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 December 6-12, 2024…

145 years ago December 10, 1879 E.H. Shepard is born. The British writer-artist and Punch contributor is especially known for illustrating A.A. Milne’s tales of Winnie-the-Pooh.

130 years ago December 8, 1894 Wow! The world of Popeye and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” will entertain audiences in years to come! Writer-artist Elzie Crisler Segar is born. He creates the Thimble Theatre comic strip and, in it, such characters as Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy. And writer-cartoonist James Thurber is born. Though nearly blind, he is known for his New Yorker cartoons, among many other creations.

125 years ago December 9, 1899 French writer-artist Jean de Brunhoff is born. The cartoonist is known for his “Babar” children’s books.

120 years ago December 11, 1904 Cartoonist Marjorie Henderson Buell is born. Under the pen name Marge, she creates Little Lulu for The Saturday Evening Post.

120 years ago December 11, 1904 Golden Age artist Clem Gretter is born. He works in the Chesler shop and draws for Centaur, DC, Fawcett, and Hawley.

120 years ago December 12, 1904 Belgian artist-writer-editor Jacques Van Melkebeke is born. He’s one of the founders of Tintin.

115 years ago December 10, 1909 Fernand Van Horen is born. The Belgian sports cartoonist works as “Horn.”

115 years ago December 12, 1909 Award-winning cartoonist Dick Moores is born. He creates the Jim Hardy comic strip and draws Disney comics but is best known for his work on the Gasoline Alley strip.

110 years ago December 9, 1914 The award-winning French artist Tomoléon Lobricon dies at age 83.

105 years ago December 6, 1919 Writer-artist Dick Wood is born. He works for Lloyd Jacquet, Lev Gleason, DC, and Gold Key in the course of a life that includes crime convictions.

105 years ago December 9, 1919 German artist Eugen Von Baumgarten dies at age 54. He drew political cartoons as “E. Vaube” and ran his own publishing house.

105 years ago December 12, 1919 Archie Comics cartoonist Dan DeCarlo is born. He creates Sabrina, Josie and the Pussycats, and Cheryl Blossom.

100 years ago December 6, 1924 Actor Wally Cox is born. The general public knows him best for his TV performance as “Mr. Peepers,” but his voice artistry also brings character to Underdog.

100 years ago December 6, 1924 Golden Age artist George Olesen is born. A major focus of his work is the Phantom comic strip, on which he works for about four decades.

100 years ago December 12, 1924 Writer-artist Fran Matera is born. He continues the art for the Steve Roper and Mike Nomad strip in 1985. His other work includes contributions to Charlton Comics and “Chuck White” for Treasure Chest.

100 years ago December 12, 1924 Dutch artist Frits Klein is born. He opens the first advertising studio in Frisia.

95 years ago December 6, 1929 Artist Frank Springer is born. The award-winning creator is president of the National Cartoonists Society in 1996.

95 years ago December 8, 1929 French writer-artist Georges Delau dies at age 58. He signed his work “Georges Delaw” and was known for Les Mille et un Tours de Placide Serprolet.

95 years ago December 10, 1929 Richard Doxsee is born. He draws the Let’s Explore Your Mind panel and a variety of art for standalone comics stories for Timely and others.

90 years ago December 10, 1934 Writer-artist Dan Smith dies at age 69. He was known for The Jungle Folk, illustrations of Biblical stories, and cover art.

75 years ago December 6, 1949 Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette is born. He writes and draws the Kudzu newspaper strip.

75 years ago December 7, 1949 Swedish artist Bob Vilson dies at age 39. Working as “Bovil,” he was known for such adventure comics as Fältskärns Berättelser and Tusen Och en Natt.

75 years ago December 8, 1949 NEA staff artist Frank R. Leet dies at age 68.

75 years ago December 9, 1949 Artist and letterer Gary T. Kato is born. He’s known for such projects as The Adventures of Mr. Jigsaw (with Ron Fortier).

75 years ago December 11, 1949 Clifford K. Berryman dies at age 80. Work of the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist appeared in The Washington Post and The Washington Star. He was especially known for cartoons titled “Remember the Maine” and “Drawing the Line in Mississippi” (the latter leading to the creation of “teddy bear” toys).

70 years ago December 6, 1954 Writer-artist Ken Macklin is born.

70 years ago December 10, 1954 Writer Matt Tolbert is born.

65 years ago December 7, 1959 Dutch artist Peter Beekman dies at age 48.

65 years ago December 9, 1959 Prolific artist Gene Carr dies of a heart attack at age 78. Lambiek credits the New York City newspaper cartoonist’s Lady Bountiful as “the first balloon comic in which a female character plays a starring role.”

65 years ago December 10, 1959 Artist Chaz Truog is born. He’s especially known for his work on The Badger (with Mike Baron), Animal Man (with Grant Morrison), and Chiaroscuro (co-created with Dave Rawson and Pat McGreal).

65 years ago December 10, 1959 In Spirou #1130, a supplement Smurfs comic book is added: Gargamel and Azrael debut in Le Voleur de Schtroumpfs.

60 years ago December 7, 1964 Lastikman by Mars Ravelo and Mars T. Santana begins.

60 years ago December 8, 1964 Skippy creator Percy Crosby dies in a mental hospital on his 73rd birthday. There’s more information on the Skippy website.

60 years ago December 10, 1964 Animator and writer-artist Bob Kuwahara (he worked as “Bob Kay”) dies at age 63. He created the Marvelous Mike strip and wrote and directed 14 “Hashimoto-san” theatrical shorts.

40 years ago December 7, 1984 Dutch artist and teacher Otto Dicke dies at age 66.

35 years ago December 6, 1989 The first series of the BBC’s Doctor Who ends after 26 years with the third part of “Survival,” featuring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace, and Anthony Ainley as The Master. (It is followed in 1996 by a TV movie with Paul McGann as The Doctor and finally revamped for return as a series in 2005.) Doctor Who Magazine (which often features comics) continues publication in the U.K., despite the show’s hiatus.

35 years ago December 12, 1989 Award-winning manga artist Chūtarō Takamizawa dies at age 90. He worked as “Suihō Tagawa” and created the Norakuro strip.

30 years ago December 7, 1994 Golden Age artist Rafael Astarita dies at age 82. He worked via the Chesler Studios on Centaur features, as well as for Fiction House, Fawcett, and more. He was art director for the Standard line of comic books.

30 years ago December 8, 1994 Artist Sidney A. Quinn dies at age 80. He was a longtime contributor to Highlights for Children, including “Goofus and Gallant.”

25 years ago December 10, 1999 Writer-artist, animator, and teacher Al Stahl dies at age 83. He worked on Terrytoons and Fleischer Studios cartoons, founded Stahl’s Animated Productions, Inc., and contributed to Golden Age comic books.

20 years ago December 12, 2004 Cartoonist Bernard Lansky dies at age 80 of complications of Parkinson’s disease. He created the Seventeen panel cartoon and (with Jordan Lansky) Kippy.

15 years ago December 9, 2009 Indian artist Govind Brhamania dies at age 71.

15 years ago December 9, 2009 Spanish artist Xavier Musquera (who worked as “Chris”) dies at age 66.

15 years ago December 10, 2009 Belgian writer-artist Jean-Marie Brouyère dies at age 66. He was known for his work for Spirou.

10 years ago December 7, 2014 German cartoonist Marie Marcks dies at age 92.

5 years ago December 7, 2019 Belgian cartoonist and teacher Dani Dacquin dies at age 84. He was a founding member of the Belgian comics club De Vlaamse Onafhankelijke Stripgilde.

5 years ago December 8, 2019 Award-winning actor, artist, puppeteer, and artist Caroll Spinney dies at age 85. His work included playing and voicing Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird.

5 years ago December 9, 2019 French teacher, novelist, and comics writer Patrice Ordas dies at age 68.