Today in Comics History, October 26: Happy birthday, Larry Lieber!

Born on this day in 1931: comic book writer and artist Larry Lieber, co-creator of Thor, Loki, Jane Foster, Ant-Man, Iron Man, Groot, Spider-Man's parents Mary and Richard Parker, and more! His writing and artwork appear in The Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt: Outlaw, Two-Gun Kid, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, My Own Romance, Teen-Age Romance, Captain Britain, and the proverbial etc.!


from (top) Mighty Marvel Calendar 1978-1979 (Marvel, 1977-1978);
(bottom) Marvel Age #34 and 94 (Marvel, January 1986 and November 1990); text by Jim Salicrup (#34) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#94); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Adam Philips (#34) and Marie Javins (#94)

Today in Comics History, September 12: Happy birthday, Neal Peart!

A very happy birthday today to the late great Neal Peart, drummer and primary lyricist for Canada's only band, Rush, born on this day in 1952! He was also a big fan of Ayn Rand, but as it's his birthday, we shan't hold that against him today.


But what, you may be asking around now, has Neal Peart got to do with the focus of this here puppet-town cow-blog about comic books? Well, that's a very good question, and I can answer it with a reference to the fact above that Neal was a fan of Ayn. I could also say to you a four-letter word: 2112.


cover of John Byrne's 2112 (Dark Horse, November 1991), pencils and inks by Inks John Byrne, colors by Steve Oliff (?)
No, no, no, get outta here, John Byrne, I didn't call you. I meant this 2112:


cover of 2112 by Rush (Anthem, 1976), artwork by Hugh Syme

Today in Comics History, February 6: Happy birthday, Rich Buckler!

Born on this day in 1949: comics artist Rich Buckler (Justice League of America, All-Star Squadron, Mighty Crusaders, Secret Society of Super Villains, The Warlord, The Unexpected, World's Finest Comics, The Avengers, Astonishing Tales (where he created Deathlok), Black Panther (where he co-created Killmonger), Fantastic Four, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Big Bang, Eerie, Creepy, and many more)! He's also the author of three books about working in the industry: How to Become a Comic Book Artist, How to Draw Superheroes, and How to Draw Dynamic Comic Books. He certainly was an expert in all three!


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1976 and 1977 (Marvel, 1975 and 1976), and Marvel Age #98 (Marvel, March 1991), text by Chris Eliopolous and Barry Dutter, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme

Today in Comics History, October 16: Happy birthday, Joe Sinnott!

Born on this day in 1926: comics artist (best known as an inker) Joe Sinnott, who should always be included within the names that built the Marvel Age. He inked extensive runs on Fantastic Four, The Avengers, The Defenders, Thor, and has worked on pretty nearly every major Marvel title.


from Mighty Marvel Comics Calendar 1976-1979 (March, 1975-1978)
Joe was arguably the finest inker on Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four (and Thor!), and, I'd propose, on John Byrne's FF run too!

Aw geez, that pun in the last panel.


from Marvel Age #34, 58, and 94 (Marvel, January 1986, January 1988, and November 1990); text by Jim Salicrup (#34), Mike Carlin (#58), and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#94); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Adam Philips (#34), Paul Becton (#58), and Marie Javins (#94)

Today in Comics History, September 27: Happy birthday, Jim Shooter!

Born on this day: America's tallest comic book editor/creator/writer/publisher and even artist, Jim Shooter!



from (top, L-R) Mighty Marvel Calendar 1978 and 1979 (Marvel, 1977-1978); Marvel Age #57 (Marvel, December 1987); text by Mike Carlin, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors Paul Becton;(bottom) Marvel Age #33 (Marvel, December 1985); text by Jim Salicrup, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Adam Philips

Today in Comics History, August 7: Happy birthday, Janice Cohen!

Born on this day (although some sources list August 8): comics colorist and letterer Janice Cohen, who worked on Iron Fist, Marvel Team-Up, Peter Parker, Star Wars, Blackhawk, Starslayer, Disney Adventures, the Amazing Spider-Man comic strip and *many* more titles!


from 1979 Mighty Marvel Calendar (Marvel, 1978)
She didn't escape the "embarassing baby photos" issue of FOOM magazine, either!


from FOOM #8 (Marvel, December 1974)
Happy birthday, Janice!


from 1975 Mighty Marvel Convention Program Book (Marvel, 1975), photo by Michele Wolfman

Today in Comics History, August 6: Happy birthday, Ed Hannigan!

Born on this day: prolific comics artist, writer, and editor Ed Hannigan (Batman, Spectacular Spider-Man, Defenders, Green Arrow, Catwoman and more, co-creator of Cloak and Dagger and creator of Skull & Bones)!


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1978, 1979 and 1980 (Marvel, 1977-1979)
He was also the artist on "Shaman," the first arc of of 1989's new Batman series, Legends of the Dark Knight!


from Direct Currents #21 (DC, September 1989)
Happy birthday, Ed!


from FOOM #19 (Marvel, September 1977)

Today in Comics History, August 2: Happy birthday, Dave Hunt!

Born on this day in 1942: comics inker, letterer, and colorist; painter and pianist Dave Hunt (Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, New Adventures of Superboy, Action Comics, Scooby-Doo, The Transformers, Disney Adventures and many more)!


from FOOM #2 (Marvel, May 1973)
Happy birthday, Dave!

Today in Comics History, July 13: Happy birthday, Tom Palmer!

(One of) Today's birthday boy(s): Tom Palmer, comics artist and especially inker! He's done long runs on lots of books including The Avengers, Star Wars, Tomb of Dracula, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, X-Men, Thor, Captain Britain, House of Mystery, Star Trek: The Next Generation and many more! And Marvel just loves to celebrate Palmer's birthday, it seems!:


from Mighty Marvel Calendar, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980 (Marvel, 1975-1979),
Marvel Age #31, 55, and 91 (Marvel, October 1985, October 1987, and August 1990; text by Jim Salicrup (#31), Mike Carlin (#55) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#91); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Andy Yanchus (#31), Paul Becton (#55) and Renee Witterstaetter (#90)

Today in Comics History, June 12: Happy birthday, Len Wein!

Born on this day in 1948: comic book editor and writer Len Wein, who co-created Swamp Thing, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Brother Voodoo, Amanda Waller, Lucius Fox, Clayface III, and many, many more classic characters and comics!


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1976, 1977, and 1978 (Marvel, 1975-1977)


from FOOM #8 (Marvel, December 1974)

Today in Comics History, June 9: Happy birthday, George Pérez!

Oh boy, this is a hard one to get through.

Born on this day in 1954: the late, great comic book writer and penciller George Pérez (accent on the first E!), who passed away so very recently (May 6, 2022). George has drawn...well, let's just say every comic book character at Marvel and DC. Sometimes even all on the same cover. And: one of the nicest people in the business! Oh boy, do I miss him.


from FOOM #8 (Marvel, December 1974)

Today in Comics History, January 23: Happy birthday, Klaus Janson!

Born on this day in 1952: mighty mighty artist (penciller, colorist, and especially inker) Klaus Janson (Daredevil, Amazing Spider-Man, Battlestar Galactica, World War Hulk, St. George, Gambit, Batman, Detective Comics, Superman, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race, and much much more)!

We wished him happy birthday in the seventies!


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1977, 1978, and 1979 (Marvel, 1976-1978)
We wished him happy birthday in the eighties!


from Marvel Age #49, 86 and 97 (Marvel, April 1987, March 1990, and February 1991); text by Mike Carlin (#49), & Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#86 and 97), pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Paul Becton (#49), Gregory Wright (#86), and Renee Witterstaetter (#97)
And, of course, we wish him happy birthday each day from there and in between!

Here's an interview with Klaus from the seventies!


from FOOM #22 (Marvel, September 1978)
Here's an interview with Klaus from the eighties! I mean, nineties!

from Marvel Age #113 (Marvel, June 1992), interview by Mike Lackey
(Click top picture to riesig-size)
Here's another interview, yada yada yada also nineties! But DC! So it's different!


from Direct Currents #26 (DC, February 1990)
Happy birthday, Klaus Janson!


from Marvel Age #112 (Marvel, May 1992)

Fun with Comics: The true story behind WandaVision

from FOOM #6 (Marvel, June 1974), by Tony Isabella, Paty Cockrum, Duffy Vohland, Paul Kupperberg, and Alan Kupperberg