Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 22

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.

5.22.1915: George Baker, the creator of Sad Sack, is born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Sad Sack debuted as a comic strip in June 1942, in the first issue of Yank, the Army Weekly.

5.22.1923: Wallace Carlson and Sol Hess launch The Nebbs. A family strip, it closely resembled Sidney Smith's very popular comic, The Gumps.

5.22.1949: Warren Tufts unveils Casey Ruggles, a Sunday strip set during the California gold rush. It ran until 1955.

5.22.1962: John H. Striebel dies. He began drawing the show girl/career girl strip Dixie Dugan when it debuted in 1929, and continued to do so until the early 1960s, when he became ill.

 

5.22.1974: Loretta, a minor character in Peanuts, makes her debut. She only appeared in the strip twice, selling Girl Scout cookies.

Sad Sack

 

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.