Today in Comics History, January 20: Happy birthday, Tom Baker!

Born on this day: actor and writer, and he probably should be given a knighthood (unless he was offered one and declined): Tom Baker! Yes, he appeared in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Dungeons & Dragons, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Little Britain, and Monarch of the Glen, but have you considered...Doctor Who?


Baker played The Fourth Doctor in those heady days before that character had made his way into his double digits (1974 to 1981), and he's many people's first Doctor (including mine and lots of Americans who first saw the show in the 1970s on PBS). Take a poll of anybody's favo(u)rite Doctors and regardless of what year you've asked, Tom Baker is likely to show up at or very near the top. We love him just that much.

He's even made his ways into other universes! Say, can you find Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor in this crowd of British celebrities, characters, and disgraded Pythons we pay no heed to anymore? I'm sure you can!



from Simpsons Comics #87 (Bongo, October 2003), script by Ian Boothby, pencils by James Lloyd, inks by Steve Steere Jr., colors by Nathan Kane, letters by Karen Bates
Yes, Tom Baker. He's everywhere! If you look for him, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that Tom Baker is all around.

Except this guy. That's not our Tom Baker.


from "Human Target!" in Detective Comics #201 (Dc, November 1953), script by Edmond Hamilton, pencils by Sheldon Moldoff, inks by Charles Paris
Happy birthday and many more, Tom Baker!