Michael Gold (born August 4, 1950)

Miller, John Jackson John Jackson Miller (born January 12, 1968) is an American science-fiction author, comic book writer, and commentator, known for his work on the '' Star Wars'' franchise and his research into comic book circulation history, as presented in the S ...

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

'', June 10, 2005
WebCitation archive
/ref> is an American comics writer, editor and publisher, known for his work as the former media coordinator for the defense for the Chicago Conspiracy Trial, Group Editor and Director of Editorial Development at

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

, co-founder of

First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', '' Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comic ...

, and the co-founder and director of communication National Runaway Switchboard as well as a disk jockey in Chicago in the 1970s.

Career

Gold entered the comic industry as DC's first

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

manager. His job was to improve DC's interactions with the

direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * four major comic distributors: ** Lunar ...

and comic fans. Gold launched

in 1983 with a line-up of creators including

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating cl ...

Mike Grell Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as ''Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''. Early life Grell studied at the University of Wi ...

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early lif ...

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist of ...

, Steven Grant, Timothy Truman, and

John Ostrander John Ostrander (born April 20, 1949) is an American writer of comic books, including ''Suicide Squad'', '' Grimjack'' and '' Star Wars: Legacy''. Career Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes ...

. Among the titles Gold edited were Chaykin's satirical futuristic cop series '' American Flagg''; Ostrander and Truman's '' GrimJack''; Mike Baron and Steve Rude's ''

Nexus NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...

''; ''

Badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united ...

'';

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, a ...

's space opera series '' Dreadstar'' and

's ''

Jon Sable Freelance ''Jon Sable Freelance'' is an American comic book series, one of the first series created for the fledgling publisher First Comics in 1983. It was written and drawn by Mike Grell and was a fully creator-owned title. The comic was one of the first ...

'',Mike Gold (editor, First Comics)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

which was briefly adapted for TV. In 1986, Gold left First Comics and returned to DC, where he edited '' Legends'', ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'', '' The Question'', '' Action Comics Weekly'', '' Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters'', '' Blackhawk'', and ''

Hawkworld ''Hawkworld'' is a comic book series published by American company DC Comics from 1989 to 1993. The initial storyline was published as a three-issue mini-series and then, based on the high sales and interest level generated by this limited series ...

''.Mike Gold (editor, DC Comics)
at the Grand Comics Database In 2005, Gold revived ''Jon Sable Freelance'' and ''GrimJack'' for

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...

with new miniseries and reprint collections of the First Comics issues, and would also publish a complete collection of ''Mars''. In 2006, Gold co-founded ComicMix with Brian Alvey and

Glenn Hauman Glenn Hauman is an American editor, publisher, writer of novels and short stories, book illustrator, and comic book colorist. He has worked in a variety of roles in print and electronic publishing, including software and website development, as ...

. In 2011, he received the first Humanitarian Award from the Hero Initiative during the

Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that wer ...

ceremony at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Gold has worked with the

Organic Theater Company Organic Theater Company was founded in 1969 in Madison, Wisconsin by artistic director Stuart Gordon and his wife Carolyn Purdy Gordon. Its first play was a production of ''Richard III'' but harassment from the local officials of Madison caused t ...

of Chicago and the

American Shakespeare Theatre The American Shakespeare Theatre was a theater company based in Stratford, Connecticut, United States. It was formed in the early 1950s by Lawrence Langner, Lincoln Kirstein, John Percy Burrell, and philanthropist Joseph Verner Reed. The Ameri ...

, been involved with numerous political efforts, and a significant contributor to an award-winning Head Start and early childhood education program for the Child Care Center of Stamford. His writings have appeared in a wide range of newspapers and magazines, including ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', ''

The Realist ''The Realist'' was a magazine of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by Paul Krassner, a ...

'' and ''

MacUser ''MacUser'' was a monthly (formerly biweekly) computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK. It ceased publication in 2015. In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, ...

'' magazine.

References

External links

ComicMix

Articles by Mike Gold on ComicMix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Mike Living people Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni 1950 births Comic book editors