Mark Millar

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Mark Millar
10.2.10MarkMillarByLuigiNovi.jpg
Millar at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, 2 October 2010.
Born (1969-12-24) 24 December 1969 (age 55)
Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
Nationality Scottish
Area(s) Writer
Notable works
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate Fantastic Four
Civil War
Wanted
Kick-Ass
Secret Service
http://www.millarworld.tv

Mark Millar, MBE (born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on titles such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, The Secret Service, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter five of which have been, or will be, adapted into feature films.

For his work Millar has been nominated for four Eisner Awards and two Eagle Awards, and in June 2013 he was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to film and literature.[1][2][3]

Early life

Millar was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, one of six siblings.[4] His parents were also born in Coatbridge; Millar, who spent the first half of his life in the Townhead area of Coatbridge, attended St Ambrose High in Coatbridge.[5] He has four older brothers,[6][7] and one older sister.[7] His brother Bobby, who today works at a special needs school,[8] introduced him to comics at age 4 while attending university by taking him to shops and purchasing them for him. Still learning to read, Millar's first comic was the seminal The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1973), which featured the death of Gwen Stacy. He purchased a Superman comic that day as well.[7] Black and white reprinted comics purchased by his brothers for him would follow, cementing his interest in the medium[6] so much that Millar drew a spider web across his face with indelible marker that his parents were unable to scrub off in time for his First Communion photo a week later.[7] Millar has named Alan Moore and Frank Miller as the two biggest influences on his career, characterizing them as "my Mum and Dad." Other writers he names as influences include Grant Morrison, Peter Milligan, Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis. More recent writers that have impressed him include Jason Aaron and Scott Snyder.[6]

Millar's mother died of a heart attack at age 64, when Millar was 14, and his father died four years later, aged 65.[7] Although Millar enjoyed drawing comics, he was not permitted to go to art school because his family frowned upon such endeavours as a waste of time for the academic Millar, who studied subjects like chemistry, physics and advanced maths. He initially planned to be a doctor, and subsequently decided that becoming an economist would be a viable alternate plan, but later decided that he "couldn't quite hack it" in that occupation.[6] He attended Glasgow University to study politics and economics, but dropped out after his father's death left him without the money to pay his tuition.[7]

Career

1980s–1990s work

When Millar was 18, he interviewed writer Grant Morrison, who was then doing his first major American work on Animal Man, for a fanzine. When he told Morrison that he wanted to be both a writer and an artist, Morrison suggested that he focus on one of those career paths, as it was very hard to be successful at both, which Millar cites as the best advice he has ever received.[6]

Millar's first job as a comic book writer came when he was still in high school, writing Trident's Saviour with Daniel Vallely providing art. Saviour combined elements of religion, satire and superhero action.

During the 1990s, Millar worked on titles such as 2000 AD,[9] Sonic the Comic and Crisis. In 1993, Millar, Grant Morrison and John Smith created a controversial eight-week run on 2000 AD called The Summer Offensive. It was during this run that Millar and Morrison wrote their first major story together, the highly controversial strip Big Dave.[citation needed]

Millar's British work brought him to the attention of DC Comics, and in 1994 he started working on his first American comic, Swamp Thing. The first four issues of Millar's run were co-written by Grant Morrison,[10] allowing Millar to settle into the title. Although his work brought some critical acclaim to the ailing title, the book's sales were still low enough to warrant cancellation by the publisher. From there, Millar spent time working on various DC titles, often co-writing with or under the patronage of Morrison as in the cases of his work on JLA, The Flash and Aztek: The Ultimate Man,[11] and working on unsuccessful pitches for the publisher.

2000s work

Millar signing a copy of Superman: Red Son.

In 2000, Millar replaced Warren Ellis on The Authority for DC's Wildstorm imprint.[10][12] Millar announced his resignation from DC in 2001, though his miniseries Superman: Red Son was printed in 2003.[13]

In March 2001 Millar sold a vampire horror miniseries he wrote called Sikeside to Channel 4 in the UK. The department that bought it had created a program called Metrosexuality that was received so poorly that the department was informed by its superiors that the network would not make any other project commissioned by that department again, thus cancelling Sikeside's development. Millar subsequently sold the movie rights to Sikeside to his friend, movie producer Angus Lamont.[14][15]

In 2001, Millar launched Ultimate X-Men for Marvel Comics' Ultimate Marvel imprint.[16] The following year he collaborated with illustrator Bryan Hitch on The Ultimates, the Ultimate imprint's equivalent of The Avengers.[10][17] Millar's work on The Ultimates was later adapted into two Marvel Animated Features.[citation needed]

After 33 issues, Millar left Ultimate X-Men. In 2004 he wrote the Marvel Knights Spider-Man series,[18] and co-wrote with Brian Michael Bendis the first six issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four.[19] He later returned to that title for a 12-issue run throughout 2005–2006,[10] and his storylines during that period led to the creation of the Marvel Zombies spin-off series.

In 2006, Millar, joined by artist Steve McNiven, began writing the Marvel miniseries Civil War.[20] In February 2008 he began a run on Fantastic Four, with artist Bryan Hitch.[21][22] That same year he wrote the miniseries Marvel 1985,[23] with artist Tommy Lee Edwards,[24] which "is about the real world, the world we live in right now, dealing with the villains of the Marvel Universe finding us."[25] He wrote the "Old Man Logan" storyline which appeared in the Wolverine series and was set in a possible future.[26]

Millar was among a group of writers enlisted by Iron Man director Jon Favreau to give advice on the script. It was Millar who suggested dropping the Mandarin as the villain, and replacing him with Iron Monger, who was originally intended as a villain for the sequels.[27]

Millar announced a new British comics magazine anthology in early May 2010 to be launched in September with the name CLiNT, which would feature a sequel to Kick-Ass, as well as work from Jonathan Ross and Frankie Boyle.[28]

In September 2012, Millar was brought on to oversee Fox's cinematic universe as a creative consultant for the X-Men film franchise and Fantastic Four.[29]

Millarworld

Millar and his Wanted collaborator J. G. Jones at the Big Apple Convention, 2 October 2010.

In 2004, Millar launched a creator-owned line called Millarworld that published the books Wanted, Chosen, The Unfunnies, Kick-Ass and War Heroes by four different publishers. Wanted, published by Top Cow Productions, was loosely adapted into a feature film by Universal Pictures, released on 27 June 2008.[30] Chosen, published by Dark Horse Comics, was described by Millar as a sequel to the Bible, and has been optioned by Sony Pictures. The Unfunnies was a funny animal horror story published by Avatar Press. Kick-Ass, which was illustrated by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel, was adapted into a film of the same name by Matthew Vaughn, and released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2010 and the United States on 16 April.

In September 2008 it was announced that War Heroes had been optioned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Michael DeLuca as producer and Millar taking an executive producer role.[31]

Millar indicated in 2008 that he would return to Chosen, which he revealed was only the first part in a planned trilogy, American Jesus. Moving the title to Image Comics, he will write two more miniseries to complete the story, and release a collection of the first one with the title American Jesus Volume 1: Chosen.[32]

In 2010 Millar wrote two other creator-owned superhero titles through Marvel Comics' Icon imprint, Nemesis with artist Steve McNiven,[33] and Superior with artist Leinil Yu.

On 9 April 2011, Millar was one of 62 comics creators who appeared at the IGN stage at the Kapow! convention in London to set two Guinness World Records, the Fastest Production of a Comic Book, and Most Contributors to a Comic Book.[34][35] The book was completed in 11 hours, 19 minutes, and 38 seconds, and was published through Icon on 23 November 2011, with all royalties being donated to Yorkhill Children's Foundation.[34] In 2013, Millar caused anger among comic fans after making comments that the use of rape in comic books could be a storytelling device "to show that somebody’s a bad guy.” Many outraged fans took to Twitter to display their thoughts.[36][37]


In October 2014, following months of delays for Jupiter's Legacy #5, Millar stated that beginning in April 2015, all Millarworld series would be completely drawn before the publication of their debut issues, in order to maintain a monthly schedule.[38]

Awards and accolades

In August 2011, Millar appeared in his native Coatbridge to unveil a superhero-themed steel archway beside the Monkland Canal that was created by sculptor Andy Scott, with help from the students at his own alma mater, St Ambrose High School.[5] The six metre-high archway, which was inspired by Millar's work, depicts a superhero named Captain Coatbridge and two female superheroines, and was created as part of efforts to regenerate the canal.[39]

In June 2013, Millar was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to film and literature on the Queen's Honours Birthday list.[1][2][3]

Award nominations

  • 2000 Eisner Award for Best Title for a Younger Audience for Superman Adventures shared with Aluir Amancio, Terry Austin, and others.[40]
  • 2000 Eisner Award for Best Writer for Superman Adventures[40]
  • 2001 Eisner Award for Best Writer for The Authority and Ultimate X-Men[41]
  • 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for The Authority #13–16 shared with Frank Quitely and Trevor Scott.[41]
  • 2004 Eagle Award for Favourite Comics Writer.[42]
  • 2005 Eagle Award for Favourite Comics Writer[43]

Personal life

He is a practicing Catholic who abstains from using profanity in his personal life.[7] Although he says he was not cut out to be an economist, he is still "obsessed" with that subject, and reads the Financial Times online before reading Comic Book Resources each morning.[6]

He has named Superman, Flash Gordon, The Spy Who Loved Me, Star Wars and The Incredibles as his five favorite films.[44]

Bibliography

UK publishers

Trident

Fleetway

  • 2000 AD:
    • Tharg's Future Shocks:
      • "The Foreign Model" (with Dave D'Antiquis, in #643, 1989)
      • "Self Awareness" (with Keith Page, in #648, 1989)
      • "Nightmare on Ses*me Street " (with Brian Williamson, in #785, 1992)
      • "A Fete Worse Than Death" (with Brian Williamson, in #786, 1992)
    • Silo (with Dave D'Antiquis, in #706–711, 1990)
    • Judge Dredd:
      • "Christmas is Cancelled" (with Brett Ewins, in Winter Special '90, 1990)
      • "Happy Birthday Judge Dredd!" (with Carl Critchlow, in #829, 1993)
      • "Great Brain Robbery" (with Ron Smith, in #835–836, 1993)
      • "Tough Justice" (with Mick Austin, in #840, 1993)
      • "Down Among the Dead Men" (with Brett Ewins, in #841, 1993)
      • "War Games" (with Paul Marshall, in #854, 1993)
      • "Judge Tyrannosaur" (with Ron Smith, in #855, 1993)
      • "Book of the Dead" (with Grant Morrison and Dermot Power, in #859–866, 1993)
      • "I Hate Christmas" (with Carlos Ezquerra, in #867, 1993)
      • "Frankenstein Div " (with Carlos Ezquerra, in #868–871, 1994)
      • "Crime Prevention" (with Nick Percival, in #872, 1994)
      • "Top Gun" (with Ron Smith, in #879, 1994)
      • "Under Siege" (with Paul Peart, in #880, 1994)
      • "Mr. Bennet Joins the Judges" (with Peter Doherty, in Sci-Fi Special '94, 1994)
      • "Crusade" (with Grant Morrison and Mick Austin, in #928–937, 1995)
      • "Man Who Broke the Law" (with Steve Yeowell, in #968–969, 1995)
      • "The Big Hit" (with Graham Stoddart, in #1029–1030, 1997)
    • Robo-Hunter:
      • "Sam Slade: Robo-Hunter" (with Jose Casanovas, in #723–734, 1991)
      • "Return of the Puppet Master" (with Simon Jacob, in Sci-Fi Special '91, 1991)
      • "Killer Grannies" (with Graham Higgins, in Yearbook '92, 1991)
      • "Escape from Bisleyland" (with Anthony Williams, in #750–759, 1991)
      • "Return to Verdus" (with Jose Casanovas, in #792–802, 1992)
      • "The Succubus" (with Simon Jacob, in Yearbook '93, 1992)
      • "Aces of Slades" (with Anthony Williams, in #813–816, 1992–1993)
      • "Serial Stunners" (with Jose Casanovas, in #819–822, 1993)
      • "Keith the Killer Robot" (with Ron Smith, in #825–827, 1993)
      • "Revenge of Dr. Robotski" (with Simon Jacob, in #881–884, 1994)
    • Red Razors:
      • Red Razors (tpb, 144 pages, 2004, ISBN 1-904265-18-9) collects:
      • "The Secret Origin of Comrade Ed" (with Steve Yeowell, in Judge Dredd Mega-Special #5, 1992)
      • "Doctor's Orders" (with Steve Yeowell, in Judge Dredd Yearbook '93, 1992)
      • "Rites of Passage" (with Nigel Dobbyn, in #971, 1995)
    • Tales from Beyond Science (with Rian Hughes):
      • Tales from Beyond Science (tpb, 88 pages, Image, 2012, ISBN 1-60706-471-5) includes:
        • "The Men in Red" (in #774, 1992)
        • "Long Distance Calls" (in #776, 1992)
        • "The Secret Month Under the Stairs" (in Winter Special '92, 1992)
        • "The Man Who Created Space" (in Sci-Fi Special '94, 1994)
    • The Spider: "Vicious Games" (with John Higgins and David Hine, in Action Special, 1992)
    • Rogue Trooper:
      • "House of Pain" (with Brett Ewins and Jim McCarthy, in Sci-Fi Special '92, 1992)
      • "G.I. Blues" (with Chris Weston, in #901–903, 1994)
    • Purgatory (with Carlos Ezquerra, in #834–841, 1993)
    • Tharg's Terror Tales:
    • Maniac 5:
      • "Maniac 5" (with Steve Yeowell, in #842–849, 1993)
      • "War Journal" (with David Hine, in Sci-Fi Special '93, 1993)
      • "Maniac 6" (with Richard Elson and Steve Yeowell, in Winter Special '93 and #956–963, 1995)
    • Big Dave (with Grant Morrison):
      • "Target Baghdad" (with Steve Parkhouse, in #842–845, 1993)
      • "Young Dave" (with Steve Parkhouse, in Yearbook '94, 1993)
      • "Monarchy in the UK" (with Steve Parkhouse, in #846–849, 1994)
      • "Costa del Chaos" (with Anthony Williams, in #869–872, 1994)
      • "Wotta Lotta Balls" (with Steve Parkhouse, in #904–907, 1994)
    • Canon Fodder (with Chris Weston, in #861–867, 1993)
    • The Grudge-Father (with Jim McCarthy, in #878–883, 1994)
    • Babe Race 2000 (with Anthony Williams, in #883–888 and Yearbook '95, 1994–1995)
    • Janus: Psi-Division (with Paul Johnson):
      • "A New Star" (in #980–984, 1996)
      • "Faustus" (with Grant Morrison, in #1024–1031, 1997)
  • Crisis:
  • Revolver Special #1: "Mother's Day" (with Phil Winslade, 1990)
  • Sonic the Comic:
    • Sonic the Hedgehog:
      • "Robofox" (with Woodrow Phoenix, in #2, 1993)
      • "Mayhem in the Marble Hill Zone" (with Jose Casanovas, in #3, 1993)
      • "Lost in the Labyrinth Zone" (with Woodrow Phoenix, in #5, 1993)
      • "Time Racer" (with Ed Hillyer, in #11, 1993)
      • "Hidden Danger!" (with Carl Flint, in #12, 1993)
      • "Double Trouble" (with Mike Hadley, in #13, 1993)
      • "The Green Eater" (with Mike Hadley, in #15, 1993)
      • "Happy Christmas Doctor Robotnik!" (with Brian Williamson, in #16, 1993)
      • "A Day in the Life of Robotnik" (with Mike Hadley, in #42, 1994)
      • "Odour Zone" (with Mike Hadley, in #72, 1994)
      • "The Spinball Wizard" (with Keith Page, in #73, 1994)
    • Streets of Rage (with Peter Richardson):
      • "Streets of Rage" (in #7–12, 1993)
      • "Skates' Story" (in #25–30, 1994)

DC Comics/Vertigo

Marvel Comics

Icon Comics

Other US publishers

Feature film adaptations

Year Title Director(s) Studio(s) Based on Budget Box office Rotten Tomatoes
USD$
2008 Wanted Timur Bekmambetov Universal Studios Wanted by Millar and J. G. Jones $75 million $341,433,252 71%[45]
2010 Kick-Ass Matthew Vaughn Lionsgate Films
Universal Studios
Marv Films
Plan B Entertainment
Kick-Ass by Millar and John Romita, Jr. $30 million $96,188,903 76%[46]
2013 Kick-Ass 2 Jeff Wadlow Universal Studios
Marv Films
Plan B Entertainment
Kick-Ass 2 and Hit-Girl by Millar and John Romita, Jr. $28 million $60,795,985 29%[47]
2015 Kingsman: The Secret Service[48] Matthew Vaughn 20th Century Fox
Marv Films
The Secret Service by Millar and Dave Gibbons $81 million $413,998,123 [49] 73%[50]
2015 Fantastic Four[51] Josh Trank 20th Century Fox
Marvel Entertainment
Marv Films
Ultimate Fantastic Four by Millar, Brian Michael Bendis and Adam Kubert $120 million $167,750,924 [52] 9%[53]
2016 Captain America: Civil War[54] Anthony and Joe Russo Marvel Studios
Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Civil War by Millar and Steve McNiven N/A N/A N/A
2017 Untitled Wolverine Film James Mangold 20th Century Fox
Marvel Entertainment
The Donner's Company
Old Man Logan by Millar and Steve McNiven N/A N/A N/A

References

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  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "The Third Degree: Mark Millar". Jupiter's Legacy #1 (April 2013). p. 27 Image Comics.
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  8. Millar, Millar (w), McNiven, Steve (a). Nemesis 1: 25 (May 2010), Marvel Comics
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  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Mark Millar at the Grand Comics Database
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  13. Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 309: "Mark Millar was never a writer to shy away from a controversial topic or from taking a unique concept to its shocking conclusion. With Superman: Red Son, he did both by presenting Superman as a communist and giving the conclusion a surprise twist."
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  17. Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 311: "With Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men serving as two of Marvel's most consecutive best seller, it was only a matter of time before the decision was made to reinvent one of the most popular teams of heroes, the Avengers, into this fresh new universe. And writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch were up to the challenge."
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  19. Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 320: "Ultimate veterans Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Adam Kubert reexamined Marvel's first family, creating this alternate version of the Fantastic Four."
  20. Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 332: "Writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven unleashed Civil War on the public, an epic seven-issue limited series that sparked some of the most heated fan debate in the history of Marvel Comics."
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External links

Preceded by Swamp Thing vol. 2 writer
1994–1996
(with Grant Morrison in 1994)
Succeeded by
n/a
Preceded by The Flash vol. 2 writer
1997–1998
(with Grant Morrison)
Succeeded by
Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn
Preceded by Superman Adventures writer
1998–2000
Succeeded by
Mark Evanier
Preceded by The Authority writer
2000–2002
Succeeded by
Warren Ellis
Preceded by
n/a
Ultimate X-Men writer
2001–2003
Succeeded by
Brian Michael Bendis
Preceded by
n/a
The Ultimates writer
2002–2007
Succeeded by
Jeph Loeb
Preceded by
n/a
Ultimate Fantastic Four writer
2004
(with Brian Michael Bendis)
Succeeded by
Warren Ellis
Preceded by Wolverine writer
2004–2005
Succeeded by
Daniel Way
Preceded by Ultimate Fantastic Four writer
2005–2006
Succeeded by
Mike Carey
Preceded by Fantastic Four writer
2008–2009
(with Joe Ahearne in 2009)
Succeeded by
Jonathan Hickman
Preceded by Wolverine writer
2008–2009
Succeeded by
Jason Aaron and Daniel Way

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