Days of Comics Past

A calendar of notable events across the comic book world.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Events for April 28

Apr 28, 1911: Lee Falk, creator of the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Apr 28, 1924: Richard "Dick" Ayers, artist for Sgt. Fury and numerous Western comics for Marvel, is born in Ossining, NY.

Apr 28, 1926: Bill Blackbeard, founder-director of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, is born in Lawrence, Indiana.

Apr 28, 1951: Peter Pontiac (Peter J.G. Pollmann), underground comix artist and author of the biographical graphic novel Kraut, is born in the Netherlands.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Events for April 26

Apr 26, 1916: George Tuska, writer/artist for Scorchy Smith and long-time Iron Man artist, is born in Hartford, CT.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Events for April 25

Apr 25, 1927: Albert Uderzo, artist and writer for the Asterix comics, is born in France.

Apr 25, 1944: George Herriman, creator of Krazy Kat, passes away at the age of 63.

Apr 25, 1952: Peter Sanderson, comic book writer, NYU Professor, and IGN's Comics in Context columnist, is born.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Events for April 23

Apr 23, 1942: Edmond Baudoin, artist for Premiere Voyage, La Mort du Peintre, and Les Yeux dans le Mur, is born in France.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Events for April 22

Apr 22, 1970: Bryan Hitch, comic artist for DC's The Authority and Marvel's Ultimates, is born in the UK.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Events for April 21

Apr 21, 1965: Teri Sue Wood, creator of Wandering Star, is born.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Events for April 20

April 20, 1949: John Ostrander, writer for Suicide Squad and Star Wars comics and co-creator of Grimjack, is born.

April 20, 1965: Evan Dorkin, creator of Milk and Cheese, is born.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Events for April 19

April 19, 1954: Steve Schanes, retailer who helped create the comic book direct market and co-founder of Pacific Comics, is born.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Events for April 18

Apr 18, 1957: Thierry Groensteen, comics and bande dessinée scholar, is born.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Events for April 14

Apr 14, 1920: Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff, creator of the Golden Age Hawkman and Batman artist, is born in New York City, NY.

Apr 14, 1954: Chuck Dixon, writer for Birds of Prey and Nightwing, is born.

Apr 14, 1954: Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of the Akira manga and anime movie, is born in Miyago Prefecture, Japan.

Apr 14, 1955: Dave Gibbons, artist for DC's Watchmen and The Originals graphic novel, is born in the UK.

Apr 14, 1959: Gerhard, co-artist on Cerebus, is born.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Events for April 13

Apr 13, 1956: François Schuiten, artist for Terres Creuses and Cités Obscures, is born in Brussels, Belgium.

Apr 13, 2005: Juan Zanotto, comic illustrator and creator of Henga (a.k.a. Yor), passes away in Argentina at age 69.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Events for April 12

Apr 12, 1953: Tanino Liberatore, Italian illustrator and cartoonist, is born.

Apr 12, 2005: Peter Bramley, underground cartoonist and art director for National Lampoon magazine, passes away at age 60.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Events for April 11

Apr 11, 1906: Dale Messick (born Dalia Messick), creator of Brenda Starr, is born in South Bend, IN.

Apr 11, 1948: Bernard Dumont a.k.a. Bédu, artist for Hugo and Les Psy, is born in France.

Apr 11, 2005: André François, French editorial cartoonist and illustrator, passes away at Grisy-les-Plâtres, France at age 89.

Apr 11, 2006: Dick Rockwell, editorial cartoonist and longtime ghost artist for Milt Caniff's Steve Canyon comic strip, passes away at age 85.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Events for April 10

Apr 10, 1956: Loustal (Jacques de Loustal), creator of Barney et la Note Bleue and Kid Congo, is born in France.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Events for April 9

Apr 9, 1914: Emanuel "Mac" Raboy, artist for Captain Marvel, Jr. for Fawcett Comics and Flash Gordon for King Features Syndicate, is born in New York City, NY.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Events for April 8

Apr 8, 2000: Alfredo Alcala, comic book artist and inker, passes away.

Apr 8, 2005: Nevio Zaccara, fantasy, aviation, and science fiction artist best known for his work on Star Trek comics, passes away in Rome.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Events for April 7

Apr 7, 1940: Claire Bretécher, creator and aritst for Les Frustrés, is born in France.

Apr 7, 2006
: John Blackburn, creator and artist of Coley Cochran, passes away.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Events for April 6

Apr 6, 1926: Gil Kane (born Eli Katz) is born in Latvia.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Events for April 5

Apr 5, 1955: Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragonball Z and Hikaru no Go, is born

Apr 5, 2005: Dale Messick (born Dalia Messick), creator of Brenda Starr, passes away at the age of 98.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Events for April 4

Apr 4, 1962: Simon Bisley, artist for 2000AD and Judge Dredd, is born in the UK.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Events for April 1

Apr 1, 1917: Sheldon "Shelly" Mayer, comic book writer, artist, and editor, is born in New York City, NY.

Events for April

1940: Robin, the Boy Wonder, appears as Batman's sidekick for the first time in Detective Comics #38. That same month, Lex Luthor begins a career of bedeviling Superman in Action Comics #23.

1950: The Crypt of Terror #17 introduces the memorable Cryptkeeper as narrator for assorted lurid tales. Three issues later, already well on its way to comic book infamy, the comic would be renamed as Tales from the Crypt.

1958: Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Boy travel back in time in Adventure Comics #247 to introduce DC Comics readers to the Legion of Super Heroes.

1959: Sgt. Rock appears (as "Rocky") in DC Comics' Our Army At War #81.

1970: Green Lantern #76, by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, hits the stands. Best known for the exchange between Green Lantern and a black ghetto resident, it is credited with introducing social commentary into mainstream superhero comic book adventures.

1977: Heavy Metal Magazine #1 debuts in the United States, introducing many American readers to European comics.

1985: DC Comics begins the Crisis on Infinite Earths. This 12-issue maxi-series would end the Silver Age of Comics and lead to a company-wide revamp of all of DC Comics' heroes.

1992: Rob Liefeld's Youngblood #1 becomes the first comic published by the new Image Comics company.