Salesman Sam: "That's One Way"

This four-panel strip follows Sam through a chaotic thunderstorm that destroys his sample cases of hot cakes. The gag escalates from Sam's complaint about spoiled inventory to his claim that the lightning strike itself was the worst thing he'd ever seen—only to have his companion point out that getting struck by lightning might actually be worse. The strip exemplifies the fast-paced visual comedy of 1920s newspaper comics: rapid panel progression, exaggerated character expressions, heavy use of motion lines and sound effects, and a punchline that lands through understated deadpan delivery. By the late 1920s, such strips populated Sunday and daily papers nationwide, establishing the visual language—word balloons, sequential panels, recurring characters—that would become the foundation of the comic book medium.