Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 18

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.

8.18.1963: Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts makes its first named reference to Joe Shlabotnik, Charlie Brown's favorite baseball player and hero.

8.18.2009: Fantagraphics Books releases the first volume in a hardcover set reprinting Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant, which launched in 1937.

Peanuts

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.