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.
12.28.1888: Martin Branner, the creator of Winnie Winkle, is born in New York City. His strip ran from from 1920 to 1996. In 1958, the National Cartoonists Society honored him with a Newspaper Comic Strip award.
12.28.1922: Comics icon Stan Lee, best known for his work in comic books, is born in New York City. Working with John Romita Sr., he introduced The Amazing Spider-Man as a newspaper strip in 1977, years after the character debuted in comic books.
12.28.1934: Artist, playwright and screenwriter Herb Gardner is born in New York City. While in college he began drawing The Nebbishes, a comic strip that was syndicated from 1959 to 1961. The characters were so popular they appeared on greeting cards, napkins and other items.
12.28.1958: The science fiction strip Twin Earths, which debuted in 1952, drops its Sunday panel, leaving only the daily strip.
12.28.1964: Cliff Sterrett, the creator of one of the 20th century’s most innovative strips, Polly and Her Pals, dies, at 81, in Bronxville, New York. The last daily strip ran in the 1940s; the final Sunday feature, in 1958.
12.28.1974: The Berrys, a family strip drawn by Carl Grubert, ends its 32-year run.
12.28.1888: Martin Branner, the creator of Winnie Winkle, is born in New York City. His strip ran from from 1920 to 1996. In 1958, the National Cartoonists Society honored him with a Newspaper Comic Strip award.
12.28.1922: Comics icon Stan Lee, best known for his work in comic books, is born in New York City. Working with John Romita Sr., he introduced The Amazing Spider-Man as a newspaper strip in 1977, years after the character debuted in comic books.
12.28.1934: Artist, playwright and screenwriter Herb Gardner is born in New York City. While in college he began drawing The Nebbishes, a comic strip that was syndicated from 1959 to 1961. The characters were so popular they appeared on greeting cards, napkins and other items.
12.28.1958: The science fiction strip Twin Earths, which debuted in 1952, drops its Sunday panel, leaving only the daily strip.
12.28.1964: Cliff Sterrett, the creator of one of the 20th century’s most innovative strips, Polly and Her Pals, dies, at 81, in Bronxville, New York. The last daily strip ran in the 1940s; the final Sunday feature, in 1958.
12.28.1974: The Berrys, a family strip drawn by Carl Grubert, ends its 32-year run.
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.
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