Mark Millar is a Scottish writer of comic books and motion picture screenplays. He is currently best known for his work on Marvel Comics' Ultimate X-Men, Marvel Knights Spider-Man and The Ultimates. Millar has been a professional comic book writer for over a decade.

Beginning his career as co-writer (with fellow Scotsman Grant Morrison) of and Big Dave as well as various other features in the British science fiction title 2000 AD, as well as contributing to Sonic the Comic. Millar broke into the American market with an assignment on DC Comics' Swamp Thing (initially again with Grant Morrison). He went on to work on other DC titles such as JLA and Superman Adventures before succeeding Warren Ellis on DC imprint Wildstorm's The Authority.

On The Authority, with artist Frank Quitely, Millar established his trademark style of over-the-top violence, humour and the use of mature themes. It proved a popular but controversial title for DC, and editorial interference eventually prompted Millar to leave the publisher and start his more successful run at Marvel, which continues to this day.

In 2004, Millar tried to launch a creator-owned line through four different comic book companies meant to capitalize on his mainstream popularity. One book, The Unfunnies, was never completed. Another, a series of one-shots, was solicited without the actual agreement of Ashley Wood, his initial proposed artist, and was subsequently cancelled. Only Wanted and Chosen are completed.

He has also attempted to forge a career as a screenwriter. In the late 1990s he almost got a vampire television series called Sikeside produced on UK television. Currently he is reportedly involved in producing a movie based on his creator-owned comic Wanted and despite rumors, he has denied he will be writing the screenplay based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool.

As of 2004, Millar has relaunched the Marvel character Wolverine with artist John Romita, Jr. He is also currently writing a Spider-Man comic and the second volume of a streamlined Avengers comic called The Ultimates. He is a practicing freemason and is known in the industry as both a practical joker and an effective manipulator of the mass media for his own self-promotion, most notably a bet with Harry Knowles regarding the casting of Superman in the upcoming movie of the same title.

External link

• http://www.millarworld.net
• http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/credits/mark_millar.html
• Complete Mark Millar Checklist (2004)