Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series The Authority, published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written extensively for Marvel Comics, including runs on The Ultimates, which has been called "the comic book of the decade" by Time magazine and described as a major inspiration for the 2012 film The Avengers by its co-story creator Zak Penn, X-Men, Fantastic Four and Avengers for Marvel's Ultimate imprint, as well as Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Wolverine. In 2006, Millar wrote the Civil War mini-series that served as the centrepiece for the eponymous company-wide crossover storyline and later inspired the Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War. The "Old Man Logan" storyline, published as part of Millar's run on Wolverine, served as the inspiration for the 2017 film Logan.
Millar has written numerous creator-owned series which have been published under the unified Millarworld label, including Wanted with J. G. Jones, Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass with John Romita Jr., Nemesis with Steve McNiven, Superior and Supercrooks with Leinil Francis Yu, The Secret Service with Dave Gibbons and Jupiter's Legacy with Frank Quitely. Some of these series have been adapted into live-action and animated series and feature films, such as Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Jupiter's Legacy and Super Crooks, as well as videos games like Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Kick-Ass: The Game.
In addition to his work as a writer, Millar serves as an executive producer on all film and television adaptations of his comics. Between 2012 and 2016, he was employed by 20th Century Fox as a creative consultant for adaptations of his Marvel comic series Kick-Ass and The Secret Service.
In 2013, Millar was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to film and literature.
Early life
Millar was born on 24 December 1969 in Coatbridge, Scotland. He spent the first half of his life in the town's Townhead area and attended St. Ambrose High School.Millar has four older brothers, and one older sister, who are 22, 20, 18, 16 and 14 years older than him, respectively. He was first introduced to comic books at age 4 by his brother Bobby, who at the time was attending university and, as of 2010, worked at a special needs school. The first comics that Millar read were the seminal The Amazing Spider-Man #121, which featured the death of Gwen Stacy, and a Superman book purchased by Bobby that day. Millar's interest in the medium was further cemented with the black-and-white reprints of other comics that his brothers purchased for him, which he enjoyed so much that he drew a spider web across his face with an indelible marker that his parents were unable to scrub off in time for his First Communion photo a week later.
In the mid-late 1970s, Millar frequently appeared as a guest on the long-running Scottish kids TV programme Glen Michael's Cartoon Cavalcade, which he was a regular fan of at the time. On one occasion, he was invited onto the show to talk about the history of comics and, in a 2010 interview with the Scottish newspaper Daily Record, Millar has stated that Glen Michael's TV programme was where he first discovered superheroes.
Millar's mother died of a heart attack at age 64, when Millar was 14, and his father died four years later, aged 65. 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. 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 living expenses.
Career
1980s–1990s work
Millar was first inspired to become a comic book creator after meeting Alan Moore at a con in the mid-1980s. Years later, when an 18-year-old Millar interviewed Scottish comic book writer Grant Morrison for a fanzine, he told Morrison that he wanted to create comics as both a writer and an artist. Morrison, who then-recently returned to comics after spending most of the decade touring with their band The Mixers and had limited experience with both writing and drawing stories earlier in their career, suggested that Millar 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. Soon after, Millar sold his first script, Saviour, to an independent Leicester-based publisher Trident. Illustrated by Daniel Vallely, Morrison's former bandmate in The Mixers and, earlier, The Fauves, Saviour provided a mix of religious themes, satire and superhero action that quickly brought Millar to the attention of the wider British comics industry and resulted in several script commissions for the long-running anthology 2000 AD and its sister title Crisis.In 1992, Trident's owner Neptune Distribution went bankrupt, leaving both Saviour and The Shadowmen, Millar's second series at the publisher, unfinished. By that time, Millar already became a semi-regular contributor to 2000AD and its adjacent titles, and his output included several Robo-Hunter serials, a six-part prison story "Insiders" for Crisis, a Judge Dredd spin-off series Red Razors, as well as numerous newspaper strips starring Dredd himself for Daily Star. The following year, Millar, Morrison and writer John Smith were given editorial reins over 2000AD for an eight-week run titled "The Summer Offensive". The controversial initiative resulted, among other things, in the first major story co-written by Millar and Morrison, Big Dave.
In 1994, Millar crossed over to the American comic book industry, taking over the long-running series Swamp Thing, published under DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. The first four issues of his run were again co-written with Morrison, who, according to Millar, "came on board <...> to make sure that DC selected me above anyone else pitching for the gig". Although Millar's further work on Swamp Thing brought some critical acclaim to the ailing title, the book's sales were still low enough to warrant cancellation by the publisher. For the next few years, Millar continued to write sporadically for 2000AD and various American publishers, often co-scripting the stories with Morrison, with whom he shares the writing credit on the mini-series Skrull Kill Krew for Marvel, a short run on Vampirella for Harris, a year-long run on The Flash as well as Aztek: The Ultimate Man for DC.
Several of Millar's unrealized projects of this period include a revamp of Marvel's 2099 imprint and an "end-of-the-world" storyline for Marvel Tales, both co-created with Grant Morrison. In late 1998, Millar and Morrison, along with Mark Waid and Tom Peyer, developed an extensive proposal for the Superman titles that was scheduled to launch in January 2000. The proposal was greenlit, and the team's tenure as collaborative writers was scheduled to begin with upcoming editor Eddie Berganza's first issue. Upon returning from his vacation, then-current DC editor Mike Carlin was shocked to discover that big changes were being implemented to Superman without his knowledge and vetoed the project. In 1999, Millar also developed pitches for Phantom Stranger and Secret Society of Super-Villains as well as a revamp of his debut series Saviour.
In the late 1990s, Millar made the first attempt to branch out from comics into screenwriting with a vampire-themed black comedy-drama Sikeside. The script was eventually picked up by Channel 4 with Millar as both writer and director, and, although it was initially written as a TV movie, the production company asked Millar to develop it into a six-episode series instead. Described as "Buffy meets Trainspotting" and planned to be filmed in Millar's hometown of Coatbridge, Sikeside was ultimately cancelled during pre-production. In a 2010 interview, Millar mentioned that he has sold the rights to the script to producer Angus Lamont who wanted to turn it into a film for a theatrical release.
In 1999 and 2000, Millar wrote a newspaper column for The Evening Times.
Marvel and DC career
Millar started gaining notice at DC Comics for his work on the all-ages comic book series Superman Adventures, which featured stories set in the continuity of Superman: The Animated Series. Millar, a self-proclaimed Superman fan, stayed on the title for two years and received two Eisner Award nominations while penning one-off stories featuring the version of the character from the mainline DC Universe. Millar's best known Superman story, the three-issue Elseworlds mini-series Superman: Red Son, was first announced in 1998, even though Millar finished most of the script two years prior. As the series' original artist Dave Johnson fell behind the schedule, Millar opposed the idea of using other artists for the remaining pages. DC eventually brought in artist Kilian Plunkett to complete the book in 2002. Red Son, which Millar first came up with as a child after reading Superman #300, was published the following year and later adapted into an animated film of the same name.In August 1999, it was announced that Millar and Scottish artist Frank Quitely will be taking over The Authority, an ongoing series published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, on the recommendation of the outgoing writer and series' co-creator Warren Ellis. Millar's trademark style of over-the-top violence mixed with satire, pop culture references and mature themes was met with critical and commercial success while the book itself suffered from censorship enacted by DC starting with the new creative team's very first issue and continuing into Millar-written spin-off mini-series focusing on the team's former leader Jenny Sparks. As a result, the creators repeatedly requested a "Suggested for Mature Readers" label for the series but the idea was vetoed by then-Publisher of DC Comics Paul Levitz. Meanwhile, DC published a "lost" Superman Adventures script by Millar to capitalize on his newfound success, while Millar himself considered a move from his native Scotland to the United States, deliberating between staff position offers made by Wildstorm and DC Comics' main competitor Marvel.
In June 2000, Marvel announced that Millar will join its then-upcoming "Ultimate" line of comics as the writer on Ultimate X-Men, since Brian Michael Bendis, who was previously attached to the series, decided to focus his attention on the inaugural "Ultimate" launch of the Spider-Man title. The line, designed to simplify and streamline the company's long-running fictional continuity for mainstream audiences, was met with instant critical and commercial success and, soon after the launch of Ultimate X-Men, Millar announced that he had signed a two-year contract for a staff writing position at Marvel. As part of the deal, Millar and his family relocated to New York City.
In November 2000, Millar and Quitely announced their plans to leave The Authority after the third story arc, which was supposed to run in issues #22–25 if the series was to maintain a monthly schedule. However, soon after the first issue of the arc was published, it was announced that Quitely had signed an exclusive contract with Marvel and would therefore leave the title earlier than planned. Wildstorm assigned Art Adams to finish the last issues and hired writer Tom Peyer and artist Dustin Nguyen to create another four-issue story arc that would fill the publishing gap while Adams worked on his portion of the series. Then, following the 11 September 2001 attacks, Wildstorm decided to postpone the release of the remaining three issues and further edit the completed but not yet released work for sensitive content, which eventually drove Adams away from the title. The Authority #29, Millar's last issue on the series, was published with art by Gary Erskine and the cover date of July 2002. Another Millar-written The Authority spin-off, a one-shot story tentatively titled Apollo/Midnighter, was announced for a 2000 release but never produced.
In 2002, Millar and artist Bryan Hitch further expanded Marvel's Ultimate line with The Ultimates, a reimagining of the company's Avengers team. The title also proved highly successful, although it suffered from delays in shipping due to Hitch's personal issues. The Ultimates was eventually cancelled after 13 issues and two years of publication with the aim of relaunching the title so that more issues could be produced in advance. The Ultimates 2 launched shortly thereafter and also suffered from delays, this time due to Millar's [|newly-diagnosed chronic condition] and increased workload at Marvel. The second volume as well as the creative team's run on the title ended in 2007 with another 13th issue. Millar and Hitch's work on The Ultimates inspired two Marvel Animated Features titled Ultimate Avengers and the subsequent 2012 Marvel Studios feature film The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon. Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who portrayed the character Quicksilver in the 2015 sequel film Avengers: Age of Ultron, stated that it also drew inspiration from the Ultimate comics.
In 2002 and 2003, Millar wrote a column for Comic Book Resources. Around the same time, Millar's website included a teaser for a 6-issue Punisher series with artist Steve Dillon, although no official announcement was made by Marvel. In 2003, Millar and artist Terry Dodson launched Trouble at Marvel's newly-revived Epic imprint, a series meant to re-popularize romance comics that ended up both a sales and critical failure. That same year, Millar renewed his exclusive contract with Marvel for two more years. The following year, he penned two 12-issue runs for titles published under the Marvel Knights imprint, launching Marvel Knights Spider-Man again with Dodson and taking over the Wolverine ongoing series with artist John Romita Jr.. Millar and Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian Michael Bendis launched a new ongoing series for the Ultimate Marvel imprint, Ultimate Fantastic Four but left it after just six issues due to scheduling problems. Millar and artist Greg Land were announced as the creative team for a new Thor ongoing series but the pair took over Ultimate Fantatic Four instead. Millar's return to the title introduced, among other things, the concept of Marvel Zombies. During this period, Millar was assigned to write a trilogy of mini-series that would introduce Galactus to the Ultimate Universe but he left the project due to other commitments at Marvel and health issues.
In 2006, after renewing his exclusive contract with Marvel for two more years, Millar launched the most well-known and best-selling work of his career, the 7-issue mini-series Civil War with artist Steve McNiven that acted as the centrepiece of the company-wide crossover storyline of the same name. The story revolved around the passing of the Superhuman Registration Act in response to the death and destruction unintentionally caused by superheroes on a regular basis and the resultant schism in the superheroic community, with Captain America and Iron Man taking opposing sides of the debacle. The storyline had lasting impact on the fictional Marvel Universe and served as the inspiration for the 2016 Marvel Studios film Captain America: Civil War.
In 2007 and 2008, Millar attempted to pitch a new series of Superman films to Warner Brothers but the studio went with David S. Goyer's pitch for Man of Steel instead. During that time, he also had two pitches rejected at Marvel, a Blade story with Richard Corben and a Ghost Rider story with John Romita Jr., as both characters already had ongoing series at the time and Marvel did not believe either property could support more books. In 2008, Millar returned to the Wolverine ongoing series for an extended dystopian storyline "Old Man Logan", illustrated by his Civil War collaborator Steve McNiven. Elements of this story inspired the 2017 20th Century Fox film Logan. Also in 2008, Millar reteamed with The Ultimates co-creator Bryan Hitch for a run on the mainline Fantastic Four series and launched the mini-series Marvel 1985 with artist Tommy Lee Edwards. The three titles, running concurrently, are notable in that Millar purposefully wrote them as interlinked through the introduction of the character Clyde Wyncham, who also appeared in Millar's creator-owned series Kick-Ass that was published under Marvel's Icon imprint. In 2009, Millar returned to the Ultimate Universe with a number of limited series released under the Ultimate Comics: Avengers banner, his last Marvel work to date.
In 2011, Millar abandoned work-for-hire in favor of working full-time on his creator-owned properties.
File:10.2.10MillarJonesByLuigiNovi1.jpg|thumb|left|Millar and the Wanted co-creator, artist J. G. Jones at the Big Apple Convention, 2 October 2010