Today in Comics History, May 1, May Day: Dennis Mitchell declares "I want my Maypo!"

Dennis the Menace likes May Day? Why, whod'a thunk it?


from "The May Pole" in Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #160 [Dennis the Menace Yearbook] (Hallden/Facett, January 1977), creators uncredited and unknown
Aw, Dennis, don't use ablist language like that. Nowadays you should be insulting the May Pole by calling it woke.


Ah ha ha! Turns out Dennis's stomach is bigger than his sensitivity to ancient pagan rituals. That's our Dennis...he's a menace!


Bonus menacing feature: who is the Queen of May?


from "Maybe Yes Maybe No" in Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #151 [Dennis the Menace Yearbook] (Hallden/Fawcett, April 1976), creators uncredited and unknown

Today in Comics History, May 1, 1850: Happy birthday, Prince Arthur!

Born today in 1850 (so he's a little too old to go to the Coronation this weekend): Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn! But you can call him Artie. PS: do not call him Artie. Also, according to the first paragraph, he is very sensitive about the weather, so please do not make meteorlogical jokes around him.


"Stamps: The Kingdom of Canada" in King Comics #42 (David McKay, October 1939), text by Eugene Pollock
Following his death, the Duke of Connaught was pressed flat and turned into a stamp by Colonel Gumm.

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛: Our house is a very very very fine house / With one cat on the floor / I wish we could have more

She just likes hanging out in the same room with us on weekends.


"Now everything is easy 'cause of you."

Today in Comics History, April 30, 1920: Happy birthday, Twilight!

No, no, not the awful quartet of sparkling vampire novels, but the displaced paranormal code-named Twilight, which is such a good name I'm suprised regular Marvel hasn't poached it back!


from D.P. 7 #24 (Marvel/New Universe, October 1988), pencils by Paul Ryan
For those of you who still miss the characters of the New Universe, please wish a happy birthday to the sweet Lenore!

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛ and Lockheed 🐉

Today in Comics History, April 28: Happy birthday, Dick Ayers!

Born on this day in 1924: Dick Ayers, comics penciller/inker (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commanders, Two-Gun Kid, Strange Tales, Rawhide Kid, Tales to Astonish, Journey into Mystery,The X-Men, The Avengers, etc.) and co-creator of the Golden Age Ghost Rider (Magazine Enterprises), Asbestos Man, Plantman, Red Raven, the Leatherneck Raiders, and Sharon Carter, and more!


from (L) Marvel Tales Annual #1 (Marvel, September 1964),
(R) Fantastic Four Annual #7 (Marvel, November 1969)

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛: Her ever-changing moods

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛ was being especially affectionate today, and I hate that I have to go out to the post office and leave her alone for an hour.


Luckily she had transformed completely into limp snoring fuzzy noodle mode by the time I returned.

Now Playing: Free Myself by Sophie B. Hawkins

Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, Kerry Gammill!

Happy birthday today to comics artist Kerry Gammill (Power Man and Iron Fist, Action Comics, Superman, Marvel Team-Up, Fallen Angels and more)!


from Marvel Age #57 (Marvel, December 1987); text by Mike Carlin, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Paul Becton
(See here for a less-than-complimentary homage to Kerry Gammill in the comics.)

Happy birthday, Kerry!

Today in Comics History, April 26: Happy birthday, George Tuska!

Born on this day in 1916: comic book and strip artist George Tuska, whose long career includes Iron Man, Captain Marvel, The World's Greatest Superheroes strip, Luke Cage, Crime Does Not Pay, Buck Rogers, Planet of the Apes, The Unexpected, The X-Men, Teen Titans, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and lots more!


from Fantastic Four Annual #7 (Marvel, November 1969)

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛ is ecstatic we're home

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛ is very excited we're home from Florida. She's even more excited with her new green towels!


She's hocked up a hairball on this one to claim it as hers.

Today in Comics History, August 23, 2010, 6:42 PM: Jim Shooter just won't give up on that "world outside your window" concept

from Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (2010 series) #4 (Dark Horse, November 2010), script by Jim Shooter, pencils and inks by Roger Robinson, colors by Wes Dzioba, letters by Nate Piekos
I know that's a TV, not a window, but i couldn't resist the joke.

Little Stuffed Kitty Pryde: Depressed

Not as depressed as yesterday but still a little depressed.

Today in Comics History, August 21, 2010, 7:25 AM: Comic books take you to exciting locations! Paris! Bangkok! Poughkeepsie!

from Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (2010 series) #3 (Dark Horse, October 2010), script by Jim Shooter, pencils and inks by Roger Robinson, colors by Wes Dzioba, letters by Blambot!

Today in Comics History, April 21, 1945: Hitler's only smart wartime realization

from Last Days of the Justice Society Special #1 one-shot (DC, July 1986), Script co-plot and script by (who else than) Roy Thomas, co-plot by Dann Thomas; pencils by David Ross, inks by Mike Gustovich, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by David Cody Weiss

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛: We'll be home today, Kitty!

Hooray! We're going home from Florida today and we'll see the real Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛ soon! I think she is excited about it.


(Photograph by Erin, our excellent cat-sitter!)

Little Stuffed Kitty Pryde Eats Food: Culver's Restaurant

So, me and John and Randi drove to Wisconsin today!

Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛: Hidin' Under the Bed

Here's a photo of Kitty Pryde 🐈‍⬛ from our catsitter while we're away in Florida. We'll be home in a few days! See you soon, Kitty! We miss you somethin' fierce!

Today in Comics History, April 18, 1933: Blimp immediately explodes

from "The Jinx That Rode the Skies" in Ghosts (1971 series) #23 (DC, February 1974), pencils and inks by Sam Glanzman
This post was suggested by faithful reader and frequent commenter Blam, who's provided a lot of date references in comics that I'll spotlight throughout 2023 in this series. Thanks, Blam!

Today in Comics History, April 18, 1958: You're three years too early to read your kid an issue of Fantastic Four, so sure, your old college yearbook is probably just as much fun

from Fantastic Four (2023 series) #1/694 (Marvel, January 2023), script by Ryan North, pencils and inks by Iban Coello, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Joe Caramagna