Today in Comics History, December 4, 1872 and 1947: They finally find the S.S. Minnow

from "The Mary Celeste: Ship of Evil" in Black Magic (1950 series) v.2 #11 (17) (Prize, October 1952), pencils and inks by Al Eadeh, letters by Ben Oda

Today in Comics History, October 11: Happy birthday, Joe Simon!

Born on this day in 1913: comics legend (writer, artist, editor, publisher) Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America and Bucky, the Newsboy Legion and Boy Commandos, Boys' Ranch, Prez, Brother Power the Geek...


from Boys' Ranch #1 (Harvey, October 1950)

Today in Comics History, September 26: Happy birthday, Jack Schiff!

Born on this day in 1909: writer and editor Jack Schiff, who edited the Batman books, co-created Tommy Tomorrow and the Bat-Signal, and he wrote and edited the famous DC public service ad pages!


"Batman and Robin Stand Up for Sportsmanship!" from DC Comics cover-dated February 1950, script by Jack Schiff, pencils by Win Mortimer, inks by Stan Kaye, letters by Ira Schnapp

Today in Comics History, August 30, 1944: Newspaper narrowly avoids unfortunate acronym

from The Newsboy Legion and the Boy Commandos Special #1 one-shot (DC, October 2017); script, pencils, and inks by Howard Chaykin; colors by Wil Quintana; letters by Ken Bruzenak

Today in Comics History, August 28: Happy birthday, Jack Kirby!

This is a combined, expanded and updated version of posts originally published August 28, 2009 (multiple posts), August 28, 2010, August 28, 2012, August 28, 2017, and more.

Born on this day in 1914, America's only comic book creator, Jack Kirby!


from Mighty Marvel Calendars 1976-1980 (Marvel, 1975-1979)
Today is his 105th birthday! Happy Birthday, Jack!


from Marvel Age #32, 56, 104, and 116 (Marvel, November 1985, November 1987, September 1991, and September 1992); text by Jim Salicrup (#32), Mike Carlin (#56) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#104); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Andy Yanchus (#32), Paul Becton (#56) and Renee Witterstaetter (#104)

Today in Comics History, August 25, 1944: It's always the Bulldog Edition, never the Bull Edition

from The Newsboy Legion and the Boy Commandos Special #1 one-shot (DC, October 2017); script, pencils, and inks by Howard Chaykin; colors by Wil Quintana; letters by Ken Bruzenak
Still, it's a story with Hemingway in it, I betcha there are bulls somewheAIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Today in Comics History, August 3: Happy birthday, Ernie Pyle!

Born on this day in 1900: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernie Pyle, one of the greatest American journalist and famed for his reporting from the front of WWII.


cover of Real Heroes #16 (Parents' Magazine Press, October 1946)
Pyle is spotlighted in this biographical comic which tells how he worked alongside America's fighting forces and brought their news and stories back home. Much like cartoonist Bill Mauldin, he was respected for writing from the soldier's point of view.





from "G.I.'s Best Friend" in Real Heroes #16, pencils and inks by Sam Glankoff

Comics Do Shakespeare: Julius Caesar: Act 3: We now return you to Damon Runyon's Shakespeare Playhouse

from "The Five Weapons That Shook the World!" in Detective Comics #143 (DC, January 1949), pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Steve Brodie

Today in Comics History, Columbus Day Special: Boy Commandos unable to fight any more Nazis; decide to go messing about with history instead

from The Boy Commandos story "Brooklyn and Columbus Discover America" in World's Finest Comics #21 (DC, March-April 1946), script by Jack Kirby, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 315: Veterans' Day: Heroes to remember

house ad for Boy Commandos #1 (DC, Winter 1942); printed in World's Finest Comics #29 (July-August 1947)
Comic cover art: pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Simon
And that "new 'surprise feature' that'll have you cheering for more and more"? Well, your mileage may vary, because it's the debut story of Liberty Belle...


from "[For Freedom... For Justice... For America]" in Boy Commandos #1 (DC, Winter 1942), script by Don Cameron, pencils and inks by Chuck Winter
...the heroine who keeps lotsa stuff in her pockets!

Please, do keep cheering for more and more!

365 Days of DC House Ads, Day 257: Alphabet Antics House Ads Week, Day 7

DC Comics alphabet house ads
Y: from Action Comics #114 (November 1947)
Z: from Detective Comics #130 (December 1947)


Bonus Saturday week-end Alphabet Antics wrap-up feature!:

Two-page house ad for Batman and the Outsiders in DC Sampler #3 (Late Fall 1984); script by Mike W. Barr; pencils, inks, and letters by Jim Aparo

(Click picture to Duke of Oil-size)

Bonus Saturday week-end Alphabet Antics wrap-up feature, Part 2! Here's some animals DC didn't think of for their ads:


Splash page from "The Alphabetical Animal Adventure" in World's Finest Comics #42 (September-October 1949), pencils and inks by Al Plastino

Bonus Saturday week-end Alphabet Antics wrap-up feature, Part the Third! And here's the Mystery Science Theater 3000 short that's been running through my mind all week and inspired the title of this feature. Watch out for the plagiarism from Ogden Nash!





Now we know our ABC,
Thank you for the ads, DC.

Today in Comics History, July 4: The Jimmy Olsen Gang pulls its most daring heist

from "The Rise and Fall of a Gangster" in Detective Comics (1937 series) #137 (DC, July 1948), pencils by Jack Kirby (?), inks by Steve Brodie (?)

Today in Comics History, May 20, 1912: Mrs. Barlowe accidentally names her son "Shadow"

from the Boy Commandos story "The Fight of the Century!" in Detective Comics (1937 series) #147 (DC, May 1949), pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks by George Klein (?)