Smitty — When in Rome

This strip follows Smitty, a mischievous boy whose antics drive adults to exasperation. The Sunday page deploys the visual vocabulary that defined newspaper comics: multiple panels advancing a linear narrative, speech balloons conveying dialogue and thought, and a recurring protagonist whose exploits generate humor through situation and reaction. The three-tier layout maximizes storytelling space while maintaining readability. Smitty's appeal lay in his unpredictability—here, his monkey-inspired behavior at home leads to a farewell scene and culminates in a bicycle chase. The strip's economy of line and clear panel sequencing made it accessible to millions of newspaper readers, establishing templates that would shape comic books and the medium itself.