From the exhibition
Mr. Jonah Jimsenweed: He Is Always Up Against It
· 1908

This Sunday strip follows Mr. Jonah Jimsenweed through six sequential panels of physical comedy and mishap. Each panel advances the narrative as Jonah attempts ice skating, only to encounter repeated falls and collisions. The strip employs the visual conventions that defined early newspaper comics: discrete rectangular panels with captions below, exaggerated facial expressions and body distortion for comedic effect, and a central character whose misfortunes drive the gag. The flowing composition and reliance on slapstick—rather than dialogue—typified humor strips of this era, when the Sunday newspaper page became the primary vehicle for comics and established the formal vocabulary that would define the medium for decades.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain