26/03/2025
Because the comic industry treats most of its talent as work for hire and doesn't pay them particularly well and doesn't give them benefits, most creators have financial troubles in old age if they have any health hiccups. Mike Barr is one of my all-time favorites.
If you haven't read Camelot 3000, check out the graphic novel. It's fantastic, progressive (especially for the 1980s, even including a trans character), and, surprisingly, was the first published story that asked the question, what if King Arthur returns when England needs him the most? A bunch of stories to that effect have been written since then but Barr was the first to go to print.
Oh, and the art is from the fantastic Brian Bolland from back when he did interiors instead of just covers.
If I was the head of WB or Max I'd commission a Camelot 3000 miniseries in a heartbeat. Come one, the title catches the imagination so it doesn't matter if viewers have never heard of the comic book. Hollywood executives have ZERO imagination and little taste.
Barr also wrote the fantastic comic book series Maze Agency, which is a bit harder to find but worth if it you like mysteries. Each issue is a play-fair mystery. Jennifer Mays is a retired CIA agent who opened her own private investigation agency. In the first issue, she crosses paths with Gabriel (I never remember his last name), a true crime writer. Due to circumstances, they team up to solve the case.
In the second issue, she needs Gabriel's expertise in a specific area for a case so she tries to hire him or at least pay him as a consultant (Her policy is to pay everyone who works with her -- no favors or freebies). Gabriel refuses to take her money. Irresistible force meets immoveable object but they eventually compromise by agreeing that he can have the rights to write about any case he works with her on.
Needless to say, they then begin to collaborate a lot.
And they fall in love.
And, even better, their relationship is a meeting of equals. She's a bit more of the muscle because of her CIA training but she's also very smart.
Again, if I had the power, I'd license Maze Agency in a heartbeat. It would make a terrific TV show with the right leads and writers.
Anyway, if you can, toss a little toward Barr. He spent his career entertaining people in a field that chews up talent and spits it out.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/rally-for-mike-w-barrs-medical-care?lid=iyqc2ucnsn7c&utm_source=product&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TXN_donation_receipt_stripe_non_tip&utm_content=internal&fbclid=IwY2xjawJQO0NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYGmUelJ6-hKfmbDBYxXqyPnMi1EqjtoZ8ApOfzH-zk9Y5gvIDM74SxALA_aem_4t7Kz-W6BcSVti6HZCvVGw
Mike W. Barr has been a writer of comics, science fiction novels and mystery novels… Dave Kellogg needs your support for Rally for Mike W. Barr's Medical Care
