Judge, 1909-04-03 · page 16 of 16
Judge — April 3, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a six-panel comic strip from *Judge* magazine featuring "Little Johnny," a mischievous child character popular in early 1900s American comics. The story shows Johnny's band of animal friends (anthropomorphic possums) playing harmlessly in the street, until a policeman attempts to stop them. The children then collectively push a cart that strikes the cop, sending him flying down the block past a shocked nursemaid. The joke reflects early 20th-century attitudes: it presents children outwitting and physically humiliating authority figures (police) as comedic entertainment. The strip exploits the period's "naughty child" character archetype popularized in comics. The accompanying advertisement promotes Judge Company's "Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears" book, indicating this character held genuine commercial appeal for the magazine's audience.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
uae LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TAFFY ’POSSUMS. JOHN'S BAND IS STOPPED AT HARMLESS PLAY, BUT QUICKLY MAKES THE P’LICEMAN PAY. 5. ‘The hand all push—the cart flies swift— 6. ‘The cart and cop go down the block, And whack ! the cop has got a lift Wh s the nurse-girl quite a shock. Vhe band is Goubled up with ylee An When such us trick they see. The band now disappears from sight last arrests his COPYRIGHT, 1909 AY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, FIFTH AVENUE AND MADISON SQUARE, NEW YORK. Because of the great demand for the popular large-sized “Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” book, we have exhausted our supply. We have on hand, however, an attractisely bound smaller edition, called “The Teddy Bears in Fun and Frolic,” which will be sent, postpaid, for 35 cents, on receipt of price, by Judge Company, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York. comicbooks.com