From the exhibition
Billy Bounce: Fuzzy White Has a Sinking Spell
· 1905

This Sunday strip follows Billy Bounce and his animal companions through six panels of physical comedy. When Fuzzy White the dog receives a medal for swimming, his pride leads to disaster—a sinking spell in the water. The rescue unfolds across panel sequences that establish early newspaper comic conventions: recurring characters, sequential action, speech balloons anchoring dialogue, and sight gags driving narrative. Published in the Sunday supplements that preceded the modern comic book, strips like this trained readers in visual storytelling through panel-to-panel flow and character continuity, establishing the visual grammar that would define the medium for generations.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain