Bringing Up Father

Four panels follow Jiggs, the newly-rich Irish-American social climber, as he anticipates his wife Maggie's delight at a fine vase sent by friend Dinty Moore. He leans toward the door chuckling; in panel three the vase has clearly been hurled at his head — stars and shards fill the air. A neighbor outside asks "Train wreck?" Jiggs, bruised, delivers the punchline: next time, send a pillow. George McManus drew Bringing Up Father from 1913 until his death in 1954, syndicating it worldwide. Its crisp Art Nouveau linework, expressive staging, and recurring domestic violence gag helped standardize the four-panel daily strip format — the direct structural ancestor of the comic book page.