Today in Comics History, January 21, 1911: TFW it won't be long before all ships are powered by marine turbines

And sure enough...it wasn't long before all ships were powered by marine turbines!


from "George Westinghouse" in True Comics #50 (Parents' Magazine Press, July 1946), pencils (and inks?) by Sam Glankoff
Goooooo MARINE TURBINES!

Today in Comics History, January 21, 1783: You say you want a revolution

Previously, on The Twilight Zone...

On January 20, 1893, René Noir stole a valuable "gold key" and used it to found a thriving comic book company break into the home of the mysterious Marie and the (looks through my dictionary of "L-Words") lachrymal Louis (I'm not certain if that word is right), where after he discovers he's Louis's identical double, is sedated by drugged wine and wakes up the next morning on...


from "The Secret of the Key" in The Twilight Zone #4; pencils by Alex Toth, inks by Mike Peppe, letters by Ben Oda
Y'see, the Gold Key took him back in time 100 years! Where he just happened to encounter his exact double! Who was gonna be killed the next day! How about that story, kids? Pretty scary, right? Even Ol' Uncle Bully was scared, and he doesn't scare easily!

...

THE TWILIGHT ZONE!

This post was suggested by faithful reader and frequent commenter Blam, who's provided a lot of date references in comics that I'll spotlight throughout 2023 in this series. Thanks, Blam!

Today in Comics History, January 20, 1893: You're traveling through another dimension

🎶 Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo 🎶...why, it's none other than 1963's favorite Friday Night Fear factory, The Twilight Zone! Yes, I shall watch it, and read the chilling comic book, but I will do so from behind the couch, much as i will later this year in November when that popular television premiere that influences a thousand fascinating science-fiction stories is aired for the very first time...The Kennedy Assassination.


cover of The Twilight Zone (1962 series) #4 (Western/Gold Key, August 1963), artist uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, January 20, 1977: For some reason I bet they still made Jimmy Carter give up his peanut farm

from Back to the Future: Biff to the Future #4 (IDW, April 2017), co-plot and script by Bob Gale, co-plot by Derek Fridolfs, pencils by Alan Robinson, inks by Alan Robinson and Jaime Castro, colors by Maria Santaolalla, letters by Shawn Lee

Today in Comics History, January 19, 1911: Platform immediately collapses into canyon because they bought it from Acme Platform Co.

from "Hop Harrigan's History of American Aviation" in All-American Comics #22 (DC/All-American, January 1941); script, pencils, and inks by Jon Blummer

Today in Comics History, January 17, 2010: Comics Oughta Be Retro!

from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest #2 (Top Shelf/Knockabout, August 2018), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Kevin O'Neill, colors by Benedict Dimagmaliw, letters by Todd Klein
(Click top picture to Hero of the Beach™-size)

Today in Comics History, Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Luke Cage's Sweet, Sweet, Christmas Day Off

In this year (2023, natch!) Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 16 - today, in comics history! How are Luke Cage, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver going to celebrate it?


from Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985 series) #8 (Marvel, May 1988), script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Richard Howell, inks by Frank Springer, colors by Adam Philips, letters by Bill Oakley
AW GEEZ QUICKSILVER you should have stopped just before the "but." Come to think of it, you should have ended before the "some." On third thought, why don't you just SHUT UP QUICKSILVER


Luckily Luke Cage Eplains It All for You™ in the conclusion:


Anyway, my point, and I do have one, is don't invite Quicksilver to any celebrations that are slightly to the left of Nathan Bedford Forrest Day.

Man, I loathe Quicksilver.

Today in Comics History, January 16, 1913: Godfrey Hardy tosses away the famous Neiman-Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe

from Time Breakers #3 (DC/Helix, March 1997), script by Rachel Pollack, pencils and inks by Chris Weston, colors by Roberta Tewes, letters by Ellie de Ville

Today in Comics History, January 16, 1952: As much as I love the Marvel Universe, this probably wouldn't happen in 1952

from Fantastic Four (2023 series) #1/694 (Marvel, January 2023), script by Ryan North, pencils and inks by Iban Coello, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Joe Caramagna

Today in Comics History, January 15, 1951: He just forgot to check his calendar, EC Comics! Not everything is a spooky supernatural thriller!

from "Reflection of Death" in Tales from the Crypt (1950 series) #23 (EC, April 1951); co-plot, script, pencils and inks by Al Feldstein; co-plot by Bill Gaines; letters by Jim Wroten
This post was suggested by faithful reader and frequent commenter Blam, who's provided a lot of date references in comics that I'll spotlight throughout 2023 in this series. Thanks, Blam!

Today in Comics History, January 15, 1946: Comic book artist just isn't feeling it for this panel

from Larry Doby, Baseball Hero one-shot (Fawcett, 1950), script by Charles Dexter, letterer uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, January 15, 1934: Another night upon which Chicago died, or at the least, was seriously injured and listed in critical condition

from "War on Crime" in Famous Funnies (1934 series) #31 (Eastern Color, February 1937), script by Rex Collier