Bringing Up Father — 1919-07-11

Four panels follow Jiggs, the stout, nouveau-riche Irish-American, and his imperious wife Maggie. Opening in the street, two men admire Mrs. J. Smith's daughter; Maggie intercepts Jiggs at home, forbidding him to go out because the Smiths are calling. He relents — "All right, Maggie" — then watches her fawn over the visitors, telling young Miss Smith she will someday be "a fine big lady like your sister." The final panel's question mark lands the punchline. McManus's clean ink line, exaggerated silhouettes, and interior cross-hatching typify the daily strip format that King Features syndicated worldwide. Bringing Up Father, launched 1913, was among the first strips adapted into films and stage shows, proving the newspaper comic page — invented panel by panel through the 1890s–1910s — was already a mass-culture industry unto itself.