Today in Comics History, March 5, 1953: Stalin dies: is replaced by four different new men of steel

from "See the Doomed Spirit" in Ghosts (1971 series) #82 (DC, November 1979); pencils, inks, and letters by Bill Payne; colors by Adrienne Roy

Today in Comics History, March 5: World's longest coin toss finally lands

from Batman: Killing Time #4 (DC, August 2022), script by Tom King, pencils and inks by David Marquez, colors by Alejandro Sánchez, letters by Clayton Cowles

Today in Comics History, March 5, 1770: When Johnny goes marching away from home

from Classics Illustrated #169 [Negro Americans: The Early Years] (Gilberton, Spring 1969), pencils and inks by Norman Nodel

Liberty Bell March, Day 5: A self-defense lesson with a-peel

from Generation X (2017 series) #5 (Marvel, October 2017), script by Christina Strawberry Strain, pencils and inks by Alberto Jiménez Avocado Alburquerque, colors by Felipe Sapodilla Sobreiro, letters by Cantaloupe Clayton Cowles

Today in Comics History, March 5: Happy birthday, Howard Pyle!

Born on this day in 1853: painter and author Howard Pyle (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Men of Iron, The Wonder Clock, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (and three sequels), plus many more. He's characterized by his lush and realistic style that influenced N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, and others, and known as the Father of the Brandywine School of artistic style. You've probably read at least one of his books out of the library (and I hope you got the illustrated editions), but you've likely never seen what we're about to serve up to you on this here silver plate of a blog entry: Howard Pyle in the Comics! Here's a concise biography of him, tho' (of course) not actually drawn by Pyle.




from "Howard Pyle" in Real Life Comics #37 (Pines, January 1947), creators unknown

Today in Comics History, March 5: Happy birthday, Dean Stockwell!

Born on this day in 1936: Dean Stockwell, film, television and stage actor with a career spanning over 70 years. (Wow!) From child actor roles in Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Song of the Thin Man (he was Nick Charles, Jr.!) and The Boy with Green Hair, to his later appearances in Long Day's Journey into Night, The Dunwich Horror, Paris, Texas, Dune, Blue Velvet, Married to the Mob and Air Force One, Dean pretty much kept working from 1945 to 2014! His TV roles include The Tony Danza Show, JAG, Battlestar Galactica, as Admiral Al Calavicci in the cult favorite Quantum Leap, and an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise alongside Quantum Leap co-star Scott Bakula. Stockwell's represented in the comics by his characters, but he's not always done favors by his likenesses in the artwork:




from Battlestar Galactica: Gods & Monsters #4 (Dynamite, February 2017), script by Karl Kesel, pencils and inks by Dan Schkade, colors by Chris O'Halloran, letters by Tom Napolitano
Scott Bakula is especially kinda ill-served by this cover, tho' the interior likeness of him and Stockwell are cleaner:




from Quantum Leap #9 (Innovation, February 1993), cover: painting by C. W. Taylor; interior: script by Andy Mangels, pencils and inks by Deodato Borges (Mike Deodato, Sr.), colors by Scott Rockwell, letters by Vickie Williams
Happy birthday, Dean Stockwell!


from The Incredible Hulk (1968 series) #386 (Marvel, October 1991), script by Peter David, pencils by Dale Keown, inks by Mark Farmer, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by Joe Rosen

Today in Comics History, March 5: Happy birthday, Andy Gibb!

Born exactly toda in the year 1958, let's a hoist a birthday toast to the late great (died 1988) singer, songwriter, actor and unofficial Brother Gibb: Andy Gibb!


cover of Look-In (1971 series) ##41/1978 (ITV, 7 October 1978), painting by Ivan Rose
Andy was the younger brother of the Bee Gees (Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb), but even tho' he wasn't in that supergroup, he still made some great hits himself: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water," and "Shadow Dancing." And, je was an actor, appearing on the stage in The Pirates of Penzance and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and on television on Punky Brewster and Gimmee a Break! as well as hosting a season of Solid Gold!


from Vigilante #4 (DC, March 1984), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by Anthony Tollin, letters by Todd Klein
Happy birthday, Andy. You left us too soon.

Today in Comics History, March 5, 1836: Davy Crockett dictates his diary entry to a teenage girl

from Classics Illustrated #129 [Davy Crosckett] (Gilberton, November 1955), pencils and inks by Lou Cameron

Today in Comics History, March 5, 1966: Fern Army performs poorly in Vietnam War

from The 'Nam #2 (Marvel, January 1987), script by Doug Murray, pencils by Michael Golden, inks by Armando Gil, colors and letters by Phil Felix

Today in Comics History, March 5, 1986: Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson aren't mad at Michael J. Fox, just disappointed

from Back to the Future (2015 series) #11 (IDW, August 2016), story by John Barber and Bob Gale, script by John Barber, pencils by Marcello Ferreira and Athila Fabbio, inks by Marcello Ferreira, Athila Fabbio, and Toni Doya, colors by Jose Luis Rio, letters by Shawn Lee

Today in Comics History, March 5, 1930: Pluto makes a bold dash across space to escape Neil deGrasse Tyson

from "Planetary Names" in Showcase #19 (DC, March 1959), scripter and artist unknown

Today in Comics History, March 5: Commissioner Gordon is startled by Zippy the Pinhead's Blofeld reveal

from Detective Comics #503 (DC, June 1981), script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Dan Adkins, colors by Adrienne Roy, letters by Ben Oda

Today in Comics History, March 5: Crab hired as new HR Director

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