The Wasp — 1893 — page 293: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This comic strip satirizes a con artist ("toper" meaning drunkard) who manipulates a woman through deception. The narrative progression shows: a man arriving with heavy cargo, gaining entry through false illness, escalating his scheming, and ultimately robbing the woman while she calls for police help. The satire targets both the criminal's brazen audacity and, implicitly, the woman's gullibility—a common moralistic theme in period humor. The title "Artful" suggests clever villainy in the vein of Dickens's Artful Dodger. The strip exemplifies early 20th-century satirical comics' interest in social con games and crime, reflecting public anxieties about urban deception and household security. The final panel shows the victim's distress as he escapes through the window.