Life, 1924-08-21 · page 24 of 36
Life — August 21, 1924 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous comic strip about two young boys, Skippy and Butch, engaging in a classic childhood dynamic: one boy (Skippy) is a chronic exaggerator and liar, while the other (Butch) has grown skeptical of his tall tales. Skippy boasts about seeing magic tricks at the Orpheum theater and claims his family has buried treasure and gold-laying chickens in their yard. He even fabricates a story about his father fighting boxer Jack Dempsey. Butch repeatedly calls him out, declaring he wouldn't believe Skippy "if ya was tattooed wid bible pictures." The satire targets not specific political figures but rather universal childhood behavior—the compulsive storyteller who embellishes experiences to impress peers, and his friend's justified distrust. The thick working-class dialect and references to contemporary entertainments (vaudeville, Dempsey boxing) ground it in early 20th-century American urban life. The joke's appeal lies in its relatability across generations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Skippy: 1 Was JUST UP AT THE ORPHEEYUM [N'A MAGICIAN LET Butch FISHES COME OUT OF 11S EARS. Butch: aut YOU'RE ALWAYS SEEIN’ THINGS NOBODY ELSE SEES A MAGICIAN TOOK ELEPHANTS OUT'N AMAT. Skippy: 1 WAS UP THERE THAT WEEK. Butch: ste! wow 1 KETCH YA IN A LIED ME DIDN'T. Skippy: WELL, WE TOOK SOMETHIN’ OUT OF A WAT. RAGBITS, MAYBE, I DUNNO, Ratch: 1 NEVER SEE YOUSE VET RUT WoT VEX WASN'T SPILLEN’ Butch BALLOON GRAVY. REMEMBER WHEN DE ORPHELYUM SHOWED “DOWN T) DE SEA IN SHIPS"? YOU COME AKOUN’ 'N' SAYS DAT, EVERY BODY WOT SEES DE PITCHER GETS A MOWL O" GOLD FISH. 'N’ Wor Sk HAPPENS? DE CANG GETS TOGEDDER 'N’ BUYS OUT DA WiioLE Butch: AWKESTREE, NO LESS, FOR WOT, 1 ASK YA? WE COME OUT WID: OUT 8° MUCH AS A KILLER. Skippy: Yeul That was A LIR, Batch: ®UT DE TIME WoRSE OF ALL IS WHEN YA COME BUZZIN’ AROUND ABOUT DE GOLD ECGS YA HENS WUZ LAYIN’. DERE WUZ SO MUCH BURIED TREASURE IN YA BACK YARD DAT EVEN DA ROOSTERS BEGAN LAYIN’ SOLID GOLD EGGS WID Pott. : NECKLACES IN "BM. RIGHT DEN I BEGAN To GET MOTHY! Skippy: aw, YA GoT ME WRONG, BUTC WHY, L GOTTA HEART AS BIG AS A TABLE. JUST TO PROVE IT I'LL TAKE YA UP TO THE GRANDMOTHER 'N’ BLOW YA TO A COUPLE O° PIES. Butch: G’wan! 1 WOULDN'T BELIEVE YEZ IF YA WAS TATTOOED WID BIBLE PICTURES. Skippy ver N° DAT AIN'T DE ONLY THING! VEZ WENT F AROUND DAT YER OLE MAN PUT DA GLOVES ON WID DEMPSEY MIM GROPIN’ AROUND DA RING WALLY-EYED. 1, THAT! 1 WAS JUST MAKING CONVERSATION, WOT D0 YOUSE PEOPLE DO—STUFT UP ON RAW MEAT DAT YA C'N GO ND BELITTLIN’ DEMPSEY? MAYOR IT'S JUST AS WELL BUTCH DIDN'T BELIEVE ME! comicbooks.com