Mr. E. Z. Mark Meets an Escaped Lunatic

This four-panel strip follows the misadventures of Mr. E. Z. Mark, a gullible gentleman approached by a con artist posing as a keeper of an escaped dangerous lunatic. The mark is offered a deal: pay one hundred dollars or face the "ferocious creature." When the con escalates and Mr. Mark rushes to report the incident, he discovers the supposed lunatic is actually his pursuer's accomplice. The strip's rapid-fire dialogue, exaggerated expressions, and sequential panel construction exemplify early Sunday newspaper comics. Visual gags and recurring character types—the fool, the schemer, the chase—drove humor across the nascent comic strip medium, which borrowed heavily from vaudeville routines and street-corner con games.