Today in the history of the American comic strip: January 9

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.

1.9.1938: Johnny Gruelle, creator of the Brutus strip (as well as Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy) dies in Miami Springs, Florida, at 57. Brutus ran from 1929 to 1938.

 

1.9.1956: Snoopy appears upright on his hind legs for the first time in Peanuts.
 
1.9.1956: Dick Cavalli launches Morty Meekle, which initially focused on the office worker of the title. Cavalli dropped the adult characters in 1966 and renamed the strip Winthrop, to reflect a new emphasis on a group of children. The renamed strip survived until 1994.

1.9.1972: Aggie Mack, a strip about a teenage girl, ends its run, which began in 1946. The comic was created by Hal Rasmusson. During the strip’s final years, the title was changed to Aggie.

1.9.1983: Merrill Blosser, who introduced Freckles and His Friends (1915-1971), dies in Pasadena, California. He was 90 years old at the time of his death.

1.9.1901: Chic Young, the creator of Blondie, is born in Chicago, Illinois. Stan Drake, who drew Blondie in the 1980s and 1990s, said Young "has to go down in history as one of the geniuses of the industry."

1.9.1967: Felix the Cat finally runs out of lives, at least in the newspaper world, and disappears from the comics pages.

Blondie

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.