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

6.30.1940: Dale Messick’s Brenda Starr, Reporter, makes its initial appearance. It remained in syndication until 2011, by which time Brenda had finally been promoted to an editor's job.

6.30.2015: Leonard Starr, the creator of Mary Perkins, On Stage, (originally titled On Stage), dies at 89. His strip ran from 1957 to 1979
 

Mary Perkins, On Stage

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: June 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.

6.29.1940: The daily Flapper Fanny Says cartoon, launched by Ethel Hays in 1925, is discontinued five years after the Sunday page was dropped.
 

6.29.1964: George Fett debuts an all-animal strip, Sniffy. It was later renamed Little No-No and Sniffy. Still later, the name was changed once again, this time to Norbert. The comic ran until 1983.

Sniffy

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: June 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.

6.28.1944: Skeezix, who was adopted as an infant by Gasoline Alley bachelor Walt Wallet back in 1921 when someone left the baby on his doorstep, marries Nina Clock.

 

6.28.1976: Snoopy's sister Belle makes her Peanuts debut. Snoopy has at least five siblings: brothers Spike, Marbles, Olaf and Andy; and Belle.
 
6.28.2010: Bob Weber Jr. and Jay Stephens launch Oh, Brother!, a strip about young siblings. Bud and Lily often seem at odds, but love each other deeply. Daily syndication ended the following year.

6.28.2018: Gasoline Alley begins a long-running series in which Walt Wallet, the strip’s oldest character, is invited to the Old Comics Home. There, retired cartoon characters eventually toast him to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gasoline Alley’s launch, in 1918. 

Gasoline Alley

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: June 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.

6.27.1924: Jerry Marcus, the creator of Trudy, is born in New York City. Launched in 1963, Trudy focused on the homemaker of the title as she managed her family and its pets.

6.27.1948: Frank Godwin's Rusty Riley, already in print as a daily strip, adds a Sunday page. The comic ran until 1959.

6.27.1965: Art Sansom’s The Born Loser, about a guy who just can't catch a break, introduces a Sunday strip to complement the existing daily comic.

Rusty Riley

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: June 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.

6.26.1934: Bob Weber, the creator of Moose and Molly, is born in South Baltimore. His comic launched in 1965, initially under the title Moose.

6.26.1944: Jim McMenamy introduces readers to Dotty Dripple, a domestic comedy strip that ran until 1974.

6.26.1999: Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby, a detective strip, is retired after 53 years. More than a dozen writers and illustrators worked on the cartoon over the course of its lengthy run.

6.26.2022: Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, who starred in the highly regarded comic of the same name from 1985 to 1995, make a crossover appearance in Frank Cho’s Liberty Meadows strip.

Rip Kirby

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: June 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.

6.25.1874: Rose O’Neill, best known as the creator of The Kewpies, is born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She became the first published female cartoonist in the United States.

6.25.1914: Hilda Terry is born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She created the comic strip Teena (originally titled It’s a Girl’s Life), which ran from 1944 to 1964.

6.25.1944: George Herriman’s Krazy Kat ends its run. Introduced in 1913, it was one of the first comics to be widely praised by intellectuals.

6.25.1956: Bob Barnes unveils The Better Half, a strip about a married couple. The comic ran until 2014.

6.25.1979: Zeke Brenner makes his first appearance in Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury. Former caretaker for Uncle Duke, he eventually married Joanie Caucus’ daughter, J. J. Caucus.

6.25.1979: Stan Lynde debuts Latigo, a strip about the son of a mountain man and a Crow Indian who serves in the Union Army during the Civil War, and later becomes a federal marshal. 

6.25.1988: Scamp, a comic strip inspired by the 1955 animated movie Lady and the Tramp, is retired. The strip ran for more than 30 years.
 

Krazy Kat

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: June 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.

6.24.1926: Walt Wallet and Phyllis Blossom finally get married in Frank King’s Gasoline Alley.

6.24.1949: In another high-profile romance, Joe Palooka and Ann Howe are wed in Joe Palooka.

6.24.1969: Frank King, the creator of Gasoline Alley, dies at 86. His strip, which debuted in 1918, is the longest currently running strip in the United States. The Katzenjammer Kids had a longer run, but it ended in 2006.

6.24.1979: Stan Lynde unveils Latigo, a strip written and drawn by Lynde. The daily and Sunday strips ran until 1983. 

6.24.2001: Greg Turfman discontinues Meg!, a strip starring a young soccer player, her little brother Mike, their parents and Meg’s friend Ashley. The comic launched in 1997.
 

6.24.2008: The Library of American Comics releases the first volume in its set of reprints of Harold Gray’s Little Orphan Annie.

Joe Palooka

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: June 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.

6.23.1924: Frank Bolle is born in New York City. He was the longtime artist on Winnie Winkle and The Heart of Juliet Jones.

6.23.1934: Don Wilder is born in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Wilder wrote the syndicated comic strip, Crock, in partnership with artist Bill Rechin. The duo also created Out of Bounds, a look at professional sports.

6.23.1935: The only comic strip created by famed children’s author Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) is canceled, two years before the publication of his first book. Titled Hejji, the strip survived for a mere three months.

6.23.1969: Charles Harris Kuhn’s Grandma ends its 22-year run. The strip depicted humorous events in the life of a friendly woman known only as Grandma.
 

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: June 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.

6.22.1919: Old Doc Yak, which centered on a talking goat, makes its final appearance as a Sunday strip. The comic launched in 1912.

6.22.1923: Three months after Percy Crosby’s Skippy debuted in Life magazine, the strip about a rambunctious fifth-grader makes its first appearance in newspapers. It was published until 1945.
 

6.22.1956: Kevin Fagan, who created the family strip Drabble in 1979, is born in Inglewood, California. The cartoon remains in syndication.

6.22.1970: Woodstock, the small, yellow, initially nameless bird who first appeared in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts in 1966, finally gets named.
 
6.22.2008: Matt Janz retires Out of the Gene Pool, which premiered in 2001.
 
6.22.2012: In a two-week Doonesbury wedding series, Leo "Toggle" Deluca and Alex Doonesbury exchange vows at Walden. The ceremony is conducted by the Rev. Scot Sloan.

Drabble

 
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: June 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.

6.21.1916: Jack Sparling, the creator of Claire Voyant, is born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The strip ran for a mere five years in the 1940s.

6.21.1936: Gene Ahern introduces Room and Board after he discontinued Our Boarding House to make more money with a different syndicate. The new strip, which ran until 1953, shared some similarities with the old one.

6.21.1936: The Squirrel Cage makes its first appearance as a topper above Gene Ahern’s Room and Board. The Squirrel Cage is notable for the lead character’s frequent repetition of the seemingly nonsensical question “Nov shmoz ka pop?” The question was never translated in the strip, but it became a national catch phrase nonetheless.

6.21.1954: Pogo Possum, the title character in Walt Kelly’s Pogo, appears on the cover of Newsweek magazine.

6.21.1957: The cartoonist behind Bloom County, Outland, and Opus — Berkeley Breathed — is born in Los Angeles, California. He won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.

6.21.1981: Doug Marlette’s Kudzu adds a Sunday strip to its lineup. The comic ran from 1981 to 2007, when Marlette was killed in a car accident.

6.21.2020: Cartoonist Jan Eliot, appearing as a cartoon version of herself in her comic strip, Stone Soup, announces that she is retiring the comic, which went into syndication in 1995.

 

Kudzu

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: June 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.

6.20.1910: George Herriman’s launch of The Dingbat Family paves the way for one of the greatest strips of all time, Krazy Kat.

6.20.1943: Harry Haenigsen introduces Penny, a strip about a teenage girl. The comic survived for almost three decades.

Krazy Kat

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: June 19

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.

6.19.1923: Moon Mullins debuts, under the stewardship of Frank Willard. The strip remained in syndication until 1991.

6.19.1978: Garfield, arguably the world’s most famous cat, makes his first appearance in print, courtesy of creator Jim Davis.

6.19.1978: Winnie the Pooh, a strip based on the characters created by A.A. Milne, begins its decade-long run.

6.19.2015: Ben Schwartz writes an article for The New Yorker about Frank King’s Gasoline Alley, headlined “An old comic strip about modern fatherhood.”

6.19.2018: National Public Radio’s All Things Considered runs a story on the growing popularity of Wallace the Brave, a three-year-old strip by Will Henry of Rhode Island, who set the cartoon in the fictional coastal town of Snug Harbor. The report said the comic is about “a boy who's less depressed than Peanuts character Charlie Brown,” and kinder than Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes.

Garfield

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: June 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.

6.18.1954: Editor, publisher, and designer Dean Mullaney is born. He established The Library of American Comics at IDW Publishing, to produce hardcover collections of comic strips. The imprint debuted with the 2007 book The Complete Terry and the Pirates, Vol. 1: 1934-1936, by Milton Caniff.

6.18.1962: Belvedere, a single-panel comic staring a white dog with black spots, debuts. Created by George Webster Crenshaw, it ran until 1995. 

6.18.1980: Jack Moore retires Kelly & Duke, a comic about a boy named Kelly; his anthropomorphic dog Duke; and Roscoe, a beatnik cat. It launched in 1972.

6.18.1981: Joanie Caucus and Rick Redfern marry in Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury.

6.18.1982: The musical film Annie is released. It was adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Harold Gray’s comic strip, Little Orphan Annie.

6.18.2000: Jules Feiffer’s strip Feiffer ends its run after more than 40 years. Originally titled Sick Sick Sick, it became Feiffer's Fables and then, finally, Feiffer.

6.18.2006: Henry Beckett and Carla Ventresca launch On a Claire Day, a gag-a-day strip starring Claire Bennett, a young woman who has left her parents’ home to live on her own.

6.18.2013: The Library of American Comics releases Tarzan: The Complete Russ Manning Newspaper Strips, Vol. 1 (1967-1969), launching a four-volume set.

Feiffer

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.