Winsor McCay

Although many recognize R.F. Outcault's Yellow Kid as the original newspaper comic, Winsor McCay was the first of a very few artists who've made their real estate on the comics page fertile creative territory. (My other favorite newspaper cartoonists are Breathed, Herriman, and Schultz.) For the first few decades of the last century, McCay split his time between his daily strip and his vaudeville act, which consisted of him drawing very fast in front of an audience while keeping up a constant banter. He is credited for inventing cell animation to create an animated dinosaur, named Gertie, which was projected behind him, with whom he would interact during each performance. His strips include The Dream of the Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo in Slumberland, which he made for William Randolph Hearst's syndicate. His drawing has a consistency and sophistication that very few cartoonists achieve. Thumbs up!
Little Nemo on the web: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Note: Much of the text on these scanned strips is illegible, sorry.