Will Murray, Co-Creator of Squirrel Girl and Pulp Legend, Dies at 73
Will Murray, the prolific writer who co-created Marvel’s Squirrel Girl and penned numerous adventures of Doc Savage and The Shadow, has died at the age of 73. The news was confirmed by Matt Moring of Steeger Books on Facebook, who announced that Murray passed away on August 24, 2026. Murray, born William Patrick Murray on April 28, 1953, was a novelist, journalist, and comic book writer whose career spanned over five decades.
Murray’s most famous creation is undoubtedly Squirrel Girl, a character he co-created in the 1991 one-shot Marvel Super-Heroes #8. The character, a superheroine with squirrel-like abilities, has since become a fan favorite, known for defeating major Marvel villains such as Doctor Doom and Thanos. Murray later reflected that the creation combined elements of Peter Pan, animal-rescue enthusiasm, and pure whimsy, and seeing her stand alongside the heroes of his childhood was one of his proudest achievements.
Beyond Squirrel Girl, Murray was a major contributor to the long-running men’s adventure series The Destroyer, and he wrote extensively for pulp revivals, including The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series, published under the pseudonym Kenneth Robeson. His work also extended to Batman stories and numerous introductions for Marvel reprint collections. He was a regular contributor to publications like Alter Ego and RetroFan, and he remained a familiar presence at pulp and comic conventions, where he was beloved for his encyclopedic knowledge and generosity.
Murray’s bibliography is vast, encompassing novels, short stories, and non-fiction works. Notable titles include King Kong vs. Godzilla (1996), Nick Fury, Agent of Shield: Empyre (2000), and several volumes in the Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. He also authored critical studies such as Master of Mystery: The Rise of The Shadow (2021) and Dark Avenger: The Strange
Shimanta Das 
