Life, 1923-09-20 · page 11 of 36
Life — September 20, 1923 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a comic strip titled "Skippy—No. 24" featuring a mischievous young boy character named Skippy. The strip depicts his interaction with an older man (likely meant to represent an authority figure or adult). The humor centers on Skippy's streetwise language and behavior—he uses slang expressions like "stiff," "knock ya from undr ya hat," and "uppercut." The running joke involves Skippy's threats of physical violence (knocking someone out, swinging "for me thoughts") contrasted with his small, weak appearance, which undercuts the menace. The final panel reveals the punchline: despite all his aggressive talk, Skippy "didn't start nothin'"—suggesting his bluster masks cowardice or that the threat was empty all along. This reflects 1920s-30s urban youth culture and humor about street-smart children.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
K BUTCH SEZ IF YA COME DOWNON “HE KNOCK THE STUFFIN’ OUTA ME— “SKIPPY SEZ YE’RE A BIG STIFF ’N’ YER Ti) CORNER HE'LL KNOCK THE STUFF~ I LOVE THAT.” OLE MAN’S ALWAYS OUTA WORK 'N’ IN’ OUT'N YA. HE’S COMIN’ DOWN ’N’ KNOCK YA FROM Skippy: TELL HIM I'LL GO DOWN THERE UNDrR YA HAT!” ALL I WANT TO. “ov! IF I EVER GIT ME HANDS ON THAT SKIPPY! “—’N’ THEN ANUDDER LEFT, ’N’ A RIGHT ’N’ THEN, I C’D SWING FOR ME THOUGHTS.” oH! ’N’ THEN ME AWFUL UPPERCUT!” “STILL I GOTTA PULL ME UPPERCUT IF “GIVE ME A STAND UP, HUH! JUST FOR Skippy: 1 NOTICE HE DIDN’T START I \WANTA SAVE MESELF THE EXPENSE THAT I WON’T PULL ME UPPERCUT!” NOTHIN’! OF A HOISE.” Skippy—No. 24 comicbooks.com