Otto Watt

This newspaper comic strip by Barrie Payne demonstrates the visual conventions that defined the Sunday funnies: a woman speaks to an anthropomorphic radio set named Otto, their dialogue contained in word balloons positioned above the figures. The gag pivots on Otto's tightfistedness—he's so miserly he wipes his spectacles while eating grapes. The panel layout, expressive linework, and reliance on recurring characters became foundational to comic strip storytelling. By the 1920s, strips like this appeared in hundreds of papers nationwide, establishing the visual language—speech balloons, exaggerated features, sequential narrative—that would later structure the comic book medium.