Today in the history of the American comic strip: October 12

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.

10.12.1947: Pat Brady, the creator of Rose Is Rose, is born in Louisville, Kentucky. The strip, which launched in 1984, revolves around Rose and Jimbo Gumbo, their son Pasquale, and the family cat, Peekaboo.

 

10.12.2020: Cartoonist Jules Rivera takes over the legendary Mark Trail strip, which launched in 1946. The New York Times reports that Rivera “plans to to keep the focus on environmentalism, but give the stories and the Trail family — Mark, Rusty, Andy the dog, and Cherry — a modern sensibility.”

Rose Is Rose

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.