Today in Comics History, May 26: "Seven days", was all she wrote / A kind of ultimatum note

In just one short week: Professor Calculus's Moon Rocket to the moon blasts off!


from Tintin v.13: Destination Moon (Little Brown, September 1976), script, pencils, and inks by Hergé; translation by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner
Be here on the night of June 2 or be tintinabulated, true believers!

Today in Comics History, May 25: Happy birthday, Steve Cochran!

Born on this day 1917: film, television and stage actor Steve Cochran (Wonder Man*, Copacabana, A Song is Born, Jim Thorpe: All-American, I Mobster, The Beat Generation and many more)!


from Movie Love #20 (Eastern Color, April 1953), pencils and inks by Frank Fogarty

Today in Comics History, May 25: Happy birthday, Barry Windsor-Smith!

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published May 25, 2022.

Happy birthday to comics writer, illustrator and painter Barry Windsor-Smith today! You may remember him from such films comics as Conan the Barbarian, Avengers, Weapon X, Machine Man, Uncanny X-Men, Solar: Man of the Atom, Archer and Armstrong, Rune, Barry Windsor-Smith: Storyteller, Monster, and lots more indeed! He's the co-creator of Red Sonja (comics version), Lady Deathstrike, Archer and Armstrong, Starr the Slayer, and others.


from Savage Tales #3 (Marvel, February 1974)

Today in Comics History, May 24, 1965: As I hate to keep saying: same as it ever was.

from House of Secrets (1996 series) #12 (DC/Vertigo, September 1997), script by Steven T. Seagle, pencils and inks by Guy Davis, colors by Kevin Somers, color separations by Heroic Age, letters by Todd Klein

Today in Comics History, May 24: Happy birthday, Al Bensew!

Born on this day: Marvel reproduction department designer Al Bensew, who's worked on such reprint and anthology proijects like The Marvel Saga, Spider-Man: The Wedding Album, and Origin of Galactus!


from Marvel Age #101 (Marvel, June 1991); text by Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Renee Witterstaetter Happy birthday, Al!

And what of Evan Skolnick's birthday, you might ask? Just cast your peepers here!

Today in Comics History, May 24, 1873: Stanley Yelnats is beginning to think he'll never dig up anything "interesting"

from Batman: Killing Time #3 (DC, July 2022), script by Tom King, pencils and inks by David Marquez, colors by Alejandro Sánchez, letters by Clayton Cowles

Today in Comics History, May 23: Happy birthday, John Bolton!

Born on this day: British comic and graphic artist John Bolton (Look-In, Classic X-Men, Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, Warrior UK, Kull, The Books of Magic, Man-Bat, The Black Dragon, and plenty more)!


from Marvel Age #29, 53, and 89 (Marvel, Spetember 1985, August 1987, and June 1990); text by Jim Salicrup (#29), Mike Carlin (#53), and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#89); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by George Roussos (#29), Paul Becton (#53), and Gregory Wright (#89)

Today in Comics History, May 23: Happy birthday, Chad Hardin!

Happy birthday to comics artist Chad Hardin, creator of Death Watch and artist on Harley Quinn, The Traveler, Warlord, Countdown to Mystery, The Spirit, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and more! Here, Harley gives a meta-critique of his art. Verdict: he is acceptable to the quintessential Ms. Q.!


from Harley Quinn (2014 series) #0 (DC, January 2014), script by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, pencils and inks by Chad hardin, colors by possibly one'a these guys, letters by John J. Hill
Happy birthday, Chad!

Today in Comics History, May 23, 1751: Pedantics of the Eighteenth Century

from "Death and Venice" in The Sandman: Endless Nights (DC/Vertigo, November 2003), script by Neil Gaiman, pencils and inks by P. Craig Russell, colors by Lovern Kindzierski, letters by Todd Klein

Today in Comics History, May 23, 1965: I'm beginning to suspect the Millford Tribune's motto may be ironic

from House of Secrets (1996 series) #12 (DC/Vertigo, September 1997), script by Steven T. Seagle, pencils and inks by Guy Davis, colors by Kevin Somers, color separations by Heroic Age, letters by Todd Klein

Today in Comics History, May 23, 2022: Everybody hates Peggy Carter*

*Except me. I love ya, Peggy!


from Captain Carter #5 (Marvel, October 2022), script by Jamie McKelvie, pencils and inks by Marika Cresta, colors by Matt Milla, letters by Clayton Cowles

Today in Comics History, May 23, 1960: Almost as confusing a rebranding as HBO to Max

from "Solar Rise, Part Two: Scared to Death" in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (2010 series) #6 (Dark Horse, April 2011); script by Jim Shooter; pencils, inks, and colors by Agustin Alessio; letters by Nate Piekos

Today in Comics History, May 22: Happy birthday, Hergé!

Born on this day in 1907: comics creator and illustrator Georges Prosper Remi, better known to us as Hergé, the creator of Tintin (and Snowy, and Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus, and Thomson and Thompson), The Adventures of Jo, Zette and Jocko, Quick & Flupke, and more!

Here he is (on the right) along with Edgar-Pierre Jacobs, Hergé collaborator and creator of Blake and Mortimer.


cover of The Adventures of Hergé (Drawn + Quarterly, November 2011); pencils, inks, and colors by Stanislas Barthélémy
Happy birthday, Hergé!

Today in Comics History, May 21: Happy birthday, Richard Ashford!

Born on this day, Marvel scripter and editor Richard Ashford (Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Adventurer, Excalibur, Infinity Watch, Iron Man, and more)!


from Marvel Age #112 (Marvel, May 1992)

Today in Comics History, May 21: Happy birthday, Lee Elias!

Born on this day in 1920: comics artist Lee Elias (Black Cat, World's Finest Comics, Mystery in Space, Adventure Comics, Terry and the Pirates Comics, The Human Fly, All Star Comics, assistant to Al Capp on Li'l Abner, and much more)!


"Let's Visit Artist Lee Elias" from Black Cat Comics (1946 series) #13 (Harvey, September 1948)
Happy birthday, Lee!