Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun!: Today in Comics History, December 21: Happy birthday, Ben Oda!

Born on this day in 1915: the great Ben Oda, longtime comics letterer at DC, EC, and many other houses! His distinctive lettering style enchanced thousands of comics, ncluding Detective Comics and Batman, Action Comics and Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Four Color, Baris Karloff Tales of Mystery, The Twilight Zone, Eerie, Vampirella, MAD, the Super DC Calendars, and hundreds more!

Q: How did the famous letterer rip his pants? A: He Ben Oda.

Q: How did the famous letterer rip his pants? A: He Ben Oda.

"DC Profiles #59" from DC Comics cover-dated February 1980

Jack especially loved Ben because he didn't charge extras for quotation marks.

from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
A touching obit of Oda from DC Comics.

I'm sad about the fact that nowadays we only see this sort of homage to creators within the pages when they die.

I'm sad about the fact that nowadays we only see this sort of homage to creators within the pages when they die.

from DC Comics cover-dated June 1985
One great bit I learned about Ben today: when he was in a bowling league with Bill Yoshida, Oda taught Yoshida the art of lettering. Yoshida went on to become one of Archie Comics' top letterers!

Happy birthday, Ben!

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Today in Comics History, December 21: Happy birthday, Ben Oda!

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