Judge, 1920-03-27 · page 7 of 36
Judge — March 27, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# The Artistic Assassin - Explanation for Modern Readers This is a satirical story by Cyril B. Egan about a narrator obsessed with murdering someone—likely a theatrical or literary rival—but paralyzed by aesthetic concerns rather than moral ones. The joke centers on the narrator's twisted priorities: he's determined to kill, but agonizes over *where* and *how* to do it artistically. He rejects Wall Street as "too commercial" and initially considers a Percy Mackaye play for privacy, before reconsidering due to taste. He references being "T. B. M. in taste" (unclear who this abbreviates), suggesting snobbish artistic pretension. The top cartoon shows crowded cars—likely mocking an insurance company's claim that certain people "live longer than Stout," implying the joke involves mortality or traffic accidents. The satire appears to mock the pretentious artistic world's self-absorbed concerns, where even murderous impulses must be filtered through refined sensibilities. It's dark comedy about bohemian affectation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by A. Mactres ear \ rf a) i“ V1 vesvany An Insurance Compaxy Orriciac States Tuat ‘Tuts Preopte Live Loncer Tran Stour The Artistic Assassin E should die! On that I was determined. T no reason why he should live. said I. He should die violently. I was quite decided on that point. Had not Scripture something to say about the fitness of a gladiatorial finis for gentlemen who eke out their exis- tence by letting lethal daylight into the ribs of their more peacefully minded brethren? Such a one was the object of my homicidal fancy. It seemed not only logical—but even advisable—to make of his case a practical corollary to the Biblical proverb. But where was the deed to be done? There was the rub. A fellow of feeling and delicacy has naturally some qualms about performing a task of this nature under the vulgar gaze of the unwashed mob. One shrinks from publicity in these matters. One also By Cyr "here was really Better dead, B. Ecax must consider the feelings of the murderee-elect before despatching him in the presence of the world and his wife. Is it exactly fair to him? Would he like it? Besides, one who has been a student of Horace could not think for a moment of performing an on-stage homicide. ‘This was clear then: He should die secretly. I had thought of Wall Street ona Sunday morning. That was a nice quiet place. But I could not slay the worst of my enemies in Wall Street. Impossible! It was too gross, too sor- did, too commercial an atmosphere. My artistic conscience revolted. ‘There was a theatre, at the time, where they were producing a blank- verse play of Percy Mackaye’s. That would have been admirable for pri- vacy. But I was T. B. M. in taste, and antipathetic to Percy. Draet te cumren Io Glass In a moment of inspiration I con- ASLEEP aT THE SwitcH ceived the idea of luring him on Satur- 7 comicbooks.com