Today in Comics History, February 9: Happy birthday, Jo Duffy!

Born on this day: comics editor and writer Jo Duffy, scripter on Power Man & Iron Fist, the '80s Marvel Star Wars, Fallen Angels, Crystar, Marvel Comics Presents, Marvel Fanfare, Catwoman, Glory, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and much more!


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1979 (Marvel, 1978)


from Marvel Age #26, 50, 87, and 98 (Marvel, May 1985, May 1987, April 1990, and January 1991); text by Jim Salicrup (#26), Mike Carlin (#50), and Chris Eliopolous and Barry Dutter (#87 and 98); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Gregory Wright (#87) and Marie Javins (#98)
By the way, that last calendar panel is misleading (aka wrong). Duffy didn't write Akira, she did the English adaptation of the original work by Katsuhiro Otomo with translation by Yoko Umezawa.

Today in Comics History, December 28: Happy birthday, Ralph Macchio!

Born on this day: Ralph Macchio!


"Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera (Warner Bros., 1986), from the movie The Karate Kid Part II (Delphi V Productions, 1986), starring Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
No, no, no...that's the wrong Ralph. We're talkin' about comics writer and editor Ralph Macchio (writer on Marvel Two-in-One, Thor, Avengers, X-Men Adventures; editor for Marvel's black-and-white series, Daredevil, Spider-Man line, Ultimate Comics; and much more)!

Sharin' your birthday can be tough, so let's get some Ralph love in here. (Caution: definitions of "Ralph Love" may vary from county to county. Please check local and municipal restrictions before engaging in Ralph love.)


from Marvel Age #36 (Marvel, March 1986), text by Jim Salicrup, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Adam Philips

Today in Comics History, July 24: Happy birthday, Ricardo Villamonte!

Born on this date: comic book penciller and inker Ricardo Villamonte ("vee-yah-MON-tay") (Doctor Strange, Weird War Tales, The Twilight Zone, Nightmare, Scream, Psycho, Crystar, Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Uncanny X-Men, and lots more)!


from Marvel Age #31 (Marvel, October 1985), text by Jim Salicrup, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Andy Yanchus
Below, Ricardo (green shirt) keeps the peace by conjuring up a football when series star Crystar (all crystal) keeps bugging him, Jo Duffy (pink shirt), and Bob Harras (orange shirt) while they work on the next issue of The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior. Can you guess it's Assistant Editors' Month?



from The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior #5 (Marvel, January 1984), script by Jo Duffy, pencils by Ricardo Villamonte, inks by Dave Simons, colors by Andy Yanchus, letters by Janice Chiang
Happy birthday, Ricardo!