Pinhead Pete

This newspaper comic strip features Pete, a character defined by an unusually small head, in a physical comedy scenario. The strip demonstrates early comic conventions: speech balloons carrying narrative exposition, a single-panel gag format common to Sunday newspaper comics, and exaggerated body proportions for humorous effect. The artist uses bold black ink and simple line work typical of the 1910s newspaper page. The joke hinges on Pete's vanity—he measures his head to order a derby hat, then carries the measurement as a souvenir. Such strips populated the Sunday comics sections that established the visual vocabulary later adopted by comic books: recurring characters, expressive drawing, and sequential humor that relied on reader familiarity.