Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for April 19-25, 2024...

165 years ago April 24, 1859 Pioneering and prolific Spanish comics artist Ramón Cilla is born.

135 years ago April 23, 1889 Dutch artist Henriëtte Willebeek Le Mair is born. She provided new illustrations for Heinrich Hoffmann’s Der Struwwelpeter.

125 years ago April 24, 1899 Writer Allen Saunders is born. He writes Big Chief Wahoo (which becomes Steve Roper), Mary Worth, and Kerry Drake.

120 years ago April 22, 1904 Gus Mager begins his …The Monk series. It features a variety of monkeys with names ending with “o” – an inspiration for the names the Marx Brothers gave themselves.

120 years ago April 23, 1904 “La Famille Citrouillard” by René-Charles Béliveau begins in La Patrie.

100 years ago April 21, 1924 Ray Burns is born. He initially works as an artist’s assistant and storyboard artist and eventually continues the art on the Gil Thorp strip.

100 years ago April 22, 1924 New Yorker cartoonist Robert Weber is born.

80 years ago April 19, 1944 Dutch underground artist Harry Buckinx is born.

80 years ago April 25, 1944 Writer-artist George Herriman dies of “non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver” at age 63. He created the classic newspaper strip Krazy Kat.

95 years ago April 24, 1929 The first published editorial cartoon by Herbert Block – who signs his work “Herblock” – appears in the Chicago Daily News.

75 years ago April 20, 1949 Writer John Ostrander is born. He co-creates Grimjack (with Timothy Truman) and (with Kim Yale) revamps Barbara Gordon into Oracle, among many other projects including Star Wars: Legacy.

75 years ago April 21, 1949 French artist Philippe Bertrand is born. He creates “Linda Aime l’Art” for Pilote and material for a variety of adult comics.

75 years ago April 24, 1949 British artist Reg Carter dies at age 62.

75 years ago April 25, 1949 Flook begins in The Daily Mail, created by Wally Fawkes/Trog.

70 years ago April 19, 1954 Steve Schanes is born. He co-founds Pacific Comics (with his brother Bill) and Blackthorne Publishing (with Ann Fera).

70 years ago April 21-22, 1954 As the result of resolutions by Senators Estes Kefauver and Robert C. Hendrickson to make “a full and complete study of juvenile delinquency in the United States,” Senate hearings on comic books include testimony from psychiatrists, publishers, comics creators, and newsdealer representatives. Fredric Wertham and Entertaining Comics Publisher William Gaines are among those appearing.

70 years ago April 22, 1954 Writer-artist David A. Trampier is born. He illustrates material for Dungeons & Dragons and creates the Wormy strip.

65 years ago April 23, 1959 Artist Dave Wilson is born.

60 years ago April 24, 1964 Writer Randy Carpenter is born.

55 years ago April 19, 1969 The Serbian and Yugoslav comic strip Dikan by Nikola Lekić and Lazlo Sredanović is introduced.

50 years ago April 22, 1974 Dutch comics writer-artist Tjalie Robinson dies at age 63.

50 years ago April 25, 1974 Allan Salisbury’s gag strip Snake Tales begins.

25 years ago April 20, 1999 Dutch artist Berend Dam dies at age 71.

25 years ago April 20, 1999 Turkish writer-artist Tekin Aral dies from kidney and lung problems at age 57.

20 years ago April 24, 2004 Nat Gertler and About Comics organize the first annual 24 Hour Comics Day.

20 years ago April 25, 2004 Carrie Nodell dies of heart failure at age 85. She was the wife of Golden Age artist Marty Nodell and accompanied him to comics conventions for many years.

15 years ago April 23, 2009 Dutch photographer, artist, and teacher Jaap van der Pol (who sometimes worked as “Larry Oblomov”) dies at age 70.

15 years ago April 24, 2009 Argentine artist and editor José Miguel Heredia dies five days before his 76th birthday.

5 years ago April 22, 2019 Artist, historian, and art restoration artist Greg Theakston dies at age 65. He founded the Pure Imagination publishing company.

5 years ago April 23, 2019 German artist Jochen Arfert dies at age 88.

5 years ago April 23, 2019 Japanese artist Akihiko Takadera dies at age 58.