From the exhibition
Abie the Agent
· October 3, 1915
This six-panel strip by Herschfeld follows Abie, a fast-talking young agent, through a con involving a nonexistent inheritance scam. The rapid-fire dialogue and visual gags—exaggerated facial expressions, cramped layouts, overlapping speech balloons—exemplify the newspaper comic strip's energy in the 1910s. The strip's urban setting and quick patter reflect the rise of immigrant comedy in American popular culture. Abie the Agent ran as both daily and Sunday strips, helping establish the recurring character format that would anchor the comics medium for decades.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain
