Ruffles the Monk

This Sunday comic strip follows Ruffles, a simian character whose attempts to sell valuable artwork to a collector backfire spectacularly. The narrative unfolds across four panels: Ruffles proudly displays a canvas, promises an even more valuable piece, then inadvertently alerts police to a burglary in progress. The final panel reveals the joke—Ruffles himself is the burglar, caught red-handed by authorities. The strip exemplifies early newspaper comics' visual vocabulary: numbered panels, speech balloons advancing plot, and a recurring character driving gag-based humor. Published during the medium's formative years, such strips populated Sunday funnies and dailies, establishing conventions that would define sequential art for decades. The artist employs expressive animal anthropomorphism and slapstick timing typical of the era's popular entertainment.