30 Years Later

A few updates back, I talked about how 30 years have passed since I wrote Spider-Man. Those years have not been an empty void. To many of you reading this, the things I did in those years (family, business, the odd creative project) would probably seem a lot more productive and sensible than 30 years of struggling to write comic books.

Through that entire period, however, I remained a passionate comic book fan. There are literally series and characters that I've read continuously, month-to-month, since I was in grade school. And just as I felt as a teenager, I increasingly wanted to be part of making comics again.

In 2021, I was lucky enough to have a month off from my other career. I thought about what I should do with a month of workdays to invest in myself, and writing a comic book seemed like the obvious answer.

I went to a friend's studio (that helped, surrounding myself with people who worked in this world) and committed to briefly outlining 3 or 4 different project ideas. One of those ideas became Mantle.

Awkwardly, I can't tell you what that original idea was that I wrote down. It was an idea that I found challenging (too much for a couple sentences in this public forum) and that wouldn't initially sound like a fun adventure story. By the time we're finished with all 4 issues of Mantle, I think my original idea will be... somewhat more evident. Is that cryptic enough for you?

What I can say is that the story of Mantle is heavily inspired by my own high school experiences. If you knew me at that time, you'd definitely recognize details. It's all fictionalized and mixed-up… except the stuff that isn't. Ultimately, I let go and tried to write an entertaining story, and I often surprised myself with the ideas that came out.

Someone asked me to write an update about where the stories and characters of Mantle came from and I feel like I just typed the vaguest possible answer to that question. I hope it's interesting, and that the book itself completes the picture for you.

Far more interesting are these characters that Gian Fernando designed after we first connected in 2022. You'll meet many of these folks very soon in Mantle #1...