Today in the history of the American comic strip: June 26

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.

6.26.1934: Bob Weber, the creator of Moose and Molly, is born in South Baltimore. His comic launched in 1965, initially under the title Moose.

6.26.1944: Jim McMenamy introduces readers to Dotty Dripple, a domestic comedy strip that ran until 1974.

6.26.1999: Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby, a detective strip, is retired after 53 years. More than a dozen writers and illustrators worked on the cartoon over the course of its lengthy run.

6.26.2022: Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, who starred in the highly regarded comic of the same name from 1985 to 1995, make a crossover appearance in Frank Cho’s Liberty Meadows strip.

Rip Kirby

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.