Today in the history of the American comic strip: April 21

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.

4.21.1950: Bill Hinds, the co-creator of Tank McNamara and the creator of Cleats, is born in Houston, Texas.

 

4.21.1960: Adam Wallet and Eve Wallet, grandchildren of Gasoline Alley patriarch Walt Wallet, are born to Corky Wallet and Hope (Hassel) Wallet. The newborn twins are part of the comic strip’s third generation of characters.

4.21.1977: An adaptation of Little Orphan Annie opens on Broadway. The production ran until Jan. 2, 1983. The stage show spawned film adaptations of the Broadway play.

4.21.1984: Kenneth Bald’s daily Dr. Kildare strip, based on the television series, is canceled. It ran for more than two decades, outliving the TV series that spawned it.

4.21.2003: Mark Pett’s Lucky Cow debuts. The strip, which survived for five years, focused on a fictional fast food chain named Lucky Cow.

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.