Bringing Up Father

Four panels follow Jiggs and Maggie, George McManus's long-running Irish-American couple, through a visit to Detroit. In the first panel a man urges the group to see the city's tall buildings and factories in a single day; Maggie asks where Jiggs has gone; a third figure explains he went to his room, still dressing. The final panel reveals Jiggs in silhouette — his trademark tuxedo and top hat — confessing to Maggie that a boil on his neck and rheumatism prevent him from straightening up. McManus's line is fluid and decorative, his figures outlined with confident economy. *Bringing Up Father* launched in 1913 and ran for decades, its domestic comedy and recurring cast helping establish the daily strip as a narrative medium — the direct ancestor of the comic book format.