invasion America (1998)

• Beast Machines: Transformers (1999–2000)

• Spider-Man Unlimited (1999–2001)

• Godzilla: The Series (2000)

• Max Steel (2000)

• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002–2003)

Live-action television

• The Secrets of Isis – one episode (1975)

• Shazam! – one episode (1976)

• Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince – one episode (1983)

• The Twilight Zone – two episodes produced, and two stories (1986–89)

• Star Trek: The Next Generation – one episode (1987)

• Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future – two episodes produced, three episodes, and one story (1987–1988)

• Monsters – four episodes (1988–1990)

• Swamp Thing – one episode (1990)

• The Flash – one episode (1990)

• Father Dowling Mysteries – three episodes (1990–1991)

• Young Hercules – one episode (1999)

• Sliders – one episode (1999)

• Star Trek: New Voyages – one episode (2007)

Film

• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

• Full Eclipse (1993)

• Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)

References

External links