Judge, 1922-02-04 · page 17 of 36
Judge — February 4, 1922 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a domestic humor cartoon depicting a mother scolding her son Bobbie about receiving another black eye from fighting with a neighbor boy named Smith. The joke hinges on Bobbie's defiant response: while he's losing the fights (getting black eyes), he claims he's improving—coming "nearer lickin' him every time." The satire targets working-class or lower-middle-class parenting and boyhood culture. The mother's concern and Bobbie's dismissive attitude toward injury reflects period attitudes about masculine toughness and fighting as normal childhood behavior. The humor derives from the boy's optimistic spin on repeated defeat, suggesting gradual improvement despite visible evidence otherwise. This reflects Judge magazine's typical comedic focus on domestic life and class-based social observations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mother—Oh, Bobbie, you don’t mean to say that horrid Smith boy has given you another black cye? y I come nearer lickin’ him every time. Bobbie—Yep, but I don’t care.