Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 31

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.

5.31.1954: Long Sam (1954-1962), created and initially written by Al Capp and drawn by Bob Lubbers, is believed to have started on this date, or the following month. The title character was a mountain woman raised in a hidden valley by a man-hating mother.

5.31.1959: Arnold Roth launches Poor Arnold's Almanac as a Sunday comic. It ran until 1961, and was resurrected as both a Sunday and daily feature from 1989 to 1990. 

 

5.31.2021: The Washington Post quotes Jean Schulz, the widow of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, as saying she’s puzzled by seven black-and-white strips created by her husband, which star adults rather than children. The seven strips depict only adults, whereas Peanuts never depicted adults. “I don’t see Sparky in it,” said Jean Schulz, using her late husband’s nickname.

Long Sam

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.

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

5.30.1948: Charlie Brown's name is used for the first time in Li'l Folks, a comic strip by Charles M. Schulz that preceded the launch of Peanuts.

5.30.1951: Schroeder makes his first appearance in Charles Schulz's Peanuts. The precocious pianist and avid Beethoven fan emerged as the object of Lucy van Pelt's unrequited infatuation.

5.30.1993: Marjorie Henderson Buell, the creator of Little Lulu, dies is Elyria, Ohio, at 88. The character debuted in The Saturday Evening Post several years before the development of the newspaper comic strip.

5.30.2022: The PBS NewsHour profiles cartoonist Will Henry, creator of the comic strip Wallace the Brave, which debuted online in 2015 and began appearing in newspapers in 2018.

Little Lulu

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 29

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.

5.29.1935: William Addison Ireland dies in Ohio. A cartoonist for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, he is the namesake of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at The Ohio State University, which describes itself as the largest and most comprehensive academic research facility documenting printed cartoon art.
 

5.29.1960: Lance, a Western cartoon created by Warren Tufts, ends its run. The Sunday feature was notable as one of the last full-page comics.

5.29.1973: More than a dozen newspapers drop Doonesbury after a character in the strip condemns Watergate conspirator John Mitchell.

5.29.1974: Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, is born in Chicago, Illinois. His strip, which starred young black radical Huey Freeman, made its national debut in 1999 and ran until 2006.

5.29.2010: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have won the 2009 Newspaper Comic Strip award, for Zits.

5.29.2012: Thomas Andrae releases Walt Kelly: The Life and Art of the Creator of Pogo,  an illustrated biography.
 

The Boondocks

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 28

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.

5.28.1892: Merrill Blosser is born in Nappanee, Indiana. He created the long-running Freckles and his Friends in 1915. It ran until 1971.

5.28.1905: The Terrors of the Tiny Tads, a strip by Gustave Verbeek, makes its debut. The comic focused on four boys who encounter strange creatures that are based on word combinations, such as a hippoautomobile. The cartoon remained in print until 1914.

5.28.1939: Three years after its launch as a daily strip, Lee Falk's The Phantom adds a Sunday strip. The comic about a mysterious crime fighter remains in syndication.

5.28.1947: Lyn Ridgway (aka, Lynn Johnston), the creator of For Better or For Worse, is born in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. She was named 1985 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the (American) National Cartoonists Society.

5.28.1967: King Features begins distributing Captain Kate, a strip by Jerry and Halle Skelly about an 18th-century trading ship captain named Kate Stevens.
 

5.28.2000: Bringing Up Father, the highly popular George McManus strip that went into syndication in 1913, ends its 87-year run.

5.28.2011: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Jeff Parker and Steve Kelley have won the annual Newspaper Comic Strip award, for Dustin.

5.28.2016: The National Cartoonists Society gives Terri Libenson the Newspaper Comic Strip award, for The Pajama Diaries.

5.28.2018: Rick Stromoski’s Soup to Nutz, which debuted in 2000, draws to a close.

The Pajama Diaries

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 27

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.

5.27.1894: Dashiell Hammett, the co-creator of Secret Agent X-9 (with Alex Raymond), is born on a farm in St. Mary's County, Maryland. The strip ran from 1934 to 1996.

5.27.1940: LeRoy Robert Ripley, the creator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, dies in New York City. He was 58 years old.

5.27.1971: Snoopy’s alter ego, supposed college student Joe Cool, makes his initial appearance in  Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts.

5.27.1991: Ed Dodd, the creator of Mark Trail, dies in Gainesville, Georgia, at 88. Introduced in 1946, the outdoor-themed comic remains in syndication.

5.27.2000: After 32 years at sea, Boner’s Ark finally finds dry land, bringing Mort Walker’s strip to an end. The cartoon featured a menagerie of animals on a boat ostensibly under the command of the hapless Captain Boner.

5.27.2000: The six female cartoonists who launched the collaborative comic Six Chix meet for the first time at a National Cartoonists Society dinner, five months after they unveiled their strip.

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 26

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.

5.26.1947: Bob Schoenke debuts Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, a strip based on the radio adventure series that originated in 1933.
 

5.26.1958: Jack Cole unveils Betsy and Me, a strip about a dysfunctional American family. It ran for less than a year.

5.26.2001: Mark O’Hare discontinues Citizen Dog, which debuted in 1995. The strip focused on the antics of a human, Mel, and his canine companion, Fergus.

5.26.2009: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Mark Tatulli has won the Newspaper Comic Strip award, for Lio. The pantomime comic launched in 2006.

5.26.2012: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Glenn McCoy has won the Newspaper Comic Strip award, for The Duplex.

5.26.2012: Jim Unger, the creator of Herman, dies in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada, at 75. Unger's strip ran from 1975 to 1992.

5.26.2014: The National Cartoonists Society gives Isabella Bannerman the Newspaper Comic Strip award, for her contribution to the collaborative strip Six Chix.
 

Six Chix

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 25

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.

5.25.1866: Carl E. Schultze, the creator of Foxy Grandpa, is born in Lexington, Kentucky. He launched the strip in 1900. The foxy grandpa of the title always managed to outwit his two mischievous grandsons.

5.25.1950: Almost two years after its debut as a daily strip, Big Ben Bolt adds a Sunday feature The boxing strip, whose title character eventually became a journalist, ran until 1978.

5.25.1940: William Conselman, the co-creator of Ella Cinders (with Charles Plumb), dies in Eagle Rock, California. He was 43. Ella Cinders was a 20th-century Cinderella story that eventually explored other plotlines.

5.25.1963: The science fiction strip Twin Earths, which debuted in 1952, is discontinued. The comic told of another earth, in our earth's orbit but on the opposite side of the sun, populated by an advanced civilization. 

5.25.1981: George Clark, who created The Neighbors and Side Glances, dies. The strips explored middle-class humor.

5.25.1998: The Little Red-Haired Girl, whom Charlie Brown loves, makes her first and only appearance in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, and only in silhouette.
 
5.25.2000: The Pentagon holds a  ceremony celebrating Mort Walker and the upcoming 50th anniversary (in September 2000) of Walker’s creation, Beetle Bailey.
 

5.25.2013: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Brian Basset has won the Newspaper Comic Strip award, for Red and Rover, a comic about a boy and his dog that appears to be set in the 1960s and 1970s.

Red and Rover

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 24

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.

5.24.1912: Alfred Andriola, the artist on the Kerry Drake detective strip, is born in New York City. He was named 1970 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. Launched in 1943, Kerry Drake ran for 40 years. 

5.24.1959: Frank Giaccia’s Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, a Civil War strip, ends its run after less than three years.

5.24.2016: Mell Lazarus, the creator of Miss Peach (1957-2002) and Momma (1970-2016), dies in Los Angeles at 89. Lazarus is a member of the National Cartoonists Society Hall of Fame.
 

Miss Peach

 

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 23

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.

5.23.1915: After losing the legal right to use The Katzenjammer Kids name, Rudolph Dirks launches a new strip featuring the same characters. It is christened Hans and Fritz on this date, but anti-German sentiment prompts a name change to The Captain and the Kids in 1918. The Hearst papers ran a competing strip by Harold Knerr, using the strip’s original name.

5.23.1972: Rerun van Pelt, the younger brother of both Lucy and Linus van Pelt in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, is born.

5.23.1973:  Coulton Waugh dies. His 1947 book, The Comics, was the first comprehensive history and analysis of the medium.

5.23.1999: John Prentice, who took over the detective strip Rip Kirby following the death of creator Alex Raymond, dies. Prentice received a Newspaper Comic Strip award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1966 and again in 1967 and 1986.

5.23.2015: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Stephan Pastis has won the Newspaper Comic Strip award, for Pearls Before Swine. It was his third such honor. Pastis won the award in 2006 and 2003 as well.

Pearls Before Swine

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 22

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.

5.22.1915: George Baker, the creator of Sad Sack, is born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Sad Sack debuted as a comic strip in June 1942, in the first issue of Yank, the Army Weekly.

5.22.1923: Wallace Carlson and Sol Hess launch The Nebbs. A family strip, it closely resembled Sidney Smith's very popular comic, The Gumps.

5.22.1949: Warren Tufts unveils Casey Ruggles, a Sunday strip set during the California gold rush. It ran until 1955.

5.22.1962: John H. Striebel dies. He began drawing the show girl/career girl strip Dixie Dugan when it debuted in 1929, and continued to do so until the early 1960s, when he became ill.

 

5.22.1974: Loretta, a minor character in Peanuts, makes her debut. She only appeared in the strip twice, selling Girl Scout cookies.

Sad Sack

 

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 21

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.

5.21.1920: Lee Elias, who drew the ill-fated science-fiction strip Beyond Mars, is born in Manchester, England. The comic ran from 1952 to 1955.

5.21.1928: Tailspin Tommy, the first aviation strip to capitalize on Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 flight across the Atlantic, makes its debut. The comic  ran for 14 years.

5.21.1951: Clifford McBride, the creator of Napoleon and Uncle Elby, dies. Launched in 1932, the strip about a big, clumsy dog named Napoleon ran until 1961.

5.21.1972: King Features stops distributing Captain Kate, a strip by Jerry and Halle Skelly about an 18th-century trading ship captain named Kate Stevens. The comic ran for five years.
 

5.21.2010: Howard Post, who debuted The Dropouts in 1968, dies. The strip remained in syndication until 1981.

5.21.2011: Bill Rechin, co-creator of Crock, dies in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, at 80. His cartoon survived for almost 40 years, beginning in 1975.

Napoleon and Uncle Elby

  

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.

Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 20

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.

5.20.1929: Lester J. Maitland and Dick Calkins introduce Skyroads, an aviation-based comic strip than remained in print until 1942.

5.20.1930: Malcolm "Mal" Hancock is born. In addition to publishing cartoons in Playboy and other magazines, he drew many comic strips, including Nibbles (1961-63), Humphrey Hush (1963), Patrick (1965-69), The Fantastic Foster Fenwick (1968-72), Polly (1972-73), Fenwick (1977-79), The Lumpits (1970-78), Pig Newton (1983), Willie (1983-85), Malfunction Junction (1990-93), and Hi and Jinx (1991-93).

5.20.2012: Crock, launched by Bill Rechin and Brant Parker in 1975, ends its run. The strip was a parody of the French Foreign Legion classic, Beau Geste, a novel that triggered movie adaptations.

5.20.2025: Scott Adams, 67, the creator of Dilbert, says he has the same kind of aggressive prostate cancer as former President Joe Biden, and that it has spread to his bones.

Crock

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.