Why not learn to write?

This instructional comic by J. C. Saterlee uses sequential illustration and hand-lettered text to teach penmanship through humor. A shaggy beast, chain in mouth, demonstrates letterforms alongside anthropomorphic figures engaged in writing practice. The composition anticipates key features of the modern comic: panel divisions, expressive character drawing, and integrated typography. Published during the Civil War era, such pedagogical strips appeared in newspapers and periodicals, establishing visual conventions that would define the Sunday funnies and eventual comic book format—where recurring characters, visual gags, and narrative progression across panels became the grammar of sequential art.