Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #33 — page 66: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a **title page or announcement**, not a cartoon. It displays a promotional check for a $10,000 short story writing contest sponsored by True Confessions magazine, a Fawcett Publication, dated February 15, 1922. The check is payable to the contest fund and drawn on Security State Bank of Robbinsdale, Minnesota. For modern readers: This illustrates how magazines competed for reader engagement through substantial cash prizes. The "True Confessions" genre—featuring sensational, often morally instructive personal narratives—was hugely popular in the 1920s. The public display of such a large check was marketing: it advertised the contest's legitimacy and the publisher's confidence, encouraging submissions and boosting magazine sales.