From the exhibition
Smitty — A Tight Spot!
· circa 1930s
This Sunday page from *Smitty* showcases the strip's slapstick humor and dynamic action sequences. The narrative follows Mr. Bailey through an elimination bout in a boxing tournament, with each panel advancing the gag through visual comedy—tumbles, collisions, and physical mishaps. The strip employs the visual vocabulary established by newspaper comics: sequential panels with speech balloons, varied close-ups and wide shots, and recurring characters in familiar situations. *Smitty*, which debuted in 1921, exemplified the newspaper comic strip's evolution into a mass medium, combining humor with athletic spectacle to appeal to broad audiences during the Golden Age of American comics.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain
