Michael Golden - The Nam #4, p. 4 (Marvel, 1987)

I've been re-watching the excellent Vietnam War drama "Tour of Duty" recently, which aired for 3 seasons on CBS between 1987 and 1990. The show was one of several similarly-themed TV series which were developed following the success of Oliver Stone's Best Picture Oscar-winning "Platoon" in 1986.

At Marvel at the time, Vietnam veteran and G.I. Joe comics scribe Larry Hama reached out to fellow vet Doug Murray in 1984 to create a Vietnam War-set story for Marvel's upcoming reboot of its Savage Tales anthology magazine. This led to the Murray-penned and Michael Golden-drawn story "The 5th to the 1st" in 1985; Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter approached Hama the following year to launch an ongoing Vietnam War-set comic book.

The result was The 'Nam, whose first issue was released in September 1986 (cover dated 12/86), before the release of Oliver Stone's "Platoon". Edited by Hama, the series' initial creative team consisted again of writer Murray and influential artist Golden, who had previously excelled drawing Marvel's The Micronauts, Doctor Strange and the X-Men.

Here's a great early page from the series, which took place in real time (1 issue = 1 month of the war). It features several members of the early principal cast, including PFC Ed Marks, Sgt. Rob Little and the corrupt First Sergeant James "Top" Tarver, who goes out in the field to impress a news crew joining the unit on a mission. Everyone gets more than they bargained for, though, when the mission encounters heavy resistance and Ed and Rob's chopper is shot down...