Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man is a figure used in tobacco advertising campaigns for Marlboro cigarettes. In the United States, where the campaign originated, it was used from 1954 to 1999. The Marlboro Man was first conceived by Leo Burnett in 1954. The images initially featured rugged men portrayed in a variety of roles but later primarily featured a rugged cowboy or cowboys, in picturesque wild terrain. The advertisements were originally conceived as a way to popularize filtered cigarettes, which at the time were considered feminine.
Mike W. Barr
Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' "Detective Comics" #444 (Dec. 1974-Jan. 1975), for which he wrote an eight-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man. Another Elongated Man story followed in "Detective Comics" #453 (Nov. 1975). He wrote text articles and editorial replies in letter columns for the next few years. By mid-1980 he was writing regularly for both DC and Marvel, including stories for "Mystery in Space", "Green Lantern", "The Brave and the Bold", "Marvel Team-Up", and a Spider-Man/Scarlet Witch team-up in "Marvel Fanfare" #6.