Today in the history of the American comic strip: December 30

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.

12.30.1961: Scorchy Smith, an adventure strip starring a pilot, is grounded after more than 30 years in print.
 
12.30.1990: Bugs Bunny, which first appeared as a newspaper strip in 1943,  disappears from the comics pages after almost 50 years.
 

12.30.2006: Bill Amend's FoxTrot, which launched in 1988 as a seven-day-a-week strip, scales back to Sundays only. The strip revolves around Andrea and Roger Fox and their three children.

12.30.2007: Tumbleweeds, a Western spoof which Tom K. Ryan debuted in September 1965, ends its run, turning Grimy Gulch into a ghost town and sending the  6 7/8 Cavalry riding off into the sunset.

Tumbleweeds

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.