Today in Comics History, January 20: Happy birthday, Phil Seuling!

Without this man there probably wouldn't be a comic book industry today (certainly not at the scale we have), so as you're reading your Wednesday pick-ups, raise a comic book or two and give a birthday wish to Phil Seuling, father of the Direct Market and your local comic book shop! And, uh, also all those problems with Diamond Distributors, but that's one's not really his fault.


from Comic Book Comics #6 (Evil Twin, November 2011); script by Fred Van Lente; pencils, inks, and letters by Ryan Dunlavey
Hey, didja know that the sheriff in this story (the first appearance of El Diablo) was a caricature of Phil Seuling?


from "The Devil Has Two Faces!" in All-Star Western (1970 series) #2 (DC, October 1970), script by Robert Kanigher, pencils and inks by Gray Morrow, letters by Ray Holloway (?)
Happy birthday, Phil!


from Fifty Who Made DC Great one-shot (DC, 1985)