Bobby Make-Believe

This Sunday newspaper strip follows young Bobby on an imagined adventure along a river, where he encounters outlaws, sheriffs, and horses. The narrative unfolds across nine panels arranged in a grid—the visual syntax that would become standard in American comics. Speech balloons advance plot and character voice; sequential panels show action and consequence. Bobby's fantasies collapse back to everyday reality, a recurring theme that anchors the humor. The strip exemplifies early newspaper comics' reliance on children as protagonists and domestic daydreams as narrative engines. Published in the Sunday supplements that served as laboratories for panel layout, character design, and the language of visual storytelling that directly influenced the comic books to come.