Movie Posters, 1998: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

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

8.25.1912: Ted Key, the creator of Hazel, is born in Fresno, California. His cartoon about a live-in maid first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and found its way into newspapers after that magazine folded in 1969.

8.25.1913: Walt Kelly, the creator of Pogo, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was named 1951 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. At its peak, Pogo ran in nearly 500 newspapers in 14 countries.

Pogo

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.

The New Yorker covers: August 18, 1928

Birds of almost every size and description have popped up on covers of The New Yorker from time to time. Some of them closely, or at least loosely, resemble actual birds. Others are too whimsical and fanciful to be mistaken for anything that exists in the real world. These are not all birds of a feather, by any means.

Ilonka Karasz
(covers untitled until February 1993)

And now, a few words from . . . Marcus Aurelius

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.

"What is art but a way of seeing?" Saul Bellow

"Marie-Anne Weber Playing the Violin," 1903, Theo van Rysselberghe

Movie Posters, 1983: Two adults, please, and a large popcorn!

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

8.24.1941: Jim Scancarelli is born in New York City. After working as an assistant on Gasoline Alley, he assumed control of the strip in 1986. In 1988 he was one of two recipients of a Newspaper Comic Strip award from the National Cartoonists Society. The other was Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes.

8.24.1956: A. D. Condo dies in Albany, California. He collaborated with J. W. Raper to create The Outbursts of Everett True (1905-1927). Flying solo, he created Mr. Skygack, from Mars (1907-1917).

The Outbursts of Everett True

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.

The New Yorker covers: June 15, 2026

Some of the politicians who have appeared on older covers of The New Yorker are cartoonish fabrications making campaign swings or holding news conferences. In recent years, though, real-life candidates and officeholders have made the cover, often in an unflattering light.

Barry Blitt
"Out Cold"

And now, a few words from . . . Emiliano Zapata

I'd rather die on my feet than live upon my knees.