Created by Mort Walker and illustrated by Dik Browne, both of whose children currently work on the strip, it debuted on October 18, 1954, distributed by King Features Syndicate.

The strip made efforts to keep up with the times, such as housewife Lois Flagston taking a career in real estate in 1980.

In previous decades, the strip was acclaimed; in 1962, it earned Browne a Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society.

Once, editors insisted that belly buttons could not appear; in protest, Browne included a box of dimpled navel oranges.

Now produced by the sons of the original creative team, the strip is written by Brian and Greg Walker and drawn by Robert "Chance" Browne (until his death in 2024) and Eric Reaves.