Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for April 24-30, 2026…

135 years ago April 27, 1891 British artist and teacher Norman Pett is born. He creates Jane.

120 years ago April 26, 1906 German writer-artist Horst Von Möllendorff is born.

120 years ago April 29, 1906 Lyonel Feininger’s The Kin-der-Kids begins.

115 years ago April 27, 1911 Georges Dargaud is born. He’s the co-founder of the Dargaud S.A. publishing company.

115 years ago April 28, 1911 Award-winning writer, artist, and theater director and producer Lee Falk is born. He creates The Phantom (which he initially draws) and Mandrake the Magician (drawn by Phil Davis).

110 years ago April 26, 1916 Golden and Silver Age artist George Tuska is born. His comics career extends from 1939 to 2009.

110 years ago April 29, 1916 Swiss artist Werner Büchi is born.

105 years ago April 24, 1921 Swedish artist Hans Viktor Nilsson is born. (He works as “Håven.”)

100 years ago April 25, 1926 Writer-artist and editor Johnny Craig is born. Though he begins working in the Golden Age, he’s best known for his work for the EC line of comic books in the 1950s.

100 years ago April 28, 1926 Writer and editor Bill Blackbeard is born. He founds the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, building a collection he sells in 1997 to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University.

100 years ago April 30, 1926 Writer-artist William Overgard is born. His comic book work includes material for the Lev Gleason and Dell lines of comics in the early 1950s; his strip work includes Steve Roper, Rudy, and Kerry Drake; and he scripts episodes of ThunderCats.

95 years ago April 26, 1931 Award-winning Dutch cartoonist Cor Hoekstra is born. (He works as “Cork.”)

95 years ago April 27, 1931 Cuban artist Virgilio Martínez Gaínza is born.

85 years ago April 24, 1941 Egyptian political cartoonist Gomaa Frahat is born.

85 years ago April 28, 1941 Spanish artist Ramón Tosas Fuentes (who works as “Ivá”) is born.

80 years ago April 26, 1946 Belgian artist and animator Claude Viseur (who works as “Clovis”) is born.

80 years ago April 29, 1946 Brazilian-French artist Alain Voss is born.

80 years ago April 30, 1946 Animator, cartoonist, and filmmaker Bill Plympton is born. He’s especially known for his “Your Face” animated short and for the animated feature Hair High.

75 years ago April 24, 1951 Japanese manga artist and teacher Henry Yoshikata Kiyama dies at age 66. He created The Four Immigrants Manga.

75 years ago April 25, 1951 The Flemish children’s magazine Pum-Pum begins.

75 years ago April 28, 1951 Dutch underground artist Peter Pontiac is born.

60 years ago April 28, 1966 Artist and animator Jesse Marsh dies at age 58. He began his career at the Disney Studio, worked on Dell’s Gene Autry, and was especially known for his work on Dell’s Tarzan series.

60 years ago April 28, 1966 Pioneering writer-artist Gladys Parker dies at age 58. She drew Gay and Her Gang and is best known for Mopsy.

55 years ago April 30, 1971 David Law dies at age 62. The, Scottish cartoonist worked as “Davey” Law and was best known for creating Beryl the Peril and (a different) Dennis the Menace for D.C. Thomson.

45 years ago April 24, 1981 Artist and teacher Howard Purcell dies at age 62. Beginning his comics career in the Golden Age, he co-created Sargon the Sorcerer and Gay Ghost and worked for DC.

45 years ago April 28, 1981 The CBS Peanuts special It’s Magic, Charlie Brown is first broadcast.

45 years ago April 28, 1981 Japanese manga artist Ai Morinaga is born. Her work includes Kirara no Hoshi.

30 years ago April 27, 1996 Dutch artists Peter Vox, Jan Kruis, and Peter van Straaten are knighted.

20 years ago April 29, 2006 Canadian cartoonist Sid Barron dies at age 88. He drew features for the Toronto Star.

15 years ago April 29, 2011 Writer-artist Martin Lodewijk is knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his contributions to the Dutch comics field. Best known for Agent 327, Guinness World Records recognizes him in 2000 as creator of the smallest comic book.

10 years ago April 27, 2016 Indian artist-editor V.T. Thomas (who worked as “Toms”) dies at age 86. He was known for his series Bobanum Moliyum.

10 years ago April 28, 2016 Belgian writer-artist René Hausman dies at age 80. He created Laiyna with writer Pierre Dubois.

10 years ago April 29, 2016 Writer-artist Jok Church dies of a heart attack at age 66. He created You Can with Beakman and Jax.

5 years ago April 29, 2021 Steve Bell’s If … comic strip ends.