Today in Comics History, July 14: Happy birthday, William Hanna!

Born on this day in 1911: animator, director, producer, and artist William Hanna, who, with partner Joseph Barbera (truth in disclosure alert: similar post) founded one of the most productive animation studios of the 20th century: Hanna-Barbera!


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



At MGM, Hanna and Barbera produced the astonishingly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons, and later formed H-B to operate at a reduced cost through "limited animation" during a time when shorts for cinema animation were becoming replaced by television cartoons.


from Comic Book History of Animation #4 (IDW, February 2021); script by Fred Van Lente; pencils, inks, and letters by Ryan Dunlavey; colors by Adam Guzowski
The Hanna-Barbera studio created or developed some of the most recognizable cartoon characters in popular culture, many of which came from comics or have had comic book adaptations: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Top Cat, Wally Gator, Snagglepuss, Magilla Gorilla, Wacky Races, Jonny Quest...

from Jonny Quest (1986 series) #1 (Comico, June 1986), interview by Steve Kaye
(Click picture to stone-age-family-size)
...Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel, Jong Kong Phooey, Jabberjaw, Space Ghost, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, The Herculoids, Fantastic Four, Scooby-Doo, Captain Caveman, The Smurfs, Super Friends, Josie and the Pussycats...




from Josie and the Pussycats (1969 series) #50 (Archie, September 1970), script by Dick Malmgren, pencils by Dan DeCarlo, inks by Rudy Lapick, letters by Bill Yoshida
...The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, I Am Weasel...all of these, and many more, have been both cartoons and comic books (from Dell/Gold Key, Charlton, DC, Marvel, Comico, Archie, Harvey, IDW, and more)...some being still published today.


Happy birthday, Bill Hanna!