Today in Comics History, July 3: Happy birthday, Franz Kafka!

Born on this day in 1883 in the Kingdom of Bohemia (Face it, you didn't know he came from Bohemia! The only thing I knew about Bohemia was that there was a scandal there), writer and cockroach enthusiast Franz Kafka, who woke up this morning not quite feeling himself. Hey, Franzie, what kinda cake would you like for your birthday?


"Baking with Kafka" from Baking with Kafka (D+Q, October 2017), by Tom Gauld

Today in Comics History, July 3: An artist named Crumb? Don't be ridiculous.

from Scream #1 (Skywald, August 1973), script by Al Hewetson, pencils and inks by Felipe de la Rosa

Today in Comics History, July 3: Happy birthday, Dan Slott!

Today's the birthday of Marvel's own Dandy Dan Slott, scripter on The Amazing Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, Tony Stark: Iron Man, Spider-Man/Human Torch, The Thing, The Mighty Avengers, Avengers: The Initiative, Fantastic Four, Iron Man 2020, Great Lakes Avengers, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Batman Adventures, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Looney Tunes and many more! And he's the co-creator of Silk, Mister Negative, Anti-Venom, the Superior Spider-Man, Spider-Island, Jackpot and others! Here he is with Marvel editor Ellie Pyle.


from Superior Spider-Man (2013 series) #14 (Marvel, September 2013)

Today in Comics History, July 3: Cap is really hoping for a Fudgie the Whale cake this year

It's the day before Captain America's birthday! What are you getting him as a gift? Me, I got him a flag.


from Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (2022 series) #1 (Marvel, August 2022), script by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, pencils and inks by Carmen Carnero, colors by Nolan Woodard, letters by Joe Caramagna

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1863: Make War No More

Today in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ended. Don't fall for any media portrayals of it as a "glorious" battle — it was brutal.




from "Gettysburg!" in Frontline Combat (1951 series) #2 (EC, September 1951), script by Harvey Kurtzman, pencils and inks by Wally Wood, colors by Marie Severin, letters by Ben Oda


from Star-Spangled War Stories #176 (DC, December 1973)

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1951: Willie Mays's baseball skill is foolishly mocked by Leatherface

from "Say Hey Kid in Action" in The Amazing Willie Mays one-shot (Eastern Color, September 1954), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1957: Mob bosses enjoy the fried clams at Howard Johnson's

from Amazing Spider-Man (1999 series) #51/492 (May 2003), script by J. Michael Straczynski, pencils by John Romita, Jr., inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Dan Kemp

Today in Comics History, July 3: Archie's gonna see some fireworks this weekend

Wait that's Miss Grundy EEK


from Riverdale One-Shot (Archie, April 2017), script by Brian E. Patterson, pencils and inks by Elliot Fernandez, colors by Thomas Chu, letters by John Workman

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1942: Nazi tank officer, sensing inevitable defeat, speaks mostly in English

from "A Drink of Water" in G.I. Joe (1951 series) #14 (Ziff-Davis, August 1952), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1898: "Our old-fashioned silly Spanish accents will not stand up against their modern English diction!"

from "The Spanish-American War" in Picture Stories from American History #4 (EC, Summer 1947), script by Jerry Coleman, pencils and inks by Allen Simon

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1942: Renamed in America as the Sorcererscope Key

from Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys (IDW, July 2011), script by Joe Hill, pencils and inks by Gabriel Rodriguez, colors by Jay Fotos

Today in Comics History: Happy birthday, Vince Clarke!

Born on this day: musician and composer Vince Clarke out of Erasure, Depeche Mode, The Assembly, and (one'a my favourites) Yazoo (aka Yaz in North America)!

I found the reference to Vince in the British 2000 AD below, but aside from that there aren't many appearances of him in comic books. I really need to collect more issues of the series Alison Moyet Comics & Stories.


from "Megasounds" in 2000 AD prog 298 (IPC, 8 January 1983)
Happy birthday, Vince!


"Only You" by Yaz (Blackwing Records, 1982), written by Vince Clarke

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1754: General Washington thinks this deal is getting worse all the time; prays the British do not alter it further

from "The Story of the French and Indian War" in Picture Stories from American History #2 (EC, 1946), script by M. C. Gaines and W. W. D. Sones, pencils and inks by Allen Simon

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1948: Dodgers expertly dodge victory

from Jackie Robinson #1 (Fawcett, Summer 1949), script by Charles Dexter, pencils by Clem Weisbecker, inks by John Jordan

Today in Comics History, July 3: Happy birthday, Tom Cruise!

Born on this date: actor and producer Tom Cruise, seen here in the only comics portrayal that wasn't sued by his crazy-ass cult "church!"


house ad for ALF from Marvel Comics cover-dated April 1988

Today in Comics History, July 3: John Byrne can't resist putting himself and the Calgary Stampede into a panel

from Iron Fist (1975 series) #8 (Marvel, October 1976), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by John Byrne, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Bonnie Wilford, letters by Joe Rosen

Today in Comics History, July 3: Hard-hitting, non-stop Department of Transportation action

from "Out of the Frying Pan...Into the Fire" in Action Comics Weekly #612 (DC, August 9, 1988), script by Martin Pasko, pencils and inks by Dan Spiegle, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Carrie Spiegle

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1940: Speedboat forced to flee David Letterman's Prancing Fluids

from "Launch vs. Battleship" in Fightin' Navy #81 (Charlton, January 1958), script by Joe Gill (?), pencils (and inks?) by Bill Molno, letters by Jon D'Agostino

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1898: International House of Pancakes rebrands again

from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999 series) #2 (America's Best Comics, April 1999), script by Alan Moore, pencils and inks by Kevin O'Neill, colors by Benedict Dimagmaliw, letters by William Oakley

Today in Comics History, July 3, 1984: Batman picks Spider-Man's pocket

from Detective Comics #543 (DC, October 1984), script by Doug Moench, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Alfredo Alcala, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda