Polly and Her Pals — 1917-06-02

Six panels follow Pa, a bug-eyed, sharp-nosed little man, as he investigates the "robe d'intérieur" that has scandalized Ma. He confronts Polly — tall, fashionably dressed, utterly unruffled — demanding to see this shocking garment for himself. The gag pivots on the final panel: Pa, now clearly flustered, confirms with a shaky "Positive!" that yes, the robe is exactly what upset her. Sterrett's linework is precise and dynamic, with Polly rendered in bold silhouette against Pa's exaggerated cartoony proportions — a visual contrast that carries the comedy. *Polly and Her Pals*, launched in the *New York Evening Telegram* in 1912, is among the earliest American strips to place a young woman at center. Sterrett would later push the strip toward near-abstract Art Deco design, making him one of the most formally inventive cartoonists of the newspaper era.