Polly and Her Pals — c. 1914

Six panels follow Uncle Sammy, eight days off tobacco, as a young man urges chewing gum as a cure. Sammy scoffs; the boy insists gum has "all the soothin' qualities an' none of the harmful effects of smokin'." Asked who says so, he cites Ashur — who kicked the tobacco habit at age twelve. The strip closes on Ashur himself, fishing, blissfully oblivious. Cliff Sterrett's linework here is still relatively straightforward, predating the bold Art Deco geometry he would later bring to the strip. *Polly and Her Pals*, launched 1912, is among the earliest recurring-character daily strips — the form whose collected reprints, sold as pamphlets, gave the comic book its name, format, and audience.