Judge — November 24, 1923 — page 2: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "John Doe Departs for the City" - Judge Magazine Comic This is a humorous comic strip drawn by J. Liello about a young man ("John Doe") who borrows jokes from a judge and goes to the city seeking comedic success. According to the caption, he spends 15 cents on a "Judge" magazine to acquire "wit and humor" for connubial bliss and reputation. The eight sequential panels show John's journey through increasingly absurd situations—from domestic scenes to what appears to be a chaotic finale involving scattered papers and physical comedy. The advertisement tagline jokes that reading Judge magazine is "like lifting one's self by one's bootlegger"—a Prohibition-era reference suggesting the magazine provides an intoxicating escape or uplift. The satire mocks both the young man's desperation for borrowed wit and the magazine's promise of comedic solutions.