The First Cartoon Appeared In 1895. “The Yellow Kid,” Also Helped Coin The Term “Yellow Journalism.”

National Cartoonist Day is celebrated every year on May 5. If the papers are less about the news and more about the comic strip for you, then National Cartoonists Day is your day! This day is held in remembrance of the first comic strip featured in a newspaper (more on that later). It also honors all cartoonists, past and present, and their amazing creations.

• 1895 – Richard Outcault creates a single-panel color cartoon for the New York Sunday World, with the main character named “The Yellow Kid (or Mickey Dugan).”
  • “The Yellow Kid” was central to the fierce competition between publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Their sensationalized coverage, featuring the comic, helped coin the term “yellow journalism,” symbolizing exaggerated, eye-catching stories meant to boost sales.
• 1897 – The Katzenjammer Kids debuted in 1897 in the American Humorist, and had three different cartoonists. The original cartoonist of the comic, Rudolph Dirks, was one of the first to regularly indicate dialogue through speech balloons; speech balloons were standardized as the form in which cartoonists indicated dialogue by the early 1900s, and is still being used today.
• 1904 – Cartoonist Grace Dayton created “Dolly Dingle.” Dayton was also the creator of “The Campbell Soup Kids” for streetcar ads.
• 1905 – Cartoonist Winsor McCay creates “Little Nemo in Slumberland” for the New York Herald; it has a story that continued each week, which was unusual for this time.
• 1908 – One of the first film cartoons was released for viewing in 1908, and is considered to be Fantasmagorie, a hand-drawn animated by French cartoonist Émile Cohl. The cartoon, only one minute and twenty seconds in length, consists of a stick figure man running into and morphing into other objects.
• 1914 – Many believe Mickey Mouse was the first animated character, but that’s a myth. Gertie the Dinosaur, created in 1914, predates Mickey by over a decade. Gertie was an interactive performance piece, with its creator, Winsor McCay, engaging live with the animation in theaters.
• 1939 – “Keep ’em flying” was a slogan in World War 2; it was also the battle cry of Wonder Woman!
• 1939 – Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, created propaganda cartoons during WWII. He used his artistic talent to support the war effort by designing posters and political cartoons promoting unity and conservation. His experience in creating these satirical pieces later influenced his whimsical children’s books.
• 1940s – comics covered everything from superhero adventures to unexpected topics like dental hygiene and banking.
• 1943 – A bunch of cartoonists — Gus Edson, Otto Soglow, Clarence D. Russell, Bob Dunn, and others — did small cartoon shows in hospitals to entertain the troops during the Second World War.
• 1946 – The group forms “the National Cartoonists Society (N.C.S.) “
• 1950 – “Peanuts” (1950 – 2000) – Who doesn’t love Charles M. Schulz’s creations — Snoopy and the gang — which are going strong (via reruns) even today?
• 1978 – “Garfield” – Created by Jim Davis, this chronic American strip was initially released under the name ‘Jon.’ We don’t know about you, but we definitely want a greedy, snarky orange cat just like Garfield, and maybe an Odie too.
• 1985 – “Calvin and Hobbes” (1985 – 1995) – Cited as ‘the last great newspaper comic,’ this little boy and his stuffed tiger — created by cartoonist Bill Watterson — ruled the comic strip for 10 years, enjoying widespread popularity and influence
• 1989 – “Dilbert” (1989) – Scott Adams created this satirical office-based comic strip; it became a cultural touchstone for many frustrated workers.
• 1990 – The National Cartoonists Society proclaimed May 5 as National Cartoonists Day.
• 1991 – Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, married Russi Taylor—the voice of Minnie!
• 1997 – “Zits” (1997) -Debuting in over 200 newspapers, Jim Borgman’s popular cartoon about teenage Jeremy Duncan and his life has won many awards for its realistic portrayal.
• 1998 – The most expensive animated movie is “The Prince of Egypt”, being made within 60$ million. The Prince of Egypt was released in 1998 and it is an animated musical biblical film. It was banned in the Maldives and Malaysia, two countries where the population is predominantly Muslim.
• 2010 – Graphic novel sales fall by 20%, and digital sales go up 1,000%; everyone wants to read comics on the go.
• 2014 – Comics like “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” are adapted for the screen and make huge profits; “Guardians of the Galaxy” is the top Box Office movie of the year and earns more than $333 million.
• Every 5th book published in Japan is a comic!
• In Japan, more paper is used to print comic books than to make toilet paper!
• Hulk was Originally Grey and not Green!
• Jim Davis’ Garfield is printed in 7 different languages!
• Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear trousers!
• Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy!
• Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first TV couple to sleep in the same bed!
• Wilma Flintstone’s maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble’s Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker
• Charles M. Schulz, nicknamed Sparky, detested the name the comics syndicate gave his strip, Peanuts. It was originally known as Li’l folks!
• We all know Hello Kitty, the fictional character created by the Japanese company Sanrio, but only a few know that she has an identical twin sister named Mimmy.
• Everyone’s favorite cat and mouse, Tom and Jerry, were originally named Jasper & Jinx. Even though it was never officially confirmed by the production crew, there are speculations that their new names were inspired by the British and the German soldiers during WW II, when they were called “Tommies” and “Jerries”.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Fun Facts About

Chicago Reader

National Today

Days of the Year