Judge — May 10, 1924 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Knockout" by Milt Gross This is a wordless, sequential comic strip depicting the chaos of a knockout punch in boxing. The narrative unfolds from top to bottom: a boxer lands a powerful blow on his opponent, who stumbles backward through increasingly chaotic scenes. The victim crashes through domestic spaces, bowling pins, and crowds, leaving destruction in his wake. Each panel escalates the absurdist humor—furniture breaks, people scatter, objects fly—emphasizing the violent trajectory of the knockout's aftermath. The satire likely mocks both boxing's brutality and slapstick comedy conventions. Gross uses exaggerated cartooning to transform a single punch into an elaborate domino effect of mayhem, making physical comedy the subject rather than realistic sport. The humor derives from the disproportionate consequences of one action, a common theme in 1920s-30s comic strips.