Today in the history of the American comic strip: June 27

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.

6.27.1924: Jerry Marcus, the creator of Trudy, is born in New York City. Launched in 1963, Trudy focused on the homemaker of the title as she managed her family and its pets.

6.27.1948: Frank Godwin's Rusty Riley, already in print as a daily strip, adds a Sunday page. The comic ran until 1959.

6.27.1965: Art Sansom’s The Born Loser, about a guy who just can't catch a break, introduces a Sunday strip to complement the existing daily comic.

Rusty Riley

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.