Today in the history of the American comic strip: December 15

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.

12.15.1911: Nick Dallis is born in New York City. Under the pseudonym Dal Curtis, Dallis, a psychiatrist, created and initially wrote the soap opera strip Rex Morgan, M.D., in 1948. Dallis also created Judge Parker and Apartment 3-G.

12.15.1974: Harry Hershfield, 89, dies in New York City. His strips included Abie the Agent, a cartoon starring Abraham Kabibble, a car salesman. Able the Agent was the first American comic strip with a Jewish protagonist.

 

12.15.2023: Guard Dog, the mistreated pooch in Patrick McDonnell’s comic strip Mutts, finally gets a new name after being adopted by Doozy, a young girl who has loved him for a long time. Guard Dog is now named Sparky, which happens to have been the nickname of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz.

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.