Today in the history of the American comic strip: November 15

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.

11.15.1907: Bud Fisher’s A. Mutt, later known as Mutt and Jeff, debuts. The strip remained in syndication until 1983.

11.15.1937: Al Capp first mentions Sadie Hawkins Day in Li’l Abner. The fictional Sadie was the “homeliest gal” in Dogpatch. Her father, fearing she would never marry, arranges for all of the town’s eligible bachelors to be chased down by the town’s unmarried women in a footrace.

11.15.1941: Author and artist Daniel Pinkwater is born. In collaboration with Tony Auth, he created Norb, a strip that ran for 52 weeks beginning in 1989.

11.15.1956: A Broadway musical based on Al Capp's Li’l Abner opens at the St. James Theatre. It ran for 693 performances.
 
11.15.1971: Inspired by the TV show, a Sesame Street comic strip debuts, and remains in print until 1975.

11.15.1973: Argentine cartoonist Ricardo Siri, who goes by the name Liniers, is born in Buenos Aires. His comic strip, Macanudo, has been published in Argentina since 2002 and is now available in the United States.

Mutt and Jeff

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.