Splinters

This Sunday newspaper strip follows a clown character and his animal companions through a series of escalating physical gags. The narrative unfolds across eight panels using sequential art conventions—speech balloons, expressive linework, and panel borders—that were becoming standard in early twentieth-century comics. The composition relies on slapstick and animal interaction, with a swinging ball serving as the central comedic device. By 1911, strips like this appeared in Sunday newspapers across America, establishing the visual and narrative grammar that would define comic strips and eventually comic books: recurring characters, panel-to-panel continuity, and humor built through sequential image rather than text alone.