Editing Daniel Keyes (section)

===Early life and career===
Keyes was born in [[New York City]], New York.<ref name=playsofbook/> His family was [[Jewish]].<ref>''The National Jewish Monthly'', B'nai B'rith, vol. 82-83 (1967), p. 172</ref><ref>''Research Studies'', Washington State University, vol. 40 (1972), p. 53</ref> He attended [[New York University]] briefly before joining the [[United States Maritime Service]] at 17, working as a ship's purser on oil tankers.<ref name=playsofbook /> Afterward he returned to New York and in 1950 received a [[bachelor's degree]] in psychology from [[Brooklyn College]].<ref name=playsofbook />

A month after graduation, Keyes joined publisher [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]]'s magazine company, [[Magazine Management]].<ref name=playsofbook /> He eventually became an editor of their [[pulp magazine]] ''Marvel Science Stories''<ref name="budrys196608">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Budrys
 |first=Algis
 |date=August 1966
 |title=Galaxy Bookshelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v24n06_1966-08#page/n185/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=186–194
}}</ref> ([[cover-date]]d Nov. 1950 – May 1952) after editor Robert O. Erisman,<ref name="tran06"/> and began writing for the company's [[comic-book]] lines [[Atlas Comics (1950s)|Atlas Comics]], the 1950s precursors of [[Marvel Comics]]. After Goodman ceased publishing pulps in favor of [[mass market paperback|paperback books]] and [[men's adventure]] magazines, Keyes became an associate editor of Atlas<ref name="sfwa140617"/> under editor-in-chief and [[art director]] [[Stan Lee]]. Circa 1952, Keyes was one of several staff writers, officially titled editors, who wrote for such [[horror fiction|horror]] and science fiction comics as ''Journey into Unknown Worlds'', for which Keyes wrote two stories with artist [[Basil Wolverton]].<ref name=gcd />

As Keyes recalled, Goodman offered him a job under Lee after ''Marvel Science Stories'' ceased publication:

{{quote|Since my $17.25-a-month rent was almost due, I accepted what I considered a detour on my journey toward a literary career. Stan Lee ... let his editors deal with the scriptwriters, cartoonists, and [[letterer|lettering]] crew. Writers turned in plot synopses, Stan read them, and as a matter of course, would accept one or two from each of the regulars he referred to as his "stable." As one of his front men, I would pass along comments and criticism. ... Because of my experience editing ''Marvel'' and because I'd sold a few science fiction stories by then, Stan allowed me to specialize in the horror, fantasy, suspense, and science fiction comic books. Naturally, I began submitting story ideas, getting freelance assignment, and supplementing my salary by writing scripts on my own time.<ref name=autobiop79-80/>}}

One story idea Keyes wrote but did not submit to Lee was called "Brainstorm", the paragraph-long synopsis that would evolve into ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]''. It begins: "The first guy in the test to raise the I.Q. from a low normal 90 to genius level ... He goes through the experience and then is thrown back to what was." Keyes recalled, "something told me it should be more than a comic book script."<ref name=autobiop79-80/>

From 1955 to 1956, Keyes wrote for [[EC Comics]], including its titles ''Shock Illustrated'' and ''Confessions Illustrated'', under both his own name and the pseudonyms '''Kris Daniels''' and '''A.D. Locke'''.<ref name=gcd/>