Today in Comics History, June 10, 1944: Navy launches major attack from under Ben-Day camouflage

from "Pacific Sweeper" in True Comics #41 (Parents' Magazine Press, December 1944), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1944: H-Day

World War II is pretty much the same today as yesterday...wait, what's Batman doin' here?!?


from "Every Day Is D-Day!" in All-American Men at War (1952 series) #74 (DC/National, October 1959), script by Hank Chapman, pencils and inks by Jack Abel
Maybe the Justice Society will show up tomorrow?

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 2023 in this series. Thanks, Blam!

Today in Comics History, June 10: Happy birthday, Howlin' Wolf!

No, not this guy:


from "Watchdogged Wolf" in [Tex Avery's] Wolf & Red #2 (Dark Horse, May 1995), script by Henry Gilroy, pencils by Stephanie Gladden, inks and letters by Jim Massara, colors by Pamela Rambo
...but this man, born on this day in 1910: one of the greatest blues musicians of all time across his four-decade 20th century career, with blues classics like "How Many More Years," "Moanin' at Midnight," "Smokestack Lightning," "The Red Rooster," "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Killing Floor," "Spoonful" and many more.


from "Patton" in Zap Comix #11 (Last Gasp, February 1985), by Robert Crumb
Happy birthday. Mr. Wolf!

Today in Comics History, June 10: Happy birthday, Rich Hall!

Happy birthday today to one of my favorites: comedian, actor, writer, documentarian and musician Rich Hall (Fridays, Not Necessarily the News (the "Sniglet" creator!), Saturday Night Live, QI, One Crazy Summer, Arthur Christmas, Rich Hall's Fishing Show, Rich Hall's Cattle Drive (he took me in his convertible to see The Eagle Has Landed at the drive-in), Rich Hall's Inventing the Indian, and many more)!


from Simpsons Comics #130 (Bongo, May 2007), script by Ian Boothby, pencils by Phil Ortiz, inks by Mike DeCarlo, colors by Art Villanueva, letters by Karen Bates
Happy birthday, Rich!

Today in Comics History, June 10: Happy birthday, Gina Gershon!

Born on this day: actor Gina Gershon (Showgirls, Bound, Red Heat, Demonlover, Riverdale and other things I'm not allowed to watch). Of course, being an actor gets you into the pages of MAD magazine...even drawn by Mort Drucker!


from "CrockTale" in MAD #285 (March 1989), script by Dick DeBartolo, pencils and inks by Angelo Torres


from "F*!@/Off" in MAD #363 (November 1997), script by Dick DeBartolo, pencils and inks by Mort Drucker
Happy birthday, Gina!

Today in Comics History, June 10: Happy birthday, Henry Morton Stanley!

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published June 10, 2022.

Born on this day in 1841: Henry Morton Stanley, reporter and explorer who supposedly uttered the phrase "Dr. Livingston, I presume?" And we all know that when you presume, you make a pres out of you and me. As I depict these events using comic books, feel free to read along in safety...all panels of African natives calling Stanley "bwana" have been excised!


from "Historical Almanac" in Real Fact Comics #21 (DC, July 1949), pencils and inks by Joe Kubert

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1940: Steven Spielberg casts Nazi Princess Leia in the new Indiana Jones movie

from "Sky-Wolf!" in Marvel Fanfare (1982 series) #17 (Marvel, November 1984), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Dave Cockrum, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Andy Yanchus, letters by Rick Parker

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1942: Filming commences on The Fast and the Furious: Summer of '42

from Young All-Stars #22 (DC, January 1989), script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas, pencils by Ron Harris, inks by Bob Downs, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Jean Simek

Today in Comics History, The Day Before Father's Day (June 10): Jimmy Olsen discovers the terrifying future fate of his beautiful, beautiful red hair

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published June 10, 2014.


from "The Mystery of Convict 313!" in Jimmy Olsen #75 (DC/National, March 1964), script by Leo Dorfman, pencils and inks by John Forte

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1968: General Westmoreland goes east; more land

from The 'Nam #29 (Marvel, April 1989), script by Doug Murray, pencils by Wayne Vansant, inks by Frank Springer, colors by Steve Mellor, letters by Phil Felix

Today in Comics History, June 10: Happy birthday, Charles Vess!

Born on this day: artist and comic book illustrator Charles Vess (Sandman, Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' Stardust, Spider-Man, The Books of Magic, The Warriors Three, Rose, The Book of Ballads and Sagas, Blueberry Girl, and much more!)


from Marvel Age #54 and 90 (Marvel, September 1987 and and July 1990); text Mike Carlin (#54) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#90); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Paul Becton (#54) and Renee Witterstaetter (#90)
Happy birthday, Charles!


photo with Jeff Smith from Bone: Coda (Cartoon Books, 2016)

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1881: Exciting blue background attempts to distract you from dreary, doom-filled text story

"The Fight That Failed" from Jumbo Comics #105 (Fiction House, November 1947), text by Henry Wysham Lanier
(See you again on June 18!)

Today in Comics History, June 10: Happy birthday, Scott McCloud!

Happy birthday to comics writer, artist, and theorist Scott McCloud (Zot!, Destroy!!, The Sculptor, Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics)!

But sorry: I can't include any pictures of him in this post because he has never ever appeared in any comic books.









What are you waiting around here for? I told you, he's never been a character protrayed in comic books.









Oh, okay, okay.





from Understanding Comics (Tundra, 1993), by Scott McCloud
Here's he is in a Valentino/Don Simpson parody:


from normalman/Megaton Man Special one-shot (Image, August 1994), script and art by Jim Valentino, Megaton Man art by Don Simpson
A interview with Scott that's so all-encompassing it had to be split up into two issues of Vertigo books! (Remember when Paradox Press published McCloud?)



from "Subculture" in DC/Vertigo comics cover-dated August and September 2000
Happy birthday, Scott!


photo from Bone: Coda (Cartoon Books, 2016)

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1901: This was a lenient sentence; the judge just wanted to proclaim it without any mercy for his soul

from "Heroes of the Mounties" in Real Life Comics #1 (Pines, September 1941), pencils and inks by Maurice Gutwirth

Today in Comics History, June 10: Well, 𝘭𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪! 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘵𝘭? 𝘭𝘮𝘤𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘥𝘧𝘦!< to you too, Superman!

from "The Super-Key to Fort Superman" in Action Comics #241 (DC, June 1958), script by Jerry Coleman, pencils by Wayne Boring, inks by Stan Kaye

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1942: Cannibalistic Humanoid Underwater Dwellers are discovered

from Young All-Stars #21 (DC, Holiday 1988), script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas, pencils by Ron Harris, inks by Bob Downs, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by Jean Simek

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1892: Six baseballs pitched simultaneously

from "Uncle Wilbert Robinson" in Jackie Robinson #2 (Fawcett, July 1950), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, June 10, 2020: Amazon mobile website used to low-ball price book found in bookstore

from "Odyssey" in Detective Comics #1027 (DC, November 2020), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Emanuela Lupacchino, inks by Bill Sienkiewicz, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Carlos M. Mangua

Today in Comics History, June 10: Luthor and the Reverse Flash destroy Metropolis

from Superman (1939 series) #199 (DC, August 1967), script by Jim Shooter, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by George Klein, letters by Joe Letterese

Today in Comics History, June 10, 1969: Typhoid Mary is distressed to hear that Star Trek is cancelled

from Daredevil (1964 series) #254 (May 1988); script by Ann Nocenti; pencils by John Romita, Jr.; inks by Al Williamson; colors by Max Scheele; letters by Joe Rosen