Mike Friedrich


Mike Friedrich is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, 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 and Marvel's Iron Man.

Biography

Early life and career

Mike Friedrich, who is unrelated to fellow Silver Age of Comics 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. "My letter-writing began around the time the 'new look' Batman 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. Schwartz, after rejecting an Elongated Man story Friedrich submitted, bought Friedrich's first professional script on May 10, 1967, a 10-page Robin backup story and eventually published in Batman #202 as Friedrich's third published comics story. Friedrich was bought up as Roman-Catholic He is now a Methodist Deacon.
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", in which Friedrich teamed with artist Neal Adams on the 25-page supernatural superhero 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.

DC and Marvel Comics

Friedrich quickly began writing stories for a number of DC publications, including Challengers of the Unknown, Detective Comics, The Flash and Teen Titans. With penciler Jerry Grandenetti in Showcase #80, he reintroduced the supernatural-mystery story narrator the Phantom Stranger, created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino in 1952.
He wrote the 30th anniversary Batman story in Detective Comics #387 which was drawn by Bob Brown. Friedrich's first extended run on a title was on the superhero-team series Justice League of America from #86–99 ; in the story "The Most Dangerous Dreams of All" in issue #89, he himself makes a cameo appearance and breaks the fourth wall at a time when such experimentation in the mainstream was rare. He had previously scripted "His Name Is... Kane", in House of Mystery #180, 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 in Justice League of America #94 and the character was adapted into the Arrow TV series in 2012.
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Moving to Marvel after four years, Friedrich scripted every issue of Iron Man but three from #48–81. In issue #55, he co-scripted the introduction of the popular characters Thanos and Drax the Destroyer, created and co-scripted by artist Jim Starlin.
Other work includes issues of Marvel's Captain America, Captain Marvel, 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's Western series from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.

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" of comic-book stores. Star*Reach styled itself as a "ground-level" comic book – not an underground comix 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.
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, while a member of the California/Northern chapter.

WonderCon

Friedrich, in partnership with Joe Field, owned and operated the San Francisco Bay Area comic book convention WonderCon for 15 years before selling it to Comic-Con International in 2001.

Awards

In 2019, Friedrich was awarded the Bill Finger Award to recognize his contributions to the industry.

Atlas/Seaboard Comics