Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for March 6-12, 2026…

165 years ago March 9, 1861 John McLenan’s The Flight of Abraham appears in Harper’s Weekly. The feature is a satirical comic using speech balloons.

150 years ago March 7, 1876 Early comic strip writer-artist Orville Peter Williams is born.

145 years ago March 10, 1881 British artist Percy Cocking is born.

140 years ago March 8, 1886 Tillie the Toiler creator Russ Westover is born.

130 years ago March 10, 1896 Coulton Waugh is born. One of the artists of the Dickie Dare comic strip, he writes the pioneering comics reference The Comics (1947).

115 years ago March 9, 1911 Dutch artist Lou Visser is born. He developed the Fred Penner comics series.

110 years ago March 10, 1916 Bob Grant is born. He draws Disney strips for newspapers and funny animal comics for Dell/Western and ACG/Creston.

95 years ago March 6, 1931 Canadian political cartoonist Jean-Pierre Girerd is born.

95 years ago March 7, 1931 Rinaldo Traini is born. The Italian comics promoter is co-founder of the Salone Internazionale dei Comics.

90 years ago March 8, 1936 Dudley D. Watkins’ Oor Wullie and The Broons begins in The Sunday Post.

85 years ago March 7, 1941 Chick Young’s Blondie comic strip features the birth of Dagwood and Blondie’s second child, a girl. Readers in a national contest will name her Cookie.

85 years ago March 9, 1941 British artist John Geering is born. He’s noted for his work for DC Thomson and creates Bananaman.

80 years ago March 6, 1946 Dutch animator, artist, and teacher Jacques Verbeek is born.

80 years ago March 12, 1946 Voice artist Frank Welker is born. His wide variety of roles includes Fred Jones and Scooby-Doo in Scooby-Doo and (starting in 2005) Garfield.

80 years ago March 12, 1946 Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact begins from George A. Pflaum.

75 years ago March 12, 1951 Dennis the Menace by Hank Ketcham begins.

75 years ago March 12, 1951 Is it a coincidence? David Law’s Dennis the Menace and Gnasher begins in The Beano in #452 (dated March 17 but on sale today).

70 years ago March 10, 1956 Tony Millionaire is born, initially named Scott Richardson. He creates Maakies, Sock Monkey, and Drinky Crow.

70 years ago March 11, 1956 Voice artist Rob Paulsen is born. His roles include Raphael of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko of Animaniacs, and Pinky of Pinky and the Brain.

65 years ago March 6, 1961 Frieda is introduced in Charles Schulz’ Peanuts.

60 years ago March 8, 1966 Spanish artist Francisco Darnis dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 56. He created Nick, Pecho de Hiero.

60 years ago March 9, 1966 Richie Prosch is born. Gina Prosch and he create Emma Davenport.

55 years ago March 6, 1971 Artist Robert Lewis is born.

55 years ago March 10, 1971 Austrian artist Ladislaus Kmoch dies at age 76. He created the pioneering Austrian strip Tobias Seicherl.

50 years ago March 8, 1976 Animator and writer Romer Zane Grey dies of a stroke at age 66. (He was novelist Zane Grey’s oldest son.)

45 years ago March 8, 1981 Stan Lynde’s Rick O’Shay ends.

45 years ago March 10, 1981 Writer Jack Oleck dies at age 67. He specialized in horror stories, his career beginning in the Golden Age as a member of the Simon-Kirby studio and including work for EC’s line of anthology titles. He co-created (with Alex Niño) Space Voyagers and (with Alfredo Alcala) Kong the Untamed.

40 years ago March 6, 1986 Jack Binder dies at age 83. The Golden Age artist (brother of writer Otto Binder) created the Lev Gleason Daredevil, drew Mary Marvel, co-created The Destroyer with Stan Lee, and founded the Jack Binder Studio.

35 years ago March 10, 1991 New Yorker and Playboy cartoonist Joseph Mirachi dies of prostate cancer at age 71.

30 years ago March 6, 1996 Artist Jack Abel dies at age 68. His work for comic books began in the 1950s, and he was known for his inking for both Marvel and DC in the 1960s and 1970s.

30 years ago March 7, 1996 French artist Ramon Monzon dies at age 66.

30 years ago March 10, 1996 After a move and renaming, the International Museum of Cartoon Art opens in Boca Raton, Florida, with an exhibit of rare Dumbo art.

15 years ago March 10, 2011 Writer, editor, and scholar Bill Blackbeard dies at age 84. He was the founder of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art and transferred that collection (via six semitrailer trucks) in 1998 to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University.

10 years ago March 5, 2016 Argentine artist Alberto Doze dies from complications of heart surgery at age 68. His US work included contributions to DC, Marvel, and IDW.

10 years ago March 7, 2016 British writer Scott Goodall dies at age 80. He created the “Fishboy” character and was made an MBE in 2005.

10 years ago March 7, 2016 Artist Paul C. Ryan dies at age 66. He worked for King Features, CrossGen, DC, and Marvel (where he had a long run on Fantastic Four).

5 years ago March 7, 2021 Writer-artist Frank Thorne dies at age 90. His work included comics for Standard and Dell and the King Features Perry Mason newspaper strip. He drew Red Sonja for Marvel and created Ghita of Alizzar, Lann, Moonshine McJuggs, and more.