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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 19, 2024 6:06:55 GMT -5
Mantlo was actually one of a number of writers who did a lot of mediocre stuff but came up with one or two gems. His Super-Villain Team-Up 13, where Dr. Doom revives the comatose Atlantis, still holds up to me as one of the better comics of that era. I suppose when you're cranking out multiple comics every month for years on end, it's difficult to find the time or inspiration to do much that's spectacular. My knowledge about Mantlo was that he loves work and never turned it down. He did a lot of Hack work for a time and every stole stories from Harlan Ellison and Barry w Smith.
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rich
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Post by rich on Sept 19, 2024 6:23:03 GMT -5
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Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Sept 19, 2024 11:04:57 GMT -5
Well, I still think Mantlo was a good writer who on occasion could produce great stuff. So...
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Post by tartanphantom on Sept 19, 2024 12:47:21 GMT -5
Well, I still think Mantlo was a good writer who on occasion could produce great stuff. So...
I particularly enjoyed Mantlo's stories about African swallows carrying coconuts... and the classic one he wrote about grail-shaped beacons.
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Yasotay
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Post by Yasotay on Sept 19, 2024 15:46:58 GMT -5
Mantlo was actually one of a number of writers who did a lot of mediocre stuff but came up with one or two gems. Well put. I found most of his output serviceable, but once in a while a story would be so good that I had to double-check the writer's name. Micronauts #1-12 in particular was a really excellent run. I never really read Micronauts. I liked his Iron Man run when I was a kid, though when I read it in recent years it didn't hold up that well. But that one issue of SV Team-Up he did really stood out to me. I don't know if it was a serviceable writer rising to the occasion or a good writer who rarely had the time or inspiration to do his best work but did it there. Mantlo was actually one of a number of writers who did a lot of mediocre stuff but came up with one or two gems. His Super-Villain Team-Up 13, where Dr. Doom revives the comatose Atlantis, still holds up to me as one of the better comics of that era. I suppose when you're cranking out multiple comics every month for years on end, it's difficult to find the time or inspiration to do much that's spectacular. My knowledge about Mantlo was that he loves work and never turned it down. He did a lot of Hack work for a time and every stole stories from Harlan Ellison and Barry w Smith. That was probably true of a number of writers back then. I think I heard an interview with Jim Shooter where he said Gerry Conway was taking on so much work that he was asking other people to write some of the books for him, including his wife who knew nothing about comics. I believe that's how Shooter ended up taking over Avengers, originally. Conway couldn't meet the deadlines. It also explains how the guy who could write one of the era's best stories with The Death of Gwen Stacy, could also write so many comics that just weren't very good. Hitting the "like" button just didn't seem appropriate here but thanks for sharing this. It's an excellent, if sad, story.
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