Michael Carlin (born October 6, 1958) is an American
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
editor, and executive. He has worked principally for
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
and
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
since the 1970s.
Early life
Carlin attended the
High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, graduating in 1976. He received a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cartooning from the
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
in New York in 1980.
Career
Mike Carlin started out in the business at DC Comics as a high school intern in 1974. He was hired by Marvel Comics as a writer and artist on ''
Crazy Magazine'', the company's
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
humor title at the end of 1980. His first work appeared in print in 1981. He later became an assistant editor under
Mark Gruenwald
Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics.
Biography
Early career
Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...
in 1982 and wrote a short run of stories in ''
Captain America'' and
Ka-Zar as well as the Assistant Editors' Month issue of ''
Marvel Team-Up
''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
'' (
Aunt May
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
and
Franklin Richards vs.
Galactus
Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of t ...
). Carlin moved to DC Comics as of October 6, 1986, his 28th birthday,
and became group editor of the
Superman titles. He oversaw "
The Death of Superman
"The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Kese ...
" storyline and the subsequent introduction of such characters as the
Kon-El version of Superboy and
John Henry Irons
Steel is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a genius engineer who built a mechanized suit of armor that replicates Superman's powers and bears Superman's logo. Initially, he sought to replace Superman ...
. From 1996 to 2002, he served as an executive editor at DC Comics. As of 2011, he was DC Entertainment's Creative Director of Animation.
Appearances within comics
The backup story "Bernie America, Sentinel of Liberty" in ''
Captain America'' #289 (Jan. 1984) features Mike Carlin dressed as
The Watcher, introducing the story.
''
The Batman Adventures
''The Batman Adventures'' is a DC Comics comic book series featuring Batman. It is different from other ''Batman'' titles because it is set in the continuity (and style) of '' Batman: The Animated Series'', as opposed to the regular DC Universe.
...
'' #13, the first DC Comics spinoff of ''
Batman: The Animated Series'' — features a screwball trio of incompetent super-villains: the Mastermind (a caricature of Mike Carlin), The Perfessor (a caricature of
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
), and Mr. Nice (a caricature of
Archie Goodwin), a super-strong but childishly-innocent super-villain.
''
Superman: The Man of Steel'' #75 (Jan. 1998) is a pastiche of Superman's death in ''Superman'' vol. 2 #75 (Jan. 1993), where
Mister Mxyzptlk
Mister Mxyzptlk (, ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in DC Comics' '' Superman'' comic books. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he en ...
creates a duplicate of Doomsday. The confrontation culminates with Mxyzptlk meeting the Supreme Being who turns out to be Mike Carlin, the then-editor of the Superman titles, who promptly brings him back to life.
Awards
* 1994
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
for Best Editor, for the ''Superman'' titles
* 1994
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...
Nominations
* 1992 Eisner Award for Best Editor, for the ''Superman'' titles and ''The Psycho''
Bibliography
DC Comics
* ''
Batman: Gotham Knights'' #21 (
Batman Black and White
''Batman Black and White'' refers to the comic book limited series published by DC Comics featuring 8-page black and white Batman stories. Volumes 1, 4 and 5 of the series feature all-new stories (published in 1996, 2013–14, and 2020–21, res ...
) (2001)
* ''Cartoon Network Presents'' #8 (1998)
* ''
Flashpoint: The Canterbury Cricket'' #1 (2011)
* ''
Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbor ...
and
the Jetsons
''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...
'' #1–2 (1997)
* ''
Green Lantern Annual'' #3 (1987)
* ''
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic law enforcement organization appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residin ...
Quarterly'' #8 (1994)
* ''
Metal Men
The Metal Men are a group of superheroes that appear in DC Comics. The characters first appeared in ''Showcase'' #37 (March–April 1962) and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...
'' vol. 2 #1–4 (1993–1994)
* ''
Secret Origins
''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters.
Publication history
''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...
'' vol. 2 #33 (
Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby.
Publication history
Mister Miracle debuted in ...
) (1988)
* ''
Showcase '95'' #2, 6 (1995)
* ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' #41–47 (1987–1988)
* ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' #1–6 (1988)
Marvel Comics
* ''
Amazing High Adventure'' #1 (1984)
* ''
Bizarre Adventures
''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group.
Publica ...
'' #34 (1983)
* ''
Captain America'' #301–306 (1985)
* ''
Crazy Magazine'' #72, 74, 80, 83–92 (1981–1982)
* ''
Daredevil'' #202 (1984)
* ''
Dazzler'' #32–34 (1984)
* ''
Ka-Zar the Savage'' #28–34 (1983–1984)
* ''
Marvel Fanfare
''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.
Volume one
''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...
'' #39 (
Moon Knight) (1988)
* ''
Marvel Team-Up
''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
'' #137 (1984)
* ''
Masters of the Universe
''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...
'' #1–8 (1986–1987)
* ''
Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham
Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphic pig and is a cartoon animal parody version of Spider-Man. He was created by editor Larry Ham ...
'' #4, 11, 13–14, 17 (1985–1987)
* ''
The Thing'' #14–17, 23–36 (1984–1986)
References
External links
*
*
Mike Carlinat Mike's Amazing World of Comics
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlin, Mike
1958 births
American comics artists
American comics writers
Comic book editors
DC Comics people
Eisner Award winners
High School of Art and Design alumni
Inkpot Award winners
Living people
Marvel Comics writers