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From the exhibition

Old Doc Yak Breaks Up Court by Flashing His Million Dollar Bill

· August 29, 1912

Old Doc Yak Breaks Up Court by Flashing His Million Dollar Bill
This Sunday strip follows the courtroom antics of Doc Yak, a recurring character from the early newspaper comics. The narrative unfolds across six panels: a judge presides over a case involving vagrancy charges when Doc Yak produces an enormous million-dollar bill, causing immediate chaos. The other characters react with shock and confusion as the court dissolves into pandemonium. The strip employs the visual conventions that defined early comics—sequential panels, speech balloons, exaggerated expressions, and physical comedy. Doc Yak strips appeared in newspapers nationwide during the 1910s, representing the transition from single-panel gags to narrative comic strips that became the foundation for modern comic books.

Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain