Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for January 10-16, 2025...
175 years ago January 12, 1850 Les Aventures de Monsieur Verdreau by Louis Morel-Retz begins in L’Illustration.
120 years ago January 11, 1905 Cartoonist Reamer Keller is born.
120 years ago January 12, 1905 Western actor and country music vocalist Tex Ritter is born. Fawcett’s Tex Ritter Western is named for him, and (by the way) he’s the father of John Ritter, who plays a sort-of costumed hero in the 1980 film Hero at Large.
120 years ago January 14, 1905 Actor and voice artist Sterling Holloway is born. His characters include Disney’s Cheshire Cat, Kaa, and Winnie the Pooh.
120 years ago January 15, 1905 Gustave Verbeek’s The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo comes to an end.
120 years ago January 15, 1905 King Features writer-artist Joseph Musial is born. He writes The Career Guide for Cartoonists and illustrates the pioneering talking read-along children’s book Matey.
120 years ago January 16, 1905 Dutch artist Co Egelie is born.
115 years ago January 12, 1910 Spanish artist Francisco Darnis is born. He creates Nick, Pecho de Hiero.
115 years ago January 13, 1910 Animator, writer, and voice artist Jack Mercer is born. He originates the voice of Popeye.
105 years ago January 11, 1920 Gray Croucher is born. The British-Belgian artist works as “Gray” and is especially known for Rikske en Fikske.
105 years ago January 14, 1920 Castor Oyl is introduced in E.C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre.
105 years ago January 15, 1920 Golden Age artist-editor Gene Fawcette is born. He works for the Eisner & Iger studio and then for Better, Avon, Quality, Toby, Marvel, Western, and Ziff-Davis
105 years ago January 16, 1920 Italian artist Liliana Fantoni is born.
100 years ago January 16, 1925 Swedish artist Rune Andréasson is born. He creates Bamse.
95 years ago January 10, 1930 Hergé’s Quick & Flupke begins in Le Petit Vingtième.
95 years ago January 13, 1930 The Mickey Mouse newspaper strip begins from King Features Syndicate. The first published Disney comic strip is credited as being initially written by Walt Disney and drawn by Ub Iwerks and Win Smith.
90 years ago January 12, 1935 Artist and teacher and automotive humor magazine cartoonist Fred Boatman is born.
85 years ago January 13, 1940 Charles Addams’ “Downhill Skier” cartoon appears in The New Yorker.
85 years ago January 15, 1940 Dutch writer-artist Henri Verstijnen dies at age 57.
80 years ago January 12, 1945 Uruguayan artist and editor William Gezzio is born.
70 years ago January 13, 1955 Writer-editor-artist Cindy Vance is born. She’s especially known for her work for Bongo Comics.
65 years ago January 11, 1960 Artist and manga translator Miyako Matsuda Graham is born.
65 years ago January 14, 1960 Revolutionary Comics publisher Todd Loren is born (as Stuart Loren Shapiro).
65 years ago January 16, 1960 Artist Steve Erwin is born. He co-creates Checkmate! with Paul Kupperberg and draws such characters as Deathstroke the Terminator (written by Marv Wolfman) and Mike Danger.
65 years ago January 16, 1960 The British comics magazine Judy begins.
60 years ago January 12, 1965 Artist Franchesco is born.
60 years ago January 13, 1965 Writer-editor Anina Bennett is born. With Paul Guinan, she creates Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel and Heartbreakers.
55 years ago January 10, 1970 The first issue of the British football comic book Scorcher is released, introducing Billy Boots by Fred Baker and John Gillatt.
55 years ago January 12, 1970 Award-winning writer-artist Kaja Foglio is born (as Kaja Murphy); she’s especially known for the co-creation (with Phil Foglio) of Girl Genius.
55 years ago January 16, 1970 Award-winning writer Garth Ennis is born. He tells tales of 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd, DC’s Preacher (co-created with Steve Dillon) and Hitman, and Marvel’s Punisher.
55 years ago January 16, 1970 Cartoonist and teacher Dave Breger dies at age 61. During World War II, he retitled his Private Breger panel cartoon as G.I. Joe – creating a term which quickly became popular slang. A founding member of the National Cartoonists Society, he was also known for How to Draw and Sell Cartoons, But That’s Unprintable, and his Mr. Breger panel cartoon.
40 years ago January 10, 1985 Argentine artist José Luis Salinas dies at age 76. He was especially known for his work on King Features’ Cisco Kid strip.
35 years ago January 14, 1990 Czech artist Bohumil Konecny (also known as “Bimba”) dies at age 71.
30 years ago January 12, 1995 New Yorker cartoonist George Price dies at age 93.
30 years ago January 16, 1995 Spanish artist Celedenio Frejo Abregón (who worked as “Nin”) dies at age 62. He drew for the Valenciana publishing house and was known for creation of the elephant “Trompy.”
25 years ago January 14, 2000 Artist Pat Boyette dies at age 76. His comics career began at Charlton, and he went on to draw for publishers including DC, Marvel, and Warren.
20 years ago January 10, 2005 French writer and Charlie Hebdo co-founder Georges Bernier (known as “Professeur Choron”) dies at age 75.
10 years ago January 13, 2015 Dutch artist and photographer Ulli Bürer dies 18 days before his 50th birthday.
10 years ago January 13, 2015 Spanish animator and artist José Luis Moro dies at age 88. Lambiek calls him “one of the leading animators in Spain.” He was a pioneer in commercial animation with Estudios Moro.
5 years ago January 11, 2020 Award-winning writer-artist Steve Stiles dies of lung cancer at age 76. He drew The Adventures of Professor Thintwhistle, Xenozoic Tales, and a variety of other creations, fan and pro.
5 years ago January 14, 2020 French animator and artist Jacques Stoll dies at age 67.
