Today in Comics History, September 21: Happy birthday, Larry Hagman!

Born on this day in 1931: actor (and director and producer) Larry Hagman! You know him from a whole lotta film and TV shows, and especially from that time he had his house saved by Iron Man:


from Iron Man (1968 series) #222 (Marvel, September 1987), co-plot and script by David Michelinie, co-plot and finishes by Bob Layton, breakdowns by M. D. Bright, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Janice Chiang
This scene was slightly adapted into 2013's Iron Man 3 movie, and the only reason it didn't co-star Larry Hagman was that Robert Downey felt Hagman would be too awesome for the film. And also, Hagman died in 2012.

Today in Comics History, September 21: Happy birthday, James Basevi!

Born on this day in 1890: pioneering motion picture art director and special effects director James Basevi. he worked on dozens of films (See?) and developed groundbreaking special effects.


from "Seein Stars" in Ace Comics #20 (David McKay, November 1938); script, pencils, and inks by Feg Murray
Happy birthday, James!

Today in Comics History, September 21: Happy birthday, Mastodon!

Born on this date in 1952: Dave Landers, better known to us as everybody's favorite Displaced Paranormal: Mastodon! Frankly, I can't see why he would be displaced — how could you possible move that guy! he was one of the most visible characters in the 1980s New Universe. You can tell he's from the eighties because of those adorable furry shoulder pads.


from D.P. 7 #22 (Marvel/New Universe, August 1988), creators uncredited and unknown
Happy birthday, Dave! Don't eat all the cake before I get a slice, big guy!

Today in Comics History, September 21, 1949: Jackie Robinson gets Zestfully clean

from Don Newcombe one-shot (Fawcett, 1950), script by Charles Dexter

Today in Comics History, September 21: Happy birthday, M.C. Gaines!

Born on this day in 1894: Max Ginzberg, later known (especially to us comic book fans) as M.C. Gaines, the man comic books call "Dad!"


from Fifty Who Made DC Great one-shot (DC, 1985)

Today in Comics History, September 21: Happy birthday, Bill Murray!

Born on this day: actor, comedian, and comic book star Bill Murray! Go ahead, wish him a happy birthday. No one will ever believe you met him.



cover of Marvel Team-Up #74 (Marvel, October 1978), pencils and inks by Dave Cockrum, pencils and inks of celebrity faces by Marie Severin, letters by Irving Watanabe

Today in Comics History, September 21, 2493: Happy birthday, Saffron Pike aka Bridget aka Yolanda Haymer (but everyone knew her as Nancy)

from Firefly: Bad Company #1 one-shot (Boom!, March 2019); script by Josh Lee Gordon; pencils by Francesco Mortarino, Giuseppe Cafaro, and Moy R.; inks by Vincenzo Federici, Giuseppe Cafaro, and Moy R., colors by Gabriel Cassata, letters by Ed Dukeshire

Today in Comics History, September 21, 1939: All's fair that World's Fair

from Back to the Future: Tales from the Time Train #2, 5, and 6 (IDW, January, April, and May 2018), co-plot by Bob Gale, co-plot and script by John Barber, pencils and inks by Megan Levens, colors by Charlie Kirchoff, letters by Shawn Lee

Today in Comics History, September 21, 1959: Encyclopedia Batman Cracks the Case of the Suspected Strongman

from "The Man from Robin's Past" in Batman #129 (DC, February 1960), script by Bill Finger, pencils by Sheldon Moldoff, inks by Charles Paris, letters by Stan Starkman
Can you solve the mystery before Batman? That's right: it was the wily Canadian Englishman!

Today in Comics History, September 21, 1970: Folks line up at dawn for the premiere of The Invader movie

from The Avengers (1963 series) #82 (Marvel, November 1970), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by John Buscema, inks (and colors?) by Tom Palmer, letters by Sam Rosen

Today in Comics History, September 21, 1941: The prayers of millions of Russians are answered when Chicken Kiev is inwented

from Batman: Death and the Maidens #5 (DC, February 2004), script by Greg Rucka, pencils and inks by Klaus Janson, colors by Steve Buccellato, letters by Clem Robins