Mike Conroy is an ex-comic book retailer best known for co-creating the Eagle Awards in 1976, with Richard Burton. In the mid-1990s Conroy concentrated on his freelance writing, ultimately replacing Phil Hall as news editor of the trade magazine Comics International. Conroy also writes for Panini, Eaglemoss, and SFX among others, primarily in his role as a comics historian. For Chrysalis/Collins & Brown, he has written two books on comics, 500 Comicbook Action Heroes and its companion 500 Comicbook Villains. In December 2006 it was announced that Cosmic Publications had bought Comics International from Dez Skinn's company Quality Communications, and Conroy was to be the title's new editor. Under Conroy's direction, the magazine only published eight regular issues in three years, before shutting down.,