Judge — February 19, 1927 — page 17: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a single-panel cartoon titled "Kitty Threw the Handsome Stranger a Roguish Glance" from *Judge* magazine. It depicts a flirtatious woman in fashionable dress making eyes at a well-dressed man with a cane. The accompanying text describes a crime-story scenario: the narrator was solving a crossword puzzle when a shooting occurred, leaving a governor dead. When questioned about whether a friend "Joe" was present, the questioner asks confusingly whether Joe was "alone or was I with him?"—a logical impossibility meant to be humorous. The cartoon appears to satirize pulp crime fiction and detective stories popular in the era. "Kitty" represents the archetypal femme fatale of such narratives, while the "handsome stranger" embodies the mysterious male character. The joke connects the melodramatic setup with the absurd questioning that follows, mocking the conventions of pulp mystery fiction.