Bringing Up Father — buf400102

George McManus launched Bringing Up Father in 1913, and it ran for decades as one of the most widely syndicated strips in American newspaper history. This daily strip follows the eternal domestic comedy of Jiggs — newly rich Irish-American bricklayer — and his socially ambitious wife Maggie. Here, four panels track a quick sight-gag: Maggie scolds Jiggs for laziness while their son-in-law serves as unwitting model; Jiggs spots someone to gossip with; the punchline lands on a Western thriller seen twice. McManus's draftsmanship is opulent — patterned wallpaper, candelabra, crosshatched tuxedos — reflecting his admiration for Art Nouveau. His fluid speech balloons and locked panel rhythm directly influenced the visual grammar that early comic-book editors codified into a commercial format.