Judge, 1907-10-05 · page 10 of 16
Judge — October 5, 1907 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a comic strip adventure story, not political satire. "Nervy Nat" is an unnamed daredevil character who discovers an abandoned submarine and embarks on an impulsive underwater joyride. The humor relies on slapstick and absurdist situations: Nat evades pursuit from someone named O'Toole by submerging; he encounters aggressive sea creatures (frisky "things," a whale); he struggles to control the submarine's mechanisms. The jokes are largely physical comedy—collisions, confusion about operating the vessel, and exaggerated reactions. One panel references "the Lusitania" (the famous ship, though the context is joking rather than serious), and another mentions "Helena Montana" as a racing destination, suggesting this may date to the early 1900s when submarine technology was novel and sensational in popular culture. The appeal is simply adventurous escapism for readers—a character causing chaos through reckless submarine exploration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1, Nervy Nat—“* How careless of Uncle Sam to leave such a tempting deep- sea diving-parlor lying about loose. Here ‘s where the Nervy Nat ocean floor special goes for a crawl among the mollusks." 2. Nervy Nat—"' And incidentally, what an ideal hiding-place from O'Toole. That British bloke whom | am honoring by wearing his duds must needs don his rubber boots if he pursues me now. I begin tofeel likeaduck. Quack, quack! Now let her go.”” 3. Nervy Nat—" Gosh! but these things are frisky. I wonder if the blamed thing will ever stop bucking? I fear | shall punch a hole In the bottom of the ccean and then the brine would run out and the Lusitania would have to borrow a mule-team to haul her home.” 5. Nervy Nat—" Wow! what a slap. Say, think you ‘re doing? Quit blowing soap-bubbles and don't look so sassy or I'll hand you another one.”* 4, Nexvy Nat—"' Suffering snakes! what's that? A whale, as I live! Caught him right in the solar plexus, too. I see visions of something did- ding. How in blazes do you stop this infernal machine?” 6. Nervy Nat—‘' Great Gibraltar! This is passing strange. A submarine riding whaleback, and going to beat Helena Montana. As to direction and destination, | have nothing to say for publication. Honk! honk! "ll see you later and if | don't, please write.” NO. 18—NERVY NAT TAKES A SUBMARINE TRIP. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 225 FOURTH AVE., NEW YORK. of Nervy Ni postage wi ju book-form. Price, 73 cents; 10 cents additional ae, New Yor! comicbooks.com