Bringing Up Father — buf400419

Four panels follow Jiggs, the parvenu Irishman in top hat and checkered vest, as he slips away from domestic life for a solitary walk. He mutters relief at escaping his family, hopes to avoid them — then spots a curly-haired figure and calls out sharply, 'Come here, you mutt — you're going home.' The twist: it's a dog, not his wife Maggie. McManus's brushwork is assured, his figures solid and expressive, his gag hinging on mistaken identity and hen-pecked dread. Launched in 1913, *Bringing Up Father* ran over sixty years and helped establish the recurring-character domestic strip as a newspaper staple — the syndicated Sunday page being the direct commercial ancestor of the comic book format.