Old Doc Yak

A Sunday page from Sidney Smith's *Old Doc Yak*, featuring the title character—a wizened goat—recounting to his young companion a harrowing encounter with a black panther in the forest. Smith's panel layout alternates between close-ups of the speakers and full-width scenes depicting the narrative, a technique that became standard in newspaper comics. The strip employs extensive dialogue balloons and sequential action across nine panels to build suspense and deliver punchlines. *Old Doc Yak* exemplified how the Sunday newspaper comic page functioned as both entertainment and technical innovation, establishing visual conventions that would define the emerging medium of comic art.