ComicBook Experience

From the exhibition

Nobody

· 1912

Nobody
A two-panel comic strip by Meek featuring a traffic stop that escalates into slapstick chaos. When a ragged policeman halts a wealthy motorist for speeding, the indignant driver—claiming millionaire status—attempts to intimidate his accuser. The second panel reveals the punchline: the officer simply drives away, leaving the motorist overturned and buried beneath his vehicle, while declaring "NOBODY!!" The strip employs the visual conventions pioneered in early newspaper comics: sequential panels, speech balloons, exaggerated character design, and physical comedy. Published during the era when comic strips were establishing themselves as a daily newspaper staple, this gag relies on timing and visual wordplay rather than elaborate narrative, typical of the short-form humor that dominated the comics page alongside longer adventure serials.

Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain