Mike Marts: Editing The X-Men

Categories: The Spotlight|Published On: July 15, 2002|Views: 4|

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As editor of a number of books beginning with “X,” Mike
Marts faces an array of deadlines, mutants and fans. For the moment, though, he
faces a bunch of questions from SCOOP:

What was the first comic
you ever read, and what were the circumstances?

I have a very clear
memory of the first comic I ever read… Iron Man #101. I must have been
six or seven at the time, and my family and some close friends of my parents
were on vacation in Virginia, visiting the Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion
amusement parks. There was this little rinky-dink gift shop at the motel we were
staying at that sold magnets, t-shirts, beach towels and all the other
souvenir-type crap one normally associates with vacations. I remember scavenging
the store with my friend Keith, looking for something cool to buy for the long
ride home to Jersey. Then, from somewhere amidst the confusing mess of snow
globes and cigarette lighters, stood a glorious, shiny comic rack. It was the
first time I remember feeling that awful sensation that I’d experience so many
times in the years to come so many comics, so little cash. Whatever meager sum
my parents had been generous enough to bestow upon me allowed me just two comics
… I remember Keith going straight for Spider-Man. But I wanted something a
little different, something a little less ordinary. The cover to Iron Man
#101
immediately caught me eye. Iron Man in peril! A creepy castle! The
Monster of Frankenstein! Who or what is Dreadknight?! I was sold, right there on
the spot. The second comic I picked up was a very early Walt Simonson
Thor (before Simonson had really become “Simonson”), when he
penciled that run in the 260s. I think it was issue #260, in fact. But Iron
Man #101
will always stand out as the first comic I ever bought and read.
What an awesome read. And ironic, too, that my first job in comics publishing
was as the assistant editor on Iron Man.

When did you know
you wanted to work in the field?

Pretty early on. I was always aware
that comics were created by people and didn’t just appear out of the ether. The
credits box and the creators’ names inside it was something I became familiar
with at a fairly young age. I knew the Uncanny X-Men was my favorite
comic, I knew Chris Claremont wrote their adventures, and I knew I wanted to be
him. I guess somewhere around his run with Paul Smith (circa UXM
#165-175) I started imagining my own adventures with the X-Men. Sort of like
what I would have done with the characters, or on what adventures I would have
taken them. I kept doing this for several years, drawing a few of these stories,
sometimes with my young comic cohorts, but most often by myself. After a while I
realized that, while most likely difficult and highly unlikely, writing comics
for a living was a possibility. An extreme possibility, yes, but a possibility
nonetheless. And that was all the internal convincing that I needed. Somewhere
around the end of high school and the beginning of college, I started sending
one-page story synopsis to Marvel Comics, as per their submissions guidelines. I
remember the first few … Spider-Man buying Mary Jane an anniversary gift,
Silver Surfer meeting new extra-terrestrials, Wolverine getting into a fight…
I still have my rejection letters.

How did you get started in
comics professionally?

While in college I worked at a local comic
book store named Star Spangled Comics. It was there that I met inker Mark
McKenna, who immediately became a friend, and to no surprise, a talented
freelancer that I’ve worked with for many years now. Mark knew I was doing the
writing/journalism thing in college, and he knew I was trying to break into
comics through my writing submissions. Mark was nice enough to hand deliver a
few of my better story ideas straight to the lion’s den, and I actually got some
decent feedback from an editor or two. Future boss and freelancer of mine Fabian
Nicieza was cool enough to look over a Defenders pitch I had cooked up
overnight, and Mike Rockwitz gave me a good lesson in knowing what the hell I
was talking about and how to pronounce editors’ names correctly before trying to
pitch stories over the phone. One Black Bolt story I had almost got bought by
editor Terry Kavanagh for Marvel Comics Presents, but something that
Ralph Macchio was doing with the Inhumans in Fantastic Four prohibited my
story from seeing the light of day. After a few months of close brushes with
success but failure for the most part, Mark asked me what I thought about doing
editorial work. Man, why hadn’t I thought of that before? Seeing as how I was
studying editing and journalism in school, it seemed a no-brainer. I was lucky
enough to get enrolled in Marvel’s editorial internship program, and I started
in June of 1993 with editor Nel Yomtov working on, of all things, Iron
Man
. After two internships with Nel, I officially came on board to Marvel
Editorial in December of that same year, working on titles like War
Machine
, Fantastic Four and Force Works. I stayed at Marvel
for nearly three years, successfully weathering a few of the layoff sessions,
but eventually decided to leave in 1996 to finish the few remaining credits of
my bachelor’s degree.

How long were you at Acclaim?
Two
years almost to the day. I came to Acclaim in September of 1997… I was looking
for a new job at the time, and Fabian Nicieza was kind enough to offer me an
associate editor’s position, working on X-O Manowar, Trinity
Angels
, Dr. Tomorrow and Bloodshot. The next year I was
promoted to editor, where I took Shadow Man, Armorines,
N.I.O. and a few other titles. Though Acclaim Comics went through some
extremely difficult times as a company while I was employed there, I look back
at my time there with fondness, as a period where I was really able to spread my
wings creatively, take risks, and try out new ideas. It was an essential period
of career growth for me, and a definite learning experience for all the right
reasons.

What was your position when you moved to
Marvel?

I came back to Marvel as an editor in September of 99,
working as an adjunct X-office on titles like Gambit, Deadpool and
Bishop. A little later I added Universe X, Black Panther,
Wolverine and eventually my assistant Mike Raicht and I started
Exiles.

As someone on the outside, it seemed like you moved
up pretty quickly. What did you think of your progress once you got
there?

Is that how it seems? Ha ha. I don’t know… it doesn’t seem
all that quick to me, but then again, I live with myself every day, so my
progress might seem a little glacial to me, while quick to others. But I feel I
paid dues like anyone else, had my share of stinker projects like anyone else…
I don’t know, I don’t feel as though my “moving up” has been much
different from similar people at similar positions of power. I think I’ve been
fortunate enough to have good bosses who recognized my commitment and hard work
at the appropriate times. But I definitely don’t feel like anything was ever
handed to me. Anything I’m working on now or any project I’ve worked on in the
past I feel I’ve earned the right to work on. Hope that doesn’t come off
sounding too arrogant.

Being an editor is hard enough, but are
there any extra pressures associated with being an X-Men editor?

Okay, here’s the deal. Everyone seems to have this impression like,
“Ooh, it’s the X-Men, what a lot of pressure, how can you handle
it?” Yes, it sells more copies than most books. Yes, it always has the
best creators. Yes, it’s a huge moneymaking franchise. But when you boil it
down, my responsibilities are to get the best talent, to make the product, and
to make sure it ships on time. Last time I checked, those were all
responsibilities associated with all the other titles I do. It’s a tough job,
but it’s a job that will get done, done well, and done on time. Just like all
the other comics I work on with Mike Raicht.

In recent months,
Marvel’s had some exciting changes in direction. What new excitement are you
waiting to spring upon readers?

Grant Morrison and Chuck Austen. If
readers think they’ve seen the best from these two writers, then they have NO
IDEA what’s coming their way soon. Both Grant and Chuck have the whole next year
plotted out on New X-Men and Uncanny, and, man… their stories
are just going to blow your mind. It would be extremely difficult to find two
other titles that are so stylistically different in their storytelling and yet
still share the same essential foundation. I’m excited for Chuck and Grant’s
future issues, as both an editor and a reader.

What’s the work
you’re most proud of so far?

That’s a tough one. If you’re talking
about one complete package, I’d have to say Origin. Great creators, great
story, great design . . .we really hit all the marks we wanted to hit and then
some. If you’re talking, on the other hand, about a run a series, I’d have to
say Exiles for what’s currently in print, and Uncanny X-Men for
what’s to come.


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Archives