Judge — October 10, 1908 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This six-panel comic strip satirizes the "New Thought" movement—a late 19th/early 20th-century spiritual philosophy emphasizing positive thinking and mental healing. The protagonist "Nervy Nat" appears to be a con artist or charlatan who disrupts a respectable New Thought gathering (panel 3) claiming to be an "advanced thinker." He systematically infiltrates the group's charitable fundraising efforts, ultimately swindling them through increasingly absurd schemes—culminating in panel 6 where he literally dangles from the building, having escaped with their money. The satire mocks both the gullibility of New Thought adherents and the era's susceptibility to fraudsters exploiting spiritual movements. The "Nervy" protagonist embodies the predatory charlatan taking advantage of sincere but naive believers. The comic suggests New Thought's idealistic promises about positive thinking left practitioners vulnerable to exploitation.