HOWARD THE DUCK MAGAZINE 5 PAGE 1 BY MICHAEL GOLDEN AND BOB MCLEOD

I realise that this page is not exactly a top tier one, worthy of my usual birthday event. And yet it’s drawn by one of my favourite artists, Michael Golden, and inked by one of my favourite inkers, Bob McLeod. I simply chose to showcase in this context as Michael Golden original art is becoming increasingly rare to come by, especially his (quality) vintage published work.

(And I’ve been trying over the years to include a piece by him with every birthday celebration).

Here we have page 1 of his story published in Howard Magazine 5.

The storytelling is crystal clear as always with Golden. Who needs words with such flow and perfect acting of the characters. Anybody can tell what is happening here and mentally fills in the dialogue to make it work.

In the first panel, we have another example of Golden experimentation (similar to what he did for his Lady Daemon strip, some of which I own) with collage, something that may have looked like a great idea back when but has not aged well. At the very least, you have a decapitated skull and some art on the left, a recuring gothic motif Golden was using in several of his early strips.

Then a closed in establishing shot in the second panel to show us characters arguing about something. Having the door entrance boxing them in like that is a usual cinematic trick often used in moving storytelling.

The acting of the writer in panel three is a bit overdone but clearly establishes that he is passionately arguing and defending his work. The work in the background with all the stuff pinned on the board on the wall is fantastic and really grounds this office scene believably.

Then the annoyed editor is dismissing the argument thrown at him with but a wave of his hand, thinking he is closing the discussion. His body language and acting are perfect (just look at his tired gaze, indicating it’s probably not the first conversation of this type he has had with this writer). Again, the office backgrounds are meticulously depicted.

Then the last panel where all hell breaks loose. Again, the acting of the angry writer exploding is very theatrical. A realistic depicting of the scene would have had him throw what was on his enemy’s desk with but one arm. And yet, by having him using both arms in an open gesture like that, Golden created a much more dynamic and dramatic image. Can you imagine the violence of this moment in real life if it happened exactly like this? Judging by the editor’s face and the passerby, they certainly would agree. Lastly, you can tell Golden had fun sending all the junk on the desk flying around.

The fun part here, since it is an obvious riff on the politics of the Marvel office editorial life, is trying to identify who is who in this story. The emotional writer being dismissed is most likely Bill Mantlo who wrote the story. Unless it was meant to be Steve Gerber, creator of Howard who had a bone to grind with Marvel over his creation? There is mention in the dialogue to vampire comics becoming a thing of the past so I thought Wolfman could also fit in there but he never looked like the guy on the page. It could also be an amalgam of different writers. The powerful editor seated at his desk is obviously Jim Shooter. His contentious relationships with many creators during his tenure is well documented and this page is clearly a parody of it. The third guy appearing in the last panel passing by I think may be a young Mark Gruenwald? Anyway, this is great and fun mise en abyme stuff :)

To mention the inks by McLeod is important for various reasons. One, early Golden art was not always blessed with compatible inkers or sadly, even apt ones. Second, while Bob was always a strong inker whose style was immediately recognizable, I find he did Golden’s pencils justice here, not overpowering them too much. Third, his wash work is fantastic on this page, fully fleshed with variations in tones and incredibly precise. Just look at the work on the light and shadows alone in panel 3 & 4.

Now if Marvel would be so kind to compile the Howard magazine stuff in a deserving format?

This is part 2 of my 2025 CAF birthday party, incidentally also my 20th year on CAF.