Bernard O’Shea
02/08/2014
 |
| Rocket Raccoon and his creator Bill Mantlo |
Rob Liefeld enjoys a love hate/relationship with comic book fans. People have been critical of his artistic skills and the depth of his work, but for others he is one of the artists that defined comic books in the ‘90’s. Like or loathe Liefeld he is also a man who is brutally honest. During an interview with Sequarttv Rob Liefeld talked about some of the reasons why he and the other artists who formed Image comics left Marvel in the 1990s; “What happened in ’91 had dictated the last twenty years at Marvel Comics…it’s a writer driven, TV room concept, where we build a corporate strategy, and therefore really nobody gets to take a bow, Marvel takes the bow…Marvel has turned into a company that wants you to think that they press a button, there’s a Marvel button in a room, where you go clink and a character comes out, Marvel made it! It’s the Marvel Button!”[1]
One of the great tragedies in the comic book industry is that many old school creators never get the credit they deserve, when it comes to acknowledging the comic book characters they have created. For years Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster fought to get their recognition as the creators of Superman and Bill Finger is only now beginning to be officially acknowledged as a co-creator of Batman.
This weekend Marvel Entertainment, has released it’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ movie, I have not seen the movie but I am hearing good reports and I have heard that Bradley Cooper has been stealing scenes as the voice being ‘Rocket Raccoon.’ Rocket Raccoon represents one of the more obscure characters in the Marvel Universe, he is anthropomorphic raccoon fighting alongside the rest of the Guardians in deep space. He was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen.
I am sure that the movie will be another in a long live of box office smashes for Marvel Entertainment. However amidst all the financial success of the movie it is worth acknowledging the current situation of Rocket Raccoon’s creator Bill Mantlo.
I was not aware of Bill Mantlo’s work until very recently. Bill was a comic book writer for Marvel comics during the 1970s and 1980s, he is best known for writing the licensed properties Micronauts and ROM the Space Knight. Bill grew up as a neighbour of Jack Kirby’s and this led to an internship in Marvel Comics. As he progressed he benefitted from Marvel Comics policy at the time, of having fill-in stories at the ready, for titles where creators were behind and missing their deadlines. As a result Mantlo became known as the ‘Fill-In Guy,’ the idea was that Mantlo would write stand alone issues that could fill the gap without interfering with the current storyline. He also had lengthy runs on The Incredible Hulk, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Cloak and Dagger and Alpha Flight. Mantlo’s total output at Marvel comics exceeded over 500 issues. In addition many of the stories he wrote never saw print. He created Rocket Raccoon who made his first appearance in Marvel Comics Preview issue 7 in 1976.
Mantlo’s colleagues at Marvel Comics during that time describe him as being without ego, always polite, always nice, he did not mind sharing story-writing credit or thanking those who helped him.[2] He was also socially aware and concerned about the messages comic books conveyed to a young readership. It was Mantlo who came up with the reason for the Incredible Hulk’s rage as being the abuse Bruce Banner had suffered as a child and he turned Rocket Racoon into an allegory for how the mentally ill should be cared for.[3]
Mantlo also had another nickname, ‘The Boisterous One,’ towards the end of his career at Marvel Comics he had numerous run-ins with senior staff that resulted in editors being unwilling to work with him. At the time there was no longer a need for a ‘fill-in guy,’ as missed deadlines were becoming a thing of the past. He also organised a failed attempt to unionise the Marvel writers, which I imagine did not endear him to the heads of Marvel Comics. As his career as a comic book writer drew to a close he made the most of a tuition reimbursement programme Marvel Comics offered and re-trained as a lawyer.[4] He became a full-time lawyer working for the Legal Aid Society. If he could not change the world through comics he would do it by other means.
Bill Mantlo’s story took at tragic twist in 1992 he was severely injured in a hit and run collusion while he was rollerblading on his way home from work. The driver was never identified. He was left in a coma for two weeks. He eventually regained consciousness but his brain stem was severed. He was not paralysed but he suffered permanent brain injury which meant he required 24/7 care. Since the incident in 1992, the Mantlo family has undergone a tumultuous time, with being let down Health Insurance companies and trying to personally finance the care needed for Bill. It has resulted in the selling of many of the family’s assets including Mantlo’s personal collection of the comic books he had contributed to as a writer. Based on articles written about Bill Mantlo over the last number of years, I understand he currently resides in the Queens Nassau
There is something about Bill Mantlo’s tragic tale that sets it apart from others. He was once a prolific comic book writer, with a talent for creating new characters. During his time at Marvel Comics the policy was any new characters created for Marvel Comics became the intellectual property of Marvel Comics. Editor-in-chief, Jim Shooter eventually got Marvel to implement a policy that gave writers a small percentage of any licensing that their characters created. While working on this idea he told the writers to hold off from crating any new characters. Mantlo eager to continue working on his comics did not hold back on his creativity, his answer was simply; “I’ll make more.”
Unfortunately, Bill Mantlo cannot make any more characters his injuries mean it is very hard for him to concentrate long enough now to be creative. He no longer has the means to earn his living as he once did.
With this article my message is simple; if you have seen ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ and enjoyed it, then please know nobody pressed a button in Marvel comics to bring Rocket Raccoon into life, he was imagined by Bill Mantlo. Please consider donating what you can to help the creator of Rocket Raccoon.
For Bill Mantlo comic books were more than just entertainment, he was a man who believed in storytelling that educated the young, he had a social conscious, and he does not appear to have been in it for the money. Bill Mantlo was a comic book writer because he loved comics. He probably felt about comics in the exact same way the fans did. I feel as a fan I should give something back to someone who gave so much to the comic book industry. Bill Mantlo doesn’t deserve our pity but he does deserve our respect and admiration as a comic book creator and as a human being. Please use the magic button contained in the link below and make a difference to a man who believed comics could make a difference in the world.
If you would like to help Bill Mantlo then please donate what you can to help Rock Raccoon’s creator Bill Mantlo. Follow this link via writer Greg Pak’s website; http://gregpak.com/love-rocket-raccoon-please-consider-donating-to-writer-bill-mantlos-ongoing-care/
For a comprehensive and moving re-telling of Bill Mantlo’s story please see LifeHealthPro’s Bill Coffin’s article from 2011; http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2011/11/07/tragic-tale
[1] SequartTV (2013) ‘Rob Liefeld: on leaving Marvel in the early 90s’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0zAehgQC54 – Accessed 02/08/14
[2] Coffin, Bill (2011) ‘Tragic Tale,’ http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2011/11/07/tragic-tale - Accessed 02/08/14
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
No comments:
Post a Comment