Today in Comics History, July 23: Happy birthday, Mike Vosburg!

Today the birthday boy is comics writer/artist/storyboarder Mike Vosburg (Sisterhood of Steel, G.I. Joe, The Savage She-Hulk, Bloodshot, Archer & Armstrong, and more)! He designed and drew the comic book covers you saw on the TV series Tales from the Crypt!


from Marvel Age #31 (Marvel, October 1985), text by Jim Salicrup, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Andy Yanchus
Plus, he's the creator/scripter/artist on Epic's Heavy hitters miniseries Offcastes! Here, female and male friends associates weigh on his aethestic of designing female characters for the series.


from Offcastes #1 (Marvel/Epic, July 1993), script and art by Mike Vosburg
Mike was also the first artist to draw Christy Marx's creator-owned series The Sisterhood of Steel. Here, he and Christy bid the reader a fond farewell in a pin-up at the end of the first miniseries's final issue.



from The Sisterhood of Steel #8 (Marvel/Epic, February 1986), script by Christy Marx, pencils and inks by Mike Vosburg
Happy birthday, Mike!


from Offcastes #1

Today in Comics History, July 23: Happy birthday, Kelley Jones!

Born on this day: Kelley Jones, comics artist extraordinaire! He's renowned for his work on such DC titles as Sandman and the Batman books, but look, it's Marvel who's wishin' him a happy birthday here! (Explanation after the jump!)


from Marvel Age #31 and 55 (Marvel, October 1985 and October 1987); text by Jim Salicrup (#31) and Mike Carlin (#55); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Andy Yanchus (#31) and Paul Becton (#55)

Today in Comics History, July 23, 1998: You've got to hand it to him

from The Invisibles (1997 series) #17 (DC/Vertigo, August 1998), script by Grant Morrison, pencils by Chris Weston, inks by Ray Kryssin, colors by Daniel Vozzo, letters by Todd Kleing

Today in Comics History, July 23, 1985: The tragedy of superhero weddings: having Doiby Dickles as your best man

Today is the wedding anniversary of Alan Scott (Green Lantern) and Molly Mayne (the Harlequin, not to be confused with Harley Quinn, who would probably hit GL with a big wooden mallet)! Did you send them a gift? I sent them a toaster from Macy's, and then it got erased in Crisis. The saddest death in Crisis on Infinite Earth: that poor toaster.


from Infinity Inc. Annual #1 (DC, December 1985); script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas; pencils by Ron Harris, inks by Dick Giordano, Alfredo Alcala, Richard Howell, and Tony DeZuniga; colors by Adrienne Roy and Anthony Tollin; letters by David Cody Weiss
The complainers will yell that "you couldn't publish this story today!" No, DC could publish it, but since Post-Rebirth Alan Scott is now gay, he gets married to Wildcat.

Today in Comics History, July 22: Happy birthday, Millie Shuriff!

Today's the birthday of Millie Shuriff! You probably don't recognize the name, so stop, collaborate and listen: she has the third-longest employment at Marvel Comics (after Stan Lee and Flo Steinberg), hired in 1956 when the company was still known as Magazine Management (the "Atlas" era). Starting out as a freelancer, Millie later was hired full-time by Stan to serve as Marvel's bookkeeper and the person who cut vouchers for freelancers to get paid, and without paid freelancers, you don't get pages. See, without Millie Shuriff, there would be no Marvel Comics!


from Marvel Vision #30 (Marvel, June 1998)

Today in Comics History, July 22: Happy birthday, Mike Rockwitz!

Born on this day: Mike Rockwitz, assistant editor, colorist (also at Image), and occasional scripter on Marvel books in the late '80s through the '90s (Marvel Comics Presents, Marvel Super-Heroes, Machine Man, Saga of the Sub-Mariner, The Defenders, Conan the King, Wolverine, Nova, Grifter and more)! And, apparently, as tall as Shooter!


from Marvel Age #31, 55, and 91 (Marvel, October 1985, October 1987, and August 1990); text by Jim Salicrup (#31), Mike Carlin (#55) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#91); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Andy Yanchus (#31), Paul Becton (#54) and Renee Witterstaetter (#91)

Today in Comics History, July 22, 1932: The Marines tell it to us

from "Stickup" in Semper Fi #4 (Marvel, March 1989), script by Michael P. Palladino, pencils and inks by Sam Glanzman, colors by Steve Mellor, letters by Pete Ciccone

Today in Comics History, July 22, 1894: Stark Raven Mad

from The Dreaming (1996 series) #41 (DC/Vertigo, October 1999), script by Caitlín R. Kiernan, pencils and inks by Al Davison, colors and color separations by Daniel Vozzo, letters by Ellie De Ville

Today in Comics History, July 21, 1804: Number of times a white man has prevented a Black man from having something nice crosses one trillion

from Manifest Destiny #12 (Image, December 2014), script by Chris Dingess, pencils and inks by Matthew Roberts, colors by Owen Gieni, letters by Pat Brosseau

Today in Comics History, July 21, 1861: Over in a month? The South thinks it still isn't over

from Picture Stories from American History #4 (EC, Summer 1947), script by Jerry Coleman, pencils and inks by Allen Simon

Today in Comics History, July 21, 1861: Surely this young Army lieutenant will go far in his career

from "[George Armstrong Custer:] America's Most Colorful Cavalry Leader" in Real Life Comics #5 (Pines, May 1942), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 21, 1861: Battle of My People Going for a Jog

from "Stonewall Jackson: How He Earned That Nickname" in Real Heroes #5 (Parents' Magazine Press, July 1942), pencils and inks by Gus Schrotter

Today in Comics History, July 21, 1969: All that super-research and he still got the date wrong

from Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #1 (DC/Elseworlds,October 2010), script by Cary Bates, pencils by Renato Arlem, inks by Renato Arlem, colors by Allen Passalaqua, letters by Pat Brosseau

Today in Comics History, July 21, 1992: Rest in peace, Tony Stark

from Marvel Age #116 (Marvel, September 1992)

Today in Comics History, July 20: Superboy drops the f-bomb

from Young Justice (2011 series) #5 (DC, August 2011), script by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, pencils and inks by Christopher Jones, colors by Zac Atkinson, letters by Carlos M. Mangual

Today in Comics History, July 20: Wally West has the attention span of a mayfly

from Young Justice (2011 series) #5 (DC, August 2011), script by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, pencils and inks by Christopher Jones, colors by Zac Atkinson, letters by Carlos M. Mangual

Today in Comics History, July 20: Happy birthday, Dick Giordano!

Born on this day in 1932: comics penciller/inker and editor Dick Giordano! He's drawn Sarge Steel, Strange Suspense Stories (his artwork there stolen and reappropriated by Roy Lichenstein), Action Comics (Atom, Human Target, Green Arrow), Batman, The Brave and the Bold, Love Romances, Modesty Blaise, Elongated Man in The Flash and Detective Comics, Doctor Strange, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Lois Lane (Rose and Thorn), and much more, including inking such prestigious books as Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, Wonder Woman, Thor, Atari Force, John Byrne's Man of Steel, Neil gaiman's Sandman, Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Bloodshot, and Crisis on Infinite Earths! And the proverbial multitude of others! And his own instructional book Draw Comics with Dick Giordano! (Amazon ad) He co-founded Continuity Associates with Neal Adams! He co-created Leslie Thompkins and Talia al Ghul! What hasn't this guy done?



house ads from DC Comics cover-dated December 1970 (top) and November 1971 (bottom)

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1966: Happy birthday, Jade and Obsidian!

If you follow the Super DC Calendar 1976 which lists birthdays for most of the DCU's heroes, villains, and supporting cast, you note that, very imporobabky, no two characters' birthdays fall on the same day, with the exception of Superman and Captain Marvel (which fall on February 29, the most unlikely day)!

However, here's a post-'76 aversion. Born today in 1966: two heroes on the same day! At least, in the Post-Crisis but pre-Rebirth DCU: they're twins Jenny-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice: Jade and Obsidian! As the children of the original Green Lantern Alan Scott, however, it's probable they no longer exist in the Post-Rebirth (2016+) age, as Alan has been retconned to be a a gay man. Still, whatever retcon, you can never keep a good character down: even Supergirl came back!


from Infinity Inc. (1984 series) #5 (DC, August 1984), text by Roy Thomas (?)
So remember: you have to buy two presents today, and you can't even get them the same present: one has to be green; the other one has to be black. May I suggest color-coded cardigans?


from Infinity Inc. (1984 series) #6 (DC, September 1984), text by Roy Thomas (?)
Happy birthday, you two wacky, possibly non-existent, certain weren't born in 1966 anyway kids!

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1950: The man's too strong

from The 'Nam #45 (Marvel, June 1990), script by Doug Murray, breakdowns by Wayne Vansant, finishes by Tony DeZuñiga, colors and letters by Phil Felix

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1763: Boswell would much rather be out wenching

from "Excerpts from Boswell's London Journal 1762-1763" in Weirdo #3 (Last Gasp, Fall 1981), by Robert Crumb

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1948: Hats Splat Flat Bat

from Batman: Hollywood Knight #1 (April 2001), script by Bob Layton, pencils and inks by Dick Giordano (happy birthday, Dick!), colors by Glenn Whitmore, letters by Sean Konot

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1969: First Man on the Moon!

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published July 20, 2010.

On this date in 1969, we set our sights upon a strange and distant world and stepped forth into the future as we explored a land previously unreachable! Yes, today in 1969, Woodstock began! Wait, no, that's not right.


from Woodstock one-shot (Marvel, 1994), plot by Mort Todd; script by Charles Schneider; pencils, inks, and colors by Gene Fama, letters by Vicki William
Today's the day that the teddy bears had their picnic...on the moon! (oon oon oon oon) Around the world every nation was held in rapturous awe as Apollo 11 set down upon the lunar surface, then immediately opened a Starbucks.


from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #98 (Marvel, May 1970), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1976: Jenette Kahn and pals celebrate Summer Super Bowl win

from "The Deadly Treasure of Mars" in The Superman Family #182 (DC, March 1977), script by Jack C. Harris, pencils by Mike Vosburg, inks by Al Milgrom

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1969: Abandoned ski lodge hastily converted into superhero headquarters

from Marvel: The Lost Generation #6 (Marvel, September 2000), co-plot and script by Roger Stern, co-plot and pencils by John Byrne, inks by Al Milgrom, colors by Matt Hicks, letters by Jack Morelli

Today in Comics History, July 20, 1963: Blue Widow sues studio over her film being released direct-to-streaming

from Extinction Seed #1 (GG Studios, October 2011), script by Davide Aicardi, pencils by Livia Pastore, colors by Alessia Novcera, letters by Studio Blue

Today in Comics History, July 19: Today takes an early lead in the First-to-the-Floor Calendar Page Race

from Batman: The Long Halloween Special #1 one-shot (DC, December 2021), script by Jeph Loeb, pencils and inks by Tim Sale, colors by Brennan Wagner, letters by Richard Starkings

Today in Comics History, July 19, 1963: It took you 40 minutes to find some hot water?

from Extinction Seed #1 (GG Studios, October 2011), script by Davide Aicardi, pencils by Livia Pastore, colors by Alessia Novcera, letters by Studio Blue

Today in Comics History, July 19: White Tiger takes advantage of fantastic door-busting deals

from Daredevil (1998 series) #39 (Marvel, January 2003), script by Brian Michael Bendis, pencils and inks by Manuel Gutierrez, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Richard Starkings

Today in Comics History, July 19, 1963: Hey wait, they didn't have Post-It™ Notes in 1963! I call shenanigans.

from Extinction Seed #1 (GG Studios, October 2011), script by Davide Aicardi, pencils by Livia Pastore, colors by Alessia Novcera, letters by Studio Blue

Today in Comics History, July 19: Happy birthday, Tim Drake!

Born on this day: Tim Drake, aka Robin III! You know, the one that didn't get beaten half to death and then blown up. I know that only narrows it down by one.

Let's look at Tim's sweet sixteenth birthday! Here's his parents Jack and Diane Dana prepping for it:


from Robin (1993 series) #116 (DC, September 2003), script by Jon Lewis, pencils by Pete Woods, inks by Andrew Pepoy, colors by Noelle Giddings, color separations by Heroic Age, letters by Willie Schubert

Today in Comics History, July 19: Happy birthday, Benedict Cumberbatch!

Born on this day: actor and confusing name to pronounce Benedict Cumberbatch, who's starred on stage, screen, film and radio in such productions as Hedda Gabler, Hamlet, Frankenstein, Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The War Horse, The Hobbit, 12 Years a Slave, The Power of the Dog, Van Gogh: Painted with Words, Patrick Melrose, and many more.

What? Didn't I mention that he played KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN in Star Trek: Into Darkness?


photo cover of Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #4 (IDW, April 2013)
Or Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse of Madness?


photo covers of Marvel's Doctor Strange Prelude #1-2 (Marvel, September-October 2016)
Well, surely i must have made a fuss about his award-winning role of the detective Holmes in the TV series Sherlock, right?


photo covers of Sherlock: A Study in Pink #1-6 (Titan, June-November 2016)
I didn't? Geez, I oughta have done that.

Happy birthday, Benny!

Today in Comics History, July 19, 1957: And she would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for that meddling Dick

Dick Tracy (Chicago Tribune Syndicate, August 31, 1957), by Chester Gould
A special tip of my little stuffed bowler hat to pal Greg, who presents classics comic strips (including Dick Tracy) on his Twitter daily!