Throughout his career, Roger McKenzie has written for multiple publishers, including Daredevil at Marvel, Weird War Tales at DC, Creepy and Eerie at Warren Publishing, and many more. Recently, he contributed to Maui Mighty Comics, a charitable book that will offer aid to the people of Maui who were affected by the devasting fires that occurred in August 2023. McKenzie talked to Scoop about the book – how he got involved and the characters he worked on – as well as what’s next on his schedule.

Scoop: From Daredevil and Captain America to Sun Runners and Next Man, you have experience with both company-owned and creator-owned characters. What have been some of your favorite projects over the years?
Roger McKenzie (RM): Certainly getting to script two of my favorite Marvel characters, Daredevil and Captain America ranks high on the list. Of my creator-owned characters it’s hard to pick a favorite. They are all, in their own way, my “children.” And they’re quite a diverse group of characters...from a hardboiled wooden dummy detective come to life, Mike Mahogany...to Deathwatch, an end-times reaper of souls.

Scoop: How did you get involved with #1Comics and what were your contributions to Maui Mighty Comics #1?
RM: Mort had contacted me regarding this, at the time, mysterious and top secret project he was working on. And would I want to be a part of it. Which, needless to say, piqued my curiosity. He filled me in on what he was orchestrating, and I couldn’t wait to tell him “Count me in!” And so, Maui Mighty Comics over time came to be. Now, I was not and am not involved with the complex inner working of putting all the many and varied pieces of this project together. Mort handled all of that. I’m honored that he picked three of my stories from the Charlton Neo days, two Mr. Mixit tales and Yang.

Scoop: Mort Todd described the character Mr. Mixit as “a loving superhero tribute to the comic character creations of the legendary Steve Ditko.” What inspiration did you draw from Ditko’s work?
RM: Steven Butler had DM-ed Mort and I wanting to contribute to the Charlton Arrow. And was wondering if we had any suggestions on which old public domain Charlton character or characters he should choose. Steven expressed how much he loved the Ditko characters. Of course, DC Comics had long since secured the rights to Ditko’s more popular characters like Captain Atom and Blue Beetle.

As we were batting some possibilities around, I had one of my usual hair-brained ideas. I suggested that since Steven loved Ditko’s work and characters why not combine bits from all of them in an all-new character. You know, use part of a costume on one arm...another uniform on another arm...and so forth. Steven liked the idea and a couple of days later unveiled his new character design for Mr. Mixit!

Scoop: How are you putting your own stamp on Mr. Mixit?
RM: I think that, while an homage, Mixie will over time find his own unique niche. In that regard, his origin, and developing backstory, is quite unique as our nerdy teen, Barry Baxter, gains his powers via a very...unusual...comic book spinner rack.

Scoop: You worked on a story in Maui Mighty that featured Charlton character Yang, the Master of Kung Fu. What was it like bringing that character back and how did you update him?
RM: I wasn’t particularly a fan of Yang to begin with. And sort of got pushed into reviving the character. But as things turned out he grew on me, and the story turned out pretty well. And the art, by Ben Torres, was stunning. In future stories he will be involved in more of a supernatural storyline.

Scoop: How will you be involved in #1Comics going forward?
RM: That remains to be seen, but I’m sure Editor-in-Chief Mort Todd has a few tricks up his sleeve. 2024 should be quite interesting!

Scoop: Do you have a regular writing routine or does it change depending on what you’re working on?
RM: These days it varies a lot. Back in my younger years I found I did better sticking to more of a regular schedule/work day. Of necessity I work at a slower pace now.

Scoop: What else do you have coming up?
RM: Next on the plate is a revival of Next Man. Ben Torres will be handling the art. Originally published by Comico in the mid-1980s, our new stories will continue to tell his incredible story and how much things have changed since we last saw him. Changed...but not for the better as we explore several “conspiracy theories” that just may not be theories after all…

Ruben Vera and I will also be continuing our World War Dinosaur series which has a tie-in with the Next Man universe.

Ben and I will unleash our end times Reaper in our Deathwatch series. And, just because he’s fun to write, good ol’ Stinky Skunk just might make his funny animal return as well!