Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 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.

7.8.1918: Irwin Hasen, co-creator (with Gus Edson) of Dondi (1955-1986), is born in New York City.

7.8.1949: Harold Knerr, who drew and wrote The Katzenjammer Kids for 35 years, dies in New York City, at 66.

7.8.1963: Fred Basset, Alex Graham’s strip about a male basset hound, debuts in Britain’s Daily Mail. It has since been syndicated around the world.

7.8.1974: Uncle Duke makes his first appearance in Doonesbury. He has too many “accomplishments” to list here.

7.8.2017: Bob Lubbers, who worked on Tarzan, Li’l Abner, and Long Sam, among other comic strips, dies at 95.

Doonesbury

 

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.