Nobody, by Meek

A two-panel gag strip featuring a ragged tramp character encountering a domestic scene. In the first panel, the tramp politely requests to help with dishes; the woman agrees. The second panel delivers the punchline as the tramp vanishes mid-task, leaving only "NOBODY!!" and "TRA-LA!!" Behind the simple joke lies the visual foundation of American comics: bordered rectangular panels, speech balloons containing dialogue and sound effects, and a recurring comedic character. Early newspaper strips like this established the sequential narrative grammar that would define the medium for generations.