Bill Mantlo

A fascinating piece of Marvel history in human form, Bill Mantlo appears as himself within the pages of Bronze Age Marvel publications — a real-world creator stepping into the comics he helped define. Debuting in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19 in 1975, he shares the page with fellow Marvel luminaries like Chris Claremont and Ann Nocenti, a testament to the era's beloved tradition of the "Marvel Bullpen" making cameos in their own universe. Popping up across titles like Alpha Flight and Marvel Fanfare through the late '80s, his handful of appearances carries genuine collector cachet, including one key issue. A small but wonderfully meta corner of the Marvel cosmos.