Petey Dink by C. A. Voight

A daily newspaper strip following the misadventures of a young boy navigating city life and authority figures. Voight employs the visual conventions that defined early comic strips: sequential panels with speech balloons, a consistent cast of characters, and sight gags anchored in dialogue. Here, Petey attempts to enlist in a civic league, only to be redirected toward military supplies—a topical reference to America's recent entry into World War I. The strip's economy of line and reliance on character interaction over elaborate backgrounds typifies the dailies format that provided the visual and narrative template for the emerging comic book medium.