Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 and publisher best known for his work at Marvel 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 the ...

, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an artists representative. His notable works include runs as the regular writer of DC's ''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...

'' and Marvel's ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

''.

Biography

Early life and career

Mike Friedrich, who is unrelated to fellow

Silver Age of Comics The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an inte ...

writer Gary Friedrich, entered comics professionally after years of writing to DC letter columns in the 1960s and developing a mail acquaintanceship with the famously responsive editor

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various tim ...

. "My letter-writing began around the time the 'new look'

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

was introduced, though I'd been a fan of Julie's for two or three years before then. A couple of years later it turned into a bit of correspondence as Julie began to send short replies," Friedrich recalled.Text of Mike Friedrich statements at Schwartz, after rejecting an

Elongated Man Elongated Man (Randolph "Ralph" Dibny) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Flash (comics), The Flash'' #112 (February 25, 1960). The character made his live-action debut in the The Fl ...

story Friedrich submitted, bought Friedrich's first professional script on May 10, 1967, a 10-page

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

backup story ("Menace of the Motorcycle Marauders", drawn by

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

Chic Stone and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

Joe Giella) and eventually published in ''

'' #202 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d June 1968) as Friedrich's third published comics story. Friedrich used the $10-per-page payment to visit New York City the following month, after his high school graduation, and took a DC Comics tour in order to meet Schwartz in person. "That first summer," Friedrich recalled, "he worked with me on a handful of scripts, including the one that was first to be published, '' The Spectre'' #3" (April 1968; reprinted in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

Digest'' #496, Feb. 1983), in which Friedrich teamed with artist

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

on the 25-page

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

story, "Menace of the Mystic Mastermind". Almost immediately afterward, the same month, Friedrich published the full-length Batman story "The Man Who Radiated Fear", penciled by Stone ghosting for Bob Kane, in ''Batman'' #200 (March 1968).

DC and Marvel Comics

Friedrich quickly began writing stories for a number of DC publications, including '' Challengers of the Unknown'', ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'', ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'' and ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to ...

''. With

Jerry Grandenetti Charles J. "Jerry" Grandenetti (April 15, 1926 – February 19, 2010) was an American comic book artist and advertising art director, best known for his work with writer-artist Will Eisner on the celebrated comics feature "The Spirit", and for his ...

in '' Showcase'' #80 (Feb. 1969), he reintroduced the supernatural-mystery story narrator the Phantom Stranger, created by John Broome and

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

in 1952. He wrote the 30th anniversary Batman story in ''Detective Comics'' #387 (May 1969) which was drawn by

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

. Friedrich's first extended run on a title was on the

-team series ''

'' from #86–99 (Dec. 1970 – June 1972); in the story "The Most Dangerous Dreams of All" in issue #89 (May 1971), he himself makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

and breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

at a time when such experimentation in the mainstream was rare. He had previously scripted "His Name Is... Kane", in ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First se ...

'' #180 (June 1969), in which the short tale's penciler, Gil Kane, stars as an artist drawing for DC Comics and venturing into the physical House of Mystery. Friedrich co-created

Merlyn Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

in ''Justice League of America'' #94 (Nov. 1971) and the character was adapted into the ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

'' TV series in 2012. Moving to Marvel after four years, Friedrich scripted every issue of ''Iron Man'' but three from #48–81 (July 1972 – Dec. 1975). In issue #55 (Feb. 1973), he co-scripted the introduction of the popular characters

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant warl ...

and Drax the Destroyer, created and co-scripted by artist

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

. Other work includes issues of Marvel's ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'', '' Captain Marvel'' (where he worked with artist Jim Starlin on the latter's transition to writer on an acclaimed run of that series), '' The Power of Warlock'', " Ka-Zar" in '' Astonishing Tales'', " Ant-Man" in '' Marvel Feature'', and '' The Outlaw Kid'', writing a short-lived revival of

Doug Wildey Douglas S. Wildey He recalled his professional start as freelancing for the magazine and comic book company Street & Smith in 1947. Because comic-book writer and artist credits were not routinely given during this era, the earliest confirmed Wilde ...

's Western series from Marvel's 1950s predecessor,

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s) Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitud ...

Star*Reach

Friedrich's most notable contribution may be his 1970s anthology series '' Star*Reach'', a forerunner of the independently produced comics that proliferated, beginning in the 1980s, with the rise of the "

direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * four major comic distributors: ** Lunar ...

" of comic-book stores. ''Star*Reach'' styled itself as a "ground-level" comic book – not an

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority ...

publication, but also not mainstream or "overground". Eighteen issues were released between 1974 and 1979, with Friedrich's same-name publishing company expanding to other series, including ''Quack''; ''Imagine''; and Lee Marrs' ''Pudge, Girl Blimp'', along with a number of one-shot comics, before closing down. For this and other efforts, Friedrich received an Inkpot Award at the 1980

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

. Comics historian Richard J. Arndt wrote in 2006 that ''Star*Reach'' Friedrich closed Star*Reach as a publisher in 1979 but reopened it as a talent agency in 1982. In the 2000s, Friedrich served as Chair of the National Legislative Committee for the

Graphic Artists Guild The Graphic Artists Guild is a guild of graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers and is organized into seven chapters around the United States. It is a member of the international organization Icograda. History In the mid-1960s most ...

, while a member of the California/Northern chapter.

WonderCon

Friedrich, in partnership with Joe Field, owned and operated the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

comic book convention WonderCon for 15 years before selling it to

Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

in 2001.

Awards

In 2019, Friedrich was awarded the

Bill Finger Award The Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing is an American award for excellence in comic book writing. The awards committee, chaired by Mark Evanier, is charged each year with selecting two recipients, one living and one deceased. ...

to recognize his contributions to the industry.

Bibliography

Atlas/Seaboard Comics

* ''Wulf the Barbarian'' #4 (1975)

DC Comics

* ''

'' #200, 219, 221–222, 225 (

lead stories); #202, 227, 229–231, 234–236, 239–242 (

backup stories) (1968–1972) * '' Challengers of the Unknown'' #66 (1969) * ''

'' #384–385 (

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

backup stories); #386, 390–391, 402–403 (Robin backup stories); #387 (Batman lead story) (1969–1970) * ''

'' #186, 195, 197–198, 207 (1969–1971) * ''

Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion ''Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion'' was a horror-suspense- romance anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971 to 1974, a companion to '' Secrets of Sinister House''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soa ...

'' #6 (1972) * ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' #61, 73–74 (1968–1970) * ''

'' #180 (1969) * '' House of Secrets'' #81, 90 (1969–1971) * ''

'' #86–92, 94–99 (1970–1972) * '' Our Army at War'' #207, 217, 227, 236 (1969–1971) * '' Phantom Stranger'' vol. 2 #1–3 (1969) * '' Showcase'' #80 (Phantom Stranger) (1969) * ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and wri ...

'' #3, 9 (1968–1969) * ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

'' #255 (World of Krypton backup story) (1972) * ''

'' #19 (1969) * '' The Witching Hour'' #7 (1970) * ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #200, 209 (1971–1972)

Marvel Comics

* ''

Adventure into Fear ''Adventure into Fear'' is an American horror comic book series published by Marvel Comics from cover dates November 1970 through December 1975, for 31 issues. This is its trademarked cover title for all but its first nine issues, though the s ...

'' #20 ( Morbius, the Living Vampire) (1974) * '' Astonishing Tales'' #16–20 (Ka-Zar) (1973) * ''

'' #171 (1974) * '' Captain Marvel'' #24, 26–28, 35 (1973–1974) * ''

Dracula Lives ''Dracula Lives!'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 13 issues and one '' Super Annual'' from 1973 to 1975, and starred the Marvel version o ...

'' #7 (1974) * ''

'' #48–55, 58–75, 77, 79–81 (1972–1975) * '' Ka-Zar'' vol. 2 #1–5 (1974) * '' Marvel Feature'’ #4–7, 8 (four page framing sequence only), 9–10 ( Ant Man); #12 (The Thing and Iron Man) (1972–1973) * ''Marvel Super Action'' #1 ( Bobbi Morse/Huntress) (1976) * ''

Outlaw Kid The Outlaw Kid is a fictional Western hero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character originally appeared in the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. A lesser-known character than the company's Kid Colt, Rawh ...

'' #10–12 (1972) * '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #114 (1973) * '' Strange Tales'' #176–177 (

Golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

) (1974) * '' Sub-Mariner'' #54, 56 (1972) * '' Warlock'' #3–4, 7–8 (1972–1973) * '' Werewolf by Night'' #16–19 (1974) * '' Western Gunfighters'' #4–5 (1971)

Skywald Publications

* ''Butch Cassidy'' #1 (1971) * ''Nightmare'' #1 (1970)

Star Reach

* ''Imagine'' #1–5 (1978–1979) * ''Parsifal'' #1 (1978) * ''Quack'' #1–6 (1976–1977) * ''

Star Reach ''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich. Publication history One of the first American mainstream independent comic books, ''Star*R ...

'' #2–5, 7–8, 10–14, 16–18 (1975–1979) * ''Within Our Reach'' #1 (1991)

References

External links

Mike Friedrich
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * ''Comic Book Artist'' Vol. 2, #2 (Summer 2003): Interview with Mike Friedrich {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich, Mike 1949 births American comics writers Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Comic book publishers (people) DC Comics people Inkpot Award winners Literary agents Living people Marvel Comics writers Silver Age comics creators Bill Finger Award winners