Polly and Her Pals — 1922-11-08

Titled *It Was the Least Pa Could Do*, this four-panel daily strip by Cliff Sterrett follows a classic workplace gag: a woman urges a young man to march into her father's office and demand a raise. He does — and when asked point-blank what his current salary is, answers 'Nuthin'.' Pa, delighted by the logic, doubles it on the spot. Sterrett's draftsmanship is expressive and economical, using figure posture and reaction shots to carry the comedy without cluttering the panels. *Polly and Her Pals*, launched in 1912, was among the earliest newspaper strips to center a young woman character, and Sterrett's later work pushed toward geometric Art Deco abstraction that influenced generations of cartoonists. Daily strips like these — syndicated nationally, collected, reprinted — formed the direct commercial and visual template from which the comic book emerged in the 1930s.