About the Mantlo/Shooter riot, I remember that somebody (it was published in the Comics journal I think) reported that Shooter, at this time, told his editors to force the writers to use the already existing heroes/vilains of the Mavel Universe instead of creating new ones, beacuse it was just in the middle of the Gerber (and others) era where creators would asked for royalties/control on the characters they created. This person then told that he felt that, as soon as he told this to Bill Mantlo, this one didn't stop creating new characters, quite the opposite and that it angered Shooter.

I don't think it was mentionned somewhere in A life about comics, but Bill wrote some interesting articles about old foreign comics in the Comics Journal (from Angola...) until he parted ways with the Comics Journal (if they are to be believed (...), it had something to do about a harsh critique about his work on ROM).

Shooter's insinuation is that Bill figured, if no one else was creating new characters, that he'd be seen as more valuable if he DID create new characters, even knowing that he would not own them, or have any control over them (which, as you note, is exactly what happened to him with regards to Cloak and Dagger).

Regarding Mantlo, in October 2000 former Marvel EIC Jim Shooter told CBR's Michael Thomas that "I used to tell people, don't create anything...[but] the way [Bill] saw it, he could make himself more valuable creating characters." I find this statement utterly perplexing, since without new characters, there would be no Marvel Universe. If Stan, Jack, and those who pioneered the Marvel Age of Comics had decided to stop creating new characters after issue 10 of FANTASTIC FOUR, well, they'd have run out of story ideas rather quickly. In that same interview, Shooter stated that Bill insisted that he wanted to write a "story where Spider-Man fathers an illegitimate child and I said, no...These just aren't our characters and we can't just mess around with them like that." The problem I have with this argument is that comic book companies ALWAYS "mess around" with their characters (eg, Death of Superman, Elektra, Captain America, etc). There were plenty of X-MEN products being licensed when Shooter decreed that Jean Grey be killed off in the notorious issue 137. Spider-Man, arguably Marvel's most licensed character, underwent a radical costume change in Shooter's SECRET WARS. If these are not examples of "mess[ing] around with properties, then I don't know what are. But as Mike says, the past is the past.

On a more upbeat note, I posted a press release on the SGC site regarding the proceeds of the book, as a check was sent to Mike this week. I'll also be sending the announcement to the various online sites that cover comic-related news stories. Meanwhile, anyone interested in reading the press release should click HERE.

I would also suggest that anyone wishing to purchase this magazine to order it directly from Mike Mantlo via e-bay. My schedule is very tight at the moment so it may take me up to several weeks to process an order. You'll also get a free bonus comic if you order from Mike, which only sweetens the deal in my opinion. Simply click HERE to see Mike's e-bay auctions which, of course, includes the benefit project.

Best-
David

Along with my best wishes to you on your birthday, let me personally THANK YOU for helping the "MANTLO: A Life In Comics" benefit book reach an ever-growing audience!

Just like you, Bill Mantlo was MY hero, in every sens of the word. Growing up, and being "attached at the hip" to Bill was an experience that will influence my life forever. He was, truly, an AMAZING PERSON!

I'm not sure who it was that "showed him contempt", but my recollections of Bill's "tough years" at Marvel reveal only one true villain...without mentioning names, I can tell you that Bill came through as the straight SHOOTER in all the arguments that arose, and was respected and supported by the majority of his peers.

But, the past is, well, the past, and crying over spilled milk doesn't accomplish anything positive. So, to focus on the positive, thank you once more for helping to get the word out about "MANTLO: A Life In Comics". ~ALL~ of the profits realized from the sale of this book are going directly to Bill's care, and to help improve the quality of his life in whatever ways they can be improved (even if it's something as simple as buying him his favorite meal in place of the Nursing Home fare).

The book can be purchased directly at David Yurkovich's SLEEPINGGIANTCREATIONS.COM website, or through MY auctions on eBay (look under Seller ID: mickeysccc). If anyone wants to go the eBay route, I'm throwing in a randomly selected original comic that BILL MANTLO wrote during the 70's-80's, to sweeten the deal just a bit, and to show my appreciation for the support.

THANK YOU, and have a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

--Mike Mantlo

Thanks for posting this story about Bill and for sharing your personal recollections. I had been wanting to produce a tribute book for Bill Mantlo for a long time, so it is nice to know that those who have read it are walking away with a greater knowledge of the tremendous volume of work he produced.

I'm also pleased that your post has gotten so many responses. It shows that even though Mantlo has been out of the comics scene for more than 2 decades, he is hardly forgotten. And while I humbly disagree with some of the comments left by a few posters (Captain Universe by Mantlo and Ditko was incredible; c'mon, it's Mantlo and Ditko!) I realize that individual tastes are, well, individual, and not everyone is going to like everything a writer or artist produces.

If nothing else, I hope that the Bill Mantlo tribute magazine will 1. introduce Bill's work to a new audience, 2. provide a bit more information about Bill's passion for our industry to those not in the know, and 3. inspire others to share their memories about Bill as you have done here.

Also, perhaps it was not clear in the magazine, but all of the quotations from Bill are from archived sources and these all occurred prior to Bill's accident. Bill can no longer answer questions about his career due to the massive injuries that have left him cognitively impaired. If there are certain "warts" (to use Mike Albertson's term) about Bill's career that remain unanswered it is because I was unable to locate published interviews with Bill on the topics (meaning that there probably WERE no published interviews available on these topics, as I tracked down everything I could find while researching this project). I did try to get Harlan to participate in the project because I was also curious about the "Soldier" story that was published in Incredible Hulk; however, Harlan phoned and politely declined to participate. Fortunately, many of Bill's industry colleagues were more than willing to offer their thoughts and share their memories.

There was certainly contempt toward Bill, particularly toward the end of his career, but I think the contempt was from the management. As for Bill's writing, anyone producing the high volume of work Bill was doing at his peak is sure to have some stories turn out better than others. It's easy to criticize a person's work 20+ years after the fact, but to those of us Marvel fans who were children of the '70s, I think there will always be a warm feeling for Bill and the memories his stories invoke.

Best-
david

I hope he knows he is a reason comics are good!

I didn't know about Mantlo's injury...what a shame. I'll have to pick up a copy of A Life in Comics.

I wish that the Mantlo book had addressed the "warts" of his career, like the Hulk story that had a lot of similarities to Harlan Ellison's "Soldier." Regardless, though, it is well worth the price for anyone interested in his life and in marvel int he 1970s and 1980s.

Why did they show him contempt?

Wasn’t his Hulk run as sophisticated as their Aquaman run?

From the Aquaman comment, it would seem you're referring to Peter David. He's never shown contempt for Mantlo. I believe from reading old CBG columns they were friends (or at least work friends). Peter also has always been very clear that he based his Hulk stuff (the Grey, the MPD) on stuff that Mantlo had set up.

I suppose you could be referring to Erik Larson who did both Hulk and Aquaman, but I'm not aware of his attitudes towards Mantlo one way or another.

I would imagine in a world where the big name comic writers are trying to be cutting edge by doing political allegory or killing off as many characters that they can, someone like Mantlo who just told good solid stories, might be thought of less than he should.

The benefit magazine is excellent and well worth getting. I'd have been happy just donating to Bill's care but the mag is genuinely very well put together. Buy it!

Wow, sad to hear about Bill Mantlo. I did grow to like his work, although I remember in the early mid-70s when he first started at Marvel he was a fill-in issue specialist, so whenever I'd see "written by Bill Mantlo" on an opening page of Iron Man or Killraven I'd cringe. He wrote some pretty lame fill-ins.

He won me over with his Spectacular Spider-man run. Some of my favorite non-Ditko Spider moments ever. And Micronauts was a comic of rare and splendid beauty, one of my favorite sci-fi series ever (for the first twelve issues, at least).

The rumor I remember about Mantlo was that along with his extensive fill-in work, he did the scripting for all those Marvel Hostess Twinkie pages. True?

It's because from what I've seen (and I haven't read THAT much of his stuff) the best of his work was quite good - But the worst of his stuff was really pretty bad.

(Track down the Captain Universe trade paperback and Essential Marvel Two-In-One for some representative examples of each.)

And happy birthday!

-M

I’m pissed that so many in the industry were dismissive or showed contempt towards Bill, who could out-write the heck out of most of them , then and now.

Why did they show him contempt?

Wasn't his Hulk run as sophisticated as their Aquaman run?