By 
After writing about his Doctor Strange work, I realized that Michael Golden doesn't have much of an Internet presence. He's an artist of great renown among industry veterans, but I suspect that today's fans don't much about him. He's worked so infrequently over the past 25 years; Golden doesn't have a website, nor does he attend conventions that often. Here's a little retrospective, with some suggestions for you to hunt in the back issue bins. I'll include a couple of pictures here, but I've got scans of nearly everything that I mention in the Michael Golden Gallery.
I first noticed Golden in Batman Family (issues #15-20, circa 1978). His fluid, cartoony art style was a breath of fresh air, along with his dynamic panel layout. He drew some Man-Bat stories, the one shown above guest stars the Demon and Morgaine Le Fey. Golden soon graduated to the main Batman feature and became one of my favorite Batman artists of the time, along with Marshall Rogers. In 1984, Golden returned to the character in Batman Special #1. "The Player on the Other Side" was one of the best Batman stories of the decade. Written by Mike Barr, it told the story of a villain called the Wrath. The Wrath had the inverse origin of Batman: his parents were criminals, killed by James Gordon as a young cop. The Wrath grows up to be a master criminal who seeks revenge on Gordon and the Gotham Police. The fight scene between Batman and the Wrath was pretty exciting, and about the only thing wrong with the story is that the Wrath died at the conclusion. DC should have kept him around as a new adversary for Batman. This story has been reprinted in the anthology "Batman in the Eighties".
Marvel helped make Michael Golden a big name when they gave him a new series called the Micronauts. Based on a toy line, writer Bill Mantlo weaved a mythology around the central characters that was reminiscent of the Star Wars films. A band of freedom fighters who opposed the darkly evil Baron Karza, the Micronauts escaped tyranny by flying into the Marvel Universe-where they happened to only be a few inches tall! In the hands of a lesser artist, this series probably wouldn't have taken off. Mantlo's fun script coupled with Golden's dynamic visuals made it a big hit for Marvel. Golden lasted for a total of thirteen issues before taking off for greener pastures.
Golden's assorted Marvel work are hard to find, but they are unique gems and worth the hunt. Marvel Fanfare was a series aimed at the direct market (comic shops), printed on slick paper, and the early forerunner of today's high tech comics. Michael Golden's artwork graced the first two issues with a story that featured Spider-Man and Angel (of the X-Men) venturing into the Savage Land. Chris Claremont was the writer, who again teamed with Golden in Avengers Annual #10. This featured the Avengers teaming up with Spider-Woman to fight the new Brotherhood of Evil-and it also introduced a new mutant woman called Rogue. Later, Golden tackled a less serious subject when he took on Howard the Duck in his new black and white magazine. Howard the Duck Magazine #5 had a story where Howard met Dracula. The nerdy nebbish Howard H. Howard from Tomb of Dracula also makes an appearance to help Howard resist Dracula's charms. Howard the Duck Magazine #6 features Howard returning to Duckworld along with Beverly. The artwork is black and white in both stories, but it is really great stuff, especially with Bob McLeod providing excellent ink and tone embellishment.
I had all but forgotten Michael Golden's greatest work until I read a comment to the Doctor Strange article. In 1986, Golden teamed with a writer named Doug Murray to produce The 'Nam. This series chronicled the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War. With no superheroes or fantasy at all, it was a very daring series for Marvel to publish. Golden worked on 'Nam 1-13 and his work had never been cleaner or more vivid. The stories are very realistic, since Murray was a Vietnam vet who wrote from his experience as well as his friends. Private Marks arrives in Vietnam and reports to his First Sergeant, who regards him suspiciously. Marks is too naïve to know that the Sergeant is expecting a bribe in return for a cushy job. Since he fails that test, Marks is sent to a unit involved in front line patrols. In issue #3, Marks and his buddies get a day off in Saigon, but it proves almost more dangerous than the patrols. My favorite story was in issue #7, where they present a story on a Viet Cong guide who switched sides to help the Americans. Murray presents the VC point of view, and while it may be too brief in twenty two pages, you have to give him kudos for trying to explain the motivations of North Vietnam.
As far as I know, Golden hasn't worked too much in the past ten years. He's done some covers at DC for series like Nightwing. He did a Spartan X 4-issue mini-series for Topps that was a black and white kung-fu story for the Jackie Chan crowd. This year he drew Birds of Prey 66 in a style that slightly morphed into Alex Toth for a tale about the first Black Canary. I just wish he could do a project that would really show off his skills and be collected to show future generations. In the meantime, we have these assorted gems and the Golden Gallery. Nuff said.
See also:
Michael Golden Gallery
Michael Golden Wikipedia Entry
Doug Murray Interview on the Nam
