Overview
- Marvel Entertainment confirmed the death of Will Murray at 73 following an initial report by Steeger Books’ Matt Moring and wider media amplification.
- Murray is credited with inventing Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green) in 1991 alongside artist Steve Ditko, though Marvel did not immediately pursue more stories featuring the character.
- When Marvel revived Squirrel Girl in 2005, Murray did not return to write the character and later versions took a lighter tone than the original concept he proposed.
- Murray’s original vision for Squirrel Girl portrayed her as an emotionally stunted young adult with the mind of a 7- to 8-year-old, a detail that shaped retrospective discussion of authorial intent.
- Beyond comics, Murray had a long career as a novelist, editor, journalist and pulp historian, and Marvel’s public tribute praised his energetic, optimistic writing while no cause of death has been disclosed.