Polly and Her Pals — July 14, 1922

Cliff Sterrett's *Polly and Her Pals* daily strip, titled "He Knows When 'No' Means 'Yes'" in this installment, unfolds across four panels: a suitor is ejected from the house, Polly's father confirms he bounced the boy, Polly feigns heartbreak claiming she'll never see him again, and the punchline reverses everything — he's returning that evening to choose an engagement ring. Sterrett's confident ink line, expressive figure poses, and rhythmic panel pacing show daily newspaper strips at their most economical. Launched in 1912 in the *New York Evening Telegram*, *Polly* ran for decades, its tight comedic structure and recurring family cast helping codify the conventions — speech balloons, sequential panels, stock characters — that newspaper syndication exported directly into the first comic books of the 1930s.