Mort Todd, a noted comic writer, artist and editor, at his Portland office in 2012. Photo by Gabe Souza

Comic artist Rick Parker remembers being very excited to hear that Mort Todd was coming to work as an editor at Marvel.

Parker was working at the legendary comic book company in the 1990s but was not a fan of the superhero stories Marvel Comics was known for. He knew of Todd’s reputation in the industry as someone whose stories and comics were uninhibited and full of humor, and was eager to see what he’d do at Marvel.

“He was full of energy and ideas and fearless, and just had this zany personality,” said Parker, who now lives in Falmouth. “He seemed to really love comics. They weren’t just a job to him.”

Todd died Sunday at his home in Portland, according to his family. He was 63.

During a career that began in the 1980s, Todd worked for both Marvel and DC comics and had been editor at Cracked, a popular humor magazine similar to Mad. As a writer, artist or editor, he contributed to characters like Superman and Spider-Man and did illustrations for CD covers, magazines, newspapers and print advertisements. He was also known, while working as an editor, for being very supportive of artists and their work. He hired and helped launch the careers of several well-known artists, said Parker, including Daniel Clowes.

Todd, who was born Michael Jon DelleFemine, grew up in Yarmouth. He told the Press Herald in 2012 that he read comics and drew constantly as a youngster. After graduating from Yarmouth High School, Todd moved to New York, where he took classes at Parsons School of Design, among other places. He was selling his art and writing to various publications. He did some writing for the Superman comic at DC, created album cover art, and sold a screenplay to German television, so he gradually gave up on school.

He became editor at Cracked in 1985 and got to hire artists to do work for the magazine. A tribute to Todd on the Cracked Facebook page this week credited him with a “rejuvenation” of the magazine and with bringing in many new artists. The post said Todd’s biggest “new artist catch” was getting Don Martin to leave Mad for Cracked.

In the 1990s Todd worked at Marvel, where he was editor of a line of comics called Marvel Music, based on rock stars. He left Marvel around 1995 and worked on a variety of projects, including a documentary film on photo comic books.

After more than 30 years in New York, he moved back to Maine around 2011. He made TV commercials, painted murals and started a free comic-centric newspaper in Portland called Vex. It was his idea of a humor magazine for the 21st century, something he had been thinking of since his time at Cracked in the 1980s. The 16-page weekly had strips drawn by artist friends or him, opinion pieces, editorials, listings for arts and entertainment and local ads.

The cover of Mort Todd’s comic-based newspaper Vex, showing Congress Square “in chaos.” Photo courtesy of Mort Todd

Maine humorist Tim Sample, who is also an artist, did cartoons for Vex and remembers being impressed with Todd’s energy and spirit.

“His whole attitude was off the cuff and slightly irreverent and was very much in line with the Portland in the old days,” said Sample. “I loved the idea behind that publication.”

In an obituary posted on the A.T. Hutchins Funeral and Cremation Services website, Todd’s family wrote that he’ll be missed by family, friends and fans “for his vast knowledge of the arts, gregarious personality, sharp wit, dedication to his craft, and fellow artists.”

Todd told the Press Herald in 2012 that he did so many different things in his career he had a hard time describing his job – or jobs – to people.

“A lot of people when they first meet me ask, ‘What do you do?’ and my response is kind of, ‘Geesh, depends on the time of day’,” Todd said. “I like entertaining people, amusing people, telling stories. Whatever I do, the main intent is to amuse and entertain. I guess I started with comics as a kid because that was the most immediate way for me to do that.”