Today in Comics History, June 15: Happy birthday, Neal Adams!

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published June 15, 2022.

Born on this day in 1941: the recently passed (April 28, 2022) and still unsurpassed comics artist Neal Adams (Batman, The Spectre, X-Men, Strange Adventures, The Avengers, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, National Lampoon, the award-winning Green Lantern/Green Arrow among many others). He's the co-creator of Ra's al Ghul, Man-Bat, Hellgrammite, Green Lantern John Stewart, Ms. Mystic, and more!


from (L) Mighty Marvel Memory Calendar 1977 (Marvel, 1976)
(right) 1975 Mighty Marvel Convention Program Book (1975), photograph by Michele Wiofman

Today in Comics History, June 15, 2015: And this is why I failed my LSAT (Little Stuffed Animal Test)

from Yellow Cab (IDW, May 2022), by Christophe Chabouté, based on the novel by Benoît Cohen

Today in Comics History, June 15, 1885: Man throws himself through window prepping for big earthquake 20 years later

from Two-Gun Kid: Sunset Riders #2 (Marvel, December 1995), script by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Christian Gorney and Alex Maleev, inks by Michael Halblieb, colors by Michael Kraiger and Shannon Blanchard, color separations by Malibu, letters by Richard Starkings

Today in Comics History, June 15, 1944: An acceptable exception to the phrase "Comics Oughta Be Fun"

from "I Was Afraid to Fight" in Fightin' Army #31 (Charlton, September 1959), script by Joe Gill (?), pencils by Bill Molno, inks by Vince Alascia

Today in Comics History, June 15, 1938: Pete Rose cusses and tears up betting ticket

from "Scoops...Stories to Remember" in Real Fact Comics #11 (DC, November 1947), pencils and inks by George Roussos (?)

Today in Comics History, June 15: Happy birthday, Brent Anderson!

Born on this day: comics artist Brent Anderson (X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, Ka-Zar the Savage, The Phantom Stranger, Power Pack, and more! He co-created Astro City and Strikeforce: Morituri, too!


from Marvel Age #30, 54, and 90 (Marvel, September 1985, September 1987, and July 1990); text by Jim Salicrup (#30), Mike Carlin (#54) and Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#90); pencils and inks by Ron Zalme; colors by Andy Yanchus (#30), Paul Becton (#54) and Renee Witterstaetter (#90)

Today in Comics History, June 15: The call goes out: "Hire Daniel Craig!"

from James Bond: Casino Royale (Dynamite, April 2018), script by Van Jensen, pencils and inks by Dennis Calero, colors by Chris O'Halloran, flats by James Penafiel, letters by Simon Bowland

Today in Comics History, June 15: Happy birthday, Greg Lockard!

Born on this day: comic book editor Greg Lockard (Fables, Fairest, Hellblazer, The Unwritten, Sweet Tooth, The Black Ghost, and more). He's also the author of the graphic novel Liebestrasse and he wrote a story of The Ray in this year's excellent DC Pride 2022!


from DC/Vertigo comics cover-dated October 2012
Happy birthday, Greg!

Today in Comics History, June 15, 1215: Nothing smarter! Kings, watch how you rule!

Hey, can you identify this important event in history? No, it's not my birthday.


from "Real Heroes' Quiz" in Real Heroes #14 (Parents' Magazine Press, May 1946), creators uncredited and unknown
Give up? It's the Magna Carta, the foundation of English rights and law and the refuge of crackpot conspiracists in the twenty-first century!

from Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact v.12 #15 (Pflaum, March 1957), script by John Randolph, pencils and inks by Frank Borth
(Click picture to Runnymede-size)
How important is the Magna Carta? Well, the Magna Carta debuted in DC Comics several months ahead of Superman, making it the flagship character of the DC Universe! Next month it teams up with Lobo.



from "The Magic Crystal of History" in More Fun Comics #28 (DC, January 1938), pencils and inks by Homer Fleming
Now that you know all that, Mr. Mason, please answer this simple question for the class...d'oh!


from "Time Will Tell" in Jughead (1965 series) #345 (Archie, April 1986); script, pencils, inks, and letters by Samm Schwartz; colors by Barry Grossman

Today in Comics History, June 15: 'Cause you're diamond made of blood, blood, blood

from Assassinistas #2 (IDW, December 2017), script by Tini Howard, pencils and inks by Gilbert Hernandez, colors by Rob Davis, letters by Aditya Bidikar

Today in Comics History, June 15: Happy birthday, Ross Andru!

Born on this day in 1927: comics artist and editor Ross Andru: you've admired his work in Amazing Spider-Man, World's Finest Comics, Metal Men, Action Comics, Atari Force, Wonder Woman, Our Army at War, Marvel Team-Up, and so many more, including Superman vs. Spider-Man! He co-created the Punisher, the Metal Men, Tarantula, Jackal, G.I. Robot, Glory Grant, Egg Fu and others!


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1976, 1977, and 1978

Today in Comics History, June 15: Barry Allen continues to have trouble with food

from The Flash (2016 series) #70 (July 2019), script by Joshua Williamson, pencils and inks by Howard Porter, colors by Hi-Fi, letters by Steve Wands

Today in Comics History, June 15, 1947: Famous Yankee Yogi Berra murders two guys

from Yogi Berra one-shot (Fawcett, 1951), script by Charles Dexter, pencils and inks by Kurt Schaffenberger

Today in Comics History, June 15, 1966: Meat: The Beatles

from The Beatles in Comics! (NBM, November 2018); script by Richard Di Martino; translation by Joe Johnson; pencils, inks, and colors by Laurent Houssin; letters by Ortho

Today in Comics History, June 15: Happy birthday, Courteney Cox!

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
You're in a Civil War
And Rhodey's D-O-A
It's like you're still a prisoner of war
And if you remember your past
You killed a guy in issue 124


from Iron Man (1998 series) #13 (February 1999); script by Kurt Busiek; pencils by Sean Chen and Patrick Zircher; inks by Lary Stucker, Eric Cannon, and Bud LaRosa; colors by Steve Oliff; letters by Wes Abbott
Well, she'll be there for you
'Coz she's Courteney Cox
If you're Iron Man
And you've got metal socks
She'll be there for you
Guest-starring in Iron Man 2


In the next panel, the Human Fly flies into Rumiko's mouth.

Today in Comics History, June 15: Sally gains the ability to change time

from "Killer!" in Police Line-Up #1 (Avon, August 1951), creators uncredited and unknown (possible George Roussos inks?)

Today in Comics History, June 15: The X-Men finally get rid of Kitty for a summer

from X-Men Gold Annual #2 (Marvel, October 2018), script by Seanan McGuire, pencils and inks by Marco Failla, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, letters by Cory Petit

Today in Comics History, June 15: Velvet Templeton continues to waste waitress's time

from Velvet #12 (Image, November 2015), script by Ed Brubaker, pencils and inks by Steve Epting, colors by Elizabeth Breitweiser, letters by Chris Eliopoulos

Today in Comics History, June 15, 2013: Henchmen are entirely too impressed by an abandoned warehouse

from Black Market #2 (Boom!, August 2014), script by Frank J. Barbiere, pencils and inks by Victor Santos, colors by Adam Metcalfe, letters by Ed Dukeshire

Today in Comics History, June 15: Black Baron returns from relaxing week-long vacation

from "The Diary of a Desperado" in Adventure Comics #145 (October 1949), script by Otto Binder, pencils and inks by George Papp