Life — March 14, 1918 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Daddy He Can Brag About" This WWI-era cartoon satirizes working-class fathers trying to impress their sons. An older man (likely a fortune teller) reads the fortunes of young boys in military uniforms, who boast about their fathers' accomplishments. The joke targets class anxiety: one boy claims his father "owns everything" and is worth "a million dollars," while another insists his father is "a king." The punchline suggests these boys lack genuine accomplishment to be proud of, so they invent inflated parental achievements. The cartoon critiques both paternal boasting and childhood materialism during wartime. The character "Velvet Joe" (possibly a recurring LIFE figure) delivers the moral: real valor comes from having a father who "fought Over There"—a soldier in WWI—the only achievement worthy of genuine pride.