The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is a nonprofit, internet-based organization of international volunteers dedicated to building an open database covering all printed comics throughout the world. Give our search a try, take a look at the menu to the left to see how you can help us improve the site, or use my.comics.org to track and manage your comic collection.

Volunteers Wanted For Adding New Comics

Each week, a small number of GCD volunteers add listings to our database for the new comics released that week in North America. These are just the basic listings, not full indexes. This makes it easier for other volunteers who upload covers and for indexers, as well as for people using my.comics.org.

Each volunteer covers one publisher or a small group of publishers ("D publishers except DC", for example). From public sources such as ComicsList and Diamond Previews online, they add the issues and make note of the prices and a few other details. We are looking for additional volunteers for this weekly task.

Follow this link for a description of the process and a list of which publishers are currently covered.

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GCD Comics Timeline

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Joe Coleman (b. 1921)

1921 May 21 - 2006 June 1
Joe (Joseph) Coleman was an employee for M.L.J. Magazines (Archie) at the time he filled out his U.S. Draft Registration on February 16, 1942 (per his draft registration card, Coleman listed M.L.J. Magazines as his employer). At the same time, Coleman was noted twice in local Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania newspaper (December 1, 1941, and April 7, 1942) that he was attending school at New York School of Fine and Applied Arts and/or Phoenix Art Institute (both names are mentioned in newspaper reports). This makes it likely Coleman worked for M.L.J. as an artist of some type or in some other creative capacity like production or colorist.

Coleman entered military service on March 16, 1943, in New York City, indicating he might have worked for M.L.J. from about late 1941 to early 1943.

More than likely this Joe Coleman is the same person who is known to have been a colorist for Archie around 1960 and inker for Tower in the mid-1960s.

Jacques Glénat (b. 1952)

1952 May 21
Jacques Glénat est un éditeur français, fondateur de la maison d'édition du même nom. Il est particulièrement connu pour son travail dans la bande dessinée.

Joe Martin (b. 1945)

1945 May 21
Joe Martin created Mister Boffo, Willy 'N Ethel, and Cats with Hands.

Syndication credits:
Cats with Hands daily and Sunday (Los Angeles Times Syndicate) 1999-09-13 - 2001-XX-XX [Writer and artist.];
Cats with Hands daily and Sunday (Tribune Media Services) 2001-XX-XX - 2005-10-23 [Writer and artist.];
Cats with Hands daily and Sunday (Neatly Chiseled Features [Joe Martin's self-syndicate]) 2005-10-31 - 2020-XX-XX [Writer and artist.];
Mister Boffo daily and Sunday (Tribune Media Services) 1986-06-09 - 1994-XX-XX [Writer and artist.];
Mister Boffo daily and Sunday (Universal Press Syndicate) 1994-XX-XX - 2001-12-XX [Writer and artist.];
Mister Boffo daily and Sunday (Tribune Media Services) 2001-12-XX - 2005-10-30 [Writer and artist.];
Mister Boffo daily and Sunday (Neatly Chiseled Features [Joe Martin's self-syndicate]) 2005-10-31 - Present [Writer and artist.];
Porterfield daily and Sunday (News America Syndicate) 1984-11-05 - 1987-03-15 [Writer and artist.];
Porterfield daily and Sunday (North America Syndicate) 1987-03-16 - 1988-11-12 [Writer and artist.];
Porterfield daily and/or weekly (Neatly Chiseled Features [Joe Martin's self-syndicate]) 1988-XX-XX - 1995-XX-XX [Writer and artist.];
Tucker daily and Sunday (Field Enterprises) 1978-04-30 - 1980-XX-XX [Writer and artist.];
Tucker daily and Sunday (Joe Martin [self-syndicating, Neatly Chiseled Features ?]) 1980-XX-XX - 198X-XX-XX ? [Writer and artist.];
Willy 'n Ethel daily and Sunday (Field Enterprises) 1981-XX-XX - 1984-04-22 [Writer and artist.];
Willy 'n Ethel daily and Sunday (News America Syndicate) 1984-04-23 - 1987-03-15 [Writer and artist.];
Willy 'n Ethel daily and Sunday (North America Syndicate) 1987-03-16 - 2001-03-XX [Writer and artist.];
Willy 'n Ethel daily and Sunday (Universal Press Syndicate) 2001-03-XX - 2001-12-XX [Writer and artist.];
Willy 'n Ethel daily and Sunday (Tribune Media Services) 2001-12-XX - 2005-10-30 [Writer and artist.];
Willy 'n Ethel daily and Sunday (Neatly Chiseled Features [Joe Martin's self-syndicate]) 2005-10-31 - Present [Writer and artist.]

In 2001, Martin was declared by The Guinness Book of World Records as "the most prolific published cartoonist ever" for drawing three seven-day-a-week comic strips at the same time.

Charles Pearson (b. 1913)

1913 May 21 - 1991 June 16
After attending Jamaica High School and four years at Grand Central School of Art, his first cartoon sale was to the old Life magazine when that publication was devoted to cartoons. He spent 36 months in the South Pacific with the Army where he also cartooned and did editorial work for Yank. Some years later, he created “Notes on the News”, an editorial cartoon distributed by the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate.

Gary Reed (b. 1956)

1956 May 21 - 2016 October 2
Biographical information: Detroit News, "Comic book publisher Gary Reed dead at 60", October 7, 2016 (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/obituaries/2016/10/07/comic-book-publisher-gary-reed-dead/91755640/).

Gary Reed worked as a writer and in support as an editor and publisher for Caliber Press from 1988 to 2000 and again as publisher and editor from 2014 until his death in 2016.

Reed was a comic book store retailer, Comics Plus (Dearborn, Michigan) and Reader's Exchange (Westland, Michigan) from about 1985 until he started Caliber Press.

He helped organized the King Kon comic book conventions in the Ypsilanti/Dearborn (Detroit-area), Michigan in the late 1980s.

Stanley Stamaty (b. 1916)

1916 May 21 - 1979 September 12
Stanley Stamaty graduated from the Cincinnati Art Academy. His illustrations appeared in national magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and Look.
He created “The Happy Fireman,” a cartoon figure that was used in advertisements by the National Insurance Association.
He was a member of the National Cartoonists Society and the Guild of Creative Artists

Don Trachte (b. 1915)

1915 May 21 - 2005 May 4
Don Trachte graduated from Central High School in Madison, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin. He served in World War II as a lieutenant in the Army. He started working in comics in 1932 as the assistant of Carl Anderson, on the "Henry" strip. In 1948, upon Anderson's death, Don took over the Sunday "Henry" page until 1993. Sometime between 1962 and 2005, he painted duplicates of eight paintings by artists Norman Rockwell, Gene Pelham, Mead Schaeffer, Virginia Webb, and George Hughes, possibly to prevent his estranged wife from obtaining the original artworks in a divorce.

Busy Arnold (b. 1899)

1899 May 20 - 1974 December 26
Additional biographical information found in:
Alter Ego (Twomorrows, 1999 series) #34 (March 2004).
Cartoonist PROfiles (Jud Hurd, 1969 series) #27 (September 1975)

Arnold's first job was in press manufacturing with R. Hoe and Co. From circa 1922 to 1923, he worked as Eastern sales representative for Goss Printing Press Co.

Busy Arnold was the printer for William H. Cook and John F. Mahon of their Comics Magazine Company comic book titles, circa 1936 to possibly 1937. He worked as vice president for Greater Buffalo Press, from circa 1933 to 1938.

Arnold continued as publisher for Quality Comics, partnering early Frank J. Murphy and Frank J. Markey starting in 1937 and continuing until company was sold to DC in 1956. Is known to have written one unknown Blackhawk story in 1941.

Busy's work in printing, selling presses to Eastern Color Printing and McClure Syndicate helped those companies towards success. Through his connections with the Greater Buffalo Press, Arnold help the development of the Spirit Sunday sections.

From 1956 to 1957, Busy started Arnold Magazines, Inc., mostly focusing on fiction digests and a photography magazine.

Richard Jennings (b. 1921)

1921 May 20 - 1997 January 19
Served in the Air/Sea Rescue service of the Royal Air Force in the Middle East.

Hector Malot (b. 1830)

1830 May 20 - 1907 July 17
Novelist, best known for Sans famille (1878).