Kernel Cootie

A comic strip featuring an elderly prospector and his interactions with a young woman. The four-panel sequence uses sequential art to build humor through physical action and visual gags—the prospector's glasses serve as the running joke, their effectiveness depending entirely on keeping them polished. The strip employs the visual vocabulary that became standard in newspaper comics: distinct panels, expressive line work capturing motion, and character-driven humor. Early 1920s strips like this appeared in Sunday and daily newspapers, establishing the formal and narrative conventions that directly shaped the emerging comic book medium.