Today in the history of the American comic strip: April 4

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.

4.4.1920: Charles Voight’s Betty, the first of the glamour-girl strips, debuts. The comic ended its run in 1943.

4.4.1943: Jimmy Hatlo's Little Iodine, whose title character began in a supporting role in another cartoon, gets her own Sunday strip. The comic was syndicated from 1943 to 1985.

4.4.1946: Al Capp’s Li’l Abner makes its first reference to Lower Slobbovia, a frigid, faraway land that served to satirize "backward" nations and foreign diplomacy. 

 

4.4.1967: Woodstock makes his first appearance in the Peanuts comic strip.

4.4.2005: Triple Take premieres. Created by Todd Clark and Scott Nickel, it featured three separate punch lines in each daily installment. The comic only survived until 2007.

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.