Today in the history of the American comic strip: April 17

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.

4.17.1944: Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe, cartoon infantrymen who had appeared in military newspapers, make inroads in general circulation papers under the title Up Front.

 

4.17.2000: Writer Hector Cantú and illustrator Carlos Castellanos launch Baldo, a strip focused on light humor and the Hispanic community.

4.17.2002: Fantagraphics releases Krazy & Ignatz 1925-1926: "There Is a Heppy Lend Fur Fur Awa-a-ay," the first volume in a series reprinting George Herriman’s  Krazy Kat Sunday strips.

4.17.2006: F Minus, created by Tony Carrillo, goes into nationwide syndication. Carrillo began the single-panel comic when he was a sophomore at Arizona State University.

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.