Today in the history of the American comic strip: December 10

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.

12.10.1939: Already gracing the funny pages in a daily strip that launched in 1938, Donald Duck adds a Sunday feature.

12.10.1990:  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic strip debuts. It ran seven days a week until its cessation in January 1997. Several artists and writers worked on the comic during its run.

12.10.2019: Terri Libenson announces that she will end The Pajama Diaries, which she launched in 2006. The strip focused on the Kaplans, a Jewish family living in Ohio.

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.