Today in Comics History, April 27, 1949: Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft

In 1954, EC ("Educational Comics! Plus Injury-to-Eye Motifs!") published a complete issue of Weird Science-Fantasy about UFOs, all presented with the intensity of a Reddit post. Young Foxy Mulder, purchasing this comic at the local five-and-dime, looked up to the skies and proclaimed "I want to believe!" Sadly, his voice had not dropped yet and all he succeded in was frightening the cat.


from "The Mantell-Godman Case [Project Saucer Case Number 33]" in Weird Science-Fantasy (1954 series) #26 (EC, December 1954), script by Al Feldstein, pencils and inks by Joe Orlando, colors by Marie Severin, letters by Jim Wroten
Lots of quotes and footnotes from secret government "redacted" files allowed EC Comics to propose the idea that aliens had invaded our space. As we've seen from all other EC Comics, that's never good news.


from "The Eastern Airlines Case [Project Saucer Case No. 144]" in Weird Science-Fantasy (1954 series) #26 (EC, December 1954), script by Al Feldstein, pencils and inks by Wally Wood, colors by Marie Severin, letters by Jim Wroten
By the end of the year, however, the government was backtracking because they'd just found out Ed Wood was filming Plane 9 from Outer Space the next field over.


from "The United Air Lines Emmett, Idaho Case [Project Saucer Case No. 10]" in Weird Science-Fantasy (1954 series) #26 (EC, December 1954), script by Al Feldstein, pencils and inks by Wally Wood, colors by Marie Severin, letters by Jim Wroten
I dunno...they sobered up?

Today in Comics History, April 27, 1945: World War II is no time to hold a singles mixer, you guys!

from Last Days of the Justice Society Special #1 one-shot (DC, July 1986), co-plot and script by Roy Thomas, co-plot by Dann Thomas, pencils by David Ross, inks by Mike Gustovich, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by David Cody Weiss

Today in Comics History, April 27: Happy birthday, Friedrich von Flotow!

Born on this day in 1812, so very possibly he was rock-a-byed to the soothing sounds of The 1812 Overture: German composer Friedrich von Flotow, whose best-known opera is Martha. Which is, I believe, about a similarity in mothers' names. Let's check:


"Famous Operas" from Classics Illustrated #84 [The Gold Bug] (Gilberton, June 1951), pencils and inks by Alex Blum
Well, they certainly "saved Martha" in that one there, didn't they?

Happy birthday, Friedy!

Today in Comics History, April 27, 1972: That's great, it starts with a tank and artillery / Then came infantry, and a superior force / Lenny Bruce is not afraid

from "Yankee Station" in The 'Nam #78 (Marvel, March 1993), script by Don Lomax, pencils and inks by Wayne Vansant, colors and letters by Phil Felix

Today in Comics History April 27: Happy birthday, Enos Slaughter!

Man, talk about a name, huh? When you wish Enos Slaughter (born today in 1916) a happy birthday today, better not giggle and call him Enos, but instead his preferred nickname, "Country," which is a heck of a lot cooler, especially teamed up with surname "Slaughter," which makes him The Punisher's favorite baseball player. (A ten-time All-Star, he's in both the Baseball Hall of Fame and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame!)


"It's in the Cards for '53" from Home Run #3 (Magazine Enterprises, 1953), pencils and inks by Bob Powell

Today in Comics History, April 27: Happy birthday, Barry Shapiro!

Born on this day in 1947: Barry Shapiro, art director for Cracked magazine and Marvel production support guy in the 1980s!


L: from Marvel Age #28 (Marvel, July 1985), text by Jim Salicrup, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by George Roussos
R: from What If...? (1977 series) #34 (Marvel, August 1982), script by Rick Parker, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme
Here's a lovely elegy for Barry by Eliot R. Brown.

Happy birthday, Barry!

Today in Comics History, April 27, 1910: Explain this one if you can, Jess Nevins!

(The fact that in 1910, neither April nor August 27 were on a Friday.)



from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1910 (Top Shelf/Knockabout, April 2009), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Kevin O'Neill, colors by Benedict Dimagmaliw, letters by Todd Klein

Today in Comics History, April 27, 1805: America conquers foreign countries through the cunning use of flags

from The World Around Us #11 [The Illustrated Story of the Marines] (Gilberton, July 1959), pencils and inks by Gerald McCann

Today in Comics History, April 27: Look, comics, I don't care what you do in your spare time, but I'm gonna go read Squirrel Girl

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 27, 1986: First Bi-Annual Commemoration of Death of Robin II (Observed)

from Batman Annual (1961 series) #25 (DC, May 2006), script by Judd Winick, pencils by Shane Davis, inks by Mark Morales, colors by Alex Sinclair, letters by Travis Lanham
Yep, Jason Todd died on April 27. And not at all on September 15.

Today in Comics History, April 27, 1949: One out of two doctors recommend cigarettes for their patients who smoke

from "Fright!" in Astonishing #3 (Marvel/Atlas, April 1951), script by Hank Chapman (?), pencils and inks by Bill LaCava

Today in Comics History, April 27: Parker is surprisingly tactless in his condolences to Edgars' mom

from Richard Stark's Parker: The Score (IDW, July 2012); adapted from the novel by Richard Stark; script, pencils, inks, color, and letters by Darwyn Cooke
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