Simon Simple Works a New Dodge on the Old Man

This Sunday strip follows Simon Simple, a recurring character in early newspaper comics, through a six-panel sequence of physical comedy and scheming. The narrative unfolds left to right, top to bottom—a visual structure that became standard in comic strips. Speech balloons carry dialogue and thought, while exaggerated body language and facial expressions convey action and emotion without relying on narration. The strip exemplifies how newspaper comics of the early 1900s adapted theatrical slapstick for the printed page, establishing visual conventions—panel borders, sequential progression, character types—that would define the medium for decades.