Judge — May 15, 1926 — page 35: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a reader-participation contest where Judge magazine invites submissions to complete an unfinished comic strip (Contest No. 42). The existing panels show what appears to be a film or photography production scene: characters operating a movie camera, positioning subjects, and adjusting lighting equipment in what looks like a studio setting. The joke setup involves the behind-the-scenes chaos of early film production—the characters seem to be struggling with equipment or positioning. Readers were challenged to draw their own humorous final panel, with the $25 prize going to the funniest conclusion. This reflects early 20th-century Judge magazine's interactive, participatory approach to humor, and the cultural fascination with cinema as a still-novel medium worthy of satire.