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Michael Gallagher | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-11-15)November 15, 1951 (age 74) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Comic books, satire |
| Notable works | Mad Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Relatives | John Gallagher (father) George Gately (uncle) |
Michael Gallagher (born November 15, 1951 in Manhattan,New York) is an American comic book/humor writer and cartoonist who has contributed to many comic books, newspaper strips, as well as to the satire magazineMad and other publications. He is the son of cartoonistJohn Gallagher, as well as the nephew ofGeorge Gately,[1] creator of the comic stripHeathcliff. which is currently produced by Michael’s cousin, Peter Gallagher.
Michael’s comic book career began in the mid-80s withMarvel Comics'STAR line of children’s comics. Under Editor Sid Jacobson, Gallagher wrote many stories for various children’s comics titles, such asMighty Mouse,Madballs, Count Duckula, Flintstone Kids, Danger Mouse, Heathcliff, Care Bears, Foofur and his three year run onALF, writing 99% of the stories for 50 issues and 6 “annual” sized specials, with the majority of the artwork penciled by Gallagher’s long-time collaborator, Dave Manak and inked by Marie Severin.
AtArchie Comics, working with Editor Victor Gorelick, Michael wrote over 100 cover gags for the various Archie titles, uncredited as was/is their policy. In addition, he wrote stories for those same comic books, most often theVeronica andBetty titles. Gallagher wrote the last few issues ofSabrina the Teenage Witch which then becameSabrina, based on the animated TV show. That title lasted three years and he wrote the majority of stories and many covers for it. Gallagher also wrote theArchie newspaper strip for about a year, with art byDan DeCarlo. But Michael’s most prominent work for Archie was writing the first several issues ofSonic the Hedgehog. Gallagher’s early issues of Sonic were written when the title was in its earlier, more slapstick years, but he continued to write and occasionally pencil stories after Sonic transitioned into an episodic adventure book. Gallagher also created and wroteOff-Panel, the meta-feature that appeared on the letters page of Sonic and Knuckles comic books.
During this time, Gallagher was hired to write stories for other companies, includingDC Comics when they published aLooney Tunes Bugs Bunny oversized comic book. ForHarvey Comics,' he wrote severalNew Kids on the Block comics plus a 3-issue limited series starringLittle Dracula. He also wrote forAcclaim Comics, who briefly launched a line of “digest sized” comics featuring characters from Walt Disney’s classic animated movies, scripting new adventures forThe Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame,Aladdin and more. Other projects for independent publishers included one-shot comics such asThe E.V. Warriors (super-heroes who promoted an early version of the electric bicycle,) a comic book biography ofYogi Berra and one featuringJackie Robinson, distributed on the 50th anniversary of his breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier.
Back at Marvel, Gallagher entered the super-hero genre in 1992 with an issue ofWhat If... featuringSpider-Man, which led to his being hired by Editor Craig Anderson to take over the writing ofGuardians of the Galaxy when Jim Valentino left the title. Starting with issue #29 and continuing until the book was canceled with issue #62, Michael worked primarily with penciler Kevin West and inker Steve Montano, also producing two annuals (one with art by Colleen Doran) and a 4-issue mini-series,Galactic Guardians. Gallagher commented on his three-year run on Guardians as such: "It was very cool to have the 'past' Marvel Universe to play with in such a unique way and bend it to my will, and Kevin [West]'s pencils were to die for. But the characters you inherit arrive with personalities, powers, and quirks which must (and should) continue. And in this case, several vital subplots and storylines were still in progress."[2] After that, Michael continued to do work for various Marvel editors, writing stories featuringImpossible Man, Thor, Hulk, Daredevil andJack of Hearts. Gallagher bookended his super-hero phase at Marvel by writing a series of satirical features in another five-issue iteration ofWhat If? in 2010, edited by Justin Gabrie. One issue focused on the events in “World War Hulk” and Michael wrote the back-up story with art by Patrick Spaziante.
Beginning in early 1996 with issue #343, Gallagher began selling regularly toMAD Magazine and continued to do so until the final (New York) issue #550 in 2018. He wrote many single, double and triple page articles as well as front and back covers, about a dozenSpy vs. Spy episodes, in-house advertising and even drew a “USPS Periodical Wrapper” that was mailed to MAD subscribers. During that time, Michael had his ideas drawn by many of MAD’s renowned artists; Mort Drucker, Sergio Aragones, Paul Coker, Joe DeVito, Paul Kuper, Hermann Mejia, Hilary Barta, Ray Alma, John Caldwell, Amanda Conner, Scott Bricher, Dave Manak, Chuck Frasier, James Warhola, Monte Wolverton, photographer Irving Schild and most of all Tom Bunk, who drew Gallagher’s “grossest” articles, including the often reprinted “The Zit.”
Gallagher has contributed pro bono character designs and publicity art to Humane Society causes in New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona as well as other charities. His artwork has also been on display at hospitals, most notably Temple University Children’s Medical Center in Philadelphia. With Sid Jacobson doing the writing, Michael drew a monthly four-tiered, full page cartoon feature in the digest sizedCable Guide, starring the characters from the popularNICKELODEON show,You Can’t Do That On Television. He also wrote briefly forCRACKED Magazine under a pseudonym and has been a ghost writer for several cartoon strips. Like many freelance writer/cartoonists, Gallagher has created and tried to sell quite a few comic strip ideas, graphic novel and comic book proposals over the years, but with no success.
Gallagher has used his creative abilities for television production and promotion with positions at WTVX, a CBS Affiliate in Florida and WNJN, Public Television for New Jersey. Michael also performed with a radio comedy troupe, “Pliskin’s Players” on NPR. In addition, he has designed many playbook covers and posters for playwright Luigi Jannuzzi as well as other regional theatre groups Gallagher has been involved with as an actor, writer and director.
Michael has taught summer “cartoon camps,” lectured at schools (K – college), libraries, art fairs, career days and civic organizations. He occasionally appears at comic book shops and conventions. Since 2010, Gallagher has been creating “strange & surreal” paintings which can be seen on his website, michaelgallagherart.com. Michael’s “archive” resides (along with his father’s) at theBilly Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
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