Today in Comics History, April 11, 1961: Disc is just the beginning

from Bob Burden's Original Mysterymen Presents #2 (Dark Horse, August 1999), script by Bob Burden, pencils by Steve Sadowski, inks by Christian Alamy, letters by Steven Haynie

Today in Comics History, April 11, 1942: Eddie Stanky and wife married by a minister from Talos IV

from Eddie Stanky [Baseball Hero] one-shot (Fawcett, 1951), script by Charles Dexter

Today in Comics History, April 11, 2014: Click here to receive a reminder to watch Moon Knight on Disney+!

from Moon Knight (2014 series) #8 (Marvel, December 2014), script by Brian Wood, pencils and inks by Greg Smallwood, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, April 11: Happy (not?) birthday, Linda Lee Danvers!

According to the Super DC Calendar 1976, normally the canon source for this kinda thing, today in the day that Kara Zor-El arrived on Earth (in Action Comics #252) and she has adopted this date as the birthday of her civilian identity, Linda Lee Danvers! So Linda, happy birthd--


from Super DC Calendar 1976 (DC, 1975), letters by Ben Oda
Hey, not so fast, Super DC Calendar '76! We have here another possible case (see, for example, Dick Grayson/Robin) where a character has multiple birthdays (for their super-identity and their normal civilian personality), that the birthday may have shifted post-Crisis or Post-Flashpoint as the Universe knit itself back together, or, as in this case, conflicting dates on which we must decide: which is the true date of Linda Danvers's (no relation to Carol) birthday?


cover of Action Comics #252 (DC, May 1959), pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Al Plastino
Okay, we have three dates to consider here:

• April 11 (today), which is Linda Danvers' birthday/Supergirl's arrival on Earth, per the Super '76 calendar
• May 18, which is Linda's birthday/Kara's arrival according to Action Comics #305 (October 1963) and Supergirl #20 (June 1984)
• September 18, which is (the Earth equivalent of) Kara Zor-El's birthday on Krypton.

from "The Girl Who Hated Supergirl!" in Action Comics #305 (DC, October 1963), script by Leo Dorfman, pencils by Jim Mooney with John Forte
The third one can stand, as I've found no contradictory evidence of another Kryptonian birthday date for Supergirl. But the first two contradict each other, and I side with May 18, which is a canonical date given within a story. As far as I'm concerned, published story trumps the '76 calendar.

So: tune in on May 18 to get the real story on Linda's birthday and her arrival on Earth! Mind you, I think she would encourage you (and me) to eat a little cake today anyway.

Today in Comics History, April 11: Happy birthday, Irv Novick!

Comic book artist Irv Novick was born on this day in 1916! From an early beginning at MLJ Comics (later Archie) drawing features like The Shield (co-creator), The Hangman, and Steel Sterling, Novick later became a popular artist at DC on Batman/Detective Comics, The Brave and the Bold, Superman, Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, The Flash, All American Men at War, Star Spangled War Stories, G.I. Combat, and many others. He also was the co-creator of the Silent Knight and the Ten-Eyed Man.


from Limited Collectors' Edition #C-51 [Batman] (DC, August 1977)
He was not only an artist on but a team member of the Sea Devils on Earth-1, chronicling their adventures in-story for DC Comics!




from "War of the Underwater Giants!" in Sea Devils #14 (DC, November 1963), script by Ed Herron, pencils and inks by Irv Novick
Happy birthday, Irv!




from "Secret of the Sunken Sub!" in Sea Devils #15 (DC, January 1964), script by Ed Herron, pencils and inks by Irv Novick

Today in Comics History, April 11: Happy birthday, Harry Eisenstein!

Born on this date: Harry Eisenstein! He's been a comic book colorist on Marvel Comics Presents, What If...?, D.P. 7, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and others, then later working on visual effects and video composition for The Maze Runner, The Batman, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Loki, Supergirl, The Orville, Black Lightning, Titans, 24, The 100, and many more!


from Marvel Age #52 (Marvel, July 1987), text by Mike Carlin, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme
Happy birthday, Harry!

Today in Comics History, April 11, 1994: Captain America vs. the Ford F-450

from Captain America #429 (Marvel, July 1994), script by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Dave Hoover, inks by Danny Bulanadi, colors by George Roussos, letters by Joe Rosen

Today in Comics History, April 11, 1976: Free with your purchase of this Daredevil comic: The Daily Bugle!

from Daredevil (1964 series) #135 (July 1976), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Bob Brown, inks by Jim Mooney, colors by Michele Wolfman, letters by Joe Rosen

Today in Comics History, April 11: Crispin Glover appears on David Letterman

from "The 12 Faces of Crime!" in Gang Busters #39 (DC, April 1954), pencils and inks by Leonard Starr

Today in Comics History, April 11: John Jerome, luckiest criminal alive, is born

from Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #4 (November 1984), script by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Carlos Garzon, colors by George Roussos, letters by Janice Chiang

Today in Comics History, April 11, 1988: Feuding thought balloons leave Marvel to form their own comic book company

from The Draft one-shot (Marvel/New Universe, July 1988), script by Mark Gruenwald and Fabian Nicieza; pencils by Herb Trimpe; inks by Kyle Baker, Mike Gustovich, Klaus Janson, Lee Weeks, and Keith Williams; colors by Michael Higgins; letters by Jim Novak

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 102 and Today in Comics History, April 11, 1976

from Daredevil #135 (Marvel, July 1976), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Bob Brown, inks by Jim Mooney, colors by Michele Wolfman, typeset letters

Today in Comics History, April 11, 2993: We interrupt this issue of Legion of Super-Heroes to give you an update on that Dungeons and Dragons™ game

text page from Legion of Super-Heroes (1989 series) #4 (February 1990), script by Tom Bierbaum and Mary Bierbaum

Today in Comics History, April 11: Bruce Wayne Has This Whole Section of the Lab Sealed Off Day (Observed)

from Detective Comics #598 (DC, March 1989), script by Sam Hamm, pencils by Denys Cowan, inks by Dick Giordano and Frank McLaughlin, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Todd Klein