Polly and Her Pals — November 4, 1922

Cliff Sterrett's *Polly and Her Pals* ran from 1912 to 1958, making it one of the longest-lived strips in American newspaper history. This four-panel daily shows Pa — the strip's true comic center despite Polly's title billing — fuming that someone has again picked his pocket, accusing a stout neighbor, who denies it; Pa produces his proof: because *some money is still there*, it wasn't Polly. The gag turns on domestic logic delivered in thick vernacular lettering. Sterrett's bold brush line, compressed figures, and staccato balloon placement exemplify the visual grammar pioneered on newspaper pages that would directly supply the reprint anthologies — *Famous Funnies* and their kin — that became the first comic books.