160 years ago July 14, 1865 Uruguayan-French artist Eugène Damblans (also known as Eugène Damblanc) is born.

135 years ago July 16, 1890 Harold Teen creator Carl Ed is born.

115 years ago July 14, 1910 Animation icon William Hanna is born. He forms Hanna-Barbera Productions with co-Tom and Jerry creator Joseph Barbera in 1957. Its first hit TV series is The Huckleberry Hound Show.

115 years ago July 17, 1910 Grif’s It’s Only Ethelinda ends.

100 years ago July 15, 1925 Award-winning magazine cartoonist Henry Martin is born. He’s known for his work for Punch and The New Yorker and for his Good News/Bad News panel feature.

90 years ago July 13, 1935 Danish teacher and award-winning cartoonist Kurt Westergaard is born.

85 years ago July 13, 1940 Artist Mike Ploog is born. He’s known for work on such titles as Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, and Abadazad.

80 years ago July 14, 1945 Musician, actor, and film producer Sid Haig is born. He’s known for his work in horror films, but his roles include appearances in such comics connected TV shows as Batman and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

75 years ago July 12, 1950 Writer-artist-editor Richard G. Taylor is born.

70 years ago July 15, 1955 The first issue of the Italian comics series Pepito hits the market.

60 years ago July 12, 1965 In Charles Schulz’ Peanuts, Snoopy tries to write a novel – which will become a running gag.

60 years ago July 14, 1965 Austrian artist-teacher Marianne Frimberger dies at age 88.

55 years ago July 11, 1970 Artist and teacher George Homer Wilson dies at age 67. He drew for pulps, Fiction House, Centaur, and Ace.

55 years ago July 12, 1970 Writer-artist Phil Jimenez is born. He’s especially known for his work on Wonder Woman, Infinite Crisis, Invisibles, and New X-Men.

50 years ago July 11, 1975 Cartoonist Crockett Johnson dies of lung cancer at age 68. Born David Leisk, he created, wrote, and drew political cartoons, the Barnaby newspaper strip, and the Harold and the Purple Crayon series of picture books.

40 years ago July 14, 1985 Swedish artist Einar Norelius dies at age 85. He’s known for Jumbo i Djungeln.

35 years ago July 16, 1990 Dutch artist Ben Abas dies at age 64.

35 years ago July 17, 1990 Writer-artist George Waiss dies at age 83. He animated for a number of studios, inked the Donald Duck strip, and was known for Disney and Warner Brothers comics he produced for Dell.

30 years ago July 16, 1995 Dutch underground artist Harry Buckinx dies of cancer at age 51.

25 years ago July 14, 2000 Swedish artist Bengt Olof Wennerberg (who worked as “Bowen”) dies at age 81. He was best known for his work for the Swedish edition of Mad.

25 years ago July 14, 2000 Chilean artist René Rios Boettiger (who worked as “Pepo” and created Condorito) dies at age 88.

25 years ago July 14, 2000 Dutch artist Ies Spreekmeester dies at age 86.

25 years ago July 14, 2000 Award-winning writer-artist and teacher Alvin Hollingsworth (who also worked as “Alvin Holly”) dies at age 72. He worked through the Binder Studio and the Bernard Baily Studio and freelanced for Fox, Fiction House, Prize, Charlton, and more. He created the Kandy comic strip.

25 years ago July 14, 2000 X-Men, the first in a series of X-Men films, opens. Written by David Hayter, it’s directed by Bryan Singer and introduces movie audiences to Wolverine, Storm, and Magneto along with other characters basic to the Marvel Universe.

25 years ago July 17, 2000 Belgian writer-publisher Philippe Vandooren dies at age 65.

15 years ago July 12, 2010 Autobiographical comics writer Harvey Pekar dies at age 70. His American Splendor brought him international attention and a film version in which he was played by Paul Giamatti.

15 years ago July 12, 2010 Musician (a member of The Fugs) and social and political cartoonist Tuli Kupferberg dies of a stroke at age 86.

10 years ago July 16, 2015 Writer-artist and animator Alan Kupperberg dies of thymus cancer at age 62. He worked for Marvel, DC, and others and wrote and drew Obnoxio the Clown vs. The X-Men.

10 years ago July 17, 2015 Award-winning Belgian novelist and comic book writer Jean Van Hamme is knighted.

5 years ago July 13, 2020 Writer, artist, colorist, and editor Carl Gafford dies at age 66 of complications from diabetes.

5 years ago July 17, 2020 US Georgia Representative and civil rights leader John Lewis dies of cancer at age 80. He was an award-winner for his March graphic novel series.