Smitty: The Same the World Over

This Sunday strip from *Smitty* demonstrates the visual conventions that defined newspaper comics: multi-panel layout with speech balloons, recurring characters in consistent relationships, and sight gags built on wordplay and situation. The four-panel structure moves from setup to punchline as characters discuss a wealthy boss's global influence and resources. Created during the golden age of newspaper comics, *Smitty* exemplified how the medium combined sequential art with humor to reach mass audiences. The strip's reliance on easily recognizable character types and straightforward narrative made it accessible across readerships—a formula that became fundamental to comic strip success and directly influenced the emerging comic book industry.