Judge, 1907-10-26 · page 16 of 16
Judge — October 26, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous six-panel comic strip about a Halloween prank gone wrong. "Little Johnny" attempts to scare a group of "Teddies" (likely referring to "Teddy Boys" or young troublemakers of the era) by wearing a jack-o'-lantern costume. However, his plan backfires when he throws a sack of flour intended for the gang but accidentally hits a police officer in the eye instead. The joke's irony is that while the Teddy Bears laugh at Johnny's misfortune with the cop, Johnny himself becomes the target of police pursuit. The humor reflects early 1900s attitudes about street pranks, youth mischief, and the comedic inevitability of comeuppance. The strip advertises a book collection available for 60 cents, indicating this was part of an ongoing series in Judge magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Midge LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. JOHNNY PLANS A HALLOWEEN JOKE ON THE TEDS, BUT IT DOESN'T TURN OUT QUITE AS HE EXPECTED. 2. The Teds, of course, don’t understand. They stop to talk it over and Decide what they had better do. Just then a cop comes into view. 1, On Halloween Teds go to play, But John, you see, has slipped away And put a pumpkin on his dome To scare the Teddies when they come. 4. John lets the sack of flour fly "o give the Teddies a big whack. And hits the cop below the eye— ‘So far below—his aim was bad— It's plain to see he doesn't know The officer is coming, too. not hurt, but only mad. 5. John sees the cop; the cop sees John, 6. And now the cop starts on his beat, While Teds excitedly look on, While John goes flying down the street. The Teds can't help but laugh, you know, Just why it is we cannot say "t ‘That jokes most always end this way. ‘Since Johnny's trick has ended so. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 725 FOURTH AVE, KEW YORK. Price, 60 © F sent postpatd upon receipt of price by Judge Company, 225 Fourth Avenue, New York. ‘The First Series of the adventures of “Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” is now ready Im handsome book-form. sale by book-denlers every where, comicbooks.com