1936 in comics

Events and publications

January

• January 19: Hergé's The Adventures of Jo, Zette and Jocko debuts in Cœurs Vaillants.
• Famous Funnies #18 - Eastern Color
• More Fun the Big Comic Magazine #7 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #2 - National Periodical Publications
• The Mickey Mouse comic strip adventure Mickey’s rival by Floyd Gottfredson runs in newspapers. It marks the debut of Mortimer Mouse, five months in advance on his first appearance on the big screen.

February

• 8 February: The first issue of Mickey Mouse Weekly is published.
• 17 February: Lee Falk's The Phantom makes his debut.
• Famous Funnies #19 - Eastern Color
• More Fun the Big Comic Magazine #8 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #3 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #1 - Dell Comics

March

• March 8: Dudley D. Watkins' Oor Wullie and The Broons debut in The Sunday Post.
• March 16: In E.C. Segar's Thimble Theatre Eugene the Jeep makes its debut.
• March 31: Frans Piët signs his first Sjors comic strip. Originally a blatant copy of Martin Branner's Winnie Winkle it now becomes completely its own thing.
• Big Book of Fun Comics #1 - National Periodical Publications
• Famous Funnies #20 - Eastern Color
• More Fun Comics #9 - National Periodical Publications, cover dated "Mar-April"
• New Comics #4 - National Periodical Publications, cover dated "Mar-April".
• Popular Comics #2 - Dell Comics

April

• April 6: Lank Leonard's Mickey Finn debuts.
• Famous Funnies #21 - Eastern Color
• King Comics #1 - David McKay Publications
• Popular Comics #3 - Dell Comics
• Tip Top Comics #1 - United Features: first comic book appearance of Tarzan

May

• May 2: In the first issue of the Turkish children's magazine Yavrutürk Çocuk Gazetesi Ercüment Kalmik's comics series Çetin Kaptan makes its debut.
• May 3: The first issue of the Flemish comics magazine Bravo ! is published. It will run until 17 April 1951. In its first issue, Frits Van den Berghe's gag comic Pikkel en Duim makes its debut.
• May 7: The first issue of the Dutch comics magazine Doe Mee is published. It will run until 15 December 1949.
• May 15: A longer narrative unfolds in the otherwise gag-a-day comic Krazy Kat by George Herriman, lasting nearly 10 months, until 17 March 1937. Fans will later name this storyline the Tiger Tea story.
• Famous Funnies #22 - Eastern Color
• King Comics #2 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #10 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #4 - Dell Comics
• The Comics Magazine #1 — Centaur Publications

June

• June 5: In the Flemish comic magazine Bravo!, Frits Van den Berghe starts illustrating the comic series Edmund Bell, scripted by John Flanders, A.K.A. Jean Ray.
• June 10: The final episode of the gag comic Van Boring, by future animation legend Frank Tashlin, is published.
• Famous Funnies #23 - Eastern Color
• King Comics #3 - David McKay Publications
• New Comics #5 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #5 - Dell Comics
• The Comics Magazine #2 - Centaur Publications
• Tip Top Comics #2 - United Features
• Phantom comic #1

July

• July 11: The final issue of the Dutch satirical magazine De Notenkraker is published.
• 14 July: The Italian humor magazine Bertoldo brings out its first issue, continuing its run until 10 September 1943.
• Famous Funnies #24 - Eastern Color
• King Comics #4 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #11 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #6 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #6 - Dell Comics
• The Comics Magazine #3 — Centaur Publications
• Tip Top Comics #3 - United Features

August

• August 30: Al Taliaferro and Earl Duvall adapt Donald Duck into a weekly pantomime comic, as part of their Silly Symphony comic strip.
• August 31: William St. John Glenn creates Dorothea in The Daily Mail.
• Max Plaisted's Zarnak makes its debut. It will run until October 1937.
• Famous Funnies #25 - Eastern Color
• King Comics #5 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #12 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #7 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #7 - Dell Comics
• The Comics Magazine #4 — Centaur Publications
• Tip Top Comics #4 - United Features

September

• Famous Funnies #26 - Eastern Color
• King Comics #6 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #13 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #8 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #8 - Dell Comics
• The Comics Magazine #5 — Centaur Publications
• Tip Top Comics #5 - United Features

October

• October 25: The final episode of Rea Irvin's The Smythes is published in The [New York Herald Tribune].
• The first episode of Fuku-Chan by Ryuichi Yokoyama is published and will run until 1971.
• Famous Funnies #27 - Eastern Color
• The Funnies #1 - Dell Comics
• King Comics #7 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #14 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #9 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #9 - Dell Comics
• Tip Top Comics #6 - United Features

November

• November 30: The first episode of the Mickey Mouse story Island in the sky, by Floyd Gottfredson and Ted Osborne is published, which marks the debut of Doctor Einmug.
• November: Centaur Publications changes the name of The Comics Magazine to Funny Pages starting with issue #6.
• Famous Funnies #28 - Eastern Color
• The Funnies #2 - Dell Comics
• Funny Pages #6 — Centaur Publications
• Funny Picture Stories #1 — Centaur Publications. This issue also marks the debut of The Clock by George Brenner.
• King Comics #8 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #15 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #10 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #10 - Dell Comics
• Elmer Woggon and Allen Saunders's Steve Roper and Mike Nomad debuts.
• Tip Top Comics #7 - United Features

December

• December 14: The first episode of Harry S. Hall's News 'n' Nonsense is published in The Toronto Telegram.
• Detective Picture Stories #1 — Centaur Publications
• Famous Funnies #29 - Eastern Color
• Flash Gordon Strange Adventure Magazine #1. It folds after only one issue.
• The Funnies #3 - Dell Comics
• Funny Pages #7 — Centaur Publications
• Funny Picture Stories #2 — Centaur Publications
• King Comics #9 - David McKay Publications
• More Fun Comics #16 - National Periodical Publications
• New Comics #11 - National Periodical Publications
• Popular Comics #11 - Dell Comics
• Tip Top Comics #8 - United Features

Specific date unknown

• Harry Paschall creates Bosco for Strength and Health magazine, where it will run until his death.
• Jerry Iger and Will Eisner establish the comics studio Eisner & Iger.
• Roberto Sgrilli's Formichino debuts.
• The final episode of Felix Hess' long-running comic series Uit Het Kladschrift van Jantje is published.

Births

January

• January 5: Birago Balzano, Italian cartoonist,.

August

• August 11: Mitsutoshi Furuya, Japanese comic artist,.

September

• September 2: Vlastimil Zábranský, Czech painter, visual artist and comics artist,.

November

• November 3: Takao Saito, Japanese comics/manga artist,.

Deaths

January

• January 31: Grace Drayton, American illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 58.

March

• March 19: Ottilia Adelborg, Swedish illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 80.

April

• April 2: Bert Cobb, American comics artist, dies at age 66 or 67.

May

• May 5: James Francis Sullivan, British illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 83.
• May 9 : Stanislav Lolek, Czech illustrator and comics artist dies at age 62.

July

• July 3: Charles Reese, American comics artist, dies at age 74.
• July 19: Apeles Mestres, Spanish musician, novelist, illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 81.

Specific date unknown

• Ed Leffingwell, American comics artist, dies.
• Charles Small, American comics artist, dies.
• Pál Spanyár, Hungarian painter, cartoonist and drawing teacher, dies at age 61 or 62.

First issues by title

• Big Book of Fun Comics
• The Comics Magazine
• The Funnies
• Funny Picture Stories
• King Comics
• Popular Comics
• '''Tip Top Comics'''

Initial appearances by character name

• Clock, by George Brenner, in Funny Pages #6 and Funny Picture Stories #1 - Centaur Publications

Comics debuts without a specific date

• Barney Baxter by Frank Miller.
• Belinda by Steve Dowling.
• Ben Bowyang by Alex Gurney.
• Biffen och Bananen by Rit-Ola
• Laff-a-Day debuts.
• Rebo by Cesare Zavattini, Federico Pedrocchi and Giovanni Scolari
• Room and Board by Gene Ahern.