From the exhibition
Terry and Tacks: An Easter Breakfast Without Any Eggs
· April 23, 1916

This Sunday page from *Terry and Tacks* by Joe Darben showcases the visual storytelling conventions that shaped early comic art: sequential panels, speech balloons, and recurring child characters navigating domestic chaos. The strip follows young Tacks through an Easter morning disaster—a missing chicken meant to provide eggs for breakfast—spiraling into slapstick mishaps as servants and family members scramble through the household. The nine-panel layout and energetic line work reflect the newspaper Sunday comics tradition that directly preceded and influenced the comic book format. Darben's work exemplifies how dailies and Sunday pages established the grammar of panel progression, character continuity, and visual gags that became foundational to sequential art.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain