Judge, 1904-06-04 · page 5 of 16
Judge — June 4, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge comic strip satirizes class anxiety through slapstick. "Nervy Nat" is an upper-class dandy who repeatedly falls into the company of working-class men—first hobos, then railroad workers—and is horrified by their vulgarity and rough manners. The humor targets Nat's snobbish pretension: he complains about riding in a "private" train car, worries about wind messing his clothes, and is disgusted when he falls into the workers' soup pot. The working men, in turn, mock his affected speech and fancy appearance. The satire cuts both ways—mocking both Nat's absurd class consciousness and the workers' coarse behavior. The title's "bad company" suggests that crossing class lines, in either direction, is inherently comic chaos. This reflects Gilded Age anxieties about social hierarchy and the comic potential of class collision.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nervy Nat—'This isn't a Pullman, but it's awfully private, you a : ? oy Nexvy Nat—"'Great northern securities! the smart set is an inch- ep me walling Sy beak axl ea eetcdeee Cs ceetied worm alongside of the rapidity of this thing. This wind ts enough to blow little town. Should think they'd move on.” 6 jay the checks off my trousers. If we strike a curve with this speed — Oh, mommer!"* & WL \\ Nervy Nat—" There! | knew something unpleasant was going to Nervy Nat—"'Gug-gug! Spwiggle!_ Sglump! Skowshki! Gee! happen to-day. Whenever I get three meals in one day something hap- I'm talking Russian. What is this foul concoction I've landed in?" pens. And from the looks of things I'm about to fall in with some awfully common fellows. I'm going to shake those Rockerbilts—they're too swift for my blood.” Hh Vi Tue common reLLows—"* So yer Gentleman Nat, is yer? Well, dat fer trowin’ on lugs an’ ridin’ in privit cabooses! An’ here's a couple more Nervy Nat—" Next time keep your cld soup away from the railroad fer fallin’ inter our soup.”* track, where gentlemen won't be likely to fall into it and soil their clothes. Nervy Nat—"'Let me up, you low-browed hoboes! You don't im- It has come to a pretty pass when one is not able to fall out of one’s pri- agine | got into your beastly chowder from choice ?"" vate car without dropping into a pot of vulgar soup." NO. 27.—NERVY NAT FALLS IN AND OUT WITH BAD COMPANY. comicbooks.com