Judge, 1904-04-02 · page 5 of 16
Judge — April 2, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a slapstick comic strip following a recurring character, "Nervy Nat," as he infiltrates a theatrical production. Unable to find male costumes, Nat dresses as the leading lady and improvises his way through a melodramatic scene, delivering absurdly inappropriate lines about infidelity and insurance fraud. The humor relies on: - **Cross-dressing farce**: Nat's bumbling impersonation of an actress - **Theatrical clichés**: Overwrought dialogue about forgiveness and "our chee-ild" - **Physical comedy**: Nat being thrown about during the performance - **Ironic contrast**: His final boast about company solidarity immediately after being violently attacked by castmates The satire gently mocks both the pretensions of stage acting and the chaos of theater production. "Thespian" (actor) is used as a dignified term to contrast with Nat's undignified fakery. This appears to be a Judge magazine humor strip, likely from the early 1900s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
le Nervy Nat—"' There is no one about: | will go in here, At last | sail realize ope Of sy pet embidons and become sn actor, _| Haye car couldn't find any of the he-actors’ clothes, so | will just take a female role. tainly had many walking parts in my time, not to mention my long expe- I'm not fussy: I'll take any part that {s left over. ‘The show must -be on, rience ‘on the road.’ | was cut out for an ‘actor because I can go so long soll get into this and take my chances that I can dovetail In some: without eating.’ where Nervy Nat—"This must be the leading lady's dressing-room. 1 SN SS TAN Sa SS aed 3, Tue Hero—"* If Claribel would only come back to me | would forgive Nervy Nat—‘‘Lionel, | have come back at you! Take your erring her all for the sake of our chee-ild!"" Claribel to your pleated bosom for the sake of our little Ann! (By the Nervy Nat—" That's my cue. Isn't he a lovely piece of work? Any way, how old is Ann now?) I have done you dirt, | know, but * fergit it,” wife that could resist those soulful eyes is no lady. | will come back to and I'll promise not to run away with another insurance man ""—— him." ‘Tne Wero— Curtain! curtain! curtain!" 5. Nervy Nat—" Whew! don't ever tell me that the dramatic profession Nervy Nat—"‘Ouch! that is no way to treat your Claribel, You're 1s a hot-bed of jealousy. Why, every member of this company has given no gentleman!" me a boost!” NO. 18.—NERVY NAT TURNS THESPIAN. comicbooks.com