Today in Comics History, April 18, 1906: Shake, rattle, and roll

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally titled "San Francisco Earthquake mysteriously causes city-wide hamburger shortage" and published April 18, 2015.

San Francisco Earthquake mysteriously causes city-wide hamburger shortage!


Panels from "Unstuck in Time!" in Archie Giant Series Magazine #602 [The World of Jughead] (October 1989), script by Rich Margopoulos, pencils by Doug Crane, inks by Tom Moore, colors by Barry Grossman, letters by Bill Yoshida (credited)
Is it pedantic of me to point out that in 1906, April 18 was a Wednesday, and not a Saturday, as the calendar in the first panel shows? Yeah, probably is.


Anyway, continuing our examination this disaster that Jughead has been to, it's hardly weird to find giant flaming hands exacting their revenge on San Francisco!


from "The Quake That Split a City" in Real Fact Comics #16 (DC, September 1948); script by Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and/or Bernie Breslauer
Also, as you know, one of the Teen Titans was there.


from Raven" Daughter of Darkness #3 (DC, May 2018), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils and inks by Pop Mhan, colors by Lovern Kindzierski, letters by Saida Temofonte
Also, The Sandman.

Yes, this deadly earthquake is terrible, but don't throw away tin cans, ya fascist sympathizer!


from "[The Man Who Relived His Life, Chapter 2]" in All-Star Comics #21 (DC, Summer 1944), script by Gardner Fox, pencils and inks by Joe Gallagher
The Salvation Army saves everybody from the San Francisco Earthquake, except gay and trans people.


from "The Story of Evangeline Booth" in Wonder Woman (1942 series) #15 (DC, Winter 1945), script by Alice Marble, pencils and inks by Alfonso Greene
And G-Force saves everybody from the San Francisco Earthquake...even if it isn't as destructive as the original one!


from "The Earthquake Menace" in Battle of the Planets #4 (Western/Whitman, December 1979), script by Gary Poole, pencils and inks by Win Mortimer
So if you've learned anything at all about the 1906 Earthquake, never forget this: it was caused by the Mole Men.



from "While the City Slumbers!" in Mystic #56 (Marvel/Atlas, February 1957), script by Carl Wessler, pencils by Paul Reinman
Remember, when you read it in a comic: It Really Happened!


from "James H. 'Jimmy' Hare" It Really Happened #8 (Pines, April 1947), pencils and inks by Fred Guardineer