Bringing Up Father — 1929-07-08

Four panels follow Jiggs, the squat, checkered-suited social climber, as he discovers his wife Maggie has bought a car. Assured that "even Moore's wife can run one," he drives downtown to study traffic flow—then crashes spectacularly, smoke billowing in panel three. Panel four finds him sheepish before a hospital manager, who confirms Maggie is inside; Jiggs replies cheerfully, "I'll wait." McManus's brushwork is confident and fluid, his characters built from bold outlines and precise hatching. Launched in 1913, *Bringing Up Father* ran in syndication for decades, its daily and Sunday strips helping establish the recurring-character serial strip as an art form—speech balloons, panel-to-panel continuity, and comic timing that directly shaped what would become the comic book format.