Etta Kett

Paul Robinson's *Etta Kett* follows a young flapper navigating domestic and social situations with quick wit. This strip exemplifies the daily newspaper comic form that emerged in the 1920s–30s: multiple panels advance a gag through dialogue and visual action, recurring characters anchor reader investment, and speech balloons deliver punchlines in real time. The strip's casual linework and sequential panel arrangement show how cartoonists adapted techniques from earlier comic sections and picture stories, establishing conventions—panel borders, close-ups, reaction shots—that would define comic books. *Etta Kett* ran in newspapers nationwide, reaching millions of readers who experienced these visual storytelling methods before comic books existed as a distinct medium.