Judge — June 21, 1924 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Pan Comes to 1924" This satirical comic by John Held Jr. depicts the mythological god Pan arriving in 1920s modern society. The sequence shows Pan experiencing contemporary urban life: 1. Getting fitted for a "drinking suit" (referencing Prohibition-era speakeasies) 2. Meeting a "modern nymph" at a Bacchanal revel (jazz-age nightlife) 3. Getting drunk and ending up under a table 4. Recovering with cold compresses The satire contrasts Pan's classical association with wild revelry and intoxication against the supposedly "civilized" 1920s. The joke suggests that despite modern pretensions to respectability, contemporary America—particularly during Prohibition—engages in the same hedonistic behavior as ancient mythological excess. Held's elegant art style emphasizes this ironic gap between appearance and reality.