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 July 12-18, 2024…

190 years ago July 15, 1834 Charles Jameson Grant publishes Adventures of the Buggins’s in three strips with speech balloons in Every Body’s Album and Caricature Magazine #14.

140 years ago July 15, 1884 Psychologist, writer, and publisher Garry Cleveland Myers is born. With his wife, Caroline Clark Myers, he founds Highlights for Children.

135 years ago July 14, 1889 French director and artist Marco De Gastyne is born.

130 years ago July 14, 1894 Animation director and producer Dave Fleischer is born. He co-owns Fleischer Studios with Max and Lou Fleischer.

120 years ago July 17, 1904 Dutch artist Arnold Molenaar is born.

120 years ago July 17, 1904 King Features Syndicate comic strip editor and vice president and NCS Silver T-Square Award-winner Sylvan Byck is born.

115 years ago July 12, 1909 French artist Jean Bernard-Aldebert is born.

110 years ago July 15, 1914 Dutch artist Cees Bantzinger is born.

110 years ago July 18, 1914 Dutch writer-editor Jan Gerhard Toonder is born.

105 years ago July 12, 1919 Award-winning Dutch artist Jan Sanders is born. His cartoons often feature ships and sailors.

105 years ago July 13, 1919 Golden Age writer Joe Gill is born. He co-creates Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judomaster.

100 years ago July 15, 1924 Dutch artist Richard Klokkers is born. He’s one of the earliest staffers of the Toonder studios.

100 years ago July 17, 1924 The Society of Australian Black and White Artists is created. (Later, it becomes the Australian Cartoonists’ Association.)

90 years ago July 14, 1934 Influential award-winning French writer-artist Marcel Gotlib is born. He co-creates L’Écho des Savanes and Fluide Glacial magazines and co-creates Les Dingodossiers with René Goscinny and Superdupont with Jacques Lob.

85 years ago July 14, 1939 Pioneering fan artist, writer, and editor Ronn Foss is born.

85 years ago July 16, 1939 Award-winning reporter, columnist, and novelist Michael Kilian is born. He writes the Dick Tracy comic strip, following Max Allan Collins as scripter.

80 years ago July 13, 1944 Underground comix artist Raye Horne is born.

75 years ago July 13, 1949 Writer-artist Wayne Vansant is born. He specializes in historical and military subjects.

75 years ago July 13, 1949 Artist Walt Kuhn dies at age 71.

70 years ago July 12, 1954 John Holland is born. He writes such features as “Lizards” and “Diebold” and the webcomic Skye Bleu.

70 years ago July 13, 1954 Pig-Pen is introduced in Charles Schulz’ Peanuts.

70 years ago July 16, 1954 Italian artist Attilio Mussino dies at age 76.

70 years ago July 17, 1954 Writer-producer J. Michael Straczynski is born. He creates and is the showrunner for Babylon 5, writes comics stories featuring Spider-Man and Captain America, and oversees the estate of Harlan Ellison.

65 years ago July 12, 1959 Writer Richard C. White is born.

65 years ago July 16, 1959 Sherri Stoner is born. The Animaniacs story editor and writer is the model for Disney’s Ariel and Belle.

65 years ago July 17, 1959 Writer-artist Brad Johnson is born.

65 years ago July 18, 1959 S.A. Bennett is born. He writes How to Write for Comic Books.

60 years ago July 12, 1964 Gai-Luron by Marcel Gotlib begins in Vaillant.

60 years ago July 14, 1964 Dutch artist Fred Hofmans dies at age 68.

55 years ago July 15, 1969 Writer-artist-editor Pat Duke is born. He co-founds Radio Comix with Elin Winkler-Suarez.

55 years ago July 17, 1969 Writer-artist Clayton Knight dies at age 78. He co-created the Ace Drummond strip with Eddie Rickenbacker.

40 years ago July 13, 1984 Spanish artist Josep Coll i Coll (who also worked as “José Coll y Coll”) dies by suicide at age 61.

35 years ago July 12, 1989 Canadian writer-artist Rodolphe Vincent dies at age 84.

25 years ago July 14, 1999 Artist Sal Trapani dies at age 72. He began his comics career with Hillman and Gilmor in 1949, became artistic director of Cambia Animation in the early 1960s, and worked for ACG, Warren, DC, and Marvel.

15 years ago July 17, 2009 Ellie Frazetta dies of cancer at age 74. Frank Frazetta’s wife and model was also his business manager.

5 years ago July 12, 2019 The longest serving employee of the Amsterdam comics shop Lambiek, Klaas Knol, dies at age 64.

5 years ago July 13, 2019 Dutch writer-artist Ger Rijff dies at age 67.