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Home  FAQ Did David Mack write a Star Trek novel or comic book series?
The author of the various Star Trek novels and comic books (right) is not the same David Mack who created of Kabuki (left).  Kabuki creator David Mack (left) with Star Trek novelist David Alan Mack (right) at San Diego Comic-Con
I work hard to make sure that every comic book with my name has a level of quality and my own personal identity. I take it very seriously that my readers can rely on that when they order, purchase or read a book with my name. I intend to take all steps possible within legal bounds to insure that the name recognition that I built in this industry is not diluted, and that my readers are not tricked or confused. I appreciate DC/Wildstorm for taking the first step in correcting this matter. This is from the e-mail bulletin on their mass mailing list: A TALE OF TWO MACKS DC Comics and WildStorm note that the David Mack credited as a writer on the STAR TREK ® - DIVIDED WE FALL miniseries is not the same David Mack known in the comics world for his work on Kabuki (Image) and Daredevil (Marvel). The David Mack who wrote DIVIDED WE FALL (along with John Ordover) is a science fiction writer who has worked on the STAR TREK ®: VOYAGER television series as well as several STAR TREK ® novels. Issue #2 of STAR TREK ® - DIVIDED WE FALL is solicited in the current Previews. David Mack - 07/14/04, 7:36 am
Bizarre story. My retailer congratulated me on it and told me he ordered a ton of them cause it had me name. I said I wasn't writing Trek and he showed me the Previews catalogue. So I was confused, and called Wildstorm and told them this. They said, yeah we're happy to hear you are writing it for us. I said, I'm not. That's the problem. False advertising. So he says he'll check on it and call me back. Says it is a guy named David Alan Mack, but he thought it was me. So I say, well you need to put David Alan Mack on the cover and solicitation or something so my readers are not buying it blindly based on my reputation and carreer in comics like my retailer did. He calls back and says he talked to the guy and says he doesn't want to. But says he will explain it in the issue and try to make a distinction. I say, I have a friend named James Lee, but if I say I'm doing a book with Jim Lee Wildstorm may have a problem with it. He agrees and says he will fix it. So I get a package of Star Trek books a month later. I imagine they are showing me how they fixed it. It still says David Mack on the cover. No distinction about it inside. So I get the next issue too. Still David Mack on the cover and no distinction. I'm wondering what the deal is. Then I get a phone message from David Mack to David Mack. I call him back and he says he is receiving my Kabuki books from the printer. And that I am getting his Trek books. He then says if he ever does another comic book, he will list it David Alan Mack. Because he is worried they are going to start sending me his checks. He sent me my Kabuki books, and seemed like a nice guy. And I appreciate him calling cause I was wondering why the printer was not sending me my books. So I thanked him for that. But I did feel like a lot of my readers and the retailers were taken advantage of by the whole thing. And DC/Wildstorm told me it was there best-selling Trek book ever. So, I don't know why they didn't fix it from the start.
David Alan Mack: Not exactly. In 1995, John and I co-wrote a script for The Batman Chronicles titled "The Art of the Game." The script was paid for but never produced - a fate that befell more of our work than we had anticipated. To date, my only published work in comic books is a four-issue Star Trek: The Next Generation / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine crossover miniseries titled "Divided We Fall." John and I co-wrote that story in late 2000 and early 2001. It was published by WildStorm Comics in May-August 2001. However, there is another David Mack working in the world of comic books - a fact that has led to some confusion in recent years. He is the gifted creator, writer, and artist of the award-winning Kabuki series of graphic novels. The cases of mistaken identity at conventions were annoying at first, but now I'm merely amused by them. Fans sometimes hear my name and ask, "Are you THE David Mack?" To which I respond by paraphrasing Douglas Adams, "No I am A David Mack. We come in six packs now." Lately, I've begun asking Star Trek fans to pester "the other David Mack" at San Diego Comic-Con by telling him how much they love "his" Star Trek novels. [evil grin] He and I have dealt with everything from our comp issues of comic books being sent to one another to having our tax information crisscrossed by a certain mutual employer - a mix-up that landed me briefly in the hot seat with the I.R.S. To avoid future confusion, if I do any future work in comic books, I will use my middle name (Alan) in my writing credit to distinguish my work from his. |
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