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

11.18.1956: Frank Giaccia’s Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, a Civil War strip, gets its start. It ran for less than three years.

11.18.1985: The acclaimed Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson’s beloved strip starring a six-year-old boy and his (supposedly) stuffed tiger, debuts. Sometimes dubbed "the last great comic strip," it survived for a decade, until Watterson pulled the plug.
 

Calvin and Hobbes

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.