Today in Comics History, July 11: Happy birthday, Philip Bond!

A very happy birthday today to comics artist Philip Bond, honestly one of my very favorite illustrators! Y'all've seen his work on Deadline, 2000 AD, The Invisibles, Kill Your Boyfriend, Angel and the Ape, Vertigo Pop! London, Hellblazer Special: Bad Blood, Fortean Times, and one of my all-time faves in the Vertigo line of miniseries: Vimanarama! Spot him here...in between Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin!


from Tank Girl: A Brief History of Tank Girl FCBD 2018 one-shot (Titan, May 2018); script by Alan Martin; pencils and inks by Jonathan Edwards, letters by Brett Parson
Say, Philip Bond, just how much do you enjoy reading Tank Girl? Oh, I probably shouldn't be lookin' at this one.


from "[Summer Love Sensation, Part 4]" in Tank Girl Full Colour Classics #2.1 (Titan, June 2019); co-script by Alan Martin; co-script, pencils and inks by Jamie Hewlett; colors by Tracy Bailey and Sofie Dodgson; from the original b/w version in Tank Girl 2 #3 (Dark Horse, August 1993)
Happy birthday, Philip!


from Heartthrobs #3 (DC/Vertigo, March 1999)

Today in Comics History, July 11: Wait, that was today? But I haven't even gotten my invite yet!

house ad for Lois Lane #86 in DC Comics cover-dated September 1968; cover pencils and inks by Neal Adams, Superman face-redraws and inks by Al Plastino, letters by Gaspar Saladino

Today in Comics History, July 11: Happy birthday, Ron Zalme!

Let's all wish a big and hearty happy birthday to Ron Zalme, Assistant Manager to Danny Crespi (Marvel's Art/Production Supervisor), comics penciller/inker/letterer (Marvel Age, Cracked, What If?, more), and commercial illustrator! He's also drawn all the Marvel Age calendars I use for birthday celebrations. Like, say, these!:


from Marvel Age #31, 55, 91, and 103 (Marvel, October 1985, October 1987, August 1990, and August 1991); text by Jim Salicrup (#30), Mike Carlin (#54) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#90 and 102); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Andy Yanchus (#30), Paul Becton (#54) and Renee Witterstaetter (#90 and 102)

Today in Comics History, July 11, 1798: John Adams refuses to be second to John Hancock ever again

from "The Story of the United States Marines" in Real Life Comics #5 (Pines, May 1942), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 11, 1876: He fooled around and found out

from "Showdown in Abilene" in Crime Must Pay the Penalty #7 (Ace, April 1949), pencils by Sy Grudko (?), inks by Bill Walsh (?)
Check out the exciting conclusion on June 18! What is the startling twist ending?

Today in Comics History, July 11, 1977-1982: Rorschach forgets to take his umbrella; vows war on crime

from Before Watchmen: Rorschach #3 and 4 (DC, January-April 2013), script by Brian Azzarello, pencils and inks by Lee Bermejo, colors by Barbara Ciardo, letters by Rob Leigh

Today in Comics History, July 11, 1951: She-Loki has birthday; vows to get herself a man

from "Pity Poor Pisces..." in Sweethearts (Charlton 1954 series) #116 (May 1971), pencils by Art Cappello, inks by Charles Nicholas, with Keuffel & Esser Leroy lettering

Today in Comics History, July 11: Batman taunts a spider

from "The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair" in The Brave and the Bold (1955 series) #100 (DC, February 1972), script by Bob Haney; pencils, inks, and letters by Jim Aparo

Today in Comics History, July 11: Batman decides to change everyone's superhero name

from "The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair" in The Brave and the Bold (1955 series) #100 (DC, February 1972), script by Bob Haney; pencils, inks, and letters by Jim Aparo

Today in Comics History, July 11: The first Batman/Spider-Man crossover comic isn't as exciting as we'd hoped

from "The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair" in The Brave and the Bold (1955 series) #100 (DC, February 1972), script by Bob Haney; pencils, inks, and letters by Jim Aparo

Today in Comics History, July 11: Green Arrow discovers the best way to ship his junk

from "The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair" in The Brave and the Bold (1955 series) #100 (DC, February 1972), script by Bob Haney; pencils, inks, and letters by Jim Aparo