American
cartoonists and writers may not have invented the comic strip, but some
argue that the comics, as we know them today, are an American creation.
Clearly, the United States has played an outsize role in the
development of this underappreciated art form.
3.24.1927: Bobby Thatcher makes is debut. Created by George Storm, the cartoon about the adventures of a 15-year-old boy ran for a decade.
3.24.1979: Dick Brooks’ teen feature, The Jackson Twins, is discontinued after 29 years in print.
3.24.1980: Downstown, a cartoon created by Tim Downs while he was still in college, goes into syndication. Initially a comic about college students, it later became a strip about singles.
3.24.1991: Real Life Adventures, a strip by Lance Aldrich and Gary Wise dealing with everyday foibles, goes into syndication.
3.24.2001:
Robotman, a robot and the title character in Jim Merrick’s Robotman comic, disappears from his own strip, which is renamed Monty. The National Cartoonists Society honored Merrick with its Newspaper Comic Strip award in 2007.
Most of the information listed here from one day to the next comes from two online sites -- Wikipedia, and Don Markstein's Toonopedia -- as well as 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, edited by Maurice Horn. Note
that my focus is on American newspaper comic strips (and the occasional
foreign strip that gained popularity in the United States). Thus, comic
books and exclusively online comics are not included here.
