Short answers, pulled from the story.
The earliest known sequence of images resembling a comic strip dates back to the 12th century in Japan. These ancient picture scrolls, known as the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, were created by Buddhist monks and depicted anthropomorphic animals engaging in human-like activities.
Richard F. Outcault created The Yellow Kid, which appeared in the New York World and became the first successful daily strip. This work introduced the speech balloon as a standard device for dialogue and transformed the medium from a niche hobby into a mass cultural force in the 1890s.
Post-World War II scrutiny from parent groups and government agencies regarding comic book content led to Senate hearings. These hearings resulted in the establishment of the Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body that imposed strict guidelines on what could be published and stifled the growth of American comics for decades.
The term graphic novel gained prominence in the late 20th century, with Will Eisner popularizing it with his book A Contract with God in 1978. The term became widely known to the public after the commercial success of Maus, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns in the mid-1980s.
Manhwa is the Korean comic format that has gained global popularity, partly due to the rise of webtoons. Webtoons are digitally formatted comics designed for scrolling on mobile devices and have evolved into a distinct medium balancing artistic influences with traditional Korean aesthetics.