Zeck began his comics career in 1974, doing illustration assignments for the text stories inCharlton Comics' animated line of comics, which led to work on their horror titles.[1] During this period he lived briefly in theDerby, Connecticut, area where Charlton was headquartered.
Zeck illustrated theMarvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars limited series in 1984.[3] For this series, he designed a new black-and-white costume temporarily worn by Spider-Man.[4][5] The plot that developed as a result of Spider-Man's acquisition of the costume led to the creation of the Spider-Man villain known asVenom.[6]
DeMatteis remarked, "Because Mike nailed the plot elements so perfectly in his pencils—every action, every emotion, was there, clear as a bell — I didn't have to worry about belaboring those elements in the captions or dialogue. I was free to do those interior monologues that were so important to the story. If any other artist had drawn “Kraven's Last Hunt” ... it wouldn't have been the same story."[13]
In 2004, Zeck's cover ofWeb of Spider-Man #32, which depicts Spider-Man escaping the grave into which he has been interred by Kraven, was recreated as a 12-inch-tall resin diorama statue byDynamic Forces.[14]
^DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Breevort, Tom; Manning, Mathew K. (2008). "1980s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.).Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 217.ISBN978-0756641238.
^DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 217: "Designed by Mike Zeck, [the costume] became a black-and-white alien symbiote that could produce unlimited webbing and respond to Spider-Man's thoughts."
^Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1980s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 212.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.
^Manning, Matthew K. (2014). "1980s". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.).Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 171.ISBN978-1465424563.
^Greenberger, Robert; Manning, Matthew K. (2009).The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:Running Press. p. 37.ISBN978-0762436637.Batman became the subject of several artist portfolios released by DC Comics in the 1980s, including a set of plates by Mike Zeck.
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 286: "Writer Mark Waid returned to the kingdom he helped envision with this series of specials designed as a sequel to the hit miniseriesKingdom Come. With two bookends entitledThe Kingdom (illustrated by Ariel Olivetti and Mike Zeck)...these one-shots provided updates to the lives of theKingdom Come characters."
