Today in the history of the American comic strip: January 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.

1.15.1905: Gustave Verbeek retires The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo, a strip in which the first half of the story was captioned right-side-up and the second half upside-down.

1.15.1905: Joe Musial is born in Yonkers, New York. He drew The Katzenjammer Kids from 1956 until his death in 1977.

1.15.1939: Already in print as a daily strip, Raeburn Van Buren's Abbie an’ Slats adds a Sunday feature.

1.15.1951: Rod Reed and José-Luis Salinas unveil The Cisco Kid, a Western strip. It was syndicated from 1951 to 1967.

1.15.1956: The Scamp comic strip, which launched in 1955, adds a Sunday feature to the daily installments. 

1.15.2005: Mullets, a short-lived strip by Rick Stromoski and Steve McGarry that debuted in 2003, ends its run.
 

The Cisco Kid

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.