Today in the history of the American comic strip: June 8

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.

6.8.1947: Li’l Folks, the first comic strip drawn by Charles M. Schulz, debuts as a weekly cartoon. It ran until 1950, and has been described as an embryonic version of Peanuts, which began in 1950.

6.8.1957: Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, is born in Windham, New York. He was named 1997 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society.

6.8.1986: Dondi, created by Gus Edson and Irwin Hason and starring a young war orphan, ends its run after more than 30 years in print.

6.8.1987: Crankshaft, created by Tom Batiuk, is launched. The title character is an elderly, curmudgeonly school bus driver.

6.8.2000: Jeff MacNelly, the creator of Shoe (1977-present) and Pluggers (1993-present), dies in Baltimore, Maryland at 52. He had been diagnosed with lymphoma in December 1999.

Shoe

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.