Judge, 1925-02-14 · page 26 of 36
Judge — February 14, 1925 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This comic strip by James Montgomery Flagg satirizes the early 1900s craze for hypnotism as a fashionable parlor trick. "Nervy Nat," an opportunistic character, reads a book claiming everyone possesses latent hypnotic powers and decides to test it on unsuspecting victims. The humor derives from failed hypnotic suggestions: Nat tells a dignified man he's a ballet dancer, convinces a boy he's a frog (who actually hops), and attempts to hypnotize a dog into believing it's a kitten—which comically fails. The final panel's joke—that Nat "overlooked" the chapter on dogs—suggests the book's dubious legitimacy. The satire targets both the pseudo-scientific enthusiasm for hypnotism and the gullibility of people willing to believe such nonsense. The exaggerated physical comedy and absurd outcomes mock the era's fascination with this supposedly mysterious mental power.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ASK DAD—HE KNOWS What They Laughed at in the Good Old Days IS « S oF Nervy Nat Tries Hypnotism or The Power That Failed we ¥ “ 9 Nervy Nat—This is a find! I shall try the hypnotic James Montgomery Flagg in Judge, 1903. power this book says we all hare latent within us. Nervy Nat—Here's my first patient. You think Nervy Nat—Ah, my nest! You, my boy, are a nice, you're a dignified old Johnny, now, don’t you? Well, green, shiny little frog. That's the way—hop along! you're not, really. You're the queen of the ballet. The And if you're a real good little froggy you may jump into light fantastic, if you please. the beautiful muddy late. Hoop-la! Nervy Nat—Novw, this will be a severe test. You're Tur Doc—Oh, I'm a kitten all right! an Angora Ivitten— Nervy Nat—There must have been a chapter on dogs in that book that I overlooked. ar comicbooks.com