[Ads-l] Slight Antedating of "Comic Strip"

[Baker, John]

The OED has April 28, 1913, as its earliest example of "comic strip" (although synonymous standalone "comic" dates back to 1912).  Here is an earlier example, from a promotional advertisement in the Philadelphia Inquirer (Mar. 9, 1913) (NewspaperArchive):  ""Excuse Me, by Myer.  A comic strip full of genuine humor."  The advertisement also has two uses of "comic cartoon" and one of "comic artist."

There are a number of uses of "comic strip" in 1913, typically announcing that some new strip is coming to a newspaper.  Some strips are mentioned more than once in these.  I suspect that one or more of the syndicates began using the term that year.


John Baker







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