Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Norman Wisdom!

Born on this day in 1915, prolific English actor, comedian, musician and singer Norman Wisdom (On the Beat, A Stitch in Time, What's Good for the Goose, Coronation Street and many, many more)! He was a major star in, of all places, Albania, where his Mr Pitkin films wre phenonally popular and he was made an honorary citizen of Tirana, Albania's capital.


masthead from Radio Fun #1039 (Amalgamated UK, 6 September 1958)
Also: British comic book star of his own strip feature!


from Radio Fun #1039; creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Nigel Bruce!

Born on this day in 1895: stage and screen actor Nigel Bruce of The Scarlet Pimpernel, She, Under Two Flags, Kidnapped, Lassie Come Home, The Two Mrs. Carrolls and more, but especially as the lovable and bumbling version of Doctor John H. Watson in each of the fourteen Fox and Universal Sherlock Holmes pictures starring Basil Rathbone!


from "Clodumbo" in MAD #156 (January 1973), script by Lou Silverstone, pencils and inks by Angelo Torres
Nigel Bruce appeared in Lassie Come Home with Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowell, and since I once met Roddy McDowell ar a convention, I'm only one Kevin Bacon away from Nigel! (And only three, via Hillbillys in a Haunted House, from Ferlin Husky!)


from "Elizabeth Taylor" in Famous Stars #5 (Ziff-Davis, Winter 1951), creators uncredited and unknown
Happy birthday, Nigel Bruce!


from Dressed to Kill (Universal, 1946), starring here Nigel Bruce and Topsy Glyn, written by Frank Gruber and Leonard Lee, directed by Roy William Neill

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1981: Being a plant psychologist bores doctor to narcolepsy

from "Dig the Plant, Man!" in Secrets of Haunted House #43 (DC, December 1981), plot and pencils by Rodin Rodriguez, script by Robin Snyder, inks by Andy Mushynsky, colors by Jerry Serpe, letters by Pierre Bernard Jr.
This post was suggested by faithful reader and frequent commenter Blam, who's provided a lot of date references in comics that I'll spotlight throughout 2024 in this series. Thanks, Blam!

Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Ben Howard!

Born on this day in 1904: famous aviator and award-winning aeronautic engineer Ben Howard. Never heard of him? Educate yerself, son!:


from "Hall of Fame of the Air" in King Comics #30 (David McKay, September 1938), script by also-famous aviator Eddie Rickenbacker, pencils and inks by Clayton Knight
Happy birthday, Cap'n Howard!

Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Tom Sniegoski!

Born on this day: comic book scripter, novelist, and journalist Tom Sniegoski! His comics include Angel (the Buffy guy, not the X-Men guy!), The Punisher and Wolverine/Punisher, The Goon, Vengeance of Vampirella, Young Hellboy, Bone's Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, and many more; among his many novels are The Fallen, Magic Zero, Owlboy, and Remy Chandler series.


from Marvel Knights Sketchbook (Marvel/Wizard, August 1998), text by Tom Sniegoski, pencils by Bernie Wrightson
Happy birthday, Tom!


from Dynamite Comics cover-dated April 2022

Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Dez Skinn!

Born on this day: British comics editor, scripter, and publisher Dez Skinn! He was the editor-in-chief at Marvel UK during its heyday in the late '70s, and later founded and edited Starburst and the influential and vital UK comic Warrior which included among its serialized strips Alan Moore's Marvelman (Miracleman) and V for Vendetta! He holds a Guinness World Records certificate and credit for creating the world's longest-lasting TV tie-in magazine: Doctor Who Weekly, and founded and ran Quality Comics, a famous London SF/fantasy shop, and the publishing line named for it, Quality Communications!

It's fair to say that without Dez Skinn on this Earth, we woulda never got the 1980s British Invasion of comics that so transformed DC and led to the founding of Vertigo.


from "1986 AD" in Comic Book Comics #5 (Evil Twin, March 2011); script by Fred Van Lente; pencils, inks, and letters by Ryan Dunlavey. Read the entire chapter (in color!) over at Ryan Dunlavey's website

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1985: This guy is no longer out standing in his field

from Psi-Force #21 (Marvel/New Universe, July 1988), script by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Mike Witherby, colors by Nelson Yomtov, letters by Rick Parker

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1962: Happy birthday, Star-Lord!

This is an combined and updated version of posts originally published February 4, 2014 and 2017.

Born today in 1962: Peter Quill, Star-Lord! Well, at least the black-and-white pre-Guardians of the Galaxy non-Marvel Universe version of him. Yes, he was born on the exact same day that Elvis's rural version of "In the Ghetto" hit the Billboard charts!


from "Starlord: First House: Earth!" in Marvel Preview #4 (Marvel, January 1976), script by Steve Englehart, pencils and inks by Steve Gan, letters by Tom Orzechowski
Yes, the very same day that, a lucky thirteen years later, Quill runs away from home so he doesn't have to shovel the driveway.


Happy birthday, Star-Lord! For this special day we will say that yes, everyone in the galaxy has heard of you.

Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Fred Ray!

Born on this day in 1920: comics artist Fred Ray, the primary cover artist of DC's Superman and Action Comics magazines during the 1940s, who refiuned and shaped Superman's appearance character from early inconsistency to a powerful icon. Among his other work: drawing Batman and Robin and Congorilla, among others, including twenty-plus years drawing Tomahawk. Ray was an extensive authority on military uniforms of the Revolutionary War and a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution, and wrote non-fiction books on the subject.


from Limited Collectors' Edition #C-47 [Superman Salutes the Bicentennial] (DC, August 1976), self-portrait by Fred Ray
Happy birthday, Fred!

10,000.

Today in Comics History, February 4: Happy birthday, Betty Friedan!

Born on this day in 1921: Betty Friedan, feminist/activist! Also: author of the seminal text of second-wave feminism, The Feminine Mystique!


from Fantastic Four: Life Story #2 (Marvel, August 2001), script by Mark Russell, pencils and inks by Sean Izaakse, colors by Nolan Woodard, letters by Joe Caramagna
Edit on February 4, 2023: New material printed in green.

So unless you're got six arms, celebrate the day by taking your best girl out to see a sexy movie!


from Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) #101 (Marvel, October 1971), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Frank Giacoia, letters by Artie Simek
Happy birthday, Ms. Friedan!

Today in Comics History, February 4: Welcome to My Nightmare (Happy birthday, Alice Cooper!)

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published October 31, 2011.

It's a birthday of note today, so let's take a moment to examine, from a safe distance, the spookiest, weirdest, scariest comic book that Marvel Comics has ever published!


AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Okay, now that we've seen that, let's look at a comic book about rock 'n' roller Alice Cooper, who was born today. Happy birthday, Alice!


from Avengers #153 (Marvel, November 1976), script by Gerry Conway, breakdowns by John Buscema, finishes by Joe Sinnott, colors by Petra Goldberg, letters by John Costanza

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1934: Constant exposure to 1930s newspapers gives man blue hair

from Nathaniel Dusk #4 (DC, May 1984), script by Don McGregor, pencils by Gene Colan, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by John Costanza

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1971: I'd rather be a hammer than a nail / Yes, I would / If I only could / I surely would

cover of Daredevil (1964 series) #75 (Marvel, April 1971), pencils (and colors?) by Marie Severin, inks by Tom Palmer (?), letters by Morrie Kuramoto

Today in Comics History, February 4: Or it might have been April 2 at 5 AM

from "The Man Who Radiated Fear!" in Batman #200 (DC, March 1968), script by Mike Friedrich, pencils by Chic Stone, inks by Joe Giella, letters by Gaspar Saladino

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1996: Happy birthday, Ronald Fergunson, Jr.! Hope you surviveD the experience!

from "No Heroes" in The Joker 80th Anniversary Super-Spectacular #1 (DC, June 2020); co-script by Eduardo Medeiros; co-script, pencils, and inks by Rafael Albuquerque, colors by Marcelo Maiolo, letters by Steve Wand
Oh goodie, he did! Happy endings all around!

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1984: Massive floating heads threaten nation

from Amazing Spider-Man #252 (Marvel, May 1984), script by Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco, pencils by Ron Frenz, inks by Brett Breeding, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Joe Rosen

Today in Comics History, February 4: Reggie notes that Archie doesn't like coconuts, which eventually leads to him being murdered by the Riddler

from Archie Meets Batman '66 #2 (Archie, October 2018), script by Jeff Parker and Michael Moreci, pencils by Dan Parent, inks by J. Bone, colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick, letters by Jack Morelli

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1986: This could never happen

from Back to the Future: Biff to the Future #6 (IDW, July 2017), story and script by Bob Gale and Derek Fridolfs, pencils by Alan Robinson, inks by Alan Robinson and Jaime Castro, colors by Maria Santaolalla, letters by Shawn Lee

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1982: Mike Moran fulfills the promise Ralph Kramden made to his wife all those years ago

from "The Yesterday Gambit" in Warrior #4 (Quality Communications, Summer 1982); script by Alan Moore; pencils and inks by Steve Dillon, Paul Neary, and Alan Davis

Today in Comics History, February 4, 1987, 11:24 PM: Boris Badenov lays down some session tracks for the band Yes

from Black Widow: The Coldest War graphic novel (Marvel, April 1990); script by Gerry Conway; pencils by George Freeman; inks by Ernie Colon, Mark Farmer, George Freeman, Mark Harris, Val Mayerik, and Joe Rubinstein; colors by Lovern Kindzierski, letters by Ron Muns