Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for May 17-23, 2019...
120 years ago May 20, 1899 Pioneering comics publisher Everett “Busy” Arnold is born. His early projects include publishing work from the Eisner and Iger studio and launching Quality Comics.
110 years ago May 17, 1909 Cartoonist, painter, and essayist Ryuichi Yokoyama is born. He is best known for his Fuku-chan strip.
100 years ago May 23, 1919 Writer Robert Bernstein (also known as “R. Berns”) is born. He co-creates Congorilla [with Howard Sherman], Aqualad [with Ramona Fradon], and The Jaguar [with John Rosenberger], among others.
80 years ago May 20, 1939 The Phantom Blot is introduced in the Mickey Mouse comic strip by Merrill de Maris and Floyd Gottfredson.
75 years ago May 21, 1944 Underground comix creator and publisher Kim Deitch is born. He creates Waldo and The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, edits Gothic Blimp Works, and co-founds Cartoonists Co-Op Press.
70 years ago May 18, 1949 Film maker Terry Zwigoff is born. His productions include Crumb, Ghost World, and Art School Confidential.
70 years ago May 22, 1949 Casey Ruggles begins, featuring the 1849 gold rush. The Warren Tufts strip becomes a daily in September.
65 years ago May 19, 1954 Essayist Neil A. Robertson is born.
50 years ago May 18, 1969 Chilean artist Alfredo Adduard dies at age 69 or 70.
35 years ago May 21, 1984 Golden Age writer-artist Ruben Moreira dies of cancer at age 61. He co-created Roy Raymond and Rip Hunter for DC.
30 years ago May 21, 1989 Artist Buford Tune (known for Dotty Dripple) dies, age 82.
25 years ago May 22, 1994 Belgian artist Michel Tacq (working as MiTacq) dies, age 66. He was especially known for “La Patrouille des Castors” in Spirou.
25 years ago May 23, 1994 Writer-editor Don Thompson dies of a heart attack at age 58. The pioneering fanzine producer collected and wrote comics and science fiction and co-edited Comic Art, Newfangles, Movie Collector’s World, and Comics Buyer’s Guide with his wife, Maggie.
20 years ago May 23, 1999 Award-winning artist John Prentice dies, age 78. He continued Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby strip after Raymond’s death and worked for DC in the 1950s.
15 years ago May 19, 2004 The first buildings of the Stripheldenbuurt [“stripheld neighborhood”] district of the Dutch city Almere are inaugurated: All street names pay tribute to comics characters and cartoonists.
5 years ago May 18, 2014 Writer-artist Morris Weiss dies, age 98. His career started as a letterer, and he created “Margie” for Timely, was the final cartoonist on Mickey Finn, worked on other strips, and proposed what became the Milt Gross Fund.