SITTING AT THE FEET OF THE MASTER: MY “NERD-OUT” FANBOY INTERVIEW WITH HOWARD MACKIE !!!!!
It’s ME, it’s HIM, it’s T-I-M back at you with more fun than you can shake a flaming skull at!! So this year’s San Diego ComicCon has come and gone, After over ten years of attending I must say it’s less of a rollercoaster thrill and more like visiting an old friend. I’ve been known to say that it’s where I recharge my batteries but more than that… it is truly home to me. The fellow attendees new and old are my family. That being said, the universe doth bring pleasant surprises, and here’s my favorite this year. I was on a few panels with noted best-selling writer HUGH HOWEY, which was fun. I’ve been an acquaintance of his for years and like many, I too was inspired by all his success in publishing and now with his hit TV show SILO. Upon posting pics and video clips of the panels I received a message from another talented writer acquaintance of mine: HOWARD MACKIE. Howard, if you aren’t familiar is a huge mega-force in comic book writing and to me will always be royalty for co-creating the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider which popped sales like crazy for Marvel Comics in the 90s.
Howard and I had exchanged messages over the years and in particular, I’d sent him questions for a piece I wanted to do for First Comics News but life and art had slowed it down and as years passed I gave up hope that we’d ever get it finished.
This is where Hugh’s recent interactions with me brought Howard back into my orbit, it brought up the long-unfinished interview and BAM! By gawd, he finished it with me. That is what I’m now sharing with you now. This is such an honor to speak with him and pick his brain about things I’ve loved most of my life. I am the world’s biggest fan of the Rise of the Midnight Sons and Mackie’s run on GR in general. I will debate and champion everything around that time til my dying day. My condo in Las Vegas looks like a shrine to all things that go bump in the dark from DC, Marvel, etc. Constantine, Deadman, Nightstalkers, Morbius (no – not the moivie!), Mephisto, etc. From busts to posters, rare art to figures, and everything custom in between, I genuinely adore this era so much!!
I say that to exclaim that this interview you will read is NOT a peer-to-peer, writer-to-writer interview; folks I’m gleefully NERDING OUT. I hope you enjoy the honesty in my talk with my hero Howard Mackie.
What is your all-time favorite GHOST RIDER COVER, and why?
There are so many. I mean… issue #1 because it’s issue #1 and Javier and Marc hit it out of the park. I’m also a HUGE fan of issue #15. This was the 90s… the time of gimmick covers… most of which were lame. When I was shown the mock-up of issue #15– with a glow-in-the-dark flaming skull by Marc Texiera– That made sense. I also loved the cover to issue #21 by Quesada and Palmiotti. The imagery and use of negative space blew me away.
The GHOST RIDER action figure line was supposedly tied to an animated TV show but it never came to be.. could we hear a little about that?
Unfortunately, I have no insider knowledge about this at all. As a rule… Marvel tends to keep the comic creators away from the licensing and Hollywood stuff.
Well, that’s a damn shame. It is figures based on something you created. That doesn’t sit too well with me but okay… What writers are you a fan of from the current product?
I broke a cardinal rule of mine to never read a comic featuring characters I’ve written once I’m done. I broke that rule when I met Ed Brisson and Aaron Kuder at NYCC. I quite enjoyed what they did with the characters I helped create. The very current stuff I’ve not read because I’m just wrapping up my DANNY KETCH: GHOST RIDER mini-series and I didn’t want it to influence what I’m doing.
Ed is great, I interviewed him a few years back for FCN too. Solid guy. What inspired the creation of the PENANCE STARE?
Not only did I grow up in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, and hang out in the very cemeteries that became Ghost Rider’s stomping grounds, but I attended a Catholic school upbringing. Nuns and priests were scary back in the day and did their best to put the FEAR OF GOD into you. Sins and penance were a big part of what was thrust upon us. Ultimately, I drifted/ran away from all of that stuff, but I remember it all and drew upon it for much of my writing. I wanted to go beyond a typical anti-heroic version of meting out justice. I wanted to have Ghost Rider facing off against villains for whom DEATH was too easy, and I felt the penance stare achieved that.
What is a TITLE you’d love to write for? One you haven’t yet.
Cannot think of one. I was very fortunate to be able to craft tales for just about every character in the Marvel Universe. DC characters– for the most part have not interested me as much. I did get to write a Batman story a few years ago… and that was both awesome and intimidating. I was always a BIG fan of The Atom, but other than that…
Cool, The Atom is DC’s version of Ant-man, I’m a fan too. WERE YOU A FAN OF THE ORIGINAL GHOST RIDER SERIES BEFORE YOU CREATED THE DANNY KETCH VARIATION ON THE ALREADY-ESTABLISHED LORE?
I loved the JOHNNY BLAZE series– especially the end run by DeMatties and Busdiansky. My love for that series is pretty much what got me the gig in the first place. Mark Gruenwald was my first boss and back then an editor and their assistant worked in a small office together. Working late night on The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe we would talk about all sorts of comic book stuff. Mark soon came to understand that Ghost Rider was one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe– I loved that he seemed to operate in a very unique area of the MU.
Anyway, a few years later I was a full editor and Mark Gruenwald was the Executive Editor (second in command below Tom DeFalco as EIC). I had just started writing here and there when Mark came to me and said there was interest in reviving Ghost Rider in an ongoing series. He encouraged me to submit a proposal because of how much I loved the character. I thought, “GREAT… I get to play around with Johnny Blaze!”
Nope. Just before he left my office he said, “Oh… there’s one caveat… you can’t use Balze. We want a new character– someone younger– to become Ghost Rider.” I was crushed, but… that led to me coming up with the idea for Danny Ketch.
WHEN THE MIDNIGHT SONS CROSS-OVER COME TO BE, WHY WERE SOME MARVEL HORROR CHARACTERS LEFT OFF: MAN-THING, HELLSTORM, etc?
Those would have been editorial/publishing decisions based on factors that didn’t involve me. Honestly– and I’ve spoken about this often– I wasn’t thrilled with the whole idea of the MIDNIGHT SONS launch when it came to me. Prior to that, I was able to play in my own little sandbox with Ghost Rider. He eventually became a victim of his own success as he started appearing in more and more books throughout the Marvel line. This felt like it was diluting the character to me. The Midnight Sons launch felt like a major uptick in this dilution. Ultimately, I came around.
WERE YOU ENCOURAGED TO INTRODUCE JOHNNY BLAZE BACK OR WAS IT YOUR IDEA? HOW DID THE SHOTGUN COME ABOUT FOR YOU? ALSO IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT TRENCHCOAT & CIG LOOK WAS INSPIRED BY JOHN CONSTANTINE?
As I said earlier, I really wanted to get my hands on Blaze right from the start, but was told I couldn’t do so. So, once the Danny Ketch series appeared to be a runaway hit– to EVERYBODY’s surprise– I felt I had just a little more clout. Thus, I brought Blaze into the book as soon as possible.
Ultimately, I came to realize that Danny was a younger version of me, Blaze the version of me when I became a dad, and… I guess I’m a Caretaker now! In terms of the design/look… I can’t say that I remember, but unusually I give some direction to the artist and the rest is up to them. For instance, I really wanted GR’s bike to look more like a Harley, but Javier was being influenced by Akira at the time and came up with a much better design.
IN THE 4-PART “BLAZE: LEGACY OF BLOOD” LIMITED SERIES JOHNNY SHOWED THAT HE COULD CHANNEL HELLFIRE THROUGH A KNIFE… YET NEVER DID THAT AGAIN. (EXCEPT IN ONE STORY IN MIDNIGHT SONS UNLIMITED WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE) I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY? THIS WAS ESPECIALLY ANNOYING CONSIDERING WHEN HE RECEIVED HIS STAND-ALONE SERIES THEY TOOK UNLIMITED FIRE AWAY AND NOW HE PUT FIRE INDIVIDUALLY IN BULLETS WHICH I FELT DILUTED HIM FURTHER. YOUR VERSION WAS THE BEST INCARNATION.
I’ve got to be honest with you… my memory is foggy on all of the specifics. I’m not sure WHY I never had him use the knife thing again, and I think it’s a real mistep to limit the amount of hellfire Blaze can use.
WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE TITLE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE KETCH STAND-ALONE?
Spirits of Vengeance was really a way to get me to do some of what I had wanted to do with Blaze all along. I got to focus more on Blaze as a man, I got to create some pretty fun characters in the Quentin Carnival, and I got to work with the amazing Adam Kubert.
FANS OF YOUR WORK TEND TO POINT TO “HEARTS OF DARKNESS” AS A HIGH POINT. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? DID YOU PITCH THE TEAM-UP OR WAS IT SUGGESTED TO YOU?
HEARTS OF DARKNESS was pretty much a license to print money. I don’t remember the specifics, but much of the story was influenced by my being teamed up with the amazing John Romita Jr. I think the editorial floated the idea of us doing a one-shot together. I remain a HUGE fan of JR– and can instantly see his stories playing out in my head. I like to write stories to an artist’s strengths (though in my opinion, JR has no weaknesses) and play off of characters they like to draw. Wolverine, Punisher, Blackheart… the story pretty much wrote itself.
I’D READ IN OTHER INTERVIEWS THAT YOU’D HAVE PREFERRED TO LEAVE THE SECRET OF THE CYPRESS HILLS CEMETERY/CARETAKER UNRESOLVED WHICH I AGREE IS BETTER… CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT?
I do like to leave an air of mystery to the stories I write and the characters I create. Curiously, in the DANNY KETCH: GHOST RIDER mini-series I’m writing I DO explore a little more about CARETAKER and some of the cemetery stuff.
DANNY WAS SUCH A HIT IN THE ’90s THAT HE WAS GUEST APPEARED IN ALL BOOKS TO POP THEIR SALES… GIVEN THAT HISTORY WHY DO YOU THINK THE MODERN ERA CELEBRATES BLAZE AND REYES VARIATIONS MORE? WHERE IS MY DANNY MCU APPEARANCE DAMMIT!? LOL.
Yeah… I think Danny / GR were over guest-starred in the ’90s, but that wasn’t my call. What is done with the character TODAY is even LESS of my call. I had a very specific point of view regarding how Ghost Rider fits into the Marvel Universe, and I’m guessing others see it differently.
I ENJOYED THE MICHAEL BADILINO “VENGEANCE” GHOST RIDER, WHY DO YOU THINK HE’S BEEN LOST TO TIME? WHY DO SOME CHARACTERS LAST WHILE OTHERS NOT SO MUCH?
Personal taste amongst the writers and editors?
I LOVED THE RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS BUT SADLY OVER TIME, I FELT IT GOT CLUTTERED. WHAT DO YOU THINK MADE IT GO AWRY?
Perhaps– once we got away from Lilith and the Lillin– we lost the central unifying link for the books?
MY FRIENDS AT COMIC-CONS WON’T LET ME NOT ASK YOU ABOUT… NOBLE KALE?
I genuinely know nothing about the character. I believe it was introduced directly after I left the series and I’ve never read a single issue.
MAKES SENSE, I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU’VE HAD A CAREER WRITING FOR OTHER FAMOUS BOOKS SUCH AS AVENGERS, SPIDER-MAN, GAMBIT, MOON KNIGHT, ETC- I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE THAT OUT, WHAT DRAWS YOU TO A TITLE? ARE THERE ANY YOU’D STILL LIKE TO HELM THAT YOU HAVEN’T YET?
Spider-Man was a dream assignment for me. Getting to write a character I read as a kid…? What could be better?
Gambit… when the sales figures for HEARTS OF DARKNESS came out I was approached by the X-Men editor. He asked me if I’d ever wanted to write for the X office. My response was, “Not really.” He was shocked. The X-Men characters seemed to have a way too complicated history, but we were able to zero in on my interest in one of the newer mutants. I had fun writing that story of Gambit, Rogue, thieves, assassins, and New Orleans.
Some things I’m drawn to but others were assignments. An editor would feel me out to see if I was interested, I would start thinking about the character, and if I could find a story to tell… I said yes.
As I said earlier… in my career I’ve been very fortunate to get my hands on most of the Marvel characters I was interested in. I did do a single Batman story for DC– that was a dream job. I used to really like DC’s ATOM, but I’m pretty good otherwise.
AS A GUILTY PLEASURE… I SAW THAT YOU OVERSAW THE “NEW UNIVERSE” LINE AND WROTE AN ISSUE OF “PSI-FORCE” MAY I ASK HOW THAT TIME WAS FOR YOU? I’VE ALWAYS FELT THAT EXPERIMENT WAS UNDERAPPRECIATED BY FANS.
When I inherited the New Universe line it was rapidly sinking in terms of sales. I was tasked with making big changes and doing my best to revive the line. We did our best for a couple of years, but ultimately the weight of low sales sunk it.
WHAT TIPS AND POINTERS DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?
Apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair and get your fingers moving across the keyboard.
Daydreaming is not writing. Thinking up ideas is not writing. The only thing that is writing is WRITING.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY UP TO?
Like I said… I’m just wrapping up a DANNY KETCH: GHOST RIDER series for Marvel. It seems to have been met with favorably by the fans. People keep asking me if there will be more and that is totally up to the Powers That Be at Marvel.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HEAR FROM/MEET FANS AT CONVENTIONS AND SIGNINGS? YOU INFLUENCED A GENERATION OF US HORROR-SUPERHERO FANS, THAT HAVE GOT TO FEEL GOOD!
It’s AWESOME! There was a long time that I didn’t do conventions. I just didn’t have the time or the inclination to travel, but that changed a little over 10 years ago. I’ve had grown men– biker dudes, tough guys, etc– come to my table welling up with tears as they tell me about the impact some of my stories have had on them. I’ve had popular current writers and artists tell me that my work from the ’90s is what inspired them to get into the comics biz. All of that makes me feel pretty damned good.
AS WELL IT SHOULD. YOU’VE INSPIRED AND ENTERTAINED AN ENTIRE GENERATION.
THIS IS AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THIS WITH US.
About Author
