Dennis Mallonee (Heroic Publishing)

Today we've got writer and publisher Dennis Mallonee, who moved from CalTech economics to #comics by pitching story ideas to Bill Mantlo and helping develop the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe with Rick Hoberg. Dennis recounts launching The Champions at a 1985 SDCC panel, first publishing through Eclipse, and then forming his own imprint that evolved into Heroic Publishing. We dig into the complicated licensing history with Hero Games, the disputes over tone and pinup art that led to revoked rights and renamed characters (Marksman → Huntsman, Foxbat → Flying Fox), and the 1988 ruling confirming Marvel had abandoned the Champions trademark. Dennis also touches on publishing 100+ comics, his 2009–2012 Flare newspaper strip, and building a unique #superhero universe.You can follow Dennis and his Heroic exploits on his site, heroicmultiverse.com, on X @heroicpublish, and on his own YouTube interview show, The Heroic Voice.Support the show___________________Check out video versions of this and other episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/dollarbinbandits!If you like this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you found this episode. And if you really like this podcast, become a member of the Dollar Bin Boosters on Patreon: patreon.com/DollarBinBoosters.You can follow us @dollarbinbandits on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or @DBBandits on X. You can email us at [email protected].___________________Dollar Bin Bandits is the official podcast of TwoMorrows Publishing. Check out their fine publications at twomorrows.com. ___________________ Thank you to Sam Fonseca for our theme music, Sean McMillan for our graphics, and Pat McGrath for our logo. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.