Mutt & Jeff #17

This Spring 1945 All-American Publication brings Bud Fisher's beloved comedy duo face-to-face with a very toothy lion in a circus cage, in a cover by Sheldon Mayer that perfectly captures the strip's timeless humor. The tall, lanky Mutt urges his shorter pal Jeff — dressed smartly in a red ringmaster's uniform and perched on a circus pedestal — to stick his head in the lion's wide-open mouth, while Jeff's wry response ("Yeah — you know he won't bite, but does the lion know it?") says everything about their wonderfully mismatched dynamic. At ten cents, this is classic Mutt & Jeff comedy delivered with charm and a dash of circus spectacle.