Today in the history of the American comic strip: November 16

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.

11.16.1990: Julie Larson unveils a strip called Suburban Torture (later changed to The Dinette Set), which initially runs in alternative newspapers. A syndicate picked it up in 1997. The cartoon, which satirized middle-class life, ran until 2015.

11.16.2005: Citing a Boston Herald story, Editor & Publisher magazine reports that a libel suit filed by Boston sportscaster Bob Lobel has been settled. The suit alleged that the Get Fuzzy strip falsely implied that Lobel appeared on television while intoxicated.

The Dinette Set

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.