[2] Burke's letters were quite popular among readers as well as editors, and he wrote prolifically to a diverse number of comic publishing companies and titles.
Burke originally signed his letters as "The Mad Maple," but Marvel Comics editor Tom DeFalco abbreviated it to "T.M.
Maple" to make it sound like a real name (thus circumventing a new policy at the company to stop printing letters submitted under pseudonyms).
[4][5] After Burke died of a heart attack in 1994,[6] he was eulogized in a number of letter columns published by DC Comics, the company he probably wrote to most prolifically.
In tribute to Burke, the St. Paul, Minnesota, comic book convention FallCon holds all of its guest panel presentations in the "TM Maple Edutorium.