Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 38 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains philosophical text rather than cartoons. It's a lengthy meditative passage discussing the futility and meaninglessness of life, using theatrical and poetic imagery. The narrator describes life as fleeting—"a shadow, a poor player that struts and then is heard no more"—echoing Shakespeare's *Macbeth*. The text then shifts to praising Riley Grannan, apparently a sports figure or gambler, as exemplifying philosophical acceptance of defeat and victory with "equal equanimity." The passage suggests Grannan embodies stoic virtue—maintaining composure when circumstances beyond his control determine outcomes. This appears to be satirical commentary on fatalism and acceptance in early 20th-century American culture, likely appealing to *Whiz Bang's* male readership through sports references and cynical philosophy rather than visual humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 37 complish his end, when I see his aim and purpose frus- trated only by a fortuitious combination of circumstances over which he can exert no control, when I see his out- stretched hands about to grasp the flag of victory, and to seize instead the emblem of defeat, I ask, ‘What is life?’ Dreams, awakening, death. Life is a pendulum betwixt a smile and a fear. Life is but a momentary halt within the waste and then the nothing we set out from. Life is a shadow, a poor player that struts and then is heard no more. Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound, signifying nothing. Life is a child-blown