Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for August 29 through September 4, 2025…

150 years ago September 1, 1875 Pulp writer Edgar Rice Burroughs is born. His creations include Tarzan and John Carter.

120 years ago August 29, 1905 Disney Legends comic strip artist Al Taliaferro is born. He’s best known for his art on the Donald Duck strip, which is reprinted in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories.

120 years ago September 3, 1905 Animator Eric Larson is born. He’s one of “Disney’s Nine Old Men” and works on such films as Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia and helps recruit new animators to the studio. He works for Disney for 53 years – perhaps the longest tenure at the studio.

115 years ago September 2, 1910 Golden Age and Silver Age artist Paul Reinman is born. He works for many companies but is especially known for his work inking Jack Kirby’s pencils. He co-creates The Fireball and (with Jerry Siegel) The Mighty Crusaders and (with Richard E. Hughes) John Force.

100 years ago August 30, 1925 Ferd Johnson’s Texas Slim strip begins.

100 years ago September 2, 1925 Elpidio Torres is born. The Philippine creator writes and draws such series as Robina, Planeta X, and Planet Eye.

95 years ago September 2, 1930 Artist Don Sherwood is born. He creates Dan Flagg, featuring a Marine hero, and produces a variety of such other work as the comic strips of The Flintstones and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.

90 years ago August 30, 1935 Artist and collector Sheldon Oppenberg is born.

90 years ago September 4, 1935 Fujio Akatsuka is born. The Japanese manga artist is known for Tensai Babakon and Otasukekun.

85 years ago September 1, 1940 Our Own Oddities by Ralph Graczak begins.

75 years ago September 4, 1950 Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker begins.

70 years ago August 30, 1955 Prolific writer-artist Craig Boldman is born. He’s especially known for his work on stories of the Archie characters.

65 years ago August 31, 1960 Boots and Her Buddies creator Abe Martin dies at age 62.

65 years ago September 3, 1960 The 18th World Science Fiction Convention begins in Pittsburgh. Pittcon, attended by 568 fans and pros, runs through September 5 and features distribution of Dick and Pat Lupoff’s Xero #1 (with the first installment of “All in Color for a Dime”) and the appearance of the duo as Captain and Mary Marvel (which leads Don and Maggie Thompson to create their Comic Art fanzine).

60 years ago September 1, 1965 Prolific French artist René Giffey dies of cardiac arrest at age 81.

55 years ago August 29, 1970 Writer-artist Jason Pearson is born. The creator of Body Bags is a member of Gaijin Studios.

45 years ago August 29, 1980 Steve Gerber files a lawsuit over ownership of his co-creation (with Val Mayerik) of Howard the Duck, who first appeared in Marvel’s Adventure into Fear #19 (December 1973).

35 years ago August 31, 1990 Scott McCloud produces the first 24-Hour Comic.

20 years ago August 30, 2005 The webcomic Crying Macho Man by Jose Cabrera goes live.

10 years ago August 30, 2015 Cartoonist Brad Anderson dies at age 91. He created the panel cartoon Marmaduke.

10 years ago August 30, 2015 The comics creator called the “Lord of Lowbrow,” Stephen Pizzurro (who worked as “The Pizz”), dies by suicide at age 57.

5 years ago September 1, 2020 Jim Janes dies at age 73. The artist freelanced for Charlton, Warren, and DC and worked on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show.

And here are the anniversaries spanning the month of September…

170 years ago September 1855 The Mr. Slim comics feature by John McLenan begins in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine.

135 years ago September 1890 Artist James Montgomery Flagg makes his debut at age 12 in St. Nicholas Magazine.

85 years ago September 1940 Marvel (well, Timely, but you know it’s Marvel) introduces a bunch of characters in Daring Mystery Comics #6. Cover-featured is (the “new sensational feature” by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby) Marvel Boy (the reincarnation of Hercules, by the way). And there are others, including Stuporman by Harry Douglas, Dynaman (drawn by Steve Dahlman), and Tigerman (drawn by Mike Roy).

85 years ago September 1940 Quality introduces the “newest sensation of comic magazines” The Ray in Smash Comics #14. It’s drawn by Lou Fine.

85 years ago September 1940 The first aviation comic book is Fiction House’s Wings Comics #1. Released more than a year before America enters World War II, the cover boasts “Fighting Aces of War Skies” and shows an attack on a Nazi target. Features include Skull Squad, Parachute Patrol, Jane Martin, Clipper Kirk, F-4 of the Air Intelligence, Suicide Smith… You get the idea.

85 years ago September 1940 Hey, are those DC “Go-Go Checks” on the cover? Nope. The first Western run of one character (a giveaway, at that) is Ralston-Purina Co.’s Tom Mix #1 (and it’s the first release of that company, too). “Published Exclusively for Ralston Straight Shooters,” it features Tom Mix, Wrangler, Jane, Pecos, Wash, and (yes) Amos Q. Snood.

85 years ago September 1940 The cover of Lev Gleason’s Silver Streak Comics #6 trumpets, “The Claw Returns!” – and it goes on to elaborate, “The avenging hand of The Claw reaches out to destroy the lives of his enemies! Read and see the exciting adventures of the world’s most fantastic criminal in this issue!” But what’s of most interest is that Daredevil is introduced (in a yellow and blue costume) in a story by Don Rico and Jack Binder.

85 years ago September 1940 Samson has been around as a comic book character since the first issue, but his sidekick David first appears in Fox’s Fantastic Comics #10 in “Death Rides the Airways” with art by Alex Blum.

85 years ago September 1940 “Sensational New Feature The Firefly” appears in Archie’s Top-Notch Comics #8 in a story by Harry Shorten and Bob Wood.

85 years ago September 1940 Centaur’s Amazing Mystery Funnies #24 is the last issue, cover-featuring Fantom of the Fair – carrying a woman “out of one danger… but into another!” Wups!

80 years ago September 1945 The Turtle is introduced in “The Fastest Man Alive vs. the Slowest Man Alive” by Gardner Fox and Martin Naydel in DC’s All Flash #21. The more slowly you commit a crime, the more successful it will be? Hmm…

75 years ago September 1950 DC’s Superboy #10 introduces Lana Lang. “The Girl in Superboy’s Life!” is by Bill Finger and John Sikela.

70 years ago September 1955 The Presto Kid appears for the first time (replacing Ghost Rider, thanks to the Comics Code) in Magazine Enterprise’s Red Mask #51 in a story by Carl Memling and Dick Ayers.

65 years ago September 1960 Thomas Kalmaku makes his first appearance in DC’s Green Lantern #2. In “Riddle of the Frozen Ghost Town!” by John Broome, Gil Kane, and Joe Giella, Green Lantern helps “Pieface” (yikes), and Kalmaku learns that Hal Jordan is Green Lantern.

65 years ago September 1960 Ventriloquist Danny the Dummy is introduced in DC’s Batman #134 in “The Deadly Dummy” by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff, and Charles Paris.

65 years ago September 1960 “Ha, ha! My dog and I will drive you and your pet away from Earth! Our kryptonite bodies will destroy you both!” Superboy and Krypto share “The Dreams of Doom” in a story by Jerry Siegel and George Papp. It introduces Kryptonite Kid (who can turn anything into kryptonite) in DC’s Superboy #83.

60 years ago September 1965 “I was the man with animal powers!” Buddy Baker gets animal powers (but no costume or superhero name or enduring powers) in a story by Dave Wood, Carmine Infantino, and George Roussos in DC’s Strange Adventures #180. Nevertheless, he’s Animal Man. Just saying.

60 years ago September 1965 “Iron Major – Rock Sergeant!” is “Easy Co’s giant war novel” featuring Iron Major’s first appearance in DC’s Our Army at War #158. The story is by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert.

60 years ago September 1965 “Cloaked in darkness, Spidey faces the Molten Man” – who first appears in Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man #28. (Thanks to the black cover, it’s hard to find this in top condition; back issue prices are high.) “The Menace of the Molten Man!” is by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. (Oh, and Peter Parker graduates from high school in the issue. Talk about milestones!)

60 years ago September 1965 There are those who will claim that the Harvey Kurtzman-edited magazine Help! was not a comics magazine; it was. Its staffers included Gloria Steinem, it brought the work of such creators as Gilbert Shelton and Robert Crumb to national readership, and its content included fumetti storytelling (which, not so incidentally, brought Terry Gilliam and John Cleese together). It was a gem. But Warren Publishing ends it with #26. Doggone!

60 years ago September 1965 “Crisis on Earth-A!” is by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. DC’s Justice League of America #38 makes up the second part of DC’s annual Justice League-Justice Society team-up.

60 years ago September 1965 Titanium Man first appears in the Iron Man story in Marvel’s Tales of Suspense #69. “If I Must Die, Let It Be with Honor!” is by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Vince Colletta.

60 years ago September 1965 “Joy turns to tragedy with ‘The Birth of Aquababy!’ … ‘Where do his deadly powers come from? What turns the sea king’s son into a tiny bundle of doom?’” Mera reacts, “Eek! With his little hand, Aquababy created a monster fish!” Wow. Aquababy is introduced in DC’s Aquaman #23, drawn by Nick Cardy.

60 years ago September 1965 DC’s Mystery in Space #102 contains the last appearance of Adam Strange in that series. He and Alanna are captives of human hating robots in prehistoric times. So there’s that. “The Robot World of Ancient Rann” is by Jerry Siegel and Lee Elias. (The next issue will feature Ultra, the Multi-Alien.)

55 years ago September 1970 DC ends the series with Showcase #93, which features Manhunter 2070 in his third tryout. “Never Trust a Red-Haired Greenie” is by Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia. (The series will return in 1977.)

55 years ago September 1970 Marvel’s Fantastic Four #102, featuring “The Strength of the Sub-Mariner” by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Joe Sinnott, is Kirby’s final Fantastic Four issue.

55 years ago September 1970 “To Smash the Inhumans” is the story by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Herb Trimpe in Marvel’s Silver Surfer #18. It’s the last issue.

55 years ago September 1970 On the cover, Iron Man declares, “The Hulk is – dead!” Not so fast, Tony. In any case, Hulk buddy Jim Wilson is introduced in Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk #131. “A Titan Stalks the Tenements!” is by Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe, and John Severin.

55 years ago September 1970 “The Coming of Red Wolf” is by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Tom Palmer. It marks the first appearance of (yes) Red Wolf and appears in Marvel’s The Avengers #80.

55 years ago September 1970 DC’s The Flash hits #200. “Count 200 – and Die!” is by Robert Kanigher, Irv Novick, and Murphy Anderson. (Don’t confuse it with DC’s Flash #200, which will come in September 2003.)

50 years ago September 1975 Antihero Starhawk first appears in a cameo in “Three Worlds to Conquer!” by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, and Vince Colletta in Marvel’s The Defenders #27.

50 years ago September 1975 The last issue of Marvel’s Frankenstein (cover-titled “The Frankenstein Monster”) is #18. “Lady of the House!” is by Bill Mantlo, Val Mayerik, and Dan Adkins.

50 years ago September 1975 DC’s The Batman Family begins. It starts off as a squarebound “Giant,” “introducing the new dynamite duo,” and “presenting – the origin of the Batgirl-Robin team!” “The Invader from Hell!” is by Elliot S! Maggin and Mike Grell. Other stories include features starring Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and Man-Bat.

50 years ago September 1975 E-Man #10 is the last Charlton issue of the series by Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton. The story is “The Witch of Hog Wallow.”

50 years ago September 1975 Jack Kirby’s Dingbats of Danger Street first appear in DC’s 1st Issue Special #6 by Kirby and Mike Royer. The characters will pop up now and then in cameos in DC superhero titles.

45 years ago September 1980 DC Comics Presents #25 kicks off the “Whatever Happened to” feature with “Whatever Happened to Hourman?” – an eight-page story by Bob Rozakis, Charles Nicholas, and Joe Giella about the Golden Age character.

45 years ago September 1980 Mystery in Space #111 revives the DC anthology series for a brief outing. (#110 was dated September 1966.) The Joe Kubert cover announces, “It’s back! Comicdom’s first magazine of interstellar suspense!”

45 years ago September 1980 “Back off, Spider-Man! You can’t beat – ‘Fusion’ the Twin Terror!” Eek! The twins are introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #208 in a story by Denny O’Neil, Jim Shooter, Mark Gruenwald, John Romita Jr., Brett Breeding, and Al Milgrom.

45 years ago September 1980 Marvel’s The X-Men #137 (“Special double-size issue!”) introduces Imperial Guard members Earthquake, Hussar, Manta, and Warstar. Fans are more concerned with the Phoenix-Jean Grey-Marvel Girl-Dark Phoenix storyline of “The Fate of the Phoenix!” by John Byrne, Chris Claremont, and Terry Austin.

45 years ago September 1980 In a back-up story in DC’s Brave and the Bold #166, Nemesis is introduced in a story by Cary Burkett and Dan Spiegle. (“Will Nemesis balance the scales of justice – with his life?”)

45 years ago September 1980 Marvel ends Shogun Warriors with #20. “The Circle’s End” is by Doug Moench and Herb Trimpe.

45 years ago September 1980 Kitchen Sink’s Gay Comix #1 is edited by Howard Cruse. “Lesbians and Gay Men Put It On Paper!”

40 years ago September 1985 Interloper is introduced in Marvel’s The Defenders #147. “…and Games!” is by Peter B. Gillis, Don Perlin, and Art Nichols.

40 years ago September 1985 Timothy Truman’s Scout begins from Eclipse.

40 years ago September 1985 Marvel’s Squadron Supreme #1 kicks off the 12-issue limited series. “The Utopia Principle” is by Mark Gruenwald, Bob Hall, and John Beatty.

40 years ago September 1985 Archie ends The Mighty Crusaders with #13 – and without revealing who the group’s traitor is. Stories in the issue are by Rich Margopoulos, Dick Ayers, and Mike Esposito.

40 years ago September 1985 Making their first DC appearances are Charlton characters Captain Atom, Judomaster, Nightshade, Peacemaker, Question, and Thunderbolt in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6. “3 Earths! 3 Deaths!” by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, and Jerry Ordway also introduces Wildcat II and features the first full appearance of The Anti-Monitor.

40 years ago September 1985 Marvel’s Longshot makes his first appearance in (wait for it) Longshot #1. “A Man without a Past” is by Ann Nocenti, Arthur Adams, Brent Anderson, Whilce Portacio, and Scott Williams.

40 years ago September 1985 Who will be the new members? Making their first appearances in the Legion are Quislet, Sensor Girl, and Mentalla in DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes #14. “Unto the New Generation” is by Paul Levitz, Steve Lightle, and Larry Mahlstedt.

40 years ago September 1985 The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens is released by Eclipse. It will win the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album of the year.

35 years ago September 1990 Marvel ends Nth Man the Ultimate Ninja with #16, its cover proclaiming “The Ultimate Issue!” “The Rinse Cycle” is by Larry Hama, Ron Wagner, and Fred Fredericks.

35 years ago September 1990 Sandman #19 features “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (also known as “Dream Country Part 3”) by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. It goes on to win the World Fantasy Award for short fiction – following which, those awards remove comics from eligibility in the category.

35 years ago September 1990 Dark Horse releases Hard Boiled #1 by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow.

35 years ago September 1990 DC’s Suicide Squad #45 introduces Dybbuk in “The Jerusalem Serpent” by John Ostrander, Kim Yale, and Geof Isherwood.

35 years ago September 1990 Marvel’s The New Mutants #93 introduces Dragoness, Kamikaze, and Sumo in “Madripoor” by Louise Simonson, Rob Liefeld, and Hilary Barta.

30 years ago September 1995 Malibu relaunches its Ultraverse line of superhero titles with issues numbered “infinity,” driving indexers crazy.

30 years ago September 1995 Marvel introduces its Marvel Edge imprint featuring Daredevil #344; Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #81; Ghost Rider #65; and The Incredible Hulk #433.

30 years ago September 1995 Volume 11 of The Complete Crumb Comics by R. Crumb is released by Fantagraphics. It will win the Eisner for Best Archival Collection of the year.

25 years ago September 2000 Scary Godmother: The Boo Flu by Jill Thompson is released by Sirius. It will win the Eisner Award for Best Title for a Younger Audience of the year.

25 years ago September 2000 The first issue of Marvel’s The Sentry introduces (yes) The Sentry – and The Void – in “The Suit” by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee.

20 years ago September 2005 The first issue of the Marvel miniseries Daredevil vs. Punisher by David Lapham pits Daredevil against (you guessed it!) Punisher.

15 years ago September 2010 Marvel kicks off another new X-Men series with (another) X-Men #1. The team in this installment by Victor Gischler, Paco Medina, and Juan Vlasco involves Cyclops, Jubilee, Pixie, Wolverine, Storm, and Angel.

15 years ago September 2010 In Marvel’s Shadowland #1 [Spoiler!], Daredevil kills Bullseye. The issue is by Andy Diggle, Billy Tan, and Matt Banning.

15 years ago September 2010 Marvel’s Avengers: The Children’s Crusade begins. The story is by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, and Mark Morales.

10 years ago September 2015 “Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers RiP 1872” – Huh? Marvel’s 1872 begins, set in the town of Timely (hee!). “Tyranny in Timely” is by Gerry Duggan and Nik Virella.

10 years ago September 2015 Marvel’s Age of Apocalypse #1 provides “Sticks and Stones” by Fabian Nicieza and Gerardo Sandoval.

10 years ago September 2015 Talk about your revamps! Archie was introduced in MLJ’s Pep Comics #22 (December 1941, where he didn’t even get a cover credit), and Archie Comics #1 was dated Winter 1942. Now, there’s a change of pace. Archie introduces himself in Archie #1 (with many, many variants): “Hi. My name is Archie Andrews.” The story is by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, and the issue does reprint that Pep Comics intro.

10 years ago September 2015 There have been more than one Civil War series from Marvel over the years. This first issue of this five-issue series has a bunch of variant covers. (Surprise!) The story is by Charles Soule, Leinil Francis Yu, and Gerry Alanguilan.

5 years ago September 2020 Marvel begins its X-Factor 10-issue series with “Aurora Moritorium” by Leah Williams and David Baldeón.

5 years ago September 2020 Uh oh! “The war for Earth is just beginning!” The first issue of DC’s DCeased: Dead Planet by Tom Taylor, Hrevor Hairsine, Gigi Baldassini, and Stefano Gaudiano finds folks returning to Earth after having left it. (It’s set five years after the original DCeased series.

5 years ago September 2020 The Department of Truth begins from Image, starting with the end of the world. It’s by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds.

5 years ago September 2020 Image begins Stillwater with “I Can’t Protect You. No One Can.” by Chip Zdarsky and Ramón K. Pérez. Eek?

5 years ago September 2020 There are 21 variant covers for the first issue of Empyre. It’s by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, and Valerio Schiti and it kicks off a Marvel story arc that involves Avengers, Fantastic Four, and assorted other heroes dealing with the Kree-Skrull armada.

5 years ago September 2020 Continuing the trend that began earlier in the year, more conventions are canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ignatz Awards ceremony of the Small Press Expo is held online.