From the exhibition
Oxy Randpa
· Early 1900s

This Sunday newspaper strip follows a familiar early-comics formula: children plot mischief, an adult arrives to foil their scheme, and physical comedy ensues. The six-panel layout employs speech balloons and sequential action to tell the joke—boys hide under a table to surprise their grandfather, but the plan backfires when he arrives with guests. The strip's visual grammar reflects the emerging language of newspaper comics: regular panel borders, clear character poses, and escalating action that builds to a punchline. Published in the era when Sunday supplements became vehicles for illustrated humor, strips like this one established conventions that shaped the medium for decades.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain