Marvel Age #3 Cover Story: Micronauts

The Saga of Restoration: Micronauts by David Banks

I never read the Micronauts when it was first published in the late 70s and early 80s. I had taken a break from comics when my kids were small. 

The Micronauts was a comic that featured a group of characters based on the Mego Micronauts toy line. It was first published by Marvel Comics in 1979, with both original characters and characters based on the toys. Marvel published two Micronauts series until 1986. (Micronauts 1-59, and Micronauts: New Voyages 1-20)

 In June of 2020 I knew I was going to retire at the end of the year. So, I gave myself an assignment to restore a comic series that had not been reprinted. At Tim Benson’s suggestion I chose the Micronauts. I made high-rez scans of every page and every cover and spent the next 2.5 years working on the files. Along the way I came to realize how cool the comic was.

 I started sharing the results on Twitter and quickly found out that the runs by Michael Golden and Jackson “Butch” Guice were fan-favorites.  Golden did the first 12 issues and more than 2 dozen covers.  After helping out on ROM Annual 1, Guice was assigned to the Micronauts beginning with issue 48. Guice provided the art for issues 48-58. He was inked by Danny Bulanadi, Kelley Jones and Sam Grainger.  Someone suggested that Guice’s run should be collected as an old-fashion Marvel Essential volume.  I have included some examples of Guice’s art for you to admire.

 ROM Annual 1, page 28, a before and after page I restored, Guice inks, mock-up wraparound cover, and a two-page spread.

 If you’re like me and missed out on the Micronauts the first time around there still time to locate the back issues.

 David Banks

Twitter: @dpbanks67 (https://twitter.com/dpbanks67)