Barney Google — The Washington Times, February 20, 1921

Billy DeBeck's Barney Google runs twelve panels across this Sunday page, following the bug-eyed, top-hatted Barney as he sneaks away from his barbershop to run a back-room craps game — until a cop walks in, scattering the gamblers, and Barney ends up back in his barber's chair calling "Next!" DeBeck drives the gag through expressive silhouettes, tightly stacked word balloons, and broad physical timing. Launched in 1919, *Barney Google* became one of the era's most widely syndicated strips, its catchphrases entering American slang. Sunday pages like this one — printed in tabloid comic sections distributed with major dailies — were the direct commercial and visual ancestor of the comic book, establishing the recurring character, sequential panel grammar, and speech balloon conventions that would define the medium for a century.