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 May 21-27, 2021…

165 years ago May 25, 1856 French teacher and comic art pioneer Georges Colomb is born. He signs his work “Christophe.”

155 years ago May 25, 1866 Artist Carl E. Schultze is born. The creator of Foxy Grandpa signs his strips “Bunny.”

130 years ago May 23, 1891 The French realistic comics artist Étienne Le Rallic is born. He sometimes uses the pseudonym Smile.

120 years ago May 25, 1901 The British comics magazine Funny Wonder ends.

120 years ago May 27, 1901 French artist Roger Melliès is born.

120 years ago May 27, 1901 Pioneering Swiss comics artist Fritz von Dardel dies at age 84.

100 years ago May 24, 1921 Ted Rawlings is born. The British artist is known for his work for D.C. Thomson.

95 years ago May 23, 1926 Belgian artist Bob Mau is born. The creator of the Kari Lente series is knighted in 1989.

95 years ago May 24, 1926 Artist and animator Clarence Rigby dies at age 60.

85 years ago May 24, 1936 Egyptian-Belgian artist Roger Camille is born. He works as Kiko, and his best known character is Foufi, who was introduced in Spirou magazine.

70 years ago May 21, 1951 Clifford McBride dies at age 50. He created Napoleon and Uncle Elby.

70 years ago May 23, 1951 Artist John Bolton is born. He’s known for his art for such fantasy works as The Books of Magic and the comics version of Hellraiser.

70 years ago May 27, 1951 Artist George Freeman is born. His comics work includes Captain Canuck, and he’s one of the co-founders of the Digital Chameleon coloring and inking studio.

65 years ago May 21, 1956 Writer-editor and Caliber Comics Publisher Gary Reed is born.

65 years ago May 23, 1956 Italian writer-artist Andrea Pazienza is born. He’s best known for the graphic novel Pompeo.

65 years ago May 25, 1956 Artist Sal Velluto is born. He’s especially known for his work on Black Panther, Bloodshot, Justice League Task Force, Marc Spector: Moon Knight, and The Phantom.

60 years ago May 26, 1961 Writer-artist-publisher Verzell Keith James is born.

60 years ago May 26, 1961 Colorist Rachelle A. Menashe is born.

40 years ago May 25, 1981 Cartoonist George Clark dies at age 78. He created The Neighbors and The Ripples.

30 years ago May 27, 1991 Writer-artist Ed Dodd dies at age 88. He created the Mark Trail comic strip.

25 years ago May 21, 1996 Actor and bullwhip expert Lash LaRue dies of emphysema at age 78. His cowboy roles led to licensing his name and image to Fawcett comics.

25 years ago May 24, 1996 Diamond Comic Distributors launches the toll free Comic Shop Locator Service.

25 years ago May 26, 1996 Dutch artist and editor Francis Paid dies at age 71.

20 years ago May 22, 2001 Fan and researcher Rich Morrissey dies of a heart attack at age 47.

20 years ago May 27, 2001 Artist Bill Bunce dies at age 97.

15 years ago May 23, 2006 Egyptian-Belgian artist Roger Camille dies at age 69, one day before his 70th birthday. As you will have noted already, he worked as Kiko, and his best known character was Foufi, who was introduced in Spirou magazine.

15 years ago May 25, 2006 You’ll have also realized that you know that Belgian artist Bob Mau, creator of the Kari Lente series, was born May 23, 1926, and knighted in 1989. He died two days after his 80th birthday.

15 years ago May 26, 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand opens. It’s the third in the X-Men titled series sometimes regarded as a trilogy, following X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003) and outgrossing those films.

15 years ago May 27, 2006 Influential writer-artist Alex Toth dies of a heart attack at age 77. The artist whose comics career began in the Golden Age at Heroic, continued comic book work on DC superheroes including Flash, Green Lantern, and Atom, and then went to Standard Comics. Going on to work as senior artist for the Space Angel TV series, he worked in animation and more comics (including Zorro).

10 years ago May 21, 2011 French writer-artist Paul Gillon dies at age 85. He co-created Les Naufragés du Temps with Jean-Claude Forest.

10 years ago May 21, 2011 Award-winning cartoonist Bill Rechin dies of esophageal cancer at age 80. He created Out of Bounds with Don Wilder and Crock with Wilder and Brant Parker. He served as NCS president in 1989.

10 years ago May 26, 2011 Kung Fu Panda 2 opens, DreamWorks Animation’s sequel to Kung Fu Panda (2008). It outgrosses the first in the series.

5 years ago May 22, 2016 Artist George Wildman dies at age 88. The Charlton editor drew many comic books featuring licensed characters.

5 years ago May 24, 2016 Award-winning cartoonist and novelist Mell Lazarus dies at age 89. The creator of Miss Peach and Momma also served as president of the National Cartoonists Society.

5 years ago May 27, 2016 Prolific New Yorker cartoonist Frank Modell dies at age 98.