Here are a few samples of the original color comic strip, the
Yellow Kid by R.F. Outcault, as they appeared way back in the 1890s. This cartoon is what gave "yellow journalism" its name (though not its substance), and Outcault was actually the subject of a bidding war between competing papers (so popular was his Kid).
You get a real sense of the urban, largely immigrant neighborhoods of New York, and how much the variety of dialects and cultural traits defined life in the city (especially amongst the working classes, as in the strip's Hogan's Alley), though I'd be hardpressed to guess the Kid's nationality.
Obviously, these aren't "strips" in the sense we use the term today, but you'll notice that even the single frame pictures have a kind of narrative flow to them. Outcault inspired the next generation of cartoonists-- like Bud Fisher (
Mutt & Jeff), George McManus (
Bringing Up Father), Winsor McKay (
Little Nemo), etc.-- and laid the foundation for a true American art form.
Here are a few samples of the original color comic strip, the Yellow Kid by R.F. Outcault, as they appeared way back in the 1890s. This cartoon is what gave "yellow journalism" its name (though not its substance), and Outcault was actually the subject of a bidding war between competing papers (so popular was his Kid).
You get a real sense of the urban, largely immigrant neighborhoods of New York, and how much the variety of dialects and cultural traits defined life in the city (especially amongst the working classes, as in the strip's Hogan's Alley), though I'd be hardpressed to guess the Kid's nationality.
Obviously, these aren't "strips" in the sense we use the term today, but you'll notice that even the single frame pictures have a kind of narrative flow to them. Outcault inspired the next generation of cartoonists-- like Bud Fisher (Mutt & Jeff), George McManus (Bringing Up Father), Winsor McKay (Little Nemo), etc.-- and laid the foundation for a true American art form.
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