Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for February 21-27, 2020...

135 years ago February 22, 1885 Australian animator, film producer, and comics artist Pat Sullivan is born. His Sullivan Studios releases “Felix the Cat” in 1919.

115 years ago February 22, 1905 Canadian writer-artist Rodolphe Vincent is born.

115 years ago February 26, 1905 The last episode of Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz by Frank L. Baum and Walt McDougall is published.

100 years ago February 22, 1920 Prolific and award-winning animator and artist Pete Alvarado is born. He works for Western on licensed comics.

100 years ago February 23, 1920 Raymond Reding is born. The Belgian writer-artist works on the editorial team of Tintin.

95 years ago February 21, 1925 The New Yorker begins, and “Eustace Tilley” (designed by Rea Irvin) is on the cover.

85 years ago February 21, 1935 Writer-editor Richard Lupoff is born. With his wife, Pat, he creates the award-winning fanzine Xero, which carries the groundbreaking “All in Color for a Dime” series of nostalgic articles about comic books.

85 years ago February 23, 1935 The Saturday Evening Post introduces the first Little Lulu panel cartoon, created by Marjorie Henderson Buell.

80 years ago February 23, 1940 Walt Disney’s Pinocchio opens, the second animated feature film from the studio.

80 years ago February 25, 1940 John McGeehan is born. He co-creates the fan indexing project “The House of Info” with his brother, Tom.

80 years ago February 27, 1940 Dutch political cartoonist Johan Braakensiek dies at age 81.

65 years ago February 23, 1955 Main Enterprises publisher Jim Main is born.

60 years ago February 25, 1960 Comico publisher and political cartoonist Phil LaSorda is born. He creates Az.

60 years ago February 27, 1960 Writer-artist Norm Breyfogle is born. Known for his work on Batman stories, he co-creates (with Bob Jacob, Gerard Jones, and Len Strazewski) Prime and creates Metaphysique.

60 years ago February 27, 1960 Award-winning writer-artist Jeff Smith is born. He creates Bone, Rasl, Little Mouse Gets Ready, and Tuki: Save the Humans and provides an updating of Fawcett’s Captain Marvel for DC.

55 years ago February 21, 1965 The first Salone Internazionale del Comics begins in Bordighera, Italy, and runs to March 2. It will move to Lucca and become the Lucca Comics festival.

50 years ago February 26, 1970 Natacha by François Walthéry begins.

30 years ago February 22, 1990 South African political cartoonist Thomas Ochse Honiball dies at age 84. He created the Oom Kaspaas comic strip.

25 years ago February 23, 1995 Artist Don Heck dies of lung cancer at age 66. His long career began at Harvey Comics and included co-creating Iron Man and working on early adventures of The Avengers.

10 years ago February 26, 2010 Artist Valerie Barclay dies at age 87. Featured in Secrets behind the Comics, she was known for her work on romance comics for a variety of publishers.

5 years ago February 27, 2015 Actor, director, and writer Leonard Nimoy dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at age 83. Best known for his performances as Mr. Spock in Star Trek, he was featured on covers of licensed comic books and licensed his name for Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals from Big Entertainment.