Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for May 3-9, 2024...

395 years ago May 6, 1629 Dutch-Flemish artist Otto van Veen dies at age 72 or 73. He pioneered sequential art with his paintings.

150 years ago May 3, 1874 Maurice Boyer is born. The French artist and actor works as “Moriss.”

140 years ago May 3, 1884 Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday begins. It is regarded as the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character: Ally Sloper, created by Charles H. Ross.

135 years ago May 8, 1889 British artist Walter Booth is born. He creates “Professor Potash.”

115 years ago May 6, 1909 Golden Age DC artist Howard Sherman is born. He co-creates Tommy Tomorrow.

110 years ago May 3, 1914 Danish actor and artist Carsten Ravn dies at age 54.

105 years ago May 3, 1919 Award-winning artist John Cullen Murphy is born. He is best known for his work on Big Ben Bolt and for taking over the Prince Valiant comic strip following Hal Foster.

105 years ago May 4, 1919 Harold Teen by Carl Ed begins.

105 years ago May 6, 1919 Oz creator L. Frank Baum dies at age 62.

105 years ago May 9, 1919 Dutch artist Arie Teeuwisse is born.

85 years ago May 3, 1939 Award-winning writer-editor Dennis O’Neil is born. He’s especially known for Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams and for editing DC’s Batman titles. He also serves on the board of directors of The Hero Initiative.

85 years ago May 7, 1939 Cartoonist Richard “Grass” Green is born. His projects include Xal-Kor and the creation of REGCo art boards.

80 years ago May 6, 1944 Oscar-winning 1989 Batman movie designer Anton Furst is born.

70 years ago May 3, 1954 Actor Tom Tyler dies at age 50 of heart failure and complications from scleroderma. He starred as Captain Marvel in the 1941 Republic serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel.

70 years ago May 5, 1954 Artist Lou Hanlon dies at age 71. The sports cartoonist also drew the G-Man newspaper strip.

65 years ago May 4, 1959 Patrick Henley is born. The Canadian artist works as “Henriette Valium.”

60 years ago May 3, 1964 Artist Harrison Fong is born.

60 years ago May 5, 1964 Emmy-winning script writer Don Payne is born. He co-writes the films Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Thor, and Thor: The Dark World as well as episodes of The Simpsons including “Thursdays with Abie” and “Fraudcast News.”

60 years ago May 8, 1964 Argentine pioneer comics editor, publisher, and artist Carlos Clémen dies of a heart attack at age 51. The prolific and influential creator also established a cartooning correspondence course.

50 years ago May 3, 1974 Newspaper cartoonist Ray Hoppman dies at age 87.

35 years ago May 3, 1989 Spanish-French artist Edmundo Marculeta dies at age 66.

30 years ago May 6, 1994 Writer-editor Murray Boltinoff dies at age 83. The DC editor handled more than 50 series.

30 years ago May 9, 1994 German artist Reinhold Escher, known for the strip Mecki, dies at age 89.

20 years ago May 3, 2004 Alice Nielsen Cobb dies at age 92. The Western editor helped develop Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories for Dell.

20 years ago May 9, 2004 Belgian cartoonist Willy Linthout’s son Sam dies by suicide at age 21. Linthout’s graphic novel Het Jaar van de Olifant is based on that event.

10 years ago May 4, 2014 Award-winning artist and teacher Dick Ayers dies at age 90. The Golden and Silver Age artist, especially known for inking Jack Kirby art, drew comics featuring such characters as Jimmy Durante, Ghost Rider, Sgt. Fury, and Jonah Hex.