The Drunks of Pantomime Pete

This strip demonstrates early newspaper comic conventions: recurring character (the cone-hatted drunk), sequential panels showing cause and effect, and sight gags built on physical comedy. The four-panel progression follows Pete's collision with a flour barrel—each panel advances the action as he tumbles, crashes, and emerges covered in dust. The artist uses clear panel borders, minimal dialogue, and exaggerated postures typical of vaudeville pantomime, which gave the character his name. Such strips appeared in Sunday supplements and daily papers, establishing visual storytelling methods—panel layout, character consistency, visual pacing—that would become foundational to the emerging comic book medium.