Judge — November 5, 1927 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical comic mocks romantic comedies and theatrical conventions of the era. The main panel shows a wealthy man in pajamas reacting with horror ("No! A case of gin!!") to a woman's proposition, inverting typical romantic scenarios. The smaller panels below depict a romantic plot: a man complains about his girlfriend being "uncouth, sappy and vowlegged"; he encounters a sophisticated woman; but she turns out to be deaf (the punchline: "You don't have to whisper, she's deaf too!"). The satire targets both theatrical melodrama and gender stereotypes—particularly how men evaluate women superficially and how "refined" appearances mask unexpected flaws. The humor relies on period-specific assumptions about class, courtship rituals, and disability as comedic fodder. "White Lights" (bottom left) references Broadway theater, anchoring this as commentary on stage comedy conventions.