From the exhibition
Bud 'n' Bub
· circa 1930s
Ed Kressy's *Bud 'n' Bub* follows two young boys on an educational outing to study Midwestern mounds built by pre-Columbian cultures. The strip uses panel sequences and speech balloons to guide readers through archaeological history: the Great Mound at Marietta, Ohio; the Serpent Mound in Adams County; and Fort Ancient in Warren County. Kressy employs the visual grammar pioneered by newspaper comics—distinct panels, flowing narrative, recurring characters—to blend instruction with domestic humor. The boys' dialogue frames factual information about artifacts and geography, while their reactions provide comic relief. This format typifies how Sunday newspaper comics functioned as vehicles for popular education alongside entertainment, making archaeological knowledge accessible to general readers.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain
