Mark Millar's journey from Glasgow to Gotham

Mark Millar could never have imagined comics would have him rubbing shoulders with Hollywood A-listers, but if his life work has taught us anything it's not all heroes wear capes.

Mark Millar. Picture: PA

In the spirit of duality and the double-lives his fictitious heroes lead, he’s just as likely to be talking to fans or enjoying a cold pint with his childhood friends. In Glasgow, wonder webbing is for keeping your hem up and phone booth happenings are best left unsaid. The legendary comic writer was an early Christmas present for a large working-class family on a Coatbridge council estate, born on 24th December 1969. Five older siblings – between 14 and 22 years his senior – doted on him. When his brother Bobby was a student, he pretended aloud to buy Mark comics, but secretly he was purchasing them for himself, to be passed on to a grateful Mark the following day. He treats the memory of his comic with deep adoration: The Amazing Spider-Man #121, which he flicked through while still learning to read.