Hello and welcome to another installment of Interview From Behind The Universe by Nicholas Brown.
Today we have Howard Mackie, who broke into the business in ’84 working as Assistant Editor to the late and great Mark Gruenwald and made his name only four years later as a co-creator, alongside Javier Saltares of the Ghost Rider vessel named Danny Ketch. He also was head writer for various Spider-Man titles throughout the 90s and wrote alongside Tom DeFalco on the Spider-Man: Clone Saga in 2007.
He is currently consulting on the new Disney+ original, Marvel’s Hero Project alongside another familiar Marvel face, Terry Kavanagh, whose interview can be found here: Terry Kavanagh, An Interveiw from Behind the Universe.
And now on to the interview:
Q: What did you do before working at Marvel Comics and do you think that helped prepare you for the job?
I always tell people who asked me how I started at Marvel that I made the natural transition from being a Traffic Manager for an international shipping and exporting company to editing comic books. Honestly now, work I did prior to Marvel prepared me for my Marvel job.
I got the job because Mike Carlin was a very good friend—we used to hang out at rock clubs in NYC on the weekends—and he was tired of hearing me complain about my job. At that point he was an assistant editor to Mark Gruenwald and had just gotten a promotion. He knew I was caught up on Marvel continuity, and wasn’t totally stupid or obnoxious, so he suggested that I apply for his job.
The salary was terrible, so I thought I’d be there for a year at the most. I figured it was a good way to break out of the rut I’d found myself in. Little did I know that I would stay on staff for 7 years, be under contract with Marvel as a writer for another 10, and be working in comics for life.
Q: What has life been like after Marvel?
Technically, I am still doing work for Marvel, so I don’t know.
I just did some consulting work for a Disney Plus TV show called Marvel: Heroes Project, and I’m doing a little writing for them as well.
The reality is that the friendships that were forged in my years on staff at Marvel are those I still value the most today. We were a close group of people who did most everything together. I stay in touch with many of them … and I married a woman I met within the first 5 minutes of my first day on the job. So, Marvel—that Marvel—is still in my heart.
Q: Do you have any stories from the Bullpen that you’d like to tell? Perhaps something Eliot has overlooked in his writings or that you’d like to add to.
Eliot and I were lucky enough to have worked alongside our friend Mark Gruenwald. Mark was one of the most talented and creative people at Marvel. He believed in working hard, but he also strongly believed in playing hard. It was not uncommon, after a grueling week of getting our monthly books out, for Mark to insist we put all work away and work on practical jokes, or silly songs about our fellow bullpenners. The stories that immediately come to mind are too numerous or too incriminating for me to pass on just yet. I’m not sure what the statute of limitations is on practical jokes.
Q: Have you enjoyed seeing where Marvel has taken its characters in recent years? I’m referring specifically to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its extended factions, but if you’ve kept up with Marvel Comics as well, I’m curious to hear your take.
I don’t follow the monthly comic books as much as I once did. I also am not a big fan of complaining about changes that new writers and editors make to characters. Times change.
I LOVE the Marvel cinematic universe. I think Marvel Studios has stayed true to the essence of all those characters created by Stan, Jack, and Steve all those years ago. When I sit in the theater watching each movie, I am transported back to my 11-year old self. Of course, it is a bit bittersweet for me, because I can’t but help think how much our good friend Mark Gruenwald would have loved seeing characters he loved on the Big Screen.
Q: What was the most fun you had working on a project at Marvel?
That is a really tough question. Of course, getting the opportunity to pitch, relaunch, and write the GHOST RIDER series for as many years as I did was a dream come true. I always loved the characters and I was able to bring elements of my own life into many of the stories. But the first time I got to work with STEVE DITKO, or talk to STAN LEE, and then for me to get to write SPIDER-MAN … there were definitely days I had to pinch myself …especially after I realized that I was going to get PAID for all that.
Q: Do you have any good embarrassing or funny stories about my father?
You know … when I first read this question I thought, “Oooh, baby … NOW I’ll get to give it to E!” Then I wracked and wracked my brain for embarrassing Eliot stories. I kept coming up blank. Most of the stories I came up with were more tender than embarrassing … at least to E.
My first day at Marvel—keep in mind that I had been working in a suit and tie environment up until that point and was told that dress was “casual”. To ME that meant no tie. I DID wear a button down Oxford shirt, dress pants, and dress shoes. I was walking down the hall in the bullpen and your dad walk up to me and places his ham-sized hand onto my chest to stop me. He looks me up and down—head to toe—shakes his head and says, “No.” I immediately knew what he was talking about and dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers the next day.
Eliot is just a good guy. Of course, he and I have been known to scream at each other, at the top of our lungs, in a parking lot outside a Kingston, NY restaurant … and then hug it out two minutes later.
Q: Is there anywhere our readers can find you on social media to keep up with you?
I can be found on Facebook at Howard Mackie-Writer. There I don’t post pictures of my favorite meal, my dogs, and only talk comics. I’ll post about my latest projects, convention appearances, and answer any questions folks have.
End notes: Here’s piece of trivia I pulled from Howard’s Wikipedia page while researching this piece. I thought it was too good to keep to myself.
“Early in Mackie’s career, a running gag in Gruenwald’s columns was that Mackie was a mysterious figure whose face no one at Marvel had ever seen”
Until next time, be seeing you.
-Nicholas Brown