Ralph Macchio (comics)
Encyclopedia
Ralph Macchio is an American
comic book
editor
and writer
, who has held many positions at Marvel Comics
, including executive editor. Macchio is commonly associated with Daredevil
, the Spider-Man
line of comics and the popular Ultimate Marvel
line. In Macchio's words, he "made probably the longest run on Daredevil of anyone."
Macchio is not related to the actor Ralph Macchio
, but is nicknamed "Karate Kid" after that actor's famous role.
," and had many letters
printed in Marvel comic books. His background, however, was in English literature
, and he considered teaching as a career. In no hurry to get such a job, Macchio happened to meet Killraven
writer Don McGregor
at a comic book convention.
Knowing Macchio from his many letters, McGregor asked Macchio if he wanted a tour of the Marvel offices. During the tour, Macchio was asked by writer Chris Claremont
to interview editor-in-chief Roy Thomas
for FOOM
(Marvel's self-produced fanzine
). During the course of doing the interview, Macchio met many more Marvel employees, and eventually was asked by writer/editor John Warner
to join the staff and assist Warner with Curtis Magazines
, Marvel's black-and-white magazine line, which included Doc Savage, Planet of the Apes, Marvel Preview
, and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. Macchio, having "nothing else to do after graduate school," agreed and has been at Marvel ever since.
, which he co-scripted with Mark Gruenwald
from 1978 to 1981; and Thor
, which he wrote (also with Gruenwald) from 1980 to 1981. Macchio shifted to mostly editing in 1982, though he wrote the scripts for the 1985-1986 The Sword of Solomon Kane mini-series, based on Robert E. Howard
's Puritan swordsman
; and had a stint as writer for Avengers
in 1987 to 1988, and parts of 1989. He has also written for Marvel Fanfare
and X-Men Adventures, and the premiere issue of Transformers
, among others.
(Marvel's black-and-white magazine line), Macchio became Dennis O'Neil
's assistant editor. Graduating to full editor in 1981, Macchio's first major editing job was Master of Kung Fu, which he helmed from 1982–1983. His first line of books was The Saga of Crystar
(which he co-created with John Romita, Jr.
and Mark Gruenwald
), Dazzler
, ROM, U.S. 1, and Micronauts. (During this early period, Macchio's assistant editor was Bob Harras
, later to become Marvel Editor-in-Chief).
From 1984 through 1995, Macchio was Daredevil
editor. He also spent close to ten-year stints on Thor
and Captain America
, and shorter periods on Avengers
and Fantastic Four
. Along way he edited movie adaptations, Star-Lord
, and personal favorites like the barbarian book Kull the Conqueror.
In 1996, Macchio took over the Spider-Man
line, which he helmed into the early years of this century. Since 2000, he has edited the entire Marvel Ultimates line.
In 2007, Macchio oversaw the adaptation of Stephen King
's Dark Tower novels into a comic book series. (Macchio is a long-time fan of King's work.)
The high points of his Marvel editing career:
His long tenure at Marvel Comics:
While Marvel Comics was doing profiles on its editors, when questioning Ralph Macchio about if Hollywood were to do a movie about his life, coincidentally, he would like to see actor Ralph Macchio
portray him.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and writer
Comic book creator
A comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
, who has held many positions at Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, including executive editor. Macchio is commonly associated with Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, the Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
line of comics and the popular Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series...
line. In Macchio's words, he "made probably the longest run on Daredevil of anyone."
Macchio is not related to the actor Ralph Macchio
Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
, but is nicknamed "Karate Kid" after that actor's famous role.
Biography
As a young man, Macchio was a comics fan and "letterhackLetterhack
Letterhack describes a fan who is regularly published in comic book letter columns.Many letterhacks became well-known throughout the industry by virtue of their letters...
," and had many letters
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
printed in Marvel comic books. His background, however, was in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, and he considered teaching as a career. In no hurry to get such a job, Macchio happened to meet Killraven
Killraven
Killraven is a fictional freedom fighter in several post-apocalyptic alternate futures of the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in Amazing Adventures #18 , created by co-plotters Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, scripter Gerry Conway, and penciller Adams...
writer Don McGregor
Don McGregor
Donald Francis McGregor is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics, and the author of one of the first graphic novels.-Early life and career:...
at a comic book convention.
Knowing Macchio from his many letters, McGregor asked Macchio if he wanted a tour of the Marvel offices. During the tour, Macchio was asked by writer Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
to interview editor-in-chief Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
for FOOM
FOOM
FOOM was Marvel Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s, following the canceled Marvelmania and preceding Marvel Age. Running 22 quarterly issues FOOM (also written as F.O.O.M.) was Marvel Comics' self-produced fan magazine of the mid-1970s, following the canceled Marvelmania and...
(Marvel's self-produced fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
). During the course of doing the interview, Macchio met many more Marvel employees, and eventually was asked by writer/editor John Warner
John Warner (comics)
John Warner is an American comic book writer and editor, known for his stories of horror and the supernatural.Warner's most prolific period in the comic book field was from 1973–1979...
to join the staff and assist Warner with Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
, Marvel's black-and-white magazine line, which included Doc Savage, Planet of the Apes, Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview was a magazine-sized black-and-white showcase comic book published by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel....
, and The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. Macchio, having "nothing else to do after graduate school," agreed and has been at Marvel ever since.
Writing
Macchio's most consistent early credits were as writer of Marvel Two-in-OneMarvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-In-One was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics that featured the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, in a different team-up each issue with a different character. The series continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel...
, which he co-scripted with Mark Gruenwald
Mark Gruenwald
Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...
from 1978 to 1981; and Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
, which he wrote (also with Gruenwald) from 1980 to 1981. Macchio shifted to mostly editing in 1982, though he wrote the scripts for the 1985-1986 The Sword of Solomon Kane mini-series, based on Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
's Puritan swordsman
Solomon Kane
Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late 16th / early 17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a sombre-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms...
; and had a stint as writer for Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
in 1987 to 1988, and parts of 1989. He has also written for Marvel Fanfare
Marvel Fanfare
Marvel Fanfare is the title of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Both versions of Marvel Fanfare were anthology, showcase titles featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.-Volume One:...
and X-Men Adventures, and the premiere issue of Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
, among others.
Editing
After working as an assistant editor for Warner on Curtis MagazinesCurtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
(Marvel's black-and-white magazine line), Macchio became Dennis O'Neil
Dennis O'Neil
Dennis J. "Denny" O'Neil is an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of books until his retirement....
's assistant editor. Graduating to full editor in 1981, Macchio's first major editing job was Master of Kung Fu, which he helmed from 1982–1983. His first line of books was The Saga of Crystar
The Saga of Crystar
The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior was a 1983 11-issue fantasy-based Marvel comic book with an associated toy line from Remco, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories...
(which he co-created with John Romita, Jr.
John Romita, Jr.
John Salvatore Romita, Jr. is an American comic book artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2000s...
and Mark Gruenwald
Mark Gruenwald
Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...
), Dazzler
Dazzler
Dazzler is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #130 ....
, ROM, U.S. 1, and Micronauts. (During this early period, Macchio's assistant editor was Bob Harras
Bob Harras
Robert "Bob" Harras is an American comics writer and editor, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000 and currently serves as editor-in-chief of DC Comics.-Career:...
, later to become Marvel Editor-in-Chief).
From 1984 through 1995, Macchio was Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
editor. He also spent close to ten-year stints on Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
and Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, and shorter periods on Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
and Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
. Along way he edited movie adaptations, Star-Lord
Star-Lord
Star-Lord is the name of three fictional characters that appear in publications from by Marvel Comics.The first Star-Lord was Peter Quill, who first appeared in Marvel Preview #4 , and was created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan...
, and personal favorites like the barbarian book Kull the Conqueror.
In 1996, Macchio took over the Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
line, which he helmed into the early years of this century. Since 2000, he has edited the entire Marvel Ultimates line.
In 2007, Macchio oversaw the adaptation of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's Dark Tower novels into a comic book series. (Macchio is a long-time fan of King's work.)
Tributes
Jim Shooter (former Marvel editor-in-chief), writing about Macchio's job as editor of Moon Knight:Quotes
The satisfactions of being an editor:The high points of his Marvel editing career:
His long tenure at Marvel Comics:
While Marvel Comics was doing profiles on its editors, when questioning Ralph Macchio about if Hollywood were to do a movie about his life, coincidentally, he would like to see actor Ralph Macchio
Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
portray him.