Today in Comics History, October 25: Happy birthday, June Brigman!

Born on this day: comic book penciller June Brigman, co-creator and artist of Marvel's Power Pack and Ahoy's Captain Ginger, artist on Alpha Flight, Barbie, Meridian, Convergence, Supergirl, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Star Wars and more, plus the comic strips Brenda Starr and Mary Worth!


from Marvel Age #94 and 106 (Marvel, November 1990 and November 1991), text by Chris Eliopoulis and Barry Dutter (#94) and Mike Lackey (#106), pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Renee Witterstaetter

Today in Comics History, October 5: Happy birthday, Chris Carlson!

Born on this date: comic book inker Chris Carlson (Alpha Flight, Cable, X-Men, Avengelyne Armageddon, Masters of the Universe, and more)!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (DC, May 1984)
Happy birthday, Chris!

Today in Comics History, November 21: Happy birthday, Mark Alexander!

Born on this day: comic book inker Mark Alexander (also known as Marc)!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (DC, May 1984)
Happy birthday, Mark!

Today in Comics History, October 24: Happy birthday, Mindy Newell!

Born on this day: comic book writer, editor and Illustrator Mindy Newell (Amethyst, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Legionnaires 3, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Lois Lane, lots more)!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (DC, May 1984)

Today in Comics History, October 5: Happy birthday, Reuben Pharms!

A happy birthday today to born-in-1960 Reuben Pharms, who inked the "Cosmic Clinics" serial in New Talent Showcase and a story in Elvira's House of Mystery!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (DC, May 1984)
Hey, I betcha he's this guy praising X-Men #100!:


from ;etter column of [Uncanny] X-Men (1963 series) #102 (Marvel, December 1976
Happy birthday, Reuben!

Today in Comics History, September 20: Happy birthday, Steve Ringgenberg!

Born on this day: comics writer Steve Ringgenberg, who's scripted stories at DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Bongo, Heavy Metal, Warrant and others, written for and assistant edited Fantagraphics's The Comics Journal and Amazing Heroes, and more!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (DC, May 1984)
Happy birthday, Steve!

Today in Comics History, July 17: Happy birthday, Mike Tiefenbacher!

Born on this day: Mike Tiefenbacher, scripter of the "Whatever Happened To...?" feature in DC Comics Presents, but perhaps better known for his contribution to comics scholarship, preservation, and fun: he's the co-founder (with Jerry Sinkovec) of Street Enterprises, which published the comic strip reprint magazines The Menomonee Falls Gazette, The Menomonee Falls Guardian, and The Comic Reader!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #4 (DC, April 1984)
A very Menomonee Birthday to you, Mike!

Today in Comics History, July 8: Happy birthday, Stan Woch!

Born on this day: comics penciller/inker Stan Woch (Robin, Black Orchid, Doom Patrol, Sandman, Airboy, Batman, the Buck Rogers comic strip and more)!


from New Talent Showcase (DC, 1984 series) #2 (February 1984)
Happy birthday, Stan!

Today in Comics History, June 30: Happy birthday, Shawn McManus!

Born on this day: comics artist Shawn McManus (Swamp Thing, Sandman, Omega Men, Doctor Fate, Marvel Comics Presents, Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, Fables, Fairest, Detective Comics, Man Called A-X, and more)!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (May 1984)
Happy birthday, Shawn!


from Sandman: The Deluxe Edition v.3 (DC/Vertigo, October 2021)

Today in Comics History, June 11: Happy birthday, Rich Margopoulos!

Born on this day: comics writer Rich Margopoulos (Creepy, Eerie, What If?, Haunt of Horror, and dozens and dozens of Archie Comics)!



from (top) EERIE (1966 series) #43 (Warren, November 1972), and
New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #2 (DC, February 1984)

Today in Comics History, June 4, 2064: Fur and gas masks make a fashionable comeback

from "Class of 2064" in New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #2 (February 1984), script by Todd Klein, pencils and inks by Scott Hampton, colors by Shelley Eiber, letters by Todd Klein
And just in case you need a recap...


from "Class of 2064" in New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #3 (March 1984)

Today in Comics History, May 28, 2064: "Little Boy Blue" voted most popular interior paint color

from "Class of 2064: Class Trip" in New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #1 (DC, January 1984), script and letters by Todd Klein, pencils and inks by Scott Hampton, colors by Shelley Eiber

Today in Comics History, May 26: Happy birthday, Tom Mandrake!

Born on this day: comics artist Tom Mandrake (Grimjack, Firestorm, The Spectre, Martian Manhunter, Arion: Lord of Atlantis, Swamp Thing, Sgt. Rock, Sidekick, Detective Comics, The Punisher, Call of Duty: The Precinct, Fringe, and more).


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #1 (DC, January 1984)
Happy birthday, Tom!

Today in Comics History, April 12: Happy birthday, Gary Martin!

Born on this day: comics writer/artist/inker Gary Martin!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #5 (DC, May 1984)
Gary has inked Sonic the Hedgehog, Marvel Comics Presents, Pryde and Wisdom, Adventures of the X-Men, The Immortal Doctor Fate, Sludge, Marvel Adventures Hulk, and many more, the co-creator of The Moth with Steve Rude and the Son of Samson series, and author of the book The Art of Comic-Book Inking.


from Star Wars Handbook #1 (Dark Horse, July 1998)
Happy birthday, Gary!

Today in Comics History Future, March 19, 2064: Mars ain't the kind of place to catch COVID

from "Class of 2064: Class Trip" in New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #1 (DC, January 1984), script and letters by Todd Klein, pencils and inks by Scott Hampton, colors by Shelley Eiber

Today in Comics History, January 28: Happy birthday, Todd Klein!

Born on this day, so you'd better write him a letter of congratulations (but be sure to use your best penpersonship): Todd Klein, letterer, logo designer, and writer!


from New Talent Showcase (1984 series) #1 (DC, January 1984)
Klein started off as a staff production worker at DC and worked his way up (with small, deliberate penstrokes) to become one of the top letterers of our time, with extensive work at DC Comics including cover or character logos for Blue Devil, Amethyst, Angel and the Ape, Promethea, Witchblade, Ahoy Comics, Ambush Bug, Amazing Heroes, The Legion of Super-Heroes, Doctor Strange, Atari Force, Batman and the Outsiders, Zot!, The Amazing Spider-Man, Action Comics, Justice League of America, Camelot 3000, DC Comics Presents, Sensational She-Hulk, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Time Warp (one of my all-time favorite logos) and many, many more. He also created a large number of the logos used in Who's Who in the DC Universe. What, more? Yes, more! Todd was also the main writer for The Omega Men for a dozen issues, plus scripts for Green Lantern, House of Mystery, Blue Devil, and others! Whew!

And oh yeah, he was in that Bat-Mite comic story!

You Can't Tell the Players without Some Annotation Dept.: In the second image below: letterer Milton Snapinn at upper left, colorist Tony Tollin (red shirt), inker Bob Smith (burgundy shirt over white tee), Todd Klein (orange shirt), penciller Michael Golden (blonde, holding dog leash), Al Milgrom (white shirt, lower right), Bob Rozakis (blue shirt).




from "Bat-Mite's New York Adventure!" in Detective Comics #482 (DC, February 1979), script by Bob Rozakis, pencils by Michael Golden, inks by Bob Smith, colors by Anthony Tollin, letters by Milt Snapinn
Happy birthday, Todd Klein! (And don't forget to check out Todd Klein's website: it's extensive, entertaining, and educational!)

Today in Comics History, January 23: Happy birthday, Cara Sherman-Terano!

Born on this day in 1952: Cara Sherman-Terano, comics artist on stories from Tales of Terror, The American, Arion: Lord of Atlantis, Wonder Woman, Evangeline, Taboo, Timespirits and more!


from New Talent Showcase #5 (DC, May 1984)
Happy birthday, Cara!

Today in Comics History, January 7: Happy birthday, Karl Kesel!

I'm here to wish Karl Kesel a very happy birthday, even though I can never get through on the line to Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! and I would really love the chance to have my answering machine message read...oh. I've made another one of my silly mistakes. That's Carl Kasell, the radio show host. Today's the birthday of Karl Kesel, the comic book writer and inker on such books as Superman, Action Comics, The Adventures of Superman, Superboy, and Superboy and the Ravers. Plus lots more! Boy! Is my face beet red. (I've just been eating beets.)

Karl was one of the earliest artists featured in Marvel Age's "New Talent Department" spotlight, and gets some constructive criticism in technique by veteran inker Joe Rubinstein:




from Marvel Age #9 (Marvel, December 1983)