Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, John Paul Leon.

Comic book artist John Paul Leon was born today in 1972, but it doesn't seem like much of a celebration because he's not here for us to throw a party. He passed away in 2021 at the age of 49 following a 14-year battle with cancer. That's far too young. But he left us an impressive and grogeous body of work on titles such as DMZ, Earth X, Shadow Cabinet, Challengers of the Unknown, Static, John Constantine: Hellblazer, Sheriff of Babylon, Detective Comics, Action Comics, The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, RoboCop: Prime Suspect and many more. Though his art enlivens many books, there aren't a lot of portrayals of him in comics, the usual approach these birthday posts take. But here's a portait of John Paul with Batman:


from Batman/Catwoman Special #1 one-shot (DC, March 2022); pencils, inks, and colors by Lee Bermejo

Today in Comics History, April 26, 1948: Wood cracks

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

Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, Kerry Gammill!

Happy birthday today to comics artist Kerry Gammill (Power Man and Iron Fist, Action Comics, Superman, Marvel Team-Up, Fallen Angels and more)!


from Marvel Age #57 (Marvel, December 1987); text by Mike Carlin, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Paul Becton
(See here for a less-than-complimentary homage to Kerry Gammill in the comics.)

Happy birthday, Kerry!

Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, George Tuska!

Born on this day in 1916: comic book and strip artist George Tuska, whose long career includes Iron Man, Captain Marvel, The World's Greatest Superheroes strip, Luke Cage, Crime Does Not Pay, Buck Rogers, Planet of the Apes, The Unexpected, The X-Men, Teen Titans, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and lots more!


from Fantastic Four Annual #7 (Marvel, November 1969)

Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, Fin Fang Foom!

Born on this very day many many (many!) years ago: Fin Fang Foom, The Most Fearful Menace of All!


from Marvel Age #100 (Marvel, April 1991); text by Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter; pencils and inks by Ron Zalme (altho' that picture looks very Art Adams-y to me, doesn't it?), colors by Renee Witterstaetter
Well, April 26 is what it says here in Marvel Age #100, so it's canon, fanboys! Note: may not be canon.


cover of Strange Tales #89 [first appearance of Fin Fang Foom] #89 (Marvel, October 1961), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
Happy one millionth, Mister Foom! You don't look a day over 850,000, big guy.

Today in Comics History, April 26, 1698: Peter the Great? More like Peter the Guy Who Owned a Gap Outlet Store

from "Peter the Great — Father of Russia" in Real Life Comics #6 (Pines, July 1942), creators unknown

Today in Comics History, April 26, 1607: Get to the part where she sings with the raccoon

from Flash Comics #63 (DC/JR Publishing, March 1945), script by M. C. Gaines and W. W. D. Sones, pencils by Allen Simon

Today in Comics History, April 26, 1959: The verdict is given on Ed Wood's Plan Nine from Outer Space

from newuniversal: 1959 #1 (Marvel/New Universe, September 2008), script by Kieron Gillen, pencils and inks by Greg Scott and Kody Chamberlain, colors by Val Staples, letters by Ed Dukeshire

Today in Comics History, April 26: Official debut of that weird-ass font they use for Thor's dialogue

from Carnage (2016 series) #6 (Marvel, May 2016), script by Gerry Conway, pencils and inks by Mike Perkins, colors by Andy Troy, letters by Joe Sabino

Today in Comics History, April 26: The Cinga rescues Orson Welles

from Carnage (2016 series) #6 (Marvel, May 2016), script by Gerry Conway, pencils and inks by Mike Perkins, colors by Andy Troy, letters by Joe Sabino

Today in Comics History, April 26, 1953: Really bright background suddenly helps hide rotoscoping of building in foreground

from newuniversal: 1959 #1 (Marvel/New Universe, September 2008), script by Kieron Gillen, pencils and inks by Greg Scott and Kody Chamberlain, colors by Val Staples, letters by Ed Dukeshire

Today in Comics History, April 26: Christopher Cross finally comes up with a title for that song he's been writing

from Carnage (2016 series) #6 (Marvel, May 2016), script by Gerry Conway, pencils and inks by Mike Perkins, colors by Andy Troy, letters by Joe Sabino

Today in Comics History, April 26, 1777: History momentarily distracts Veronica Lodge from shopping

from "The Missing Monument" in Archie at Riverdale High #37 (Archie, July 1976), pencils by Bob Bolling, inks by Chic Stone, letters by Bill Yoshida