Nobody Loves a Fat Man

This Sunday newspaper comic strip uses sequential panels and speech balloons to tell a romantic comedy in six frames. A portly suitor courts a woman, praising her appearance while she expresses interest in his wealth. When he claims poverty, she rejects him—only to reverse course when he suddenly appears with money and a child. The strip demonstrates the visual vocabulary that emerged in early twentieth-century newspaper comics: distinct panel borders, character expressions that drive narrative, and witty dialogue compressed into brief exchanges. By 1909, Sunday funnies had become a standard newspaper feature, establishing the formal and comedic conventions that would define the medium for decades.