All Humor Comics #4

The Winter issue of All Humor Comics arrives with a perfectly timed gag: a big, cigar-chomping fellow named Kelly — decked out in a bowler hat, red knickers, and a boxing stance — cheerfully announces he's going to "punch tickets down at the railroad station," while a wide-eyed kid in a polka-dot cap and striped shirt assumes he's landed a boxing job. Quality Comics was firing on all cylinders with this kind of warm, snappy wordplay humor in 1946, and the bold yellow spotlight behind the two figures gives the cover an appealing vaudeville energy. Bart Tumey's loose, expressive linework brings real personality to both characters, making this Winter issue an inviting slice of mid-century comic comedy.