TURNING POINTS by Maggie Thompson

Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for February 10-16, 2023…

165 years ago February 10, 1858 Writer-artist Walter McDougall is born. He illustrates Bill Nye’s newspaper features, which may make him the first syndicated newspaper artist. He also writes and draws McDougall’s Good Stories for Children for the New York Herald.

145 years ago February 14, 1878 Hungarian artist Erwin Barta is born.

145 years ago February 15, 1878 Artist William Steinigans is born. He creates such strips as The Bad Dream That Made Bill a Better Boy.

115 years ago February 11, 1908 Argentine artist José Luis is born. He’s especially known for his work on King Features’ Cisco Kid strip.

110 years ago February 13, 1913 Prolific writer-artist Willy Vandersteen is born. Lambiek calls him “the most famous, influential, and productive Flemish comics artist ever.” His Suske en Wiske is the longest running Flemish comics series of all time.

105 years ago February 12, 1918 French artist Alphonse Lévy dies at age 75.

105 years ago February 12, 1918 Cartoonist Bud Blake is born. He creates the award-winning Tiger newspaper feature.

100 years ago February 10, 1923 Award-winning editorial cartoonist Hy Rosen is born.

100 years ago February 15, 1923 Belgian writer-artist Marcel Denis is born.

95 years ago February 11, 1928 The Rover #304 introduces Dudley D. Watkins’ Morgyn the Mighty.

95 years ago February 11, 1928 Fernand Cheneval is born. The Belgian artist, editor, and publisher founds the weekly comics magazine Héroïc-Albums.

90 years ago February 15, 1933 Animator, film producer, and comics artist Pat Sullivan dies of pneumonia at age 47.

85 years ago February 11, 1938 Artist Arnie Levin is born. He is the animation director for Electra Studio, a New Yorker cartoonist, and an art teacher.

80 years ago February 13, 1943 Norwegian comics artist Håkon Aasnes is born. The creator of Seidel og Tobram draws other features, as well, including those featuring such characters as Donald Duck and Fantomen.

75 years ago February 15, 1948 Underground comix writer-artist-editor Art Spiegelman is born. He wins the Pulitzer Prize for Maus.

75 years ago February 15, 1948 DC production staffer and letterer Albert Deguzman is born.

70 years ago February 14, 1953 Mary Bergman dies in a plane crash. The wife of Billy DeBeck, she founded the Billy De Beck Awards.

65 years ago February 16, 1958 Award-winning artist John Totleben is born. His work includes Saga of the Swamp Thing and Miracleman, and he co-creates the anthology Taboo with Stephen Bissette.

60 years ago February 15, 1963 Writer-artist Marc Hansen is born. His creations include Ralph Snart, Weird Melvin, and Doctor Gorpon.

60 years ago February 16, 1963 The British magazine Knockout ends to merge with Valiant.

50 years ago February 10, 1973 Spider-Man Comics begins from Marvel UK, edited by Tony Isabella.

50 years ago February 15, 1973 Actor Wally Cox dies of a heart attack at age 48. His roles included the Mr. Peepers character in the TV series of that name, and his voice artist performances included Underdog.

40 years ago February 10, 1983 Wally Robertson dies at age 80. The Scots artist was known for work on Charlie Chaplin comics.

40 years ago February 11, 1983 Krause Publications takes over publication of The Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom from creator Alan Light, initially changing the name to The Comics Buyer’s Guide. The new editors are Don and Maggie Thompson.

35 years ago February 11, 1988 Italian comics artist Lino Landolfi dies at age 62.

35 years ago February 13, 1988 Ron Embleton, British artist of Wulf the Briton and Wicked Wanda, dies of a heart attack at age 57.

30 years ago February 16, 1993 Magazine cartoonist Mal Hancock dies at age 56.

25 years ago February 14, 1998 Artist and animator Thomas McKimson dies at age 90. The brother of Looney Tunes director Bob McKimson worked at Warner Brothers in the 1940s and 1950s and drew for Dell comics, becoming the art director of Western Publishing.

25 years ago February 16, 1998 Award-winning French artist Yves Desdemaines-Hugon (who worked as “Gervy”) dies at age 89. He created the Pat’Apouf strip.

20 years ago February 14, 2003 Daredevil opens with Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, and Colin Farrell as Bullseye in a script written by director Mark Steven Johnson and, obviously, based on the Marvel character by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.

15 years ago February 10, 2008 Emmy-winning comics writer Steve Gerber dies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at age 60. His career included co-creating Howard the Duck with artist Val Mayerik, initially as the comedy relief offered by a “funny animal” trapped in a human world.

10 years ago February 10, 2013 William Watts Biggers dies of a heart attack at age 85. The Underdog co-creator and co-writer (with Chet Stover) also wrote the Underdog theme.

10 years ago February 16, 2013 German artist, teacher, and animator Harald Siepermann dies at age 50.