Michael Fleisher

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For other people with similar names, see Michael Fleischer (disambiguation).
Michael Fleisher
BornMichael L. Fleisher
(1942-11-01)November 1, 1942
DiedFebruary 2, 2018(2018-02-02) (aged 75)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer
Notable works
Jonah Hex, Spectre

Michael Lawrence Fleisher (November 1, 1942 — February 2, 2018)[1][2][3] was an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters Spectre and Jonah Hex.

Biography

Early life and career

Fleisher was raised in New York City.[4] His parents divorced when he was four years old, and Fleisher developed the foundation of his later Western writing by spending Saturdays with his visiting father at Western movie double features. "I saw two Westerns every Saturday for years," Fleisher recalled in 2010. "So it wasn't very hard to write [Westerns] at all."[4]

Fleisher wrote three volumes of The Encyclopedia of Comic Books Heroes, doing some research on-site at

Penguin in The Best of DC #10 (March 1981).[10]

The Spectre

After becoming, variously, an assistant editor and an associate editor under

Golden Age
and briefly revived in the late 1960s,

... got a new lease on life after Orlando was mugged and decided the world needed a really relentless super hero. The character came back with a vengeance ... and quickly became a cause of controversy. Orlando plotted the stories with writer Michael Fleisher, and they emphasized the gruesome fates of criminals who ran afoul of the Spectre. The

Comics Code had recently been liberalized, but this series pushed its restrictions to the limit, often by turning evildoers into inanimate objects and then thoroughly demolishing them. Jim Aparo's art showed criminals being transformed into everything from broken glass to melting candles, but Fleisher was quick to point out that many of his most bizarre plot devices were lifted from stories published decades earlier."[12]

Jonah Hex

Fleisher wrote

science-fiction feature.[14]

Controversy and later career

Writer

libel suit against Ellison, publisher Gary Groth and the magazine in which the interview appeared, The Comics Journal.[17][18] The case came to court in 1986 and resulted in a verdict for the defendants.[17][19][20]

Afterward, Fleisher attended college at

Ph.D thesis on commercialized cattle theft in Tanzania while living for two years[21] near Nairobi.[22] He then spent a year in New York writing his dissertation and earned a doctorate in anthropology.[21] After that, he worked as a "freelance anthropological consultant carrying out research assignments for humanitarian organizations in the developing world."[21] Fleisher died from complications of Alzheimer's disease in Beaverton, Oregon on February 2, 2018.[23]

Bibliography

Books

Comic books

Atlas/Seaboard Comics

DC Comics

2000AD

Marvel Comics

Warren Publishing

  • Creepy #117, 123, 133, 135, 145 (1980–1983)
  • Eerie #110 (1980)
  • Vampirella #71, 77, 79, 85–86, 94, 112 (1978–1983)

Collections

References

  1. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Bails, Jerry (2006). "Fleisher, Mike". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  3. ^ "Michael Lawrence Fleisher". Tigard, Oregon: Autumn Funeral and Cremation Services. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Michael Fleisher interview". Back Issue! (42). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 5. August 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e Michael Fleisher at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ^ See, for instance, House of Mystery #218 (Oct. 1973): "The Abominable Ivy" at the Grand Comics Database
  7. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Steve Ditko returned to mainstream comics with Shade, the Changing Man. Joined by writer Michael Fleisher, Ditko unveiled the story of Rac Shade, a secret agent-turned-fugitive from the extra-dimensional world of Meta. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  8. ISBN 978-1465424563. Not glimpsed since the Golden Age of comics, Bradford Thorne, alias the Crime Doctor, made his return in the lead story of this issue by guest writer Michael Fleisher and artist Don Newton. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  9. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dougall, p. 138: "Plotted by Batman's new regular writer Marv Wolfman with dialog by Michael Fleisher and art by Irv Novick, this story saw Batman face this new costumed threat."
  10. ^ Manning "1980s" in Dougall, p. 139: "After 40 memorable years as Batman's bird-obsessed number two foe, the Penguin had his bizarre beginnings finally revealed to a curious readership in this completely new origin tale ... written by Michael Fleisher with pencils by Romeo Tanghal."
  11. ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 159 "The Spectre re-materialized in the pages of Adventure Comics. This time, however, he brought along an all-out wrathful disposition, delivering punishments that not only fit the crimes, but arguably exceeded them ... [Michael] Fleisher and [Jim] Aparo's run lasted only ten issues, yet it was widely regarded as some of their finest work, and the character's seminal period."
  12. ISBN 978-0821220764
    .
  13. ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 173: "Jonah Hex rode his horse out of Weird Western Tales and into his own comic ... Longtime Hex scribe Michael Fleisher and artist José Luis García-López detailed the bounty-hunter traveling to Whalenberg, Tennessee."
  14. ^ Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 214: "Transported from the Wild West of the past to a dystopic future society, Jonah Hex had to adapt to the times in this brave new world and series crafted by writer Michael Fleisher and artist Mark Texeira."
  15. Fantagraphics Books
    : 68–107.
  16. ^ Cusick, Rick. "Bugfuck!", Gauntlet #9, volume II, 1995, via HarlanEllison.com. WebCitation archive.
  17. ^ a b Pratt, Charles. "The Insanity Offence: The Fleisher/Ellison/Comics Journal Libel Case", Ansible #48, February 1987. WebCitation archive.
  18. ^ "Newswatch: Notice From The Editors," The Comics Journal #59 (October 1980), p. 19
  19. ^ "Newswatch: Comics Journal wins Fleisher libel suit," The Comics Journal #113 (December 1986), p. 11
  20. ^ The Comics Journal #115 (April 1987), pp. 51-142: Section on Fleisher lawsuit
  21. ^ a b c d e "Michael L. Fleisher: Never in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time" Archived 2013-01-31 at the Wayback Machine (interview), Comics Bulletin, February 26, 2008. WebCitation archive.
  22. ^ Fleisher, Back Issue! #42, pp. 14-15
  23. Fantagraphics Books. Archived
    from the original on June 16, 2018.
  24. ISBN 978-0756641238. The Man-Thing returned in a new short-lived series, originally written by Michael Fleisher with pencil art by Jim Mooney. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )

External links
Preceded by Adventure Comics writer
1974–1975 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ghost Rider writer
1979–1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Spider-Woman writer
1979–1980 		Succeeded by
J. M. DeMatteis
Preceded by Savage Sword of Conan writer
1981–1985 		Succeeded by
Larry Yakata
Preceded by Conan the Barbarian writer
1983–1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by The Warlord writer
1985–1988 		Succeeded by
n/a
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