Today in the history of the American comic strip: June 11

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.

6.11.1934: Mandrake the Magician, by Lee Falk, begins its run. The strip, which ran until 2013, starred what comics historians view as one of the first superheroes in the medium.

6.11.1945: Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe, cartoon infantryman who began appearing in general circulation newspapers in 1944 under the title Up Front, get a name change. The comic is retitled Sweatin’ It Out.
 
6.11.1950: Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, a strip based on the radio adventure series that originated in 1933, is canceled after three years in print.

Mandrake the Magician

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.