Judge, 1903-05-23 · page 16 of 18
Judge — May 23, 1903 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a six-panel slapstick comedy strip featuring a character called "Unlucky Luke" (depicted with stereotypical dialect spelling suggesting a working-class or immigrant background). The plot: Luke gets hired to distribute advertising handbills for a grocery merchant. He interprets "give each passer-by one" literally and indiscriminately, handing them to everyone including a well-dressed man ("Miss the Touch") who punches him in retaliation. The final panels show Luke getting beaten by various people angered at receiving unwanted bills, culminating in him being chased away. The joke relies on physical comedy and Luke's misunderstanding of his task—he takes instructions too literally. The title's pun ("handed everybody one...gets 'handed' one himself") plays on "handed" meaning both distributed and struck. The dialect and character design reflect early 20th-century working-class humor stereotypes common in Judge magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Crocnery merctant—"'No, I don't need an extra salesman, but I'll give you a job distributing hand-bills. Give each passer-by one." Untucky Luxe—"W'y, it's as easy as givin’ away money. Take ‘one, mister." 4 Untucry Luxe— De boss said ter hand ev'rybody one. I'll stick it In his sweater.” 5. Mixe Tae rouc:i—"' Git gay wid me, will youse?” (Bang) 6. Untucry Luxe—" An’ I—wuz only—doin'—me dooty!"" UNLUCKY LUKE GIVES OUT BILLS—HE HANDS EVERYBODY ONE. AND GETS « HANDED” ONE HIMSELF. comicbooks.com