The Gumps

A domestic comedy strip featuring a driving mishap and a traffic court appearance. The narrative unfolds across twelve panels with recurring characters in consistent situations—a signature approach of early newspaper comics. Speech balloons carry dialogue and establish personality through distinct voices; visual gags depend on sequential progression and reader recognition of the family unit. *The Gumps*, which debuted in 1917, exemplified the daily and Sunday strip format that established visual storytelling conventions—panel borders, word-image integration, and character continuity—foundational to the medium itself. This page demonstrates how newspaper comics developed sophisticated narrative timing and comedic rhythm years before comic books as we know them existed.