Bringing Up Father — buf370805

Four daily panels by George McManus follow Maggie's scheme to keep their butler James from quitting to work for a rival employer. She dispatches her husband Jiggs to sweet-talk him, then welcomes James herself with studied warmth: "I want you to feel like one of the family." James's horrified thought-balloon — a lone question mark — delivers the punchline, Jiggs lurking in the doorway sharing his dread. McManus's line work is elegant and controlled, his figures built from crisp curves, his interiors furnished with Art Deco confidence. Launched in 1913, *Bringing Up Father* was among the longest-running American strips, its recurring cast and sequential panel grammar helping establish the conventions that newspaper syndicates would soon package directly into the first comic books.