Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for September 25 through October 1, 2020...
180 years ago September 27, 1840 The editorial cartoonist some call “Father of the American Cartoon,” Thomas Nast, is born. He creates the popular image of Santa Claus – and the metaphors of Republicans as elephant and Democrats as donkey.
175 years ago October 1, 1845 German painter and caricaturist Adolf Oberländer is born.
115 years ago September 26, 1905 Artist Bill Perry is born. The Frank King assistant creates Ned Handy.
115 years ago September 28, 1905 Artist Frank Beard dies at age 63. His cartoons appeared in Judge.
110 years ago September 29, 1910 Writer-artist Carl Pfeufer is born. With Bob Moore, he co-creates Don Dixon. With Otto Binder, he co-creates Super Green Beret. He draws Tom Mix stories for Fawcett and, as a member of the Funnies Inc. studio, he draws Sub-Mariner for Marvel.
90 years ago September 25, 1930 Cartoonist, satirist, singer-songwriter, and poet Shel Silverstein is born. His first published cartoon book collects his “Take Ten” work in Grab Your Socks! Much of his early work appears in Playboy.
85 years ago September 26, 1935 Italian-Argentine artist Juan Zanotto is born. He co-creates (with Alfredo Grassi) Ric de la Frontera and is artistic director at the Codex publishing house and Ediciones Record.
80 years ago September 28, 1940 Animator and artist Earl Hurd dies at age 60. He had the patent for the invention of cel animation and worked for cartoon studios including Terry and Disney.
80 years ago October 1, 1940 Award-winning artist Richard Corben is born. The work of the creator of Den appears in underground comix and magazines including Creepy and Heavy Metal. The Fantagor Press publisher also participates in a variety of pop culture projects.
65 years ago September 25, 1955 Dondi by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen begins.
65 years ago September 27, 1955 Award-winning writer-artist Charles Burns is born. His creations include Dogboy and Black Hole.
65 years ago September 27, 1955 Artist, animator, and teacher Randy Emberlin is born.
55 years ago September 30, 1965 The Red Ryder comic strip ends. Created by Fred Harman, it was being drawn by Bob McLeod.
50 years ago September 25, 1970 Award-winning writer-artist Paul Pope is born. He’s especially known for his work on Batman: Year 100 and for work for his own Horse Press, including THB.
30 years ago September 26, 1990 Prolific Greek writer-artist Byron Aptosoglou dies at age 67. He created his own Byron imprint.
25 years ago September 30, 1995 Nestor Redondo dies at age 67. He drew many DC fantasy stories and Rima, as well as a collection of Bible tales and many other Christian comics. His work also appeared in the Pendulum Illustrated Classics collection.
20 years ago September 29, 2000 The Dutch S1NGLE comic strip by Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit begins in Het Parool.
20 years ago September 29, 2000 Dutch artist Wim Bijmoer dies at age 86.
15 years ago September 26, 2005 Political cartoonist and teacher Mickey Siporin dies at age 65.
15 years ago September 30, 2005 Based on the 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, A History of Violence opens in theaters. The film is directed by David Cronenberg and stars Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt.
10 years ago September 28, 2010 Writer-artist Daniel Robert Aguila dies at age 82. Also known as “El Dani,” the editorial cartoonist also worked on such strips as Student Life and Barrio Breeze.
5 years ago September 26, 2015 Belgian writer-artist Liliane Funcken dies at age 88. She was known for work with her husband, Fred, for Tintin.
5 years ago October 1, 2015 The first Cartoon Crossroads Columbus begins; the event runs October 1-3. The annual festival begins with discussions featuring Lucy Caswell, Jeff Smith, and Vijaya Iyer.
And here are the anniversaries spanning the month of October…
85 years ago October 1935 DC’s New Fun #6 introduces fantasy character Dr. Occult by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in a story in which he and his partner (Rose Psychic) try to stop a vampire. (This is the last issue before the title becomes More Fun.) (Oh, and it’s about two and a half years before Siegel and Shuster bring Superman to DC.)
80 years ago October 1940 Donald Duck invites readers to pull back the cover of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #1, introducing what some consider to be the first funny animal comic book series. Lots of strip reprints pack the issue.
80 years ago October 1940 Street & Smith’s Sport Comics #1 is one of the earliest true life comics. Less than a year before his death, it cover-features the “Life Story of Lou Gehrig,” who retired the year before.
80 years ago October 1940 All-American Comics #19 introduces DC’s Atom (Al Pratt) in “Introducing the Mighty Atom” by Bill O’Connor, Ben Flinton, and Leonard Sansone. He’s not the teeny Silver Age Atom – and in this story he doesn’t appear in costume.
80 years ago October 1940 MLJ’s Top Notch Comics #9 introduces The Black Hood (“man of mystery”) in a story by Abner Sundell (as Cliff Campbell) and Al Camy.
80 years ago October 1940 Although Magno (the Magnetic Man) gets the cover treatment of Ace’s Super-Mystery Comics #3, “A new avenger has struck terror,” when The Black Spider is introduced.
80 years ago October 1940 Centaur’s Super Spy #1 (of two) introduces The Sparkler (drawn by John F. Kolb) and Super Spy 5Y-8R (drawn by Albert W. Tyler).
70 years ago October 1950 EC’s Tales from the Crypt begins with #20, continuing the numbering of Crypt of Terror. (Most of the horror scripts are by Al Feldstein.)
60 years ago October 1960 In “a great 3-part novel,” DC’s Superman #140 introduces Bizarro Supergirl and Bizarro-Jr. #1. “The Son of Bizarro!” is by Otto Binder, Wayne Boring, and Stan Kaye.
60 years ago October 1960 DC’s Justice League of America #1 introduces the villainous Despero from the dimension of Kalanor. The story is by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The cover indicates there’s more of a board game and less hitting in “The World of No Return!” than is customary for super-heroics.
55 years ago October 1965 In Mad #98, Al Jaffee’s “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” begins.
55 years ago October 1965 Lana Lang makes her first appearance as Insect Queen in DC’s Superboy #124 in a story by Otto Binder and George Papp.
55 years ago October 1965 “Introducing Power Man! Who is he?” Spoiler: He’s one of Zemo’s sidekicks in “The Bitter Taste of Defeat” in Marvel’s The Avengers #21. The story is by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Wally Wood.
55 years ago October 1965 “See: The strangest foes Daredevil has ever faced!” In Marvel’s Daredevil #10, that announces the introduction of The Organizer, Cat Man, Ape Man, Frog Man, and Bird Man. The story is by Wally Wood and Bob Powell. (By the way, Bird Man is Henry Hawk; is Wood having fun in morphing the name of a Looney Tunes character?)
55 years ago October 1965 DC says on the cover of Green Lantern #40, “You’ve clamored for it.” Golden Age and Silver Age Green Lanterns fight a power ring duel. But the issue also provides the origin tale of The Guardians of the Universe and introduces the villainous Krona in a story by John Broome, Gil Kane, and Sid Greene.
55 years ago October 1965 The cover of DC’s Wonder Woman #157 doesn’t mention it (though it cautions there’s a “triple surprise ending”), but “I – the Bomb” by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito introduces Egg Fu.
55 years ago October 1965 Harvey introduces four titles in its “Thriller Line”: Unearthly Spectaculars #1 (of 3), Thrill-O-Rama #1 (of 3), Blast-Off #1 (and only), and Warfront #36 (which introduces Dynamite Joe, “the blast-crazy Marine!!” and runs for three more issues). [Jack Q. Frost will first appear in Unearthly Spectaculars #2, and Pirana will first appear in Thrill-O-Rama #2.]
55 years ago October 1965 The cover says that DC’s The Brave and the Bold #62 has “a sensational comic book first!” It gets a bit more vague about that “first” thing: “The Sportsmaster and Huntress – as Mr. and Mrs. Menace – set sinister snares on their ‘Big Super-Hero Hunt!’” Anyway, the story by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson provides the first Silver Age appearances of Huntress and Wildcat.
55 years ago October 1965 Dell’s Nukla #1 introduces Nukla (“the greatest [it says here] super hero on Earth!”). Hey, he’s got to fight “the evilest man in the world,” so let’s hope he’s the greatest. The stories are by Joe Gill, Sal Trapani, and Dick Giordano.
50 years ago October 1970 Conan first appeared in Weird Tales in “The Phoenix on the Sword” by Robert E. Howard in December 1932. Marvel brings him to comics in Conan the Barbarian #1. “The Coming of Conan!” is by Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Dan Adkins.
50 years ago October 1970 Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 kicks off Jack Kirby’s Fourth World for DC and introduces The Newsboy Legion to the Silver Age. Writer-artist Kirby introduces Morgan Edge, Intergang, Project Cadmus, and more.
50 years ago October 1970 DC’s All-Star Western #2 introduces El Diablo. “A ghostly shadow glides across the moonlit plain …” “The Devil Has Two Faces!” is written by Robert Kanigher, and artist Gray Morrow includes inside jokes, casting comics creators and a fan as actors in the tale.
50 years ago October 1970 Company & Sons’ Young Lust #1 features stories by Jay Kinney, Bill Griffith, and Art Spiegelman.
45 years ago October 1975 Marvel’s The Defenders #28 provides the first full appearance of Starhawk in “My Mother, the Badoon!” by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, Frank Giacoia, and John Tartaglione.
45 years ago October 1975 In “Even if I Live, I Die!” in The Amazing Spider-Man #149, Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito introduce the clone eventually known as Ben Reilly.
45 years ago October 1975 In addition to the other developments at Marvel this month, the company closes out Giant-Size Fantastic Four (with #6), Man-Thing (with #22), The Outlaw Kid (with #30), Supernatural Thrillers (with #15), War Is Hell (with #15), and Where Monsters Dwell (with #38). On the other hand, it introduces four new titles (and a few new characters): The Champions (introducing Champions); The Inhumans; Marvel Chillers (introducing Modred the Mystic); and Marvel Presents (introducing Bloodstone).
45 years ago October 1975 Gold Key’s Mystery Comics Digest folds with #26, cover-featuring “spine-tinglers in the Karloff tradition!” That tradition is Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, which is the source for most of the stories.
45 years ago October 1975 DC’s Hercules Unbound #1 is set after World War III. The issue is by Gerry Conway, José Luis García-López, Wally Wood, and A.L. Sirois.
45 years ago October 1975 DC’s Super-Team Family #1 features Superman, Batman, and Flash in the giant issue.
45 years ago October 1975 “The Torpedo is busting loose!” in Marvel’s Daredevil #126. Brock Jones becomes Torpedo in a story by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown, and Klaus Janson.
40 years ago October 1980 DC Comics Presents #26 introduces New Teen Titans as a team (introducing in that team Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire) in the issue’s bonus insert. “Where Nightmares Begin!” is by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, and Dick Giordano.
40 years ago October 1980 Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man #209 introduces Calypso in “To Salvage My Honor!” by Denny O’Neil, Alan Weiss, Klaus Janson, Bob McLeod, Joe Rubinstein, Bob Wiacek, and Al Milgrom.
40 years ago October 1980 Marvel’s Thor #300 celebrates with a story by Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Keith Pollard, and Gene Day. It delves into Thor’s origin.
40 years ago October 1980 Marvel’s The Avengers #200 is double-sized in celebration. “The Child Is Father to …?” is by Jim Shooter, George Pérez, Bob Layton, David Michelinie, and Dan Green.
35 years ago October 1985 Megaton #2 (from, yes, Megaton Comics) introduces The Dragon in the second part of “Dead Line” by Erik Larsen, Gary Carlson, and Sam Grainger. Larsen’s Savage Dragon, you shouldn’t be surprised to know, gets a pretty good career on his own later on.
35 years ago October 1985 Marvel’s Captain America #310 introduces Diamondback (as a member of The Serpent Society). “Serpents of the World Unite” is by Mark Gruenwald, Paul Neary, and Dennis Janke.
35 years ago October 1985 Marvel’s The Thing #28 introduces Demolition Man in “In This Corner” by Mike Carlin, Ron Wilson, and Brett Breeding.
35 years ago October 1985 The cover of the first issue of Marvel’s 12-issue limited series announces, “The battle begins! Deviants versus the gods who walk among us!” Eternals introduces Cybele, Khoryphos, and Phastos in “A Mirror for Mortality!” by Peter B. Gillis, Sal Buscema, and Al Gordon.
35 years ago October 1985 DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 features – Well, it’d be a Spoiler. Unless, of course, you look at the cover. Then, you’ve got a pretty good clue that the Spoiler might be the death of Supergirl. Dang!
35 years ago October 1985 “Good-bye, Flash” – DC’s The Flash concludes with (“Double-sized last issue!”) #350. “Flash Flees” (say that fast five times) is by Cary Bates, Carmine Infantino, and Frank McLaughlin.
35 years ago October 1985 Music for Mechanics is the first sequential The Complete Love & Rockets collection.
30 years ago October 1990 “Clay Pigeons” in DC’s The New Titans #70 gives Deathstroke the Terminator his first solo story. It’s by Marv Wolfman, Steve Erwin, and Willie Blyberg.
30 years ago October 1990 DC’s The Huntress folds with #19, cover-featuring the words “Final issue.” “The Last of the Streetfighters” is by Joey Cavalieri, Joe Staton, and Bob Smith.
30 years ago October 1990 Marvel’s Foolkiller #1 introduces Foolkiller in “Mad … as in Angry” by Steve Gerber, Joe Brozowski, and Tony DeZuniga.
30 years ago October 1990 Marvel’s The New Warriors #4 introduces Psionex (“They were bred for one purpose – to destroy The New Warriors!”): Asylum, Coronary, Impulse, Mathemanic, and more. The story is by Fabian Nicieza, Mark Bagley, and Larry Mahlstedt.
30 years ago October 1990 Swamp Thing #100 is a double-sized issue and features a cuddly cover with Swamp Thing and Abigail Cable. “Tales of Eden” is by Doug Wheeler, Kelley Jones, Pat Broderick, and Alfredo Alcala.
30 years ago October 1990 Mighty Mouse has starred in comics from a number of different publishers. The cover of Marvel’s Mighty Mouse #1 pays tribute to the cover of DC’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and proclaims Mighty Mouse “a rodent for the ’90s!” Did I mention the text in the Marvel ID? “Double-bag it. A good investment. Collector’s item first issue. Buy ten copies – no – twenty! From the people who do that McFarlane stuff. It’s good clean fun. 100% fat free. Less salt.” “The Dark Might Returns” is by Michael Gallagher, Ernie Colon, and Marie Severin.
30 years ago October 1990 Marvel’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser #1 begins its adaptation of Fritz Leiber’s characters to comic book format. The adaptation is by Howard Chaykin, Mike Mignola, and Al Williamson.
25 years ago October 1995 Archie Comics cancels Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures with #72.
20 years ago October 2000 J. Michael Straczynski’s Midnight Nation begins from Image. The story is by Straczynski; the art is by Gary Frank, Jason Gorder, and Jay Liesten.
20 years ago October 2000 DC’s JSA Annual #1 (and only) introduces a new Nemesis and Elina in “Genesis” by Dave Goyer, Uriel Caton, and Wade von Grawbadger.
15 years ago October 2005 DC kicks off a new Supergirl series with #0 and #1, with stories by Jeph Loeb, Ian Churchill, and Norm Rapmund.
15 years ago October 2005 Well, Marvel had a couple Justice series over the years. Now, it’s DC’s turn. Justice #1 features Justice League characters in a story by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite.
5 years ago October 2015 DC’s Batman Endgame: Special Edition #1 (and only) is a giveaway for “Batman Day.”
5 years ago October 2015 Marvel’s Ant-Man: Last Days #1 (and only) is a “Secret Wars” issue by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas. So is Howard the Human #1 (and only) by Skottie Young and Jim Mahfood. And Hank Johnson, Agent of Hydra #1 (and only) by David Mandel and Michael Walsh.
5 years ago October 2015 Speaking of “Secret Wars,” Marvel’s House of M #1 comes a decade after the 2005 House of M limited series and is part of the “Secret Wars” storyline. The issue is by Dennis Hopeless and Marco Failla.
5 years ago October 2015 Valiant’s Book of Death: The Fall of X-O Manowar #1 (and only) is by Robert Venditti and Clayton Henry.
5 years ago October 2015 Hey, there are a lot of first issues this month. On the other hand, Archie’s World of Archie #1 (and only) is a #1 of a different type. In the case of the year’s Halloween ComicFest, there are a bunch of oddball special issues (some with variant printed issue dates), including titles Ultimate Spider-Man Web-Warriors/Avengers Assemble Season 2; Doctor Strange: The Oath; Donald Duck’s Halloween Scream, Skylanders, and Yo-Kai Watch.