Have a Smile with the Comic Artists

This Sunday newspaper page assembles work by multiple cartoonists, showcasing the emerging visual conventions of early comics: distinct panels, speech balloons, exaggerated character types, and sequential narrative. The collection ranges from sentimental Valentine imagery to physical comedy and satirical observation. By 1904, the Sunday comics section had become a major draw for newspapers, with artists developing a shared visual language—panel borders, expressive linework, and repeating characters—that would define the medium. These pages demonstrate how newspaper comics served as both entertainment and laboratory for the visual grammar that would shape comic books and graphic storytelling for decades to come.