Mutt and Jeff — 1908-09-12

Six panels follow the lanky, top-hatted Mutt through a sidewalk misadventure: flush from winning three dollars, he recalls that rubbing a bald man's head brings luck, spots a likely candidate, and attempts exactly that — only to discover his mark is a battleship first mate who beats him senseless. The gag closes with Mutt dazed on the ground, noting the man paid him in silver washers. Bud Fisher launched *A. Mutt* in the *San Francisco Chronicle* in November 1907, making it among the first strips to run as a true daily continuity. Its recurring cast, consistent proportions, and sequentially numbered panels helped codify the visual conventions — speech balloons, panel gutters, slapstick escalation — that later editors would bind into pamphlets and call comic books.