From the exhibition
The Diary of Snubs, Our Dog
· early 20th century

This comic strip follows Snubs, a scrappy dog protagonist, through domestic misadventures told from the animal's perspective. The narrative structure—combining visual panels with first-person diary narration—exemplifies newspaper comics' hybrid approach to storytelling. Rodgers employs sequential panels, speech balloons, and repeated character types (the imperious dog, bewildered humans) that became foundational to comic strip language. Published in Sunday and daily newspaper formats, such strips functioned as the direct precursor to comic books, establishing visual grammar and episodic narrative patterns that would define the medium. The strip's humor derives from situational comedy and the contrast between Snubs' dignified self-perception and his actual behavior.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain