Today in Comics History, July 18: Happy birthday, John Glenn!

Born on this date in 1921: a cat who's really far out there! I mean, he's totally up in the air, folks! You might even say that this freakzoid was the first American to orbit the Earth, in 1962! TAnd yeah, this hoopy frood was the third American in space! And a U.S. Senator (okay, that one's less cool). And he went back into space in 1997 at the age of 77! Okay, that one's totally awesome! I'm talkin' of course, about fighter and test pilot/astronaut John Glenn! Also, if you grew up in Syracuse like I do, you might know him from the totally excellent but extremely short John Glenn Boulevard, which also gave name to the area around it, thus the frequent refrain heard in our household "I'm going over to the John Glenn Wegman's." Yeah, baby!


cover of Newsday's Comics on the News with Chip Tracer #1 one-shot (Newsday, 1998); pencils, inks, and colors by Steve Geiger; background photos by NASA and Associated Press

Today in Comics History, Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Luke Cage's Sweet, Sweet, Christmas Day Off

In this year (2023, natch!) Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 16 - today, in comics history! How are Luke Cage, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver going to celebrate it?


from Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985 series) #8 (Marvel, May 1988), script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Richard Howell, inks by Frank Springer, colors by Adam Philips, letters by Bill Oakley
AW GEEZ QUICKSILVER you should have stopped just before the "but." Come to think of it, you should have ended before the "some." On third thought, why don't you just SHUT UP QUICKSILVER


Luckily Luke Cage Eplains It All for You™ in the conclusion:


Anyway, my point, and I do have one, is don't invite Quicksilver to any celebrations that are slightly to the left of Nathan Bedford Forrest Day.

Man, I loathe Quicksilver.

365 Days of Defiance, Day 340: "The bell of man’s inhumanity to man does not toll for any one man. It tolls for you, for me, for all of us."

Panels from King: A Comics Biography graphic novel (February 2010); script, pencils, inks, and letters by Ho Che Anderson

365 Days of Defiance, Day 339: "The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest." (Today in Comics History, December 5, 1955)

from Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story one-shot giveaway (Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1958), script by Benton Resnick, art by artists in the Al Capp Organization, letters by John Duffy

Today in Comics History: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." (Martin Luther King, Jr., letter from Birmingham jail, April 16, 1963)

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While it's a matter of concern on each and every day, today is an especially important day to reflect and act on human and racial rights. Seriously, folks, this is still a major concern today. Don't just analyze the concept as it applies to mutants in the Marvel Universe...


...rather, consider, discuss, and act to work to end the ways intolerance and prejudice affects our little four-color hobby. Yes, we have come a long way in civil rights for many groups since Dr. King's work in the 1960s, and the works of those who followed him, but there's still a lot of prejudice, discrimination, and exclusion in today's society.

Or, as "The Man" so eloquently put it:


"Stan's Soapbox" from Marvel comics cover-dated December 1968

Today in Comics History: Dr. Martin Luther King Day

Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, 1956 giveaway comic.
Read the entire comic here.
The idea of comic books as "dangerous literature" is usually discussed in terms of "mature" material being distributed in a child-friendly form, but consider this more frightening definition: according to the GCD, blacks were told to memorize and destroy this comic to avoid being lynched for possession of it.

This is not just another day off from school, from work, vacation day. Honor the man, his spirit, his work, and his fellowship, by remembering, discussing, acting upon his words and deeds. We who collect comics do dearly love our heroes, and they don't have to come from a doomed alien world or dress up like insects to inspire us and change the world.