Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, E. Nelson Bridwell!

Born on this day in 1931: E. Nelson Bridwell, comics writer and editor (MAD, Super Friends, the Batman comic strip, Action Comics, Adventure Comics, Shazam!, Superman, The Superman Family, World's Finest Comics, The Legion of Super-Heroes and more)! Bridwell co-created some of the greatest B-list characters at DC, including the Inferior Five, The Maniaks, the Secret Six, Angel and the Ape, Fire and Ice, and more! He was an early advocate of continuity between titles, and in his role as assistant editor to Mort Weisinger and Julius Schwartz on the Superman titles, he edited the letters columns and developed the Kryptonese language and characters. So yeah: he's pretty important! Why not read more about him in this post? Sure, we all do!


from the editorial page of Showcase #62 [The Inferior Five] (DC/National, May 1966), text by Jack Miller

Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, Kathy Ling!

Today in 1970 in the New Universe was born Kathy Ling, one of the members of Psi-Force with the paranomal power of really long legs and really short shirts. Also: she got her fashion sense about belts from Rogue.


from Psi-Force #21 (Marvel/New Universe, July 1988), pencils by Ron Lim
Happy birthday, Ms. Ling!

Today in Comics History: September 22, 7:02 PM: Data now feels better about all those times Lore got on board

from Young Justice (2011 series) #18 (September 2012), script by Greg Weisman, pencils and inks by Christopher Jones, colors by Zac Atkinson, letters by Dezi Sienty

Today in Comics History, September 22, 1776: Nathan Hale immediately regrets his words when he is tossed into a Lazarus Pit

from "The Story of a Traitor and a Hero" in Sensation Comics #45 (DC/All-American, September 1945), script by M. C. Gaines and W. W. D. Sones, pencils and inks by Allen Simon

Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, Supergirl!

Born on this day, September 22 (or the Kryptonian equivalent): Kara Zor-El, better known as the Gal o' Steel: Supergirl! But Bully, (I'm sure you're asking right aout now), didn't we already celebrate her birthday on April 11 and then again on May 18? Whats up with that, huh, Bully? Is Ms. Zor-El trying to con me out of three birthday gifts a year?

And I say wash your mouth out right now with soap, and not just hand soap, get a bar of Lava and shove it right in that blaspheming piehole of yours! Supergirl would no more cheat someone than she could eat Krytonite (exception: immediately post-Superman #233). No, she is an honest woman who believes in truth, justice, and keeping her skirt smoothed down around her thighs, and she is always honest when she says she has two birthdays. Just like Paddington.

In ascending calendar order: while the April 11 date was put out by the we-usually-have-no-problem-using-it-as-a-source Super DC Calendar 1976, that date is superceded by May 18, a day that's actually in canon (at least on Pre-Crisis Earth-1). And that's not Supergirl's birthday, that's Linda Lee Danvers's birthday: a day adopted by her for her human civilian identity, since it was the day she first arrived on Earth and was discovered by her cousin Superman. Several years before, though, she had been born in Argo City on Krypton on September 22. Clear now? So yeah, you can give her two gifts if you want. Just make sure neither is green and glowing.

Because I've already used a buncha panels about her birthday in those two previous posts, here's some more recent comic book depictions of Supergirl's birthday!




from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 (DC, August 2021), script by Tom King, pencils and inks by Bilquis Evely, colors by Matheus Lopes, letters by Clayton Cowles
Okay, maybe not her best birthday. So hows about a birthday panel from just about the finest Supergirl comic book, certainly my favorite: 2009's winner of my award for "Most Fun Comic of the Year", by Landry Q. Walker and the late great Eric Jones: Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade!


from Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade #2 (DC/Johnny DC, March 2009), script by Landry Q. Walker, pencils and inks by Eric Jones, colors by Joey Mason, letters by Pat Brosseau
Oh well, maybe Kara doesn't have the best birthdays on screen. But we wish her a great day.

Happy birthday, Supergirl! You're so super!

Today in Comics History, September 22, 1927: Fight breaks out during boxing match

from "Strange Sports Facts" in Baseball Thrills #3 (Ziff-Davis, September 1952), pencils and inks by Mario DeMarco

Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, Nick Cave!

Born today: singer, songwriter, actor and writer Nick Cave, who's had comics written about him...


covers of British and German editions of Nick Cave: Mercy on Me (SelfMadeHero, Carlsen, 2017), art by Reinhard Kleist
...comics written by him...


cover of AS-FIX-E-8 (Last Gasp, 1993), art by Mike Matthews
...and been quoted in comics!


from Five Years #8 (Abstract Studio, February 2020), art by Terry Moore
Happy birthday, Nick!

Today in Comics History, September 22, 2016: It's especially humiliating because the raccoon has a much better press agent

from Star-Lord (2017 series) #2 (February 2017), script by Chip Zdarsky, pencils and inks by Kris Anka, colors by Matthew Wilson, letters by Cory Petit

Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, Billie Piper!

Born on this day: actor and singer Billie Piper, best known to us fans as Rose from Doctor Who! She has appeared as Rose on comic book covers in photos...


variant photo covers of Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Ongoing (2016 series) #2 (Titan, June 2016), 6 (November 2016), 9 (February 2017), and 14 (August 2017)

Today in Comics History, September 22, 1987: "Deaths of Mark Gruenwald, John Byrne, and Howard Mackie, page 53F."

house ad from Marvel Age #58 (Marvel, January 1988), art by John Byrne

Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, Toni Basil!

Born on this day: singer, dancer, choreographer, actor and director Toni Basil! She's so fine, she blow my mind!


from "Homer's America" in Simpsons Comics #90 (Bongo, January 2004), script by Ian Boothby, pencils by Luis Escobar, inks by Patrick Owsley, colors by Art Villanueva, letters by Karen Bates


Toni Basil in Village of the Giants (Berkeley Productions, 1965), starring Tommy Kirk and Beau Bridges, written by Bert I. Gordon and Alan Caillou, directed by Bert I. Gordon, choreography by Toni Basil


featurette on Robin and the 7 Hoods with Toni Basil (Warner Bros., 1964), starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, written by David R. Schwartz, directed by Gordon Douglas, choreography by Jack Baker
Happy birthday, Toni!

PS: Don't trade eyebrow pencils with other girls.

Today in Comics History, September 22, 1801: I've heard of man smoking grass, but never man eating grass

from Manifest Destiny #19 (Image, May 2016), script by Chris Dingess, pencils by Matthew Roberts, inks by Tony Akins and Stefano Gaudiano, colors by Owen Gieni, letters by Pat Brosseau

Today in Comics History, September 22: Happy birthday, Bilbo Baggins!

Born today on September 22, Third Age 2890: Mister Bilbo Baggins, one heck of a nice little guy. (Also today: his nephew Frodo Baggins.)




from The Hobbit (Eclipse, 1989), script by Charles Dixon; art by David Wenzel, letters by Bill Pearson

Today in Comics History, September 22, 1528: Makeshift fleet sails far from coast and is immediately sunk

from "Cabeza de Vaca" in It Really Happened #3 (Pines, 1944), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, September 22, 2015: ...bet she won't survive the experience

from "Red Ink" in Harley Quinn Black + White + Red TPB (DC, August 2021); script by Patrick Schumacker; pencils, inks, and color by Eleonora Carlini; letters by Tom Napolitano

Today in Comics History, September 22, 7:56 AM: First day at Hogwarts and somebody's already turned into a toad

from Young Justice (2011 series) #18 (September 2012), script by Greg Weisman, pencils and inks by Christopher Jones, colors by Zac Atkinson, letters by Dezi Sienty

Today in Comics History, September 22, 2925: 913 years later, Superman finally finds someone over there

from Superman/Batman: Generations III #12 (DC, February 2004); script, pencils, inks and letters by John Byrne, colors and color separations by Alex Sinclair