Judge, 1904-01-02 · page 5 of 18
Judge — January 2, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge comic strip satirizes the early automobile craze through the misadventures of "Nervy Nat," a recurring character known for audacious stunts. The narrative follows Nat stealing a wealthy man's (Clarence's) expensive motorcar and losing complete control of the vehicle—unable to start or stop it. The humor hinges on the novelty and danger of early automobiles: Nat mistakes the starter mechanism, the car launches uncontrollably through the streets, crashes into water, and nearly drowns. The satire mocks both the recklessness of early motorists and the unreliability of primitive automobiles themselves. The final panel's joke about the "ship subsidy bill" and mail-carrying is a topical reference to contemporary political debates. Throughout, the strip presents automobiles as chaotic, unmanageable novelties—a comic warning about the automobile age's hazards and the foolishness of joy-riding in untested machines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1 Nervy Nat—"'I've always had a sneaking desire to ride in one of Nervy Nat—"'I'll bet this little jigger down here has something to those benzine buggies. Here is certainly my chance—and Clarence has do with starting this five-thousand-dollar go-cart,"* considerately left his goggles.”* 3 4. Nervy Nat—" Ye-e-s, tha-that was what it was—something to do Nervy Nat—" Great doughnuts! I don't want to go to Brcoklyn. with starting it. Now, if | can find something to stop the infernal thing | This bubble is simply depraved. Glad they didn’t pass the ship subsidy can safely promise myself not to get the automobile habit.”” bill, or they'd be making me carry the mails."* 6 2 Bripce-orricer—"' Surprised to see you taking to water In such a . hurry, Nat.”” Nervy Nar—''I'm going to give a card to the Madison-square-park- Nervy Nat—"'Cut out those pensioned Jokes, my good man. And | club to the extremely civil gentleman that threw me the rope." if any reporter asks you, tell him I've given up automobiling this winter.”” NO. 5.—NERVY NAT STARTS THE NEW YEAR BAD. comicbooks.com