Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for March 17-23, 2023...
120 years ago March 17, 1903 Ving Fuller is born. The writer-artist is known for Doc Syke.
120 years ago March 18, 1903 German political cartoonist Erich Ohser is born. He works under the pseudonym “E.O. Plauen” and is best known for his Vater und Sohn strip.
120 years ago March 22, 1903 Smokey Stover creator Bill Holman is born.
120 years ago March 22, 1903 Grace Drayton’s comic strip character Toodles (later known as Dolly Dimples) is introduced.
115 years ago March 23, 1908 Sam Milai is born. The editorial cartoonist and creator of the Don Powers strip draws Facts about the Negro.
110 years ago March 18, 1913 Artist Henry Stull dies at age 61. His comics featured horses as well as people – often in silhouette.
105 years ago March 22, 1918 Collier’s magazine editorial cartoonist Harry Devlin is born. He creates the Fullhouse (later renamed Raggmopp) comic strip with his wife, Wende.
105 years ago March 23, 1918 Comic book gag cartoonist Charles W. Winter is born.
100 years ago March 19, 1923 Prolific Italian comics artist Benito Jacovitti is born. The creator of Cocco Bill creates many other features and characters for Il Vittorioso and other magazines.
100 years ago March 22, 1923 Mexican artist, writer, and editor Alberto Beltrán is born. He’s a founding member of the Academy of Arts.
95 years ago March 20, 1928 Flemish writer-artist and animator Eddy Ryssack is born. He founds and is head of TVA Dupuis, is chairman of the Stripgilde pro association, and co-founds the Belgian Comic Strip Center.
90 years ago March 17, 1933 Scottish artist Ken Barr is born. His work includes art for DC and Marvel along with magazine and book covers.
90 years ago March 19, 1933 Richard Williams is born. The teacher and animation director on the Oscar-winning Who Framed Roger Rabbit creates The Animator’s Survival Kit.
85 years ago March 17, 1938 Donald’s dog Bolivar is introduced to the Donald Duck comic strip by Bob Karp and Al Taliaferro.
85 years ago March 22, 1938 The Italian comics magazine Albi dell’Audace begins.
75 years ago March 18, 1948 Dutch artist Freddie Langeler dies at age 48. She was married to E.M. ten Harmsen van der Beek, with whom she often worked.
75 years ago March 18, 1948 The Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy sponsors the symposium “The Psychopathology of Comic Books.” Fredric Wertham announces that reading comics is “definitely and completely harmful.”
70 years ago March 19, 1953 DC and Marvel writer-editor Laurie S. Sutton is born. Her comics career begins with work as a Comics Code Authority reviewer.
60 years ago March 17, 1963 Writer-artist Dave Miller is born. He creates the Dave comic strip.
60 years ago March 18, 1963 Trudy by Jerry Marcus begins.
60 years ago March 23, 1963 French artist and actor Maurice Boyer (who worked as “Moriss”) dies at age 88.
55 years ago March 18, 1968 Artist Shea Anton Pensa is born. His work appears in Green Arrow, Sandman, and Spawn.
55 years ago March 20, 1968 Punmaster Comics creator and head of David Gross Entertainment David Gross is born.
55 years ago March 23, 1968 Writer-artist Chuck Bordell is born. The work of the owner of High Anxiety Studios includes Lunatic Fringe and art for roleplaying games.
50 years ago March 23, 1973 Stuntman and actor Ken Maynard dies of stomach cancer at age 77. His cowboy roles led to licensing his name and image to Fawcett comics.
40 years ago March 19, 1983 Danish artist Harry Nielsen dies at age 86.
40 years ago March 23, 1983 German political cartoonist Wolfgang Hicks dies at age 73.
30 years ago March 19, 1993 Writer-artist Alden McWilliams dies at age 77. He was known for Twin Earths, Star Trek, and Dateline: Danger! strips.
30 years ago March 21, 1993 The WaRP Graphics convention is held.
25 years ago March 23, 1998 Artist John Sikela dies at age 90 or 91. He was one of the ghost artists of DC’s Superman family stories.
20 years ago March 22, 2003 Italian artist Fernando Carpucino dies at age 80.
20 years ago March 23, 2003 The first Toronto Comic Con is held.
15 years ago March 17, 2008 Award-winning Spanish artist Daniel Traver Griñó dies at age 76.
15 years ago March 18, 2008 Artist Wes Alexander dies at age 41. Known for creating the Stormfield comic strip, he edited and published Toon!! Magazine.
15 years ago March 19, 2008 Suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Belgian writer Hugo Claus, who scripted Belgman, dies by euthanasia at age 78.
15 years ago March 21, 2008 Tintin magazine founder Raymond Leblanc dies at age 92.
15 years ago March 21, 2008 Belgian artist Maurice Maréchal dies at age 85. He was known for Prudence Petitpas in Tintin.
10 years ago March 18, 2013 German artist Irmtraut Winkler-Wittig dies at age 79.
10 years ago March 23, 2013 Le Soir runs the last installment of the Belgian daily strip Le Chat by Philippe Geluck.
5 years ago March 19, 2018 Canadian artist Murray Karn dies at age 93 or 94. He worked for Bell Features.
