Today in Comics History, June 28: Happy birthday, Mike Royer!

A very happy birthday today to comics artist and inker Mike Royer, who's worked on a big range of titles for an awful lot of publishers. He's done stories in Donald Duck, Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, Detective Comics, 1st Issue Special, Weird Mystery Tales, and more, plus definitive work inking Russ Manning (Tarzan, Korak, Magnus: Robot Fighter, Star Wars)...


from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1979 (Marvel, 1977)
...but Mike's perhaps best known for his extensive work inking comics by Jack Kirby, to which we can thank Vince Colletta for ticking off the King of Comics for erasing his pencils (and being a jerk to him about it). Here's how Kirby's story of getting Royer on board was told in the Tom Scioli bio-graphic novel:



from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
Not that there weren't bumps in the relationship...


...but once their collaboration got smoothed out, it really clicked. Royer inked the lion's share of Kirby's 1970s-1980s output, including (inhale) Kamandi, Justice Inc., Mister Miracle, The Demon, Jimmy Olsen, Forever People, The New Gods, The Hunger Dogs, Dingbats of Danger Street, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Eternals, OMAC, Black Panther, What If? #11, Devil Dinosaur, Machine Man, Captain America, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, Silver Star, and more (exhale!). Kirby considered Royer his favorite inker of his work.


Happy birthday, Mike!

Today in Comics History, June 28: Happy birthday, Gilda Radner!

Born on this day in 1946: the late great comedian and actress Gilda Radner, my favorite performer of the Saturday Night Live Not Ready for Prime Time Players!

But did she ever appear in comic books? Well, yes.



cover of Marvel Team-Up (1972 series) #74 (Marvel, October 1978), pencils and inks by Dave Cockrum, SNL caricature pencils and inks by Marie Severin, letters by Irv Watanabe
Gilda, like all the cast of the second season of SNL, appeared in this unlikely-to-ever-be-reprinted (so look for it in backissue racks!) Spider-Man comic!


from Marvel Team-Up #74; script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Bob Hall, inks and colors by Marie Severin, letters by Gaspar Saladino and Annette Kawecki
A lovely thing about their weird and wonderful book is that Claremont gave every cast member (plus Lorne Michaels) a spotlight scene, and here's Gilda as Weekend Update commentator Emily Litella (along with Jane Curtin).



Take a bow, Gilda and Company!



Gilda, you are very much loved and very much missed.


"Young Woman of the Month" from Young Love (1963 series) #122 (DC, November 1976), text by Ellen Spencer (who was possibly Tony Isabella?), pencils by Joe Orlando, inks by Vince Colletta
Happy birthday, Gilda Radner!

Today in Comics History, June 28, 1778: British retreat, claiming tea-time

Hey, look what it is: that danged Superman Salutes the Bicentennial treasury which is completely full of Tomahawk reprints and not a single Superman comic. I will never stop makin' fun of this thing.

Yes, I have a copy. (sigh)


from "Valley Forge" in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-47 [Superman Salutes the Bicentennial] (DC, August 1976); script, pencils and inks by Fred Ray

Today in Comics History, June 28: Happy birthday, Adrienne Roy!

Born on this date in 1953: comic book colorist extraordinaire Adrienne Roy! She's colored the following characters at DC: just about every single one of 'em! Her credits include Detective Comics, Batman, Robin, Warlord, The New Teen Titans and The New Titans, Arak, Son of Thunder, House of Mystery, Superman and literally dozens and dozens more.


from from DC Comics cover-dated February 1980

Today in Comics History, June 28, 1898: But Alan didn't like him, so he shot him in the face

from 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, June 28, 1778: Pitcher takes the mound(mouth)

from "Heroine of the Battle of Monmouth" in Real Heroes #1 (Parents' Magazine Press, September 1941), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, June 28, 1941: Heroes found the Justice Society of America; immediately send Wonder Woman out to get coffee

from All-Star Squadron Annual #3 (DC, September 1984), co-plot and script by Roy Thomas, co-plot and research by Dann Thomas, pencils by Rick Hoberg, inks by Bill Collins, Time Sphere inset pencils and inks by Jerry Ordway, colors by Gene D'Angelo, letters by David Cody Weiss and L. Lois Buhalis

Today in Comics History, June 28: Flying City Room discovers it is not the Floating City Room

from "The Flying City Room" in Big Town #2 (DC, February 1951), script by France Herron, pencils by Dan Barry, inks by Sy Barry