Today in Comics History, January 29: Tom Selleck! We celebrate his birthday twice!

Born today in comics and television (and a few not-that-bad movies) history: Tom Selleck! Yes, yes, I know: we've already celebrated Tom's birthday today by looking at the Magnum, P.I. Annual 1982...but that was an update of an older post that was more spotlighting the annual itself than the man. As I mentioned briefly in the other post, you may cringe at his politics (a Republican and supporter of the G.O.P. and lifelong member of the NRA), but instead I'm going to focus on the happiness his work has brought me, especially all those episodes of the original Magnum, P.I.. Among other things, Magnum was my late mother's favorite TV show (and Selleck her favorite actor), so the guy is to me, barring any terrible specific potential disclosures, A-OK by me.

What's more, Thomas Magnum, Private Investigator, has been heavily featured in comic books, and that's what we're all here for, right?


from Uncanny X-Men (1963 series) #167 (Marvel, Marvel 1983), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Paul Smith, inks by Bob Wiacek, colors by Andy Yanchus and Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski



The (original) New Mutants have, from virtually the beginning, been major fans of Magnum and Selleck — especially Bobby DaCosta/Sunspot (lower left). This momentous...um, moment is revisited in a flashback (it's actually a Danger Room simulation, for I must be honest) several years later, and what have they done to my guy Sunspot, by coloring bleaching him virtually unrecognizable?!? (This has been a frequent problem at Marvel for the past dozen years or so, epsecially with Black characters like Storm or Sunspot.)


from Young X-Men #2 (Marvel, July 2008), script by Marc Guggenheim, pencils by Yanick Paquette, inks by Ray Snyder, colors by Rob Schwager, letters by Dave Sharpe
Magnum's such a hero to Bobby that he's become the ideal of heroes to the young mutant:


from Fallen Angels (1987 series) #1 (Marvel, April 1987), script by Jo Duffy, pencils/breakdowns by Kerry Gammill, inks/finishes by Tom Palmer, colors by Petra Goldberg, letters by Jim Novak
The Magnum show even forms the basis of one of Sunspot's outlandish TV series ideas when he and Cannonball are employed by omniversal entertainment mogul and sentient blob Mojo:


from "Bobby and Sam in Mojoworld" in Astonishing Tales (digital series) (Marvel, 2009), pencils and inks by Nick Pitarra, colors by Nathan Fairbairn
Bobby's even (partly) inspired to form the U.S. Avengers by a powerful classic episode of Magnum":


from U.S. Avengers #1 (Marvel, March 2017), script by Al Ewing, pencils by Paco Medina, inks by Juan Vlasco, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

from Magnum P.I.: "Did You See the Sunrise?", season 3, episode 1 (Belisarius Productions/Glen A. Larson Productions/Universal, September 30, 1982), starring Tom Selleck and Bo Svenson, written by Donald Bellisario, directed by Ray Austin
Of course, Bobby's not the only New Mutant who's a big fan of Selleck. Note the girls of the group swooning over him in the first panel above from UXM #167, and check out the poster prominently hung in the dorm room of Kitty Pryde (The X-Man, not my totally excellent cat 🐈‍⬛) and Illyana Rasputin! They crushed on Tom Selleck big time (altho' nobody crushes as hard as Sunspot).


from The New Mutants (1983 series) #15 (Marvel, May 1984), script by Chris Claremont, breakdowns by Sal Buscema, finishes by Tom Mandrake, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Pay no attention to the giant green Garfield plush. It's probably just the Impossible Man, who also has a penchant for Selleck. Those mutant gals are GA-GA for him!


from [Uncanny] X-Men Annual #7 (Marvel, January 1984), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Michael Golden, inks by Terry Austin, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Yes, teenage girls come running for the great swooning over of Selleck! And...John Travolta, and Sting, a bee in name only! And...uh, Michael Jackson. Well, at least Michael Jackson during his more innocent 80s period.


from New Mutants (1983 series) #21 (Marvel, November 1984), script by Chris Claremont, pencils and inks by Bill Sienkiewicz, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Tom Orzechowski and L. Lois Buhalis
Even noted square (and, uh, domestic abuser) Dr. Henry Pym is a Magnum fan!


from West Coast Avengers (1985 series) #3 (Marvel, December 1985), script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Al Milgrom, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Petra Goldberg, letters by Janice Chiang
Even for all his appearances and mentions in superhero comics, Tom Selleck doesn't hit true Hollywood stardom until he appears in a MAD magazine satire. Remember The Second Law of "Comics Oughta Be Fun": "You ain't nobody 'til you've been drawn by Mort Drucker!"




from "Magnumb, P.U." in MAD #227 (December 1981), pencils and inks by Mort Drucker
Surely Tom Selleck and his co-stars enjoyed that spoof in teh spirit in which it was intended!


from MAD #231 (June 1982)
Happy birthday, big guy!

Please, all rise for the National Anthem of the Nineteen-Eighties: