From the exhibition
Spareribs and Gravy at the Sea Shore
· May 19, 1912

George McManus's seaside comedy unfolds across nine panels, following two characters through escalating beach mishaps. The strip exemplifies early newspaper comics' visual vocabulary: sequential panels with speech balloons, exaggerated gestures, and sight gags building toward a punchline. McManus employs rapid action and physical comedy—characters tangle with a tent, haul fishing nets, and ultimately tumble into the ocean—rendered in bold ink lines and dramatic shadows. The recurring cast and domestic situations typify Sunday funnies of the 1910s, when daily newspapers first serialized comics that would eventually define the medium.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain