Master cartoonist Mikael Ross (The Thud) tells the story of Beethoven's years leading up to Beethoven's first major public appearance in Vienna in 1795. The Beethoven family lived a difficult life in Bonn. Only young Ludwig and his talent at the piano offer any hope for the future - if he would stop composing his own pieces and play what's expected of him. In 20??, Mikael Ross was asked to do a small comic for the Beethoven Society. Through this opportunity he discovered the diaries of the baker's son that lived downstairs from Beethoven's family, the content of which inspired THE GOLDEN BOY.