U.S. copyright law (title 17 of U.S. code) governs the reproduction and redistribution of copyrighted material. The copyright owner retains all rights to this work. HIS IS AN ORTG!::-iAL M~:-t~~cm:?f' TIT MAY NC7 EE CC?~ 18 i'H'l :;r-)\1': ~HE AUTiiOR'S PERMISSIOli

THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF NEWSPAPER COMICS

THESIS

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas in Partial Fulfill­ ment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

By

Alma Dora McDonell, B. A. Austin, Texas

August, 1938 THE LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

AUNT HET By ROBERT QUILLEN

"Bill is a highbrow, with a lot o' college degrees, and I reckon he's smart in some ways, but his bein' te<> snooty to read the funny paper is j ust plain silly. How can he teach history like it was important if he feels above the history we're makin'? You can't tell how a garment's made without seein' the seamy side. • And folks that dig up our civilization are goin' to learn more about us from our funny papers than by lookin' at ruins."

This panel appeared in The Austin American-Statesman, Sunday August 14, 1938, after the completion of this thesis . ( 45818 PREFACE

This thesis is almost a gesture of futility, and if it has merit, it lies in the fact that it is a begin­ ning. Though the social significance of comics deseI'Ves more extensive and more serious thought, very little work has been done in this field of inquiry. I am indeed grateful for the cooperation given me by those interviewed and by those answering question­ naires and letters.

I w~sh to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Harry E. Moore, who has directed this work with patience and understanding, and to Dr. Carl M. Rosenquist for suggestions. To Dr. Hugh C. Blodgett, whose signa­ ture will always remind me of my too brief connection with the Department of Psychology, goes recognition as the third member of my committee. My heartfelt thanks are due to Mr. Rex D. Hopper for the inspiration he has given, and for his splendid spirit

o~-cooperation during the two years we worked together. To my mother goes much of the credit for this degree. She has made my college career possible, and

has encouraged me ~n every possible manner.

And last, I wo~ld like to express my appreciation to Mr. Hubert Foster for his kindly cooperation and good eheer. TABLE OF CONTENTS

CH.APTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • l

II. HISTORY •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 5

III. COMICS AS A MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL • • • • 35 IV. CURRENT OPINIONS OF COMICS . • • • • • • • • 60

v. CONCLUSIONS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY • • · • • • • • • · • · • • · • • • • 101

APPENDIX A • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 104

APPENDIX B •• • • • • • ...... 106 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE I. NUMBER WHO READ THE COMIC SECTION OF THE

NEWSPAPER FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD •..• 64 II. CHOICE OF PAPERS DETERMINED BY cm.rrcs • • • 66 III. COMICS .RANKING FIRST AND LAST BY GROUPS . . 67 IV. NUMBER WHO LAUGH AT COMICS, IDENTIFY FRIENDS WITH COMIC CHARACTERS, AND KNOW SOMEONE WITH A NICKNAME TAKEN FROM A COMIC CHARACTER • . . . • • • • • • • 90 V. NUMBER OBSERVING USE OF GESTURES OR EX- PRESSIONS TAKEN FROM COMIC STRIPS 91 VI. NUMBER INFLUENCED IN BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AS A RESULT OF READING COMIC STRIPS . . . . . • 92 THE LIBRARY THE U~IVERSI1Y OP TEXAS

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Since the comics are a widely read section of the modern newspaper, we have become interested in the reasons for their great popularity, and in pointing out if possi­ ble the nature and extent of their social significance. It is our belief that many people creating, distributing, publishing, and reading the funnies are to a greater or less extent unaware of the social implications of the panel and the strip for individuals, the nation as a whole, and for foreign nations and nationals. Many sociologists and other social scientists must have sensed the rapidly growing popularity and hence the automatically increasing social influence of the comics, but we have been unable to find 1.n any Journal, text, or treatise in sociology and related sciences a comprehensive scientific treatment of the existence and possible scope of their appeal and therefore of their importance in the realms of social control and of education. Within the limitations of this work, the research attempted with regard to these two factors has hardly more than scratched the surface of what we believe could be done in this regard. 2

Educators, however, are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of visual aids in education. As evi­ denced by the following, the social problem cartoon has not wholly escaped consideration as a medium of visual education. "Cartoons, if anything, are vivid. They have at­ tention getting value because they differ from their con­ text, have definite form and frequently represent motion. A well drawn cartoon catches the eye, the first eye fixa­ tion being at a point of importance in relation to the meaning. From this point the design of the cartoon may lead the eye movements to other significant details, or interest may be aroused which leads to further explora­ tion. The mere fact that cartoons are different from the more usual reading materials is in their favor. In almost all learning, repetition is necessary. Repeti­ tion of the same problem through many different media, in words, in charts, in illustrations, in cartoons, is de­ sirable for two reasons. It prevents boredom and keeps interest alive, and it gives wider meaning and broader associations. In these two functions, then, as interest arousers, and as variants of more common materials, car­ toons have their fundamental values.nl

1 Laurance F. Shaffer, Children's Interpretations of Cartoons, pp. 60-1. s t-"'.... ' 3

Only a brief history of caricature, cartooning, and comic strips has been presented here as a background for a discussion of comics as a means of social control, and of current opinions. Because of our interest in the likes, dislikes, habits, and problems of people, and our unwillingness to accept and present merely a review of the literature, whether in books or periodicals, hitherto published on this subject, we have gathered as much additional data as time and circumstances would permit by means of personal

le~ters, personal interviews, and questionnaires. The research necessary for the making of this study was begun by a study of the literature, and by· a careful survey of comics in week-day and Sunday newspapers in the files of the Newspaper Collection in The University of Texas Library. At the same time, a large variety of clip­ pings from current comics chosen by us and sent to us by friends were collected and filed. From this file a limited number have been selected and transferred to plates presented in the following chapters. Before being mimeographed and presented in their final form to those answering them, the questionnaires furnishing part of the data presented in the text and tables in Chapter IV were drafted and revised in accord­ ance with suggestions of the committee and then submitted TxU 4 to a few persons to test the clearness, conciseness, and validity of the questions asked. Personal letters were written to business and pro­ fessional men in several cities in seven states. The personal interviews reported were not had with residents of this community only. Citizens of varying occupational and educational levels were contacted in three Texas cities, Del Rio, San Antonio, and Austin. Beginning with the history of modern comics, the data secured in the ways ment~oned has been used as a basis for the following study. ...

CHAPTER II

HISTORY

Certainly one of the most popular sections of the modern newspaper is the page, or pages, devoted to the antics and adventures of the "oomic" characters. Perhaps this form of journalism owes a considerable part of its popularity to the ages-old habit of humans of using pic­ tures to express their emotions and ideas and especially . their humorous thoughts in a more direct form than is possible in more formal writing. At any rate picture writing has made its appearance in all cultures and in all ages in many forms and with varying fortunes. The present day comic strip seems to be the direct descendant of the caricature and the political cartoon; forms of picture writing with an interesting and instructive his­ tory. The etymology of the word "caricature" is indica­ tive of its use. Our word seems to derive from the Italian caricatura, from caricare in the same .language, which means to load or to charge. In its noun form, the word is defined as a "ritratto ridiculo." That is, the picture so designated is loaded or charged with a quality of ridiculousness. This charge may be sensuous, imagina­ tive, intellectual, or moral; but it always has the quality of derision, raillery, or burlesque. Caricature ... 6

is a 0 general term for the art of applying the grotesque to the purposes of satire, and for pictorial and plastic ridicule and burlesque.n2

2 "Caricature," Encyclo~edia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. V, p. 331.

A tendency to burlesque seems to be deeply im­ planted in human nature; even in the sombre and massive EgYPtian art we find the humorous. The Egyptians made drawings of men as animals whose particular qualities they possessed. The bold would be represented as a lion, and the faithful as a dog. One EgYPtian papyrus in the British Museum has a drawing representing a scene in which a game of draughts is played by two animals, a lion and a unicorn. The lion has evidently won and has an air of swaggering superiority, while the unicorn is surprised and, of course, disappointed. Situations so depicted are the prototypes of some of our modern comio.s. Caricature was known to the Greeks, though few and dubious examples are extant. Their taste for pic­ torial parody ls cleverly shown on pottery. Aristotle did not approve of this type of art and condemned the pictures of a man named Pauson. The Greeks burlesqued their gods, an example of which is the parody found on a vase where Jupiter visits Alcmena. She looks out from PLATE I

C.pit/1 •t P'4y. 7

the window as he stands on a ladder proffering her a gift. Jupiter's servant stands on the ground with a torch, showing that it is night. Sometimes the names of the victims were written in the drawings.3

3 Thomas Wright, A History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art, p-.-16.

Excavation at Pompeii reveals the Roman favorites as pigmies of about the same height·as the cranes with which they are in conflict. The pigmies have large heads and small arms and legs, a common form of drawing today as in Betty Boop, an animated cartoon. The Romans too made drawings of animals following the pursuits of men. On engraved stones have been found examples of political and personal caricature. An example of religious ridi­ cule is a caricature upon a Christian named Alexamenos. Jesus is represented as a man with the head of a donkey, extended upon the cross, while Alexamenos stands below in an attitude of worship. The inscription reads, "Alexamenos worships God." It was drawn when the pre­ vailing religion was still pagan.4

4 Ibid., p. 38. 8

The transition from antiquity to the middle ages was long and slow; much of the texture of the old society was destroyed; and we know very little of the comic, either graphic or literary, of this period of transition.

During the middle ages practically all art w~s religious in nature and with the building of the cathedrals a new style originated--a mixture of paganism and Christian 1magin1ngs--for the adornment of the strongholds of urban Catholicism. Here coarse and brutal materialism foun4 its freest expression; the grotesque appeared on missal­ marge, signboard, entablature, gargoyle, and initial. Bohun Lynch says, •Religious art throughout Christian Europe produced actual and deliberate caricature in great abundance. When the world was younger and the succession of faith less protracted, simple people found a homely and everyday application for their religion, which was a matter-of-course, and which contained much provender for laughter and merry-making.u5

5 Bohun Lynch, ~ History of Caricature, p. 15.

Caricatures of costumes were not uncommon. A manuscript in the British Museum shows a pig standing upright on stilts, playing a harp, and wearing a ridicu­ lous headdress with a long veil. The fashions in dress 9 from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries were carried to a high degree of extravagance and were the frequent objects of satire and caricature. Domestic life during the middle ages seems to have been coarse and turbulent, thus presenting abundant mater­ ial for jest and burlesque. A stall in a church of Stratford-upon-Avon shows a woman pulling a man's beard, kicking him, and holding a cooking utensil in readiness to strike him. The woman is enraged; the man appears

s~prised. There are many similar examples. In this con­ nection, we might recall the comic themes in Shakespeare's

plays, with such chara~ters as Bully Bottom, Touchstone and his stolid mistress, and others. Puns, verbal quib­

bles,. and vulgar expressions are not wantin~, but Shakespeare depicted characters and events that required no mincing words. Hit is in the tumult of the Renaissance, indeed, that caricature in its modern sense may be said to have been born. The Great popular movements required some such vehicle of comment or censure; the perfection to which the arts of design were attaining supplied the means; the invention of printing insured its d!ssemination. The earliest genuine piece of graphic irony that has been discovered is a caricature (1499) relating to Louis XII and his Italian War. But it was the Reformation that PLATE II 10 produced the first full crop of satirical ephemerae, and the heads of Luther and Alexander VI are therefore the direct ancestors of the masks that smirk and frown from the 1 cartoons 1 of Punch and 1 Chari.var1. 1 u6

6 "Caricature," Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. V., p. 331.

The punitive theology of the time was reflected in the sculptures and frescoes of the Devil in the churches. "Down to the sixteenth century caricature was mainly con­ fined to the presentment of good and evil, of God and the Devil. Then, with the great cleavage brought about by the Reformers and later, the Puritans, the art became the weapon of warring sects, and in its true form was most eonspicuous in religious enmities. A more general applica­ tion is, however, to be observed in the satirical draw­ ings by Holbein and others in which the figure of Death predominates.n7

7 Lynch, A History of Caricature, p. 19.

With the freedom of the press in eighteenth cen­ turn England, the art became very popular with such artiste as Hogarth, Gillray, Rowlandson, Cruickshank, and others. The series of pictures for which Hogarth is T::U >V 11

known were comedies rather than caricatures. They were arranged like comedies in successive plates in acts and scenes, and represented society pictorially. The first series was "The Harlot's Progress" in 1733 and 1734. This was followed by a series of plates, "The Rake's

Progress," in 1735. "The Marriage~ la Mode" was pub­ lished in six plates in 1745.a

8 Wright, A History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and-Art, pp. 436-37.

Gillray, who it seems had no illusions, made about twelve hundred caricatures and satires. His best known are concerned with the French Revolution, Napoleon and Josephine, and new fashions. His work is somewhat coarse. Rowlandson, on the other hand, was an excellent draughts­ man and gave an elegance to his pungent satire.9

9 Lynch, A History of Caricature, p. 19.

Isaac Cruickshank satirized Napoleon, John Bull and the Government; and caricatured with exaggeration the fashions of both men and women. Philip Hamerton says that his drawings are full of keen satire and happy inven­ tion, and their moral purpose is always good.10

10 Ibid., pp. 66-67. 12

In the work of George Cruickshank, we find sparkle with the grotesque. There is a lovableness about his illustrations of Tom Thumb and his seven-league boots, and the drawings of his moral comedies. Each drawing is filled with a great number of figures, each of which tells a part of the story. In this field Tenniel should be mentioned because of his illustrations of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The caricaturists found in the South Sea Bubble and in other crazes ample opportunity for comment. 11 When a topic, foolish or otherwise, runs away with people, as we say, so that nothing else is talked about high or low: so that intelligent folk utter platitudes about it, and foolish people look forward to the morrow's newspaper: so that it gives point to catchwords, essence to songs, and kernel to jokes, we may be quite sure that its central figure will not lack the attention of the caricaturist. 11 11

11 Lynch, .2.E· cit., p. 48.

During this time, however, cartoons were not found in newspapers but were printed on posters and handbills, ladies' fans, and other mediums. The print shops and print sellers of London made portfolios of caricature and 13

hired them as fashionable amusement to persons giving parties. The word 11 caricature 11 was rarely used; the drawings were called hieroglyphics. "Af'ter the first decade or so of the nineteenth century, we find that the polite school of Cruickshank in his later incarnation and of his followers coming after the fiercely masculine and sometimes brutal period of the Napoleonic wars, killed caricature and replaced it by Comic Art, into which was infused a little humane satire and a great deal of inanity. True caricature became very scarce and has so remained. John Doyle is referred to as 11nnocent and amusing' when compared to the previous masters of 'savage vulgarity.• In comic art of his sort there is little exaggeration, and as we have seen, caricature depends for its existence on that quality. Current humour lay more and more in the situation described. Richard Doyle and Robert Saymour, the illustrator of P1ckw1ck,practically never made caricatures. John Leech, in the early days of Punch, came occasionally within measurable distance, such as in his drawing or the Duke of Wellington and the Prince de Jo1nville in 1845; and that of Earl Russell six years later.ul2

12 Lynch,~· cit., p. 68.

£:45818 14

Punch has been the most successful humorous peri­ odical in England. It has been published since 1841 and has stabilized twenty-five subjects which have been ex­ ploited year after year. There is a subject for every letter in the alphabet, save one. Punch has issued a library of twenty-five volumes, each dedicated to a par­ ticular joke, among which are After Dinner, Fashion, Golf, Love, Society, and so on. Some subjects have to wait longer than others before they become a stabilized butt along with Bridge and Golf. Punch did not use the word "caricature," but adopted •pencilling" to describe the cuts which dealt with social and political topics. •But when in 1843 there was held in Westminister Hall the great exhibition of 'cartoons' from which selection was to be made of designs for the decoration in fresco of the new Houses of Parlia­ ment, Punch Jocularly professed to range himself along­ side the great artists of the day; so that the 'mad designs' of the reign of Charles I became the •cartoon' of that of Queen Victoria. • • • "In England the cartoon, no longer a weapon of venomous attack, has come to be regarded as a humorous or sarcastic comment upon the topic uppermost in the na­

tion 1 s mind, a witty or saturnine illustration of views already formed, rather than as an instrument for the 15 manufacture of public opinion. It has almost wholly lost its rancor; it has totally lost its ferocity--the evolu­ tionary result of peace and contentment, for satire in its more violent and more spontaneous form is but the outcome of the dissatisfaction or rage of the multitude.nl3

13 1 0artoon, 1 Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. V, p. 434.

A more direct forerunner of our comic strips was the German caricature which flourished principally in the comic papers Kladderadatsch, a political paper of Berlin, and Fliegende Blatter of Munich, a paper of artistic merit in addition to its wit. One of the contributors to these papers was Wilhelm Busch, a brilliant draughtsman. He is regarded as the originator of the short-series cartoon. His debut was made with an illustrated poem, "The Peasant and the Miller,• and he is well known for the following works: Pater Filucius, Die Fromme Helene, Max und Moritz. He was both author and illustrator of these works; his verse furnished Germany with household words, and his drawings of a decidedly comical aspect were done with skill and directness.14

14 -··Ibid 16

The ancestry of the comic strip may also be traced to the work of Dourm1er and Phil1pon in France. Dourmier was employed by Philipon, and both were imprisoned for the publication of La Caricature, a Republican journal. So La Caricature died and Le Charivar1 was born. In this journal they lashed social evils and shams of all kinds without sentimentality. The well-known Robert Macaire series were so used to point their opinions. The charac­ ters in these strips have so passed into the French language that they are often referred to as actual historical ohar­ aoters .15

15 Lynch, A History of Caricature, pp. 80-84.

In America, graphic art began with political car­ tooning in 1764.16 Life prior to this time was not con-

16 "Men and Issues," editorial, Survey Graphic, Vol. 25, April, 1936, P• 240.

ducive to the development of satire or of other Old World means of pointing out the foibles of society. The people were busy, contacts were few, and transportation and com­ munication were slow. The problems are immediate on a frontier, and they were living on a frontier as they pushed deep the roots of our civilization. 17

Benjamin Franklin instigated political cartooning and was one of the first to be ridiculed by cartoons. As already noted, caricature and political cartooning are criticisms of life and conditions; and in critical periods they become both acute and rampant. The style may change, but the purpose remains the same, that is, to make the men and the issues of the other side to appear ridiculous, inane, grasping, or heartless. It was toward the latter part of the nineteenth century that the American comic strip was born. With a distinctly American qramat1c form, yet patterned after the European tradition, the first comics were of the joke variety where the author prov~ded his characters with a complete experience each day. When, in 1889, the New York World published a weekly .colored comic sheet, the United States saw the beginning of the comic strip in­ dustry. Following the German artist Wilhelm Busch who showed children how they could play tricks of the Max and Moritz variety on their parents and always get a laugh from the onlookers, Outcault offered a clown and a wolfhound as characters in the first Sunday supplement. He then created HHogan 1 e Alley• a character of which was a kid with big ears and funny toes wearing a yellow dress. The llYellow Kid" became very popular at once, thus begin­ ning the comic craze that has swept the world. 18

The practical joke era in the 1 funny side" of the newspapers soon included Dirk's naturalization of Busch's Max and Moritz, "The Katzenjammer Kids," Outcault 1 a

"Buster Brown," Opper' s 11 Happy Hooligan, 11 "Maud 11 and •Si," and Carl Schultz's 11 Foxy Grandpa," the forerunner of 1 Bringing up Father.•

Kah.lea introduced a series called "Clarence the Cop" which ran for almost a decade, but finally subsided because of the constant flood of letters from the New York police force protesting against Clarence's misad­ ventures. Outoault also received a great many protests from parents, ministers, and teachers when the activities of the Yellow Kid included such escapades as burning the school house. These protests are indicative of the oo­ cupat1onal complex phenomenon. The police force felt that they were being ridiculed as a group, that they were made to appear "dumb 11 and inadequate. The parents, ministers, and teachers felt they were being held up in the public view as failing in their duties to the children. A second factor in this case is that burning houses is con­ trary to the mores, of course, and we will not tolerate even 1n the comics examples of such behavior.

1 0bservers have long noted that ~ocation has a profound effect upon behavior and personality. This comes about partly beoause of the molding of the vocation itself and partly_beoause the va~ious vocations ~ct se+eotive~y upon the populatio~ in recru~ting member~. Community of interest within vocational groups and interrelationships between such groups invariably mean the development of codes of behavior and ideals of conduct, even in the underworld, to which persons more or less conform. Within these circles a universe of discourse arises and a way of looking at life. Moreover, the public recognizes the

significance and meaning of the various vocational rol~s and comes to expect a certain type of behavior in each.17

17 Kreuger and Reckless, Social Psychology, p. 332.

Just as a person builds up a conception of his role and .

status, so occup~tional groups build concepti9ns of their roles and status, and endeavor to uphold the prestige of the group. A more recent example may be cited. Monte Barrett

who writes the 11 Jane Arden 11 strip once had a nurse in the strip who was of the 11 flappern type. The nurse fell in love with one of her patients; decided that she would marry him; and finally did. Mr. Barrett received thou­ sands of letters from nurses all over the United States protesting that nurses were not like that. Though the _ slight was unintentional on the part of Mr. Barrett, the 20 nurses felt eompel+ed to uphold the traditions of the / occupational group. . ; Abnormal mischievousness was gradually worked out of the strips; the:r:i "Buster Brown" and "Pore Li 11 Pete Mose" were created. These comics were published largely for children, but George McManus worked out the strips, "The Newly Weds" and "Panhandle Pete" for adults. Herriman, following the Ancient and European· traditio~ 1 brought out 8 Krazy Kat" to the delight of the youngsters. ' A minor social movement began when many people believed that the comics were vulgar, that they were dis­ seminators of slang and bad manners, that they inculcat~d disrespect for life, law, the married state, and adults. This social dissatisfaction and unrest became manifest in the protests which were made against syndicates d~s­ tributing high•priced suggestions for more devilment. In April 1911, the League for the Improvement of the Children's Comic Supplement was formed, and protests were duly made to the editors of the newspapers. With this mode of· settling conflict, the denunciation was made, the editors listened politely and challenged their critics to do a better job; and everyone was apparently satisfied. The protests, however, did not stem the tide of public favor and the comic strips continued to grow. As one news- paper after another felt the demand for comics and tried 21

to fill it, the~e.was cqpsideraple riv~lry ~ong syndi­ cates for artists. David McCord expressed one of _our attitudes when he said, "Americans cannot thin~ that a.py­ thing is really bad if it makes a lot of money. 11 18 And

18 David McCord, "The Social Rise of' Comics, n American Mercury, Jul~ 1935, Vol. 35, p. 360. comic strip production has become "big business." Subdued. by experience and criticism, the artists gradually allowed the practical joke era to ebb as the tide of the new era appeared,.in which we see ourselves,. our shortcomings and triumphs, and so laugh at ourselves.

"Hairbreadth Harr~ 11 drawn By Xahles, combined the two types.

This strip has been presented by ~ranklin o. Alexander since the death of Kahles in 1925. In keeping with this new idea in comics, an art!st on the San Francisco Chronicle conceived the idea of printing a daily comic strip in 1907. After a great deal of persuasion, the editor capitulated, and the daily 11 gag" of vaudeville acts.of Mutt appeared, winning. immedi­ ate success. Mutt was first presented as a piker clerk touting the race results. Mutt bet on the horses, and had they been real bets, he would have been enormously wealthy. Raee fans were amazed at the accuracy with which 22

he picked the wipner~. Mutt 1 s fam9us pa~_ Jeff was intro­ duced about a month after the strip.beg?-fl •.

Bud Fisher was the artist, and in 1920 w~s the highest paid newspaper contributor in the world. Look­ ing at a social angle of his work, Fisher says, 11 I have learned a lot about human nature and I have learned more about it through Mutt and Jeff than through studying my­ self. You see, I have to study all sorts of people and conditions to know what to make Mutt and Jeff do.1119

19 Bud Fisher, "Seven Tips I Have Picked up on the Way,n The Amertcan Magazine, March, 1920, Vol. 89, p. 19.

Most people like Jeff better than Mutt, his size being largely responsible. Mutt is the big, rather simple minded person who is always blundering but trying. The things they do are rarely funny, but they have become a habit; and appeals are made to all people, for example, appeals are made to children one day, to women the next, and to men the following day.20

20 ~·, p. 20.

Rube Goldberg, another of the now numerous comic artists, began his work about 1912. Some of his most successful cartoon series have been 11 Foolj,.sh Questions," 23

11 I Never Tho1:lght of That, 11 and "Boob Mol'futt. 11 I~ a maga­ zine article, "My answer to the question: How did you put it over?" Mr. Goldberg explains, "My plan was to • pick out some short-coming common to the majority of mor­ tals, and avoid making cartoons offensively personal. Everyone loves to laugh at the weaknesses of others, and we all laugh more heartily when one realizes that we , share the weaknesses. If we had a monopoly on the weak­ nesses we would feel hurt. • • • · ~: 'have never been guilty of cartooning any physical or mental shortcoming in any one.1121

2l ~ube Goldberg, "My answer to the question: How did you put it over," .American Magazine, March, 1922, Vol. 91, p. 36.

It is true that he did not personalize his comments, but he certainly pictured the activities of the r.eeble­ minded or near feebleminded. His work is saturated with a disillusioned spirit. His humor is usually of the 11 nut 11 variety, hilariously preposterous, with very little con­ tinuity. An example of his work is the strip where he depicts the country as "stricken with Mah Jongga, the new Chinese plague. 11 One man invited his Chinese laundryman in and gave him a very good dinner and a fifty cent eigar in order to get him to explain the fine points of Mah Jong, onl~ to discover that the Orienta+ ~new nothing of the game when he made this reply, "Me alle same born in Chicago. 1 In the next block several people are Jabbering numbers, lllld the legend reads: "Trying to count scores has alreaCiy driven many peopl.e .tnsane. 11 61Ciney Smith's "Old Doc Yak" was his first popular cartoon which ran for fifteen or sixteen years, but 1n

1917 it g~ve way to "The Gumps, " th'e first serial carry­ ing out a definite plot and also introducing the family story comtcs. Many of the comics are of this tyPe today; they are 1llustrated stories, making little pretense of wit or of humor. In d1souasLng his creation, Mr. Smith said, "I think the b!ggest things I've learned about people through the Gumps, are, first that what they want is a clean wholesome character in their fun, and second, that they like best of all those pictures in which they see themselves or their friends pictured through the daily happenings in the 11ve s of the Gump a. n.22 Thus the

22 Sidney Smith, 1 81dney Smith and His Gumps," American ~agazine, March, 1923, Vol. 92, p. 19. comics settve as mirrors, and we see ourselves as others see us. Th1s sh1tt, as we have seen 1n the Gump str1p, to continuity of action was brought about by two factors. 25

First, the newspapers were looking for something to make their papers d1st1nctive 1 since the news that is available to one newspaper 1s available to all through the press agencies; so they searched fer features. A second factor was the fact ·that the bulk of the shopping dollar is

~pent by women; but the newspapers had been made largely for men; and a change was made to include features for everyone. With the introduction of the continuity strip,

n~w~papers found their circulation to be steadier. The centinued stories create interest and suspense; people want to know what will happen tomorrow. Reader interest is exemplified in the instance when, because of the war with interrupted mails, gas shut off,

bombing, closed shops 1 advertising canceled, and a serious paper shortage, the Shanghai Times did not receive all the customary features, and the syndicates told them to pay for only those that were used. The Shanghai Times replied that one week of daily Gump strips were missing, and asked that they be despatched so that when circum­ stances permitted the story might be connected up. Another innevation was introdueed in the funnies by King, creator of "Gasoline Alley." The characters in this strip do not live in a suspended world, but grow old in a normal fashion. Skeezix has grown from a very small paby to an adolescent. Corky and Judy are growing 26 normally. Walt gradually seems older, and Phyllis who was slender before she married Walt has almost impercepti­ bly ta.ken on that "fat and forty" appearance. Thus we have two types of comic strips, the daily short stories in which the characters have a complete experience everyday, and the use of the same characters provide the only thread of continuity; and the illustrated contihue4 stories, where the leading characters are con­ ducted threugh the experiences of a plot. Some of these are humorous, some serious, some tragic, and some adven­ turous. The use of standard literary characters 111 narrative form with illustrat~~ns, as Robin Hood, Bible stories, and H. G. Wells' Lost World is often observed. Another innovation is the illustrated history series. Comics might be classified by subject matter into twelve categories, though they overlap in most instances. They are: adventure, pathos, married life, child life, pretty girls, sports, unusual facts, animal, illustrated novels, educational, philosophical, and a miscellaneous group which should perhaps be called humorous. Among the adventure strips, we find "Terry and the Pirates• by Milton Caniff, and "Wash Tubbs" by Crane. "Apple Mary" by Martha Orr and "Little Orphan Annie" by.Harold Gray are largely in the pathos category. In the married life strips there are "Mr. and Mrs." by Briggs and "The 27

Gumps"' by Gus Edson. (The Gump strip has been drawn by Mr. Edson since Sidney Smith's death in October, 1935.) "Little Mary M1xup• by Brinkerhoff, "Smitty" by Berndt,

HElla Cinder'3'~ by Conselman and Plumb, and many others are ehild strips. 11 Boots 11 by Martin and "Winnie Winkle" by Branner are pretty girl strips. "Joe Palooka• by Ham Fisher is a good example of the sports strip. In the unusual facts category, Robert Ripley's "Believe it or not" panel is the best example. Walt Disney's 6Mickey Mouse" and Bud Fisher's °Cicero's Cat" are animal co.mies. Among the illustrated novels is Edgar Rige Burroughs' "Tarzan." The history series are educational; and •Hambone 11 might be classed as philosophical. In the miscellaneous group we have "The Nut Bros.}' "Moon Mullins" by Willard,

11 Toone~ille Folks" by Fontaine Fox, and others. As noted

above, most strip~ fall into more than one category; in "Gasoline Alley" for example, married life, child life, adventure, education, and philosophy all have a place. As we leave types of comics and take up character­ istics, let us look at the picturesque quotation from Clarence Day: 0 It 1 s not that I look down on words at all: They're very useful indeed--queer industrious little things. But they're slow, and they trickle along single file like stiff wooden soldiers each bringing in one brick at a time to build up your palaver.•23 While pictures tell

23 Clarence Day, "Thoughts without Words \.The Satur­ day Review !rt_ Literature, Aprll 21, 1928, Vol. i, P:-284. 28 you the story at a glance without the build-up of words as a background. The art as well as the humor of news­ paper cartoons has been largely homespun and somewhat elementary. The oomics as a form of picture writing portray a situation to the public. Their message is swift since they are sensed at a glance. The oddity of an out­ line, the suggestion of blank space, and standardized symbols go into the ~a.king of oomics, the eartoonist always keeping in mind the average receptivity and the accepted values and associations of his followers • • Another technique in the making of comics is the use of character names. The artist-author either finds or invents names to emphasize various traits of character, as Mr. Caspar Milquetoast who is afraid, weak, and has an inferiority complex, or Donald Dare the Demon Reporter who is afraid of nothing and is very dynamic. Allitera­ tive names, as Winnie Winkle or Moon Mullins, is a de­ vice often used; and they have a satisfying dadence. Reversed spelling is utilized at times. Two examples have been noted in Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy" recently: one of the gangsters was named Redrum, the reverse ot 11 murder," and Dick Tracy masqueraded as Reppoo, the reverse of "copper." The comics are censored by the distributing synd1- cates because the strips, unlike those of Eur.ope, are 29 national in circulation, and they want to guard against comments that might offend any group of people. There are taboos against comments on· race, religion, drunken­ ness, and licentiousness. The characters are not permit­ ted to use profane language, thoug'ln ~ature vortices, dots, dashes, and exclamation marks convey the meaning without the use of much imagination. The advertising and business world also watqh the comics s~nce the California fru~t growers protested the use of the phrase, uyou poor prunel" to save their product from a bear market.24

24 Frederick M. Meek, "Sweet Land of Andy Gump," The Christian Century, May 8, 1935, Vol. 12, p. 606.

A sixth characteristic is that for the most part the comics consist af ster~otyped situations which in­ volve emotional reactions. Take note of "Apple Mary," "Wash Tubbs," "Joe Palooka," or any strip for this characteristic. Emotional reactions are the universal drawing cards. Few of these stories would be read as frequently as they are if the illustrations were not included. We like speed 1n reading as in everything else; :and one can read a chapter of the story in a few seconds th~ough the portrayal of the situation in the pictures. 30

In regard to the scope of newspaper comics, Dr. Allen Cook says, 11 Fifty years ago there were no newspaper comics. Today there are a thousand. Though parallels are found in Europe the present comic strip is an American inven­

tion. • • • "Various bits of evidence suggest the importance of the comics. Every newspaper of size in the nation, with the exception of the New York Times, is said to publish comic strips. The late Arthur Brisbane rated comics next to news as circulation builders. To prove his right to use certain comic features, another prominent newspaper publisher ·carried a suit against the Washington Post to the United States Supreme Court. In all·, an estimated twenty million homes in the nation are reached each week by the comics. and American syndieates sell to more than eight foreign countries. 0 25

25 Lloyd Allen Cook, Community Background of Edu­ cation, pp. 242-3.

There are about thirty syndicates in the United

States which sell comics to the newspape~s. ·Several have been kind enough to send the following information regarding the comics and their circulation: Mr. Earl H. Anderson, promotion manager of NEA SERVICE.+NC., writes: "We sell five strips and five panel&_ 31

These are sold as a group to more than ?00 daily newspapers. 10ut Our Way' is the most widely published comic in the world, appearing in newspapers with a o1roulat1on in ex­ cess ot 14,000,000. The number of readers will probably be over 50 ,ooo ,ooo. The others will ·average a total cir­ culation of 10,000,000, depending upon the number· of news­ papers printing the features.

"Foreign sales include su~h widely separated coun­ tries as England, Hawaiian Islands, Philippine Islands,

Arge~tina, Mexico, Canada, Australia and most of the European countries."

The Chicago Tribune-New York News ~yndicate.sells ten comics to five hundred newspapers, ·with a total circu­ lation of about ?5,000,000. Twenty foreign countries buy their comic features. The Ledger Syndicate located in Philadelphia sells twelve comics to more than six~hundred_newspapers in the

United States, and to all ·.e.allll'tl'~es except Russia and the Asiatic countries. The United Feature Syndicate of New York City distributes thirteen strips and five panels to more than a thousand newspapers. The circulation varies from 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 for each of these attractions. Two hundred and fifty foreign newspapers buy these features. 32

The Register and Tribune Syndicate in Des Moines, Iowa, has three. strips which are sold to two hundred newspapers in the United States with a combined circula­ tion of 20,000,000. They sell to sixty foreign newspapers. The countries are: Cuba, Argentina, Mex1eo, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and France. The Associated Midwest Newspaper Syndicate of Chicago sells six comics to four hundred and eighty-three papers, with a circulation- of about 60,000,000. Nine foreign countries buy their strips. Fifty-nine comics are sold regularly by the six syndicates mentioned above. Mr. Monte Barrett, the au­ thor of "Jane Arden," estimates that there are over two hundred strips created in the United States at the present time.26

26 ' ' Personal interview, July 20, 1938.

Of the comics sent to foreign countries, the draw­ ings remain unchanged, but the texts are changed to the language of the people who are to read them. When neces­ sary the texts are changed somewhat to fit into the traditions and customs of the foreign peoples. Another example of the popularity of newspaper oomics is the prosperaus business built up by the Whitman 33

Publishing Company ef Racine, Wisconsin. They turn out 1 Big Little Books" by millions. The comics appear on one page with the text opposite. "Two psychological factors underlie success: 1. Characters don't need to be intro- duced or advertised. 2. Books are printed with simple narratives running on the left side of every page and a story-te~ling picture on the right side. Thus, even a child ·who cannot read is able to understand and enjoy the stories. Interest.is not limited to chil~en, how­ ever; the company has received complaints from old men who could not obtain stories about their favorite dharao­ ters.112~

27 Editor and Publisher, Vol. 70, September 11, 1937, p. 47. -

It may be interesting to note the salaries paid some of the cartoonists:2 8 ~

28 0liow to Sell Comics, 1 pamphlet loaned by Jack McGuire.

Cartoonist Cartoon W~ekl;t income

Rob~rt Ripley Believe It or Not $ 7,000 Sidney Smith The Gumps 3,000 Bud Fisher Mutt and Jett 1,800 Geo. McManus Bringing up Father 1,800 Fontaine Fox Toonerville Topics 1,500 Sol Hess The Nebbs 1,200 34

The comic artists receive fan mail, comparable to that received by movie stars. The author of "Jane Arden° says that t}le7 are deluged with mail ~f the tans are dis­ pleased with any phase of their favorite strips. Thus it is that modern com1os have attained and occupy a prtiaSte of high popularity with the people or this and other nations. It is both interesting and profitable, we believe, to endeavor to determine the extent to which newspaper comics control and are controlled by the mil­ lions who read them. CHAPTER III

COMICS AS MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL

Social control is the balance wheel of the social order. It is the stabilizert giving unity in spite of dissimilarity and differences. Social control is neces­ sary to social order. It may be trite, but it is true, to say that man does not live unto himself alone, but in groups. We are interdependent; .;our world demands social

control; we have it w~ajher we want it or not. It may

b~ implicit and unconscious; it is largely a matter of defining situations, of defining objects and values. In discussing social control, W. I. Thomas explains: Preliminary to any self-determined act of behavior there is always a stage of examination and delibera­ tion which we may call the definition of the situation. And actually not only concrete acts are-dependent on the definition of the situation, but gradually a whole life-policy and the personality of the individual himself follow from a series of such definitions. But the child is always born into a group of peo­ ple among whom all the general types of situation which may arise have already been defined and corre­ sponding rules of conduct developed, and where he has not the slightest cha.nee of making definitions and following his wishes without interference. Men have always lived together in groups. Whether man­ kind has a true herd instinct or whether groups are held together because this has worked out to advan­ tage is of no importance. Certainly the wishes in general are such that they can be satisfied only in a society. But we have only to refer to the criminal code to appreciate the variety of ways in which the wishes of t~:J.il..dividual may conflict with the wishes of society. And the criminal code· takes no account 36

of the many unsanctioned expressions of the wishes which society attempts to regulate by persuasion and gossip. There is therefore always a rivalry between the spontaneous definitions of the situation made by the member of an organized soo.1.ety and t~e definitions whieh h1s society has prov.1.ded for him. The indi­ vidual tends to a hedonist.1.c selection of activity. pleasure first; and society to a utilitarian selec­ tion, safety first. Society wishes 1ts members to be laborious, dependable, regular, sober, orderly, self-saerific1ng; while the individual wishes less of this and more of new experience.29

29 w. I. Thomas, The Unadjusted Girl, p. 42.

Beeause the.folkways and mores have been ·long­ standing activity-patterns~ because they were started by ancestors, now spirits, because they provide for the needs of the time and place, they are the approved and the right ways. They ~orm a standard; they be­ come a force. The young are brought up in them and imitate them. The old, in addition, teach them to the young and require conformance. Thus there is gradually set up a massive. stable, compelling social structure, a vast, .1.nclusive, inescapable network of iays of life. The masses are comfortable in them, be ieve in them, support them and defend them.30 ·

3° Frederiek E. Lumley, Means of Social Control, pp. 6-?.

Social control is the way 1n which people learn to behave in society. Defining goes on all the time habits are rormed, and habits are the smooth running co­ ordinations of life. Social eontro1 means, then, the 37 education of the individual in these definitions whi'ch are many and ready-made for us when we come into this world. Comics supply only a minor portion of control, but are sufficiently important and interesting to merit study. Much of the control is negative, through ridi­ cule, satire, and unkind laughter, rather than positive, as by means of pra11'e.,;iropaganda., etc~ Much of the control is accomplished through the folkways. •Folkways, 11 says Sumner, "are habits of the individual and customs of the society which arise from efforts to satisfy needs; they are interwined with gobl1n1sm and demonism and primitive notions of luck, and so they win traditional authority. Then they become regulative for succeed~ng generations and take on the character of a social force. They arise no one knows whence or how. They grow as if by the play of internal life energy. They can be modified, but only to a limited extent, by the purposeful efforts of men. In time they lose power, decline, or die, or are transformed. While they are in vigor they very largely control individual and social undertakings, and they produce and nourish ideas of world philosophy and life pol1cy.u31

31 William G. Sumner, Folkways, p. iv. 38

Folkways operate on individuals by suggestion; repeated suggestion produces familiarity, and the stereo~ tYPed situations involving simple emotional reactions of

the comics furnish the suggestions by defining situations~ shaping prejudices and fears, and perpetuating stereo­ tyPes. The action of most of the eomics is built around everyday happenings, so it is easy for people to act on the suggestion of the oom1os and conform to the folkways so presented. As a negative control, comics may be used to illus­ trate outmoded folkways. · R1d1eule is a pqwerful factor in control. When the outmoded folkways were in vogue no one· thought much about them, but to us, as we look back

on them, they appea~ ridiculous and inane or extremely humorous, especially when recalled by comic art where the effect depends upon overdrawing, throwing light upon popular opinion or prejudice in relation to the events. As previously commented upon, com1os have a direct appeal· because of the pictured or visual impressions. Panels of "Out Our Way" py J. R. Williams, the most widely published comic in the world,32 and of 11 S1de

32 "The Story of NEA," pamphlet printed by NEA Service, Inc., New York.

Glances" by George Clark will be used in this section, 39

because in the pAti~l you get the portrayal and def ini­ tion of a situation without a previous ex.planation. The strips would serve as weLl, but are not so easily repro­ duced. In Plate III we have two examples. The first shows the widespread interest of people, especially men of thirty years ago, in good horses. The desire to own horses became an obsession with some people comparable to the familiar practice today of buying ear after ear on the installment plan, thus paying from twenty to fifty dollars a month all the time for transportation plus the satisfaction of owning and driving a new car. In the second picture, which is very humorous to one ob­ serving the incident, there are de~icted some outmoded folkways. It was quite customary to travel in a wagon or buggy with a lantern or a hot brick to keep one. 1 s feet warm. They were just things one did without giving them much thought, that is, they were customary or con­ ventional patterns of behavior. Standing, walking, gestures, shaking hands, danc­ ing, visiting, and eating are determined by the folkways. In Plate IV we see that our present habits of eating have not always been in vogue. What we eat and how we eat are a part of our non-material culture, the folkways. Who, after seeing many eomies of this nature, is likely to so serve a mealt We want social approval, and the comie PLATE III 1 OUT OUR WAY By Willia~

NOW YOU'LL. H~Ve YOU, HA.D IT 10 GO WITHOUT )URNED U9 A FO'OT WARIV\ER­ 100 HIGH- YOU KICk.ED IT IT BURNT OVER! ME, ANDI JUMPED!

,,.,., .

. t_ .. ___ . . -- ~-- /.,,.. ,,,,::" . . - -· i". . pr.ATE ur ·------, !(OUT OUR WAY ! ____.____,,.,_=-:::::::::::::::::::::::- :::=::::--:.===-=::-::-:::==~-

r-----__,,..__.1(0

lUT OlJB WAY BJ Willi 81118

llAE 7 ' l'L!.. HA.\jE' A H61RSE-! 'A.'6:1Q~S~ AINT 50 L16U\.. TO " STOP·OO RAIL~ TR.AO::S. ~-~-rmmrmn~i,.--"'

-=-- '

~.Qv:•1.L11\M,!> J 7•17 . 40 suggests by ridicule that ·service ot this kind is not like~y to receive it.

The cartoon directly below marks a transition fro~ one type of travel to another, from the horse to the auto­ mobile, and also points out our love for speed, a tradi­ tion and custom that is embedded deeply in our modern culture. Language is produced in the folkways because of the need of cooperative understanding, and owes its form and de~elopment to usage. People amuse themselves with language, using new words and phrases which to the purist seem vulgar, senseless, or ridiculQus. "Old expressions lose force. Slang is the new coinage. The mintage is often graphic and droll; it is also often stupid and vulgar. A selection goes on. Some of it is rejected and some enters into the language.1133 It is the masses who

33 William G. Sumner, Folkways, p. 197. have the deciding vote, and the masses read the "funny papers" which daily disseminate slang and ugliness of thought and expression. In addition to words and phrases, the comics have invented or fostered the spelling of com­ monly heard sounds, as 11 oink," "wham," "a.rf, 11 1 ye-eou," and •tsk. 1 Objeetions are broken down and we see folk­ ways in the making through the continued use of these terms. 41

Plate V shows us in a very humerous way, the second also pathetic, some possible situations when the use of typewriters and false teeth were new. They are a part of our culture now, and their use excites very little comment. Now turning to some of our present folkways, note in Plate VI the ridicule heaped upon excessive smoking. Smoking among women is a conventional practice, and is not in the folkways of all groups. That is, it is in the intermediary stage between individual habit and the folkways. In the second cartoon, we see the prevalence of using "make-up" in public, a custom that has grown up since the World War, prior to which time it was considere~ in very bad form. The cartoon leaves you with a feeling that it is not very acceptable now. I Plate VII pictures for us some modern traditions and conventions. Do we not continue to engage rooms with good views and then nonchalant1y ignore the view as we rush hurridly from one activity to another? The tradi­ tion is not in keeping with our notions of speed ~nd incessant activity. Of course, the view would be nice if we wanted to philosophize. The vice president of the bank in the second pic­ ture typifies our reluctance to make .a place for the new in our scheme of things. But at the same time society GOODGAWSH! IS "THAT "TH1 FUSI LEITER HE.'S ~OlJND 'SINCE l. ~EL\.. ASLE.eP.

----By SOL HE81

OUT OUR WAY ------By WILLIAMS LE- C:UCK· "THeV Kt~DA LE'~- C.LACll: • LOOK LIKE L.EToS DROP­ VOUR'E' .JUST c.1.1c.K - Ct.ACK,. GONNA SA'l- TH' SUBJEC.T. R-R-R.-REVENGE:'1 6't.Ji 'THINK OF-­ WASHIN 'TON, PA! HIS ~ADDA HAVE A SPRING IN 'EM,SO THEY'D OP8'1 WITH ~IS MOUIH • il-IEV1R& 61TIIN 1 ~ fo.JOINADAVS. PLATE VI OUT OUR WAY ------By WILLIAMS

----~~------..--~~~~----~1---TWO CIGARS TS IN ."THE DARK. ARE A8our 0N A PAR WrrH --rwo COWF6TTI "THROWERS fN A PARK.

BlDB GLANCES B1 G11or&11 Clari: I

"Will you serve that table for me, Gus? You know what !· face powder does to my hay fe\'er." PLATE Vt!

SIDE ·GLANCES SIDE GLANCES By George Clarlt B1 G~r1• Clarlt

MWe're paying extra for this view Rnd you won't even look at ltl"

SIDE GLANCES 87 Geor1• Clarlt SIDE GLANCES By Geor1e Clarlt f I

;,I get a ne"· percolator and !'he get11 one just like it. She ''Will you look in the want ads and see ir anyone wonts ropied my waffle iron and toaster. She ha.~ even made her a good cook?·" hu11hand !

34 Frederick E. Lumley, Means .Q! Social Control, p. 282. says, it1corrects men's manners. It makes us at once en- deavor to appear what we ought to be, what someday we shall perhaps end in being.~ The third cartoon is a very good example of our widespread prac.tice of "keeping up with the Joneses." Vanity is very strong in most people, and great sacri­ fices are Bometimes made to satisfy it. Although this cartoon does not indicate the extent to which this may lead people, Sumner says that, "vanities, desires., preju­ dices, faiths, likes, and dislikes, which pervade a society, coerce dissenters and become stronger and stronger mass phenomena. They then affect interests. Then they wind strands of influence and control around individuals and demand sacrifices. In their combination they weave '· webs of action which constitute life and h1story.i35

35 Sumner, Folkways, p. 200. 43

Our modern manner of living in crowded apartment houses, the prevalence of secondary contacts and the ab­ sence ef many primary contacts is also manifest in the cartoon. These people live close enough together so that one woman may duplicate the table appointments of the other, yet apparently they _are strangers. The last .comic in this group gives us ·a view of a conventionalized practice. Reading newspapers at break­ fast is quite common, yet the comic suggests that it is rather ridiculous when carried to such an extent. The cook's request indicates a trait common to all, that is, the wish for recognition. She fe~ls that her efforts are unappreciated. To reiterate, control in the realm of the folkways is largely negative, as it is in this case. The comics make rather ridiculous variations from the customary behavior patterns. In 1931 a comic appeared showing couples dancing cheek to cheek, and girls smok­ ing. A mother rises from her chair as one daughter ex­ plains, "But, Mother, this is one of the best places to eat 1n town. You don't get out enough, Mother, to keep up with the times." The second daughter pleads, "Please, Mother, don't make a scene. 11 But the mother retorts, "Get me out of here, I sa1dJ Yott 111 expect me to smoke cig­ arets next and t~en get up and dance with a gangster. Take me out of this at once." 44

. Behavior patterns such as we have mentioned and many others appear constantly in both panel and strip com1os, and though few people admit that comics have influenced them, we are lead to believe that the comics are a rather subtle source of social control in a nega­ tive rather than a positive way through ridicule of wi­ desirable patterns of behavior. According to Sumner, "When the elements of truth and right are developed into doctrines of welfare, the folkways are raised to another plane. They then be­ come capable of producing inferences, developing into new forms, and extending their constructive influences over men and society. Then we call them mores. The mores are the folkways, ineludin~ the philosophical and ethical generalizations as to societal welfare which are suggested by them, and inherent in them as they grow.n36

36 Sumner, .Q:Q.• c1t., p. 30.

"For everyone the mores give the notion of what ought to be. This includes the notion of what ought to be done, for all should cooperate to bring to pass, in the order of life, what ought to be. All notions of propriety, decency, chast.1ty, politeness, order, duty, right, rights, discipline, respect, reverence, eooperation, 45 and fellowship, especially all things in regard to which good and 111 depend entirely an the point at which the line is drawn, are in the mores. The mores can make things seem right and good to one group or one age which to another seem antagonistic toevery instinet of human nature.u3?

37 Sumner, .Q.12.. cit., p. 231.

Plate VIII is a good illustration of the above quotation. The mother is aghast at the behavior sanc­ tioned by the mores of the younger generation, and at the same time is annoyed at her son's characterization of her ideals and behavior patterns. The second cartoon typi­ fies the modern generation's ideas as to the rights and liberties of husbands and- wives. It is doubtful that the girl would have come home thirty years ago with that ex­ planation. He father would probably have said, "Your place is with your husband. Your duties and responsi­ bilities lie in your home with your family." Bobbed hair, divorces, women working in public places and private offices, notions of propriety, duty, and fellowship are frequent subject for comic strip comment and commendation. In the detective story strips the line is drawn rather sharply between good and bad, PLATE VIII- OUT OUR WAY------a,. WILLIAM8 Cl'STENL Your-.iG MAN-1. NEVER WA'S GOOL.Y-E.YEDf ANI? IN NO AGE> OR PERIOD, WOULD I E.VER GRA.B 'EM--.;;MARI ALE:CK/.

.Y T. M. alG. U. I.- l'AT. Off, z-10 ------~~

•J 46 between law and crime. Little Orphan Annie and Ben Webster portray rather vivialy and emotionally our notions of rights and privileges. Present day mores are not sub­ jects of laughter in the comics, because we are serious about them; they are attended to and public opinion en­ forced, with the comics adding weight to their appropri­ ateness and necessity. The mores are influenced by fashion, which makes things modest or immodest. Fashion comes in irregular series or waves; is unpredictable; and may be accompanied by utility, but it is not detezmiined by utility. Fashions tend to be extreme in the same manner as fads, but use and familiarity make them less noticeable. •Fashion is by no means trivial. It is a form of the dominance or the group over the indivi~ual, and it is quite as often harmful as beneficial.. There is no arguing with fashion • • • • The authority of fashion is imperative as to every­ thing which it touches. The sanctions are ridicule and powerlessness.•38 Fashion affects dress, furnishings,

38 Sumner, .2.E• .£!_!., p. 194. houses, architecture, amusements., and other sectors of our lives. We are frankly enmeshed in fashion; its authority is imperative. The comics are rather accurate 47

reflectors of our fashions and are also influential in their spread. Dress makers say that they often copy for their patrons, usually high school girls, the costumes of Boots and other comic charactera.39 With the other

39 Personal interviews.

·spheres of influence, the comics present us daily with a diet of modern fashions in dress, furnishings, and com­ mercialized amusements. Fads and crazes lend themselves readily and easily to comic comment. They originate in the surprise and interest in the novel and the new, and last only as long as they enjoy prestige. The chief value of a fad lies in its amusing, fantastic, passing, and whimsical charac­ teristics, giving us some sort of release from everyday problems. Some worthwhile things suffer because they are labeled as fads; for examples, mental testing, psycho­ analysis, and social surveying. All of these came in for rather ridiculous or caustic comment when they were comparatively new. The cartoonist eagerly scans the horizon for fads and crazes, because they always yield a fair crop of jokes. The most profitable are those known to and under­ stood by the greatest number of people. The artists 48 have classified and presented humorously the following as fads: bobbed hair, face lifting, dieting, reducing, psychoanalysis, mental testing, social surveys, child study, hypnotism, efficiency experts, and stamp collect­ ing. Let us look at a few examples. In 1925 bobbed hair was still receiving attention. Mrs. Mutt had her hair bobbed, then said, "Mutt, doesn't the bob make me look girlish? Teehee!" Mutt did not reply to her question, but said, 11 Wait here.• Later he appeared with a shaving mug and a razor in his hand. His mustache was gone, and he asked, "Does my little girl­ wif'e think I look boyish?" Social statistics was reflected by 1Polly and Her Pals" in June, 1923. Polly reading the paper remarks, "Interesting, isn't it? 11 Ash who is walking back and forth says, "Gosh! It's got me worried!" Mr. Perkins asks, "What's eat1n 1 you Ash? 11 Ash answers, 11 I ain't gettin' any younger. Darn it! An' me prospects is putty punk! Polly jess read in the paper that married men live longer than single men." Mr. Perkins retorts, "Nonsense! It jess seems longer!" Prior to the market crash of 1929 we heard much about efficiency, and efficiency experts were employed by many industries. One comic artist viewed the situa­ tion in the following light: In January of 1927 the owner 49

of a taxicab company said to Jeff, "This is Mr. A. Mutt, the new efficiency expert for the Purple Taxi Company. Mr. Mutt will give you a few tips of efficiency before you take your cab out! 11 Mutt explains, "My man, I 1m told you always toss the buffalo robe over your passengers with the fur side out! That's< all wrong!" Jeff ponders, 11 Indeed'l m-m!n Mutt with authority replies, "Yes! When you put the buffalo robe over them, always put the fur side next to the passenger! It's much warmer than the bare side! Ain't you never thought of that?" Jeff laughing, 11 No. And ain't it funny the buf­ falo never thought of it either?" Child study received the attention of George Clark, in his panel, 11 S1de Glances" in January of 1937. The father is at work at his desk which is littered with

papers. A scrap book and sc~ssors are on the floor. The mother is bathing the baby. The legend reads: "You spend so much time keeping those records of the baby that you never have a minute to enjoy him." One of the latest influences of the comics in the world of fads is the minuscule adaptations of ladies' hats fashioned from models worn by Minnie Mouse, drawn by Walt Disney, and by Happy Hooligan in his original 50 stovepipe designed by the late Fred Opper. These doll­ sized hats are created by Sch1aperell1, Legroux Soeurs, and Suzy of Paris.

The craze is the ~ocial mind in a state of excite­ ment. It is an irrational unanimity of feeling and action in a body of Qommunicating individuals, and is character­ ized by h~steria. Phenomena of this nature offer a fruit­ ful field for the comic artist, and he portrays quite vividly and succinctly the hysteria that grips us. Dan~­ ing crazes as the Charleston and Blackbottom, Mah Jong, the Coue/ craze, crossword puzzles, and the antique craze have been used many times. They are easily worked into a plot because they deal with human beings and not with public abuses or principles. Popular notions of individual and group traits, both physical and cultural, are termed 11 stereotypes 11 by Walter Lippmann. Each of us lives and works on a small part of the earth's surface, moves in a small circle, and of these acquaintances knows only a few intimately. Of any public event that ha~ wide effects we see at best only a phase and an aspect. This is as true of the eminent insiders who draft treaties, make laws, and issue orders, as 1t is of those who have treaties framed for them, laws promulgated for them, orders given to them. Inevitably our opinions cover a bigger space, a longer reach of time, a greater num­ ber of things, than we can directly observe. They have, therefore, to be pieced together out of what others have reported and what we can imagine. • • • 51

For the most part we do not first see, and then define; we define first and then see. In the great blooming, buzzing confusion of the outer world we pick out what our culture has already defined for us, and we tend to perceive that which we have picked out in the form stereotyped for us by our culture ••.• The subtlest and most pervasive of all influences are those which cr~ate and maintain the repertory of stereotypes. We are told about the world before we see it. We imagine most things before we experience them. And those preconceptions, unless education has made us acutel{oaware, govern deeply the whole process of perception.

40 Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion, pp. 79, 81, 89.

Stereotypes reveal social concensus and hardening, and yet are never accurate in either detail or broad out­ line. Following the Lombrosian theory, we find the Andy Gumps and Caspar Milquetoasts with weak and receding chins, and the Dick Tracys and Dan Dunne with prominent and domineering ones. There are no set rules governing behavior, but the attitudes regarding behavior become stereotyped and individuals adopt these attitudes. We have stereotypes of the beer-drinking German, the French dandy, the Englishmen and John Bull, "greasers, 11 11 niggers, 11 Bolsevists, Nazis, and so on. The cartoonists have been reluctant to lay aside accepted signs and symbols, despite the fact ~hat new models are desirable in our modern world which annihilates time and space with machines of 52 speed, sound, and vision, thus annihilating in many respects regional peculiarities; though it is true that some pe­ culiarities are thus intensified. The processes of change are accompanied at every step by integration and adjustment. Old agencies give way to the new, and the new appear in quick succession,--engenddring situations in which compe­ tition, supplementation and mutual dependence are inextricably combined. • • • It is inevitable that the presence of a communi­ cation system so all-pervading should lead .to its use for the deliberate control of individual be­ havior. Propaganda, publicity, and mass education are terms expressing the fact of purposive mass impressioq; which may be designed to effect either private or public ends. There appear to be two contradictory tendencies: on the one hand are reinforcements of communitI ¥atterns of. attitude and behavior, resu~t1ng from he multiplication of contacts with others in the same community; these make for the perpetuation and intensification of localism. The increased pro­ portions of local mail and local telephone calls, the intensification of local mobility through the use of the automobile; the fostering of local spirit by the local newspaper and local organiza­ tions, are among the factors which seem to be work­ ing in this dir~ction. On the other hand are contacts contributing to standardization over wider national and international regions. The motion picture, radio broadcasting, national advertising, increasing travel, the growth and utilization of long distance wire and wireless facilities--these are factors which appear to undermine localism, and obviously do so in certain externals. There is reason to believe that these opposing factors are concurrently effective because they are selective in their operation. Individuals north, south, east, and west, may all wear the garments of Hollywood. At the same time each may hold with un­ diminished vigor to certain local attitudes, tradi­ tions, and beliefs. An increase in overt standard­ ization may be accomplished by retention of inward 53

differences. Therein, perhaps, is one explanation of the local and regional perpetuation 0f certain political, economic and social doctrines which are anomalous in the face of increasing external social resemblanoe.41

41 Malcolm M. Willey and Stuart A. Rice, Communi- cation Agencies and Social Life, pp. 211-214.

In other words, though the same general kind of suits and hats are worn in New York, London, Tokio, Moseow, and Addis Ababa, people are Bot essentially different even though their functions and usefulness differ. Emerson said that symbols always stimulate the intellect, but it seems that symbols which have outlived their usefulness and significance, yet perpetuate as habits of thought such stereotYPes are not stimulants but drugs to the in­ tellect. The comics also perpetuate stereotypes in our own culture. Take for example the notion that professors and other professional men because of their specialization know very little of what goes on about them. In February of 1936 in the strip "Boots" by Martin, we find the Professor talking to Bub about his low grades, "But you don't apply yourselfl Here it is midnight and you haven't even looked at a book. What have you been doing all evening?" Bub answers, 1 Me?· Oh, I've been shooting craps 54 for one thing." In the next block the Professor is shown leafing through a book and saying to himself, "Hmm! Just another excuse to shirk responsibilities. Surely he was jesting. In all of my class1ficat1ons of the animal king- dom, I never ran across a specie called craps·. Let me see, craps ..• eraps ..• n Quips at the professors' absent­ mindedness are legion. A stereotype of the college boy was presented by Fontaine Fox 1n January, 192?, in the panel "Toonerville Folks. 11 The mother is standing behind the father•s chair, with her hands on his shoulders, and a pleading expres­ sion on her f aoe. The son is standing in the middle of the flooT gesturing. The legend reads~ "I'm ~he only boy in our fraternity that hasn't got a raccoon coat!• The college ·girl is stereotyPed in the comics as a rather frivolous person, who is serious only when "cramming.• Some of the other stereotypes that are perpetuated through the comics are: the farmer, the ranchman, tall men from Texas, inhabitants of Greenwich Village, busi­ ness men and their employees, and habits of the wealthy. The stereotyPes are perhaps in keeping with the folklore • and fold art of the comics. Folk art is art which accurately reflects the everyday life of a looali ty. It may be and often is ., _· " the work of people with little or no formal training in art techniques. It had a place in the life of this coun­ try until about the time of. the Civil War. It languished however with the shift of economic and social forces in the direction of industrialism. By 1965 the United States had turned the corner from a rural civilization to an urban one. The machine with its almost limitless produc­ tion power filled the land with copies of the objects made by craftsmen, and so the eraft tradition died. In the late nineteenth century a new.form of folk art began to flourish in the form of comic art, which was adapted to the folk traditions of l_iberty, opportunity, democracy. The art mirrors in a sense the sentiments and ideas of a community. With improved methods in printing and our modern facilities of communication and transporta­ tion, the community has come to be the whole country. The comics are·created for national consumption. The texts of the comics are a form of folklore, taking the place largely of folk tales and fairy tales popular with other peoples. Folklore is the study of human fantasy as it appears in popular sources. Folklore in the comics is remote enough from reality t~ allow a free play of the imagination, and at the same time pre­ serve an emotional consciousness under conditions of relative stability. 56

Never in the history of the world have there been so many changes nor such rapid and significant changes as are now occurring, and only man measures times and events from year to year. The cartoonists reflect impor­ tant events, not all of them, but only the ones that can be worked easily into the plots. Among the important events mentioned in the comics are the Depression, Pro­ hibition, industrial and political unrest, the market crash of 1929, Mississippi ·flood, Flqrida land boom, Mexican revolutions, Communism, dictators, and events connected with the striking personalities.of Edward VIII, Charles A. Lindbergh, and Ghandi. An editorial in the Saturday Review of Literature . for September 16, 1936 avers that, 11 Humor, even so-called, seems indifferent to history. Only seems. If there were an adequate history of humor it would be seen that it has its shifts, and that they coincide, not with war, nor with revolutions, but with deeper changes in men's spir­ itual attitudes, the kind of mental or spiritual shift which precedes earthquakes in soc1ety. 11 The results of the above study seems to be in complete agreement with this quotation. The comics do not reflect all events which would have been recorded and made much of by the old .style historian. For example, in 1926 some of the im­ portant events were: radio telephone put on a commercial 57 basis with London, American marines sailed for China, Mexican revolution, Mississippi flood, Colonel Lindbergh's flight to Paris, Armament conference, and the ousting of Trotsky. Of these, two were mentioned in the comics: Lindbergh's feat appeared in 192?, and the Mississippi flood in 1931. There is a feature appearing in most newspapers on each New Year's day, however, which presents important events of the preceding year ih cartoon form~ though it..: is ·in no way connected with the regular comics. The comics are not operative to any great extent in the field of public opinion, that is, public opinion !n the narrow scientific sense, because there fs no general public ·, · and public opinion is the preponderant

opin~on about matters of interest to a number of people in communication with each other. Public .opinion repre­ sents the social mind in a special state, a serious state, a deliberative sanctioning voice of a people. It is not the aggregate of individual opinions, but the opinion that comes to prevail after deliberation and it is not necessarily perfect agreement. A public is a changing, fluid sort of thing with room always for differing atti­ tudes. Public opinion taken in the popular sense is operative in comics; for example, the clever satire in

Vincent Hamlin's 11 Alley Oop 11 on,dictators is a reflection 58 of public opinion in the United States. The detective strips influenee public opinion in regard to crime. Comics are also operative in the field of propaganda. Propaganda designates any deliberate attempt to influence the attitudes or opinions of others, particularly those affecting our accepted conventions and institutions. As a means of social control, it has and does use every one of the techniques, means, and processes. In every conflict there will be propaganda--pro and con~ However, it does not always tear down existing barriers. It can be directed against children who have not built up atti-· tudes to be torn down. Among th~ outstanding examples of propaganda in the comics are the strips coming from the hands and heart of Percy Crosby. Through his strip, "Skippy, 11 Crosby scored the Ku Klux Klan, the Wickersham Commission, Prohibition, gangsters, and pleaded earnestly and wholeheartedly for Brotherhood. "Tailspin Tommy, 11 a strip drawn by Hal Forrest, is patently propagandistic for aviation, while 11 Terry and the Pirates,"- drawn by Milton Caniff, shows some of the horrors of war as well as American sympathy in the current Sino-Japanese incident. The detective strips propagandize against crime. We, as members of a sooiety, are susceptible to the opinions of our fellows. And since change is un1ve:r­ sal and omnipresent, the comics often give direction to 59 that change through the psychology of public persuasion. It sometimes entails the removal of a prejudice, but more often it builds upon the crystallization of prejudices. Advertising has come to play an important role in our society. Its function is to control habits, tastes, and interests of people. It affects our most personal and intimate lives; it touches every phase of life. The comics are utilized as an organized social force. They have reached such proportions of influence that they are used very effectively in advertising goods. In the ad­ vertising news of the New York Times for April 1, 1937, this article appeared: "Growing favor for the use in advertising of the political type of cartoons to express a situation was reported here yesterday by art directors. One company which adopted the use of these cartoons last year, found the result ve~y favorable and other adver­ tisers are now beginning to investigate their possibilities. While the· comic strip technique in advertising was favored as appealing to the broad mass of consumers, the political type cartoons are aimed at the more intelligent groups. 11 In the same paper on October 11, 193?, we found this notice in the advertising news: 11 More than 800 newspapers throughout the country have signified their willingness to carry comic strip advertising. 11 60

Some syndicates allow the artists to do advertising work as a side line, but most of them share in the profits. The familiar comic characters are used in the endorse- ment of the products to be sold. Little Orphan Annie, Skippy, and other characters have made good selling break­ fast foods. The Captain and the Kids are highly in favor of certain products now, and so on through the list. Popeye has sold spinach to both young and old America. When people see the familiar, and perhaps fav­ orite, characters, they stop and read even when they· know it is an advertisement. Comics catch and hold attention, which is the purpose of advertising. William Randolph Hearst has a Comic Weekly which has a circulation of over five million, and Metropolitan Sunday Newspapers go into almost a.s many homes. These· two papers using popular comic characters as endorsing products provide the most expensive advertising medium in the United States. Full page advertisements cost from $10,000 to $17,00o.42

42 Frederick M. Meek, "Sweet Land of Andy Gump," The Christian Centurx, May 8, 1935, Vol. 12, p. 607. CHAPTER IV

CURRENT OPINIONS ON COMICS

"What must be tb.e influence of these characters, day by day, on the common ~hought and the common ways of life . • • ? 0 This question propounded by Meek seems a very timely and significant one. Do millions of people follow the adventures of the comic characters, copy their general conduct?43

43 Frederick M. Meek, 11 Sweet Land of Andy Gump," The Christian Centurz, May 8, 1935, Vol. 12, p. 607.

We have sought the answers to these questions by not only a survey of the literature and an impartial choice of published opinions, but by interviews and the submission of a limited number of questionnaires as well. If' the social historian 11 dismisses the comic page as mere Juvenile entertainment irrevelent to his serious purpose he will be missing what may be the clue to the nation's adult dream life. For although only 30.4 per cent of United States adults regularly follow a col~mnist and only about half of these follow one who is nation­ ally known, 51.4 per cent of the adults have a favorite comic strip. With a daily audience of one-half of the 62 nation's grownups, they represent the most universally known entertainment characters in the United States. Some comics are meant to be laughed at; but in recent years they have mainly ceased to be comic and have be­ eome narratives in which their faithful followers proba­ bly find their unconscious more sharply mirrored than in the stories they read or the movies they see. For that historian's guidance, therefore, Fortune here records the comic strip habits of the American public as of beginning of the year 1937. Do you have a favorite comie strip? Yes No Total 51.4 % 48.6% Men 50.5 49.5 Women 52.2 47.8 Twenty to forty 58.8 41.2 Over forty 43.9 56.1

"Even among the elders, many of whom came of age before the comics did, the funnies have a big following. Moreover, there is a majority of adults who read the comic strips in every part of the country except the South and Southwest, among all economic levels except the negroes, in all kinds of places except rural districts and small towns. Of salaried workers,- 64.9 per cent read the fun- nies. And here are the national favorites: (If yes) Which one' 63

Little Orphan Annie 11.6% Popeye 9.5 Bringing up Father 7.0 The Gumps 6.5 Blondie 4.4 Moon Mullins 4.0 Joe Ealooka 3.5 L! 11 Abner 3:1 Tillie the Toiler 2.4 Dan Dunn 2.3 Henry 1.9 Gasoline Alley 1.9. Out. Our Way 1.8 Miscellaneous , 37.8 u44

44 Fortune, "The Quarterly Survey: VIII. u April, 1937. Vol. 15, p. 190.

The questionnaires submitted to one hundred and fifty adults, fifty high school students, and fifty junior high school students in Austin, Texas, indicate a higher percentage of comic strip readers than Fortune's survey. for the nation shows. Of the two hundred and fifty people, only two do not read the comics, and four have no favorite st~1p. Of the twenty persons interviewed, two do not read the comic sections of the papers; one said that he did not have time to read the comics, the other said that they had never appealed to him. As one indication of reader-interest in comics, the question was asked, "What section of the paper do you read first? Second? Third? 11 More than half of the children read the comics first, and 10.8 per cent of the adults read them first. See Table I for complete data on this question. 64

TABLE I

NUMBER WHO READ TP'.t.E COMIC SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD*

First Second Third Totals

Adults 27 48 73 148 High School Students 22 19 9 50 Junior High Sch. Students 31 10 9 50

Totals 80 77 91 248

*Two adults do not read the comics at all. 65

Another interesting observation is made in Table III as a result of answers to questions one and two in the questionna~res. 7.6 per cent of the adults choose news­ papers on the basis of choices in comics. 38 per cent of the high school students, and 52 per cent of the junior high school students choose on the basis of comics. As for favorite strips, our study does not tally with the survey made by Fortune. (See page 63) Perh~ps the time element, regional peculiarities, and the limited survey made here account for the difference. Forty-four of the· two hundred and fifty listed "Dick Tracy" as their favorite. "Popeye" ranked second, with 11 0ut Our Way 11 running a close third. Among the least liked comics are "Alley Cop," 11 Tarzan, 11 and 11 0ur Boarding House." Only adults ranked 11 0ut Out Way" first, but both children and adults say they do not like Major Hoople. (See Table III). It may be interesting to note some of the reasons for choices. The question was phrased, "What is it in this strip that you like?" The adults giving "Dick Tracy" first place say: "Dick 1 s stand for the right. 11 "Mystery and 4anger. 11 "Continuous story form. It holds your attention." "The excitement and the outcome of incidents. 0

11 Cooperation in law forces. 11 66

TABLE II

CHOICE OF PAPERS DETERMINED BY COMICS

Number Number Number Total Yes No Partially Number

Adults 19 10? 24 150 High School Students 1g 27 4 50 Junior High School Students 26 22 2 50

Totals .64 156 30 250 67

TABLE III

COMICS BANKING FIRST AND LAST, BY GROUPS*

Strip Favorite .. Dislike- A 13 0 Totals I s 0 Totals

Dick Tracy 19 6 19 44 10 0 l 11 Popeye 21 4 4 29 6 3 l 10 Out Our Way 25 0 e 25 0 1 0 1 Terry and the Pirates 6 4 2 12 0 0 3 3 Little Orphan Annie 7 2 2 11 12 l 0 13 Joe Palooka 5 3 2 10 0 0 2 2 Boots 3 6 l 10 l l 4 6 Tailspin Tommy l 4 3 8 2 3 0 6 Ben Webster 2 2 l 5 l 5 0 6 Flash Gordon 0 3 2 5 10 0 0 10 Jane Arden 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 Gasoline Alley 2 0 2 4 3 l 0 4

Alley Cop 3 0 1 4 8 l 2 11 The Gumps 2 0 0 2 11 3 8 22 Tarzan 1 0 0 1 12 l 2 15 Our Boarding House 1 0 0 1 14 45 8 27

*A--adults; B--high school students; C--junior high school students. 68

"Investigation, and the solving of problems." ~ •The strip has enough life and reality about it to ~ maintain interest." High school students like 11 Dick Tracy11 best because of: "Suspense and excitement. 11 11 It is somewhat true to life." "They live a life that is interesting to me. 11 "It is more like life. There is lots of humor in

it. II Junior high school students say: 11 The action. 11 "The intensity; and it is not as foolish as the others. 11 11 Dick Tracy, himself." "The solving of mysteries." The adults who do not like "Dick Tracy 11 gave as their reasons the following:

"Nothing worthwhile in t~ strip. 11 11 Too many gangsters. 11 11 You have to let your imagination stray too far." "Too overdrawn. Too unreal. 11 High school students did not indicate an antipathy for 11 Diok Tracy." Only one person in junior high school said that he did not like this strip. 69

What adults like in the panel, "Out Our Way 11 : RNaturalnesa. 11 11 Family life. 11 11 Representative o:t: average American family." "Its philosophy." 0 so true to life. So comical, and pathetic at times." "Its human quality. 11 11 Popeye" is very popular. Adults like this strip for the following reasons: 11 The craziness of it.• "Beacuse it is original and amuses me.• "It is truly comic.If 11 0haracters are so silly and amusing." 11 Wimpy's cleYerness." The high school and junior high school students assign practically the same reasons for their choice of 11 popeye" as a tavor1 te comic. Twenty-seven people dislike "Our Boarding Housen with Major Hoople. Their reasons follow: 11 Bragg1ng.u "Utterly silly. 11 11 Too much dry conversation." "He talks so much. Not enough action." 70

"Insincerity, sameness, dryness, unreality.• "The drawings are ugly." In the light of the foregoing explanations, it seems that adventure, excitement, burlesque humor, and family life have the greatest appeal. The qualities most liked are: humor, excitement, human appeal, true-to-life characters, cleverness, action, and good drawings. RLittle Orphan Annie" ranked fifth as a favorite in our survey. The Fortune survey gave this strip first place in 1937. In explaining this popularity, Fortune says, "Let the historian of our times not be misled by Shirley Temple's box office gross into the belief that ·•America's Sweetheart' was the most important juvenile of her period. Homely, dowdy, priggish Little Orphan Annie probably rules a greater public by her inner grace. Her roles are far more subtle. Outwardly she is an un­ exceptional creature of saccharine sentimentality, with a dash of Cinderella, Pollyanna, and Florence Nightingale. That would be enough to make her the darling of enough simple souls to pay her way. But the world she lives in fulfills another need. It is the world of American oppor­ tunity, in which the poor and the meek may rise to afflu­ ence through their own efforts; in which the virtuous rich and the powerful may be cast down--but not for long--by the connivance of unconscionable wretches who will stop at 71 nothing. • • • Orphan Annie has been condemned as fascist by the Left-wing press. The orphan is not only the sym­ bol of sweetness and light and the homely virtues, but she provides an escape for the social conscience. When pro­ longed misfortune befalls her, it is not merely a matter of pathos, 1t is a menace to the American scheme of things. For example, when she lost her dog, Sandy, in 1933, mat­ ters becaJJle so grave that Henry Ford felt impelled to wire her creator as follows: 1Please do all you can to • help Annie find Sandy stop' We are all interested. Henry

1 F_ord. This was no prank--the wire was authenticated. • • • ttpopeye 1 s popularity is due to his capacity for crushing all opposition with the strength of his good right arm and the contempt this power gives him for au­ thority making him the top-ranking hero of the poor, the wage earner, and the minor salaried worker.n45

45 Fortune, qThe Quarterly Survey: V!II. 8 April, 1937. Vol. 15, p. 190 •.

Some people object to Popeye, saying·that in the strip, 11 Th1mble Theater," there is exhibitionism, savagery, and sadism; that even though right always triumphs, the brutal deeds are impressive. Mr. John K. Ryan is of this opinion. In discussing comics, he says, "It is true that 72 virtue is invariably triumphant, that the law is vindi­ cated, that the police are the heroes and the criminals are the villains. But the evil effects of prolonged and repeated brutalities are not wiped out by a final and rather hurried triumph of law and virtue. In fact, this triumph itself may take the form of more crude scenes •• . . 11 In such preposterous tales the vicious elements are made more vivid by the pictures than would ever be possible by words alone. . • • This ugly element cannot be justified as being realistic; it has no connection with life and reality ••.•. 11 Sadism, cannabalism, bestiality. Crude eroticism. Torturing, killing, kidnapping. Monsters, madmen, crea­ tures half brute, half human. Raw melodrama; tales of crime and criminals; extravagant exploits in strange lands and on other planets; pirate stories; wild hair-raising adventures of boy heroes and ~irl heroines; thrill~ng accounts in work and picture of jungle beasts and men; marvelous deeds of magic and pseudoscience. Vulgarity, cheap humor, and a cheaper wit. Sentimental stories designed for the general level of a moronic mind. Ugli-· ness of thought and expression. All these, day after day, week after week, have become the mental food of American children, young and old. • • • 73

11 The comics are more than a sign of the prevailing infa.ntilism of the American mind. They are at once an etfect and a powerful contributing cause of the infan­ t111sm. The number and character of the comic strips at the present time are a cultural phenomenon and psycho­ logical portent of the most serious kind. • • • 11 Is a continuous diet of_ lu;rid melodrama told by pictures of brutal men doing brutal deeds good for chil­ dren or for adults who are mentally immature and emotion­ ally unstable?n46

46 John K. Ryan 1 "Are the Comics Moral?" Forum. Vol. 95, May, 1936, pp. 301-4.

Ryan is very much alarmed over the possible effects of the comics on the nation· as a whole, and on children in particular. McCord says, 11 We have had some real menaces in this country: as a nation we dote on alarm, whether it be imperialism that threatens us, or the gangster. But seldom have we exceeded the big peril of 1910--the comic supplement.n47

47Dav1d F. McCord, "The Social Rise of the Comics," American Mercurz, Vol. 35, July, 1935, p. 360.

In contradistinction to these opinions, the present writer has found many people who believe the comics are 74

quite wholesome. Shaffer, for example, recommends that "cartoons are a desirable curriculum material for social · studies in the junior high school. 11 He realizes, however, that the ucartoon alone is in most cases not suff1eient to establish an understanding of the social problem in­ volved. 048

48 Shaffer, Children's Interpretations of Cartoons, p. 80.

Selected comics are being used very effectively as teaching aids in classes of social pathology in The Un1- vers1 ty of Texas. A former minister of one of the Uni­ versity churches in this city uses as illustrative material in his sermons quotations from the comics. Unedited, the following opinions are quoted as expressed by the readers contacted:

"I think . the comics are. harmless to anyone, and helpful to many in that they bring relaxation, a relief from worry and work. I get my relaxation in other ways, but my tired sons come in hot and dusty from work and pick up the papers and read the strips first. They laugh, and then they are in a mood for a bath and supper." "People read comics because they are clever, humor­ ous, and many times have a moral. 11 75

"Some people read them for a spark of 11fe, some for no good reason but habit, some because of children, and some for just diversion. Some of the best philoso­ phies of life, I think, are found in the comic strips." "The comic strips serve as adjusters to some people. They may turn a dour expression to happiness at the break­ fast table through a good Joke. People read them for diversion and entertainment." 8 I read comics because they are shorter short­ short stories, an easy diversion, concerning (for those I like) everyday happenings; those that I don't like so well, I read from pure 1nertia--beeause they are there. I don't think I get anything from any of them except an occasional chuckle and a few descriptive phrases to characterize people. 0 "Comics are read, I believe, because they are simple, requiring no mental effort. They--the better liked ones-­ present characters whose motives and weaknesses are evi­ dent to the reader who is amused by their mistakes, but happily so, because he can laugh at creatures inferior to himself. 11 "I think that comics take the reader's mind off of his job or any worry that is on his mind. A good

time to relax. 11 76

"Comics I think is a great medium to lift you out of the dumps, and is always amusing to children, it prompts them to read what it is all about. 11 "Comics are an 'escape from life. 1 They help people forget their worries, for a short time at any rate. These are the main reasons people read the comic strips. At least that is the reason I read them. 11 We are inclined to doubt that these followers of the comics are rationalizing, but it may be that Lovell Thompson has accurately analyzed and correctly stated the situation when he says: 11 The funnies are the doodles of the nation. They represent the little hopeless moments, the vacant habit­ ual day-dream. People read the funnies before taking up, or after setting down, the day. Thus, as post-war hope is followed by pre-war disillusion on the outside front page, the weary and the puzzled turn to the inside back page, where a right that is less than might still lingers in comic strips •• 0 The comics are for stopping time, not for record­ ing it ••• In this suspended world where time-out lasts for ever, the shadows of sleeping hopes and fears move in silence, making the gestures of noise. Boxed America is very clear here 9n the inside back page; its longing for its last frontier, its retreat into the 77

womb of history, its avoidance of the immediate future, its yearning for a magical apd companionable little animal that has answers, like Popeye's jeep. "Day-dreams bear a consistent relation to reality ••• America is boxed; that's what makes her daydream, and that's what makes her doodling important. If you can read the automatic writing on the wall, you can see that America is fumbling for the combination; the rest of the world is looking on. That fumbling is what you see in the funnies •• . . 11 The comics range over time and space to the very limits of knowledge and superstition and then beyond. Before and behind and beside us, the funnies advance our empire. A Mr. Am who knows the secret of eternal life comes to console Orphan Annie, and is outdone by Alley Oop,

who rides on the head of a dinosaur • • • We ~ave not yet penetrated back of the missing link, but we push ever farther. • • • "America is a ·manic-depressive case. Mr. and Mrs. for example, are in the dumps; Mickey is manic. Our national gags and our national neuroses--orime and spinach-­ are side by side. In the good old days, everyone observed and moralized on the fact that all the comics had sad endings. This is no longer the case. America is getting more manic than depressive. . . .

.... 78

11 The hero is returning, and you begin to be afraid it's because there's going to be a need for him. "Russia and the C. I. O. are not admitted to the funnies. The movements of the academic left do not appeal to the imagination because they have been intellectualized. The country may follow Orphan Annie's Mr. Am--he looks suspiciously like Dr. Townsend behind a false beard--but nothing less. It does not want a Lenin, but a Jeep or a King-fish. n49

49 Lovell Thompson, 11 Amer1ca 1 s Day-Dream," The Saturday Review of Literature, Vol. 17, Nov. 13, 1937.

• Thompson sees the funnies as the graping of the nation, as a regressive tendency to 11 hunt for lost worlds and lost magic." Brennecke too sees the comics as reflec­ tions of American life, but he does not see American life as infantile and moronic as does .Thompson. The satire in the comics, he believes, has a good influence. He says: "The funny paper has become not only a faithful re­ flection of the tastes and ethical principles o~ the country at large; it is also manifestly an extremely powerful organ o~ satire. The whole substructure ot''es­ eentially human weaknesses, the seventy times seven thousand deadly sins that are the precious heritage of· 79 man since the days when the gullible Eve listened to the serpent, and the uxorious Adam listened to his wife, form the ground-tone, the great tonic triad upon which the funny paper is forever building its glittering life sym­ phony. The daily block of cinemasquares is the medium through which the vices of men are held up for all to see, for each one of us to ridicule, to condemn, to ad.mire, or to envy, according to his individual psychic make-up and particular mood of the moment. • • • "This laudable predominance of the universal is characteristic of the work of one of the best practi­ tioners of the art. Briggs, the originator of "When a Feller Needs a Fr1end11 and of 11 Mr. and Mrs.,'! has in- deed explored the ~mmense prairie of contemporary ~ul­ ture with greater conpleteness and thoroughness than most other cartoonists. His interests range from knickerbockers and hair-cuts to international politics and the divorce problem. . . Categorically, the whole school of pure satire of which Briggs is the most illustrious exponent, aims at ridicule of the great Ameri­ can vice of satisfied conventionality, mani,festing i tsel.f' in v~rtually everything that the 'average American' does and thinks. 11 50

50 Ernest Brennecke, 11 The Real Mission of the Funny Paper," The Century Magazine, Vol. 107, March, 1924, pp. 665-6. 80

11 0ur ordinary world is fairly rigid; things are smoothed down and ordered to an irritating degree; there are humdrum' ·responsibilities in the way of seeing and imagining. We are at times tempted to give this orderli­ ness the slip and to disport ourselves freely in a world of topsy turvyism. Add to this a creative delight, direct ' on the part of the distorter, sympathetic on the part of him who enjoys the distortion. For, after all, our well ordered world is potentially unstable breaking out now and then into freakish ugliness and irregularities. "Caricature may not be the highest form of amuse­ ment or the most subtle form of moral criticism; like most things, it gives mediocrity its chance. It is as unsafe a guide to truth as a newspaper. But to one who selects carefully and inspects critically, to one who combines sympathy with a watchful independence, it yields much. It shows the imagination at play; it discloses some of the defensive secrets by which society maintains itself at a fixed moral level; reveals class antagonisms, . social hardening; and gives glimpses of symbolism, of bubble-pricking, and, occasionally, of a moral criticism which matches earnestness with insight and enterprise. 11 51

51 William Flaccus, 11 Caricature and Moral Criticiam,tt Univers1ti of Pennsylvania Public Lectures, 1915-1916, p. 511. 81

There is evidence 1n support of the contention that the following condemnation by Meek is too harsh and some­ what overdrawn when he lashes out at all comics with: 11 The situations portrayed in these cartoon strips represent an over-simplified world which has no counter­ part in reality. Ne effort is necessary to understand the story. It is a passive, sponge-like process as one's eye moves over the page, automatically absorbing the simple text and pictures. It is said that radio programs are geared to a thirteen-year-old level, and the protest has been very loud against our beingtreated in this way. But it is curious that no educator or student of social in­ fluence seems to have been disturbed over the strip car­ toon entertainment, which is of a distinctly lower age level still. Yet this entertainment is a daily emotional and mental staple of the greatest proportion of our popu­ lation. Under such circumstances these strips are a dis­ tinct cultural liability, acting as a mental sedative, stultifying the imagination, and holding up a romantically impossible world. • • • "In such over-simplification the strip cartoons are catering to the national failing. For we are a people of impressions. Our political choices are made on the basis of impressions; we buy our goods by the im­ pressions we receive from inaccurate, irrelevant advertising; 82

we judge other nations and nationals by quick impressions; much of our children's education has been reduced to a series of impressions in a multitude of unrelated fields.

Now through the impressions derived. from thes~ strip car­ toons, _millions of people are finding a de~cription of life.u52

52 Meek, -2Q• cit., p. 607.

In so far as intent and practices are concerned, this is negatived by Smith's declaration cited on page 24. And after having interviewed Monte Barrett, the creator of one comic strip, 11 Jane Arden, 11 and Jack McGuire, the artist for another, 11 Bullet Benton," we have further evidence that the foregoing dogmatic criticism is not to· be accepted ini~s-entirety in so far as at least these two strips are concerned. Mr. Barrett says that he has always kep·t Jane clean and wholesome, that he never lets her smoke, drink, or use unacceptable language. He has no ultimate aim for Jane, except that she reflect the ideal American girl.

During the ~nterview, Mr. McGuire said, 11 I don't know that my opinion will be of much help, because I am prejudiced. Comic strip making is a part of my life. The children are our public, and it is our earnest 83

endeavor to bring good characteristics to the fore. Bul­ let Benton drinks milk. A milk bottle is always included in the picture if possible. Our hero does not smoke, and though he is a cowboy you never see the· strings of a sack of Bull Durham hanging from his pocket. However, Bullet used to smoke until a group of Louisville women protested. He does not smoke now; I like him better; he looks much cleaner. The editors of the papers and the women who had protested commended us for the change. 11 The sub-main characters can smoke and dissipate as much as the artists desire. A strict rule, however, is never to suggest intoxicating drinks. Strong resent­ ment is placed on· exhibiting any liquor or beverage of any kind in the strip, for the protection of children seeing it, and for those opposing intoxicating drinks. One paper discontinued our strip because the editor thought that a sign advertising tomato catsup, put in for atmosphere, was a beer advertisement. I wrote to the editor and explained to him the situation. I included in the letter a sketch of a beer bottle to show him that had I intended it for a beer sign, I could have done a better job. 11 Another paper dropped the strip because Bullet learned to fight. However, twenty-four papers bought ' the strip because of the change and used it on the sport page. 84

"The author and cartoonist of a strip must be careful at all times to keep the characters fictitious and not to knowingly resemble anyone. This might happen, but not intentionally on the part of the creators of the strip. 11 Comic strip making is lots of work, but it is interesting; and on the whole, I believe, comics are wholesome.1153

53 Personal interview, July 20, 1938.

Were this an open forum, someone with an opposing view would likely get the floor. Shall we note what he would have to say? 11 The new brutality in Western civilization, best advertised in Italy, Ireland, and now in Germany, though it is no local phenomenon, has been for years the stuff of the comics. Beatings, slugging, kiclcing. Every ac­ tion violent, every fall an explosion, every strip has its casualty. No deaths must spoil the laugh. Comics were violent because the comics were brutalizing for beatings, dosings, shots from ambush, decimations, and massacres, which had to be taken seriously, at least by the victim$. They were, it is clear, an index to the times. And are. 1154

54 "Comic History," editorial, The Saturda~ Review of Literature, Vol. 10, September 16, 1833, p. 10 • 85

"The mirth of America was of a simple texture. The Puritan felt no need of a comic Spirit; the Quaker would not have known what to do with it; the cotton-grower of the South could never have been persuaded that he lacked it; the pioneer who trekked into the wilderness made up his own rough and ready fun as he went along. We have outgrown several layers of civilization, we have out­ lived repeated degradations of public service. It is not hard for us to recognize absurdities; but we are content with recognition. We canoot be made to und'erstand their danger. Our passionat.e loyalty to our humorists, our tolerance of the 1 comics 1 in newspapers and cinemas, proves our need of laughter; but we are not gay. The appalling grin with which men and women are photographed for the press is as remote from ~ty as from reason. u55

55 Agnes Repplier, In Pursuit of Laughter, p. 221.

"Recent years have seen drastic changes in the funny sheets. The Happy Hooligans, Boob McNutts, and those other hilarious comic characters of the past hav­ ing lived to ripe old ages, finally perished, leaving their gag-worn shoes to be filled by a new generation of

mysterious grand-children. Today there is a ~man, a crook, a homeless orphan, a jungle explorer, a mad 86

scientist, fiends of all descriptions, rounding out their perilous lives each day for the nation's amusement. The shadowy sinister figure of Death lurks in every dark corner of the comic pages • . • The comic strip of today is stripped of comedy and abounds in thrills and philoso­ phy. Thrills that are ·gory enough to make a sensitive reader wince, and philosophy as far removed from truth and reality as the characters themselves.u56

56 Sydney Hoff, "Artists Ponder What's Happened to the Humor in Comics, 11 broadcast by Station WNEW, March 6, 1937; ed. Robert U. Brown, Editor and Publisher, Vol. 701, No. 11, March 13, 1937, p. 32. ~-

Let us consider now the opinions of a few news­ paper men. Mr. James C. Oslin, News Editor, San Antonio Evening News, says "People read comics because they afford ·a momentary relief from the tedium of routine, although the reading itself may become a part of that 'tedium' if persisted in too strongly; I find the latter true when I have to look them over to determine whether they are · properly placed. Aside from affording extremely light amusement that can be enjoyed without change of place or

situa~ion, comics sometimes suggest mental activities that lead to pleasant conversation, business enterprises, and inventtons; they remove grouches; drive away anger; 87

remove despair; make one conscious ef foibles and eccen- tricities to the end that these weaknesses might be cor­ rected. In these observations are included all comics, from the silliest to the most serious.u57

57 Personal letter to writer, July 22, 1938.

"I read comics-for amusement and presume other people do, likewise. I think the most significant de- . velopment in the newspaper comic strip during the last ten or fifteen years, perhaps twenty years, is the evolu- tion of their appeal from children to adults. At least half of the strips today have a definite adult appeal.

As a result of this evolution the term ~omic strip has become somewhat of a misnomer, as many of them are not comics at all, but are illustrated stories of love, ad­ venture and heroism, largely replacing the dime novels and Alger books. The social aspect is per~ps most pronounced in the strips with a direct appeal to youth, principally detective story strips. They emphasize that crime does not pay, and place a premium on law enforce­ ment and patriotism. "I have made no study of the strips, but off hand would say that I do not recall any that might be classed as propaganda, other than the propaganda for good 88

citizenship~ However, since the strips present such an excellent medium ~or propaganda, it is my guess that it will not be long bef~re they will be prostituted to such a use• n58

58 Ben Baines, personal 1etter to writer, July 22, 1938.

Ignacio E. Lozano, owner and editor of La Prensa, a newspaper printed in Spanish, says, tlPeople like funny papers and the discontinuance of strips would reduce the circulation some. I do not think that comics influence people from Mexico very much, but they do affect Mexican children born in the United States. Newspapers should be careful in the selection of comics, taking into con­ sideration the habits and character of the hero or the heroine. We people are careful about what our children read, because all that people read affects them. UFor our paper we choose the adventure type of comic, rather than those showing flappers and bandits. We often run a history series called "History of Civiliza­ tion." People like comics, and we try to print the wholesome, clean, and educational type. 11 59

59 Personal interview, July 20, 1938. 89

Mr. A. W. Grant, managing editor of the San Antonio Express, believes that comics are influential, but in a rather wholesome way. 11 Statuettes of comic characters have brought in enormous sums of money; this is just one evidence of the influence and popularity of comics. Another instance is the frequency with which Hambone is quoted by ministers, lawyers, and judges. Hambone has a very wide appeal in this section of the country. 11 60

60 A. W. Grant. Personal interview, June 25, 1938.

A study of the questionnaires reveals that many people are influenced by the comics. Table IV indicates the number who laugh at comics, identify their friends with comic characters, and know someone with a nickname taken from a comic character. Many people who answered 11 yes" to the question, "Do you laugh at comics?" added 11 but seldom. 11

Table V shows the number of people who have ob­ served the use of gestures or expressions taken from comic strips. Table VI shows the number who have used or meant to use as a result of their reading the comic strips the following: a). Food; b). clothing; c). how to be on better terms with friends or family; d). ways of "getting 90

TABLE IV NUMBER WHO LAUGH AT COMICS, IDENTIFY FRIENDS WITH COMIC CHARACTERS, AND KNOW SOMEONE WITH A NICKNAME TAKEN FROM A COMIC CHARACTER

Adults High Sch. Jr. High Sch. Yes No Yes No Yes No

Laugh at comics 125 25 34 16 41 9 Identify friends with 98 52 26 24 26 24 Nickname from 103 4? 32 18 32 18 91

TABLE V NUMBER OBSERVING USE OF GESTURES OR EXPRESSIONS TAKEN FROM COMIC STRIPS

No Yes Of ten Seldom

Adults 22 128 64 64 High School etudents . s- 44 20 24 Jr. High Sch. Students lI 39 24 15

Totals 39 211 108 103 92

TABLE VI NUMBER INFLUENCED IN THE FOLLOWING BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AS A RESULT OF READING COMIC STRIPS

Ad.ults High Sch. Jr. High Totals

Food. 39 9 19 67 Clothing 25 5 8 38

How to be on better • terms with family or friend.a 50 15 14 79 Ways of "getting even" 36 19 23 78 Practical jokes 55 28 31 114 Witty sayings or apt expressions 56 11 16 83 93

even"; e). practical jokes; and f). witty sayings and apt expressions. As noted above, these questionnaires were given to

one hundred and fifty adults, fifty high school student~, and fifty junior high school students. And though the survey is limited, the results are indicative of a rather wide influence exercised by comics. Of the two hundred and fifty people answering questionnaires eighty per cent laugh at comics. Sixty per cent identify their friends with comic characters. Seventy­ one and six-tenths per cent know someone with a nickname taken from a comic character. Fifty-one and two-tenths per cent of the adults observe the use of gestures or expressions taken from comic strips. Seventy-eight per cent of the junior high school students and eighty-eight per cent of the high school students make such observations. The percentages do not run so high in Table VI. Twenty-six and eight-tenths per cent have used food suggested by the comics. Fifteen and two-tenths per cent have used clothing. Thirty-one and six-tenths per cent have used suggestions to be on better terms with family or friends. Thirty-one and two-tenths per cent have learned of ways of "getting even, 11 and forty-five • and six-tenths-per cent have been prompted to play 94 practical jokes through the suggestions of the funnies. Thirty-three and two-tenths per cent use expressions gleaned from the comic sheets. These percentages are higher than was anticipated, and if the sample is a fair cross-section, they indicate that the comics have a great deal of influence.

Meek contends tha~ they have more power than Lincoln Steffens. He says, "The social influence which these cartoons have is far greater than most students of social forces realize. Last year, in the strip 'Orphan Annie' when Daddy Warbucks was liquidating his tremendous business, he was placed on trial by political racketeers, who proceeded to enrich themselves in the process. At about the same time Mr. Samuel Insull had been arrested in Greece and was being brought back to the United States to stand trial. People traced a parallel. Thousands of letters poured in upon artist-author Gray asking if he were actually giving the lowdown on the Insull case through the medium of Warbucks! Thus do people read the comic strips into the news of the day. At about the same time, Professor Zahniser of Boston University, in an interview in the Boston Herald, said that this strip, 'Orphan Annie, 1 with its exposure of political racketeering, was more to be feared by the racketeers than six Lincoln Steffens. However true that particular judgment may be, • 95 the cultural liabilities of the cartoon strips in general outweigh the influence of seven Lincoln Steffens.1161

61 Meek, 11 5weet Land of Andy Gump, 11 The Christian Century, May 8, 1935, Vol. 12, p. 607.

Of the twenty people interviewed, two did not read the comics and would make no statement concerning their influence. The remainder said that the comics had a cultural influence, but that they were wholesome on the whole. A minister in Austin said, "I can make no b~anket statement, but some of the comics are wholesome. Sometimes the comics are the most significant part of the newspaper. Some are definitely designed to influence people in getting away from puritanical conceptions of ministers. Cartoons ridicule the long-faced minister; that in turn has helped to change the type. This may be true of other professional types. 11 Comics haye the same insight into human nature

as does the novel. I doubt that they do any significan~ teaching. They may objectify or impersonalize problems. They do build some constructive attitudes in children, for example, 'crime is stupid. 1 "We might need more design in comics. They have possibilities of a great social force, and could be 96

used very effectively in moiding public opinion by making · the alternatives ridiculous. n62

62 Dr. M. E. Sadler, personal interview, July 28, 1938.

As for the trends in comics, the newspaper men say they are a standard commodity and no changes will likely be made. Most people that we contacted prefer the continuity strips. However, the Associated Midwest Newspaper Syndicate writes: 11 We find that the demand is in­

oreas~ngly {or comic strips without daily continuity, i.e., those that are complete in each release or which have very short episodes. All pantomime, 1 Sk1ppy,J 'Blondie,• etc., come under this head. Of our strips, the educational one is the least popular in the begin­ ning. Once papers are persuaded to try it, they in­ variably continue the feature. Among our foreign clients, our Indian strip, which deals with the adventures of a white boy adopted by the Indians with wh9m he shares adventures and learns their customs, etc., is by far the most.popular. It has won the South American, French and Italian readers especially.1163

63 Personal letter, July 14, 1938. 97

Whether the text and drawings then are of the panel or continuity strip variety, we are unreservedly in ac­ cord with Meek 1 s statement that 11 the influence of this great volume of illustrated 'literature' has never been estimated. It deserves far more serious attention than the appraisers of the national wellbeing have thus far seen fit to give it.1164

64 Meek, .2.E· .£!!., p. 60?. 98

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS

1. The artistry of the modern comic has evo~ved from caricature, one of the oldest forms of picture writ­ ing dating from time of Ancient EgYPtian civilization, and the political cartoon which first appeared in Europe in the latter part of the fifteenth century. 2. Modern comics are characterized by:· a) a form of picture writing portraying to the public a situa­ tion to be sensed at a glance, b) the use of character names, c) the use of alliterative names, d) the use of names made more significant by reverse spelling, e) taboos against comments of race, religion, drunkenness, licen­ tiousness, and profane language, and f) stereotYPed situa­ tions involving emotional· reactions. 3. The ·modern newspaper comic is a standardized commodity appearing in all principal newspapers With the exception of the New York Times, and almost all newspapers of lesser importance. 4. Using ridicule as a negative means of social control, the comics are operative in at least ten non­ material culture patterns of our civilization: folkways, mores, fashions, ~ads, crazes, perpetuation of stereo- types, folk art, folklore, reflection of important events, 'r··U 99

and public opinion; and as a means of positive cont~ol in at least two, propaganda and advertising. 5. The survey of current opinions made in this study shows: a) Types of comics most preferred: adven­ ture, excitement, burlesque humor, and family life. b) Qualities receiving the highest commendations to be: humor, excitement, human appeal, true-to-life characters, cleverness, and good drawings. c) Qualities receiving the most emphatic condemnations to be: insincerity, sameness, dryness, unreality, bestiality, killing, vul­ garity, and vicious habits. 6. Data obtained by means of questionnaires re­ veal: a) Ninety-nine per cent of people answering questionnaires read the comic section of the newspaper. b) Ten and eight-tenths per cent of the adults choose newspapers on the basis of choices in comics. d) Of the two hundred and fifty people, eighty per cent laugh at comics; sixty per cent identify their friends with comic characters; and seventy-one and sixtenths per cent know some one with a nickname taken from a comic character. e) Eighty-four and four-tenths per cent observe the use of gestures or expressions taken from comic strips. f) Twenty-six and eight-tenths per cent have used food suggested by the comics. g) Fifteen and two-tenths per cent have used clothing. h) Thirty-one and six-tenths 100 per cent have used suggestions to be on better terms with friends or family. i) Thirty-one and two-tenths per cent have learned ways of 11 getting even. 11 j) Forty-five and six-tenths per cent have received suggestions for practical jokes. And k) thirty-three and two-tenths per cent use expressions found in the comic sheets. 7. In view of the pervasiveness of comics, as in­ dicated above, it might well be recommended that comics and their influences be given a more thorough and scien­ tific study. 8. As a part of the study, observations might be made in an orphans' home where the comics given to chil­ dren could be controlled and the children's reactions noted. 9. Finally it is recommended that cartoons selected from newspaper comics be used as curriculum material in social studies in the secondary schools, and as illustra­ tive materials and teaching aids in courses of social pathology and socia'i psychology in colleges and universi­ ties. BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. BGeKS Ashbee, c. R., Caricature. C4apman and Hall, Ltd., LondoQ. 1928. Cook, Lloyd Allen, Community Backgrounds of Education. McGraw-Hill Book Company. 19 8. ~

Dawson, C~rl A. and W. E•. Gettys, Introduction to Sociology. Ronald Publishing Company. 1935. Flaccus, \Villiam, "Caricature and Moral Criticism." University of Pennsylvania Public Lectures. 1915-1916. Kreuger, E. T., and Walter C. Reckless, Social Psychology. Longmans, Green and Company. New York. 1931. Lippmann, Walter, Public Opinion. Harcourt, Brace and Co. New York. 1922. Lumley, Frederick E., Means of Social Control. The Century Company. New York. 1~25:" Lynch, Bahun, A History of Caricature. Little, Brown and Company. ~oston. 1927. Repplier, Agnes, In Pursuit of Laughter. Houghton Mifflin Company. Bosto.n. Shaffer, Laurance F., Children's Interpretations of Cartoons. Teachers College, Columbia University. New York. 1930. Sumner, William G., Folkways. Ginn and Company. Boston. 1906. Thomas, William I., The Unadjusted Girl. Little, Brown and Company. Boston. 1923. Willey, Malcolm M., and Stuart A. Rice. CommunitI Agencies and Social Life. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. !'933. - Wright, Thomas, A History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art. Chatto and Windus, ~icadi ·iy. London. 1875. 102

B. ENCYCLOPAEDIA ARTICLES

"Caricature," Encfclopaedia Britannica. Eleventh Edition, Bol. V, p. 33 • 11 Cartoon, 11 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Eleventh Edition, Vel. V, p. 434.

C. W.iAGAZINE ARTICLES

Brennecke, Ernest, 11 The Real Mission of the Funny Paper, 11 The Centurz Magazine. March, 1924.

11 1 Brown 1 Robert U., ArtiE!tS ,,Jonder What s Happened to the Humor in Comics, 11 Editor and Publisher. March,13, 193?. "Comic History:, 11 editorial, The Saturday Review of Li tera­ ture. September 16, 193~ Day, Clarence, 11 Thoughts Without Words, 11 The Saturday Review of Literature. April 21, 1923. ~- Fisher, Bud, 11 8even Tips I Have Picked up on the Way, 11 The American Magazine. March, 1920. Goldberg, Rube, 11 My Answer to the Question: How Did You Put It Over?tr American Magazine. March, 1922. Lowrie, Sarah D., 11 The Comic Strips, 11 Forum. April, 1928. Masson, Thomas L., 11 Humor and Comic Journals," Yale Review. November, 1928. McCord, David F., "The Social Rise of Comics, 11 American Mercury. July, 1935. Meek, Frederick M., "Sweet Land of Andy Gump, 11 The Christian Century. May 8, 1935. 11 Men and Issues, 11 editorial, Survey Graphic. April, 1936. "Publishing Tiny Comic Books Huge Business, 11 news item, Editor and Publisher. September 11, 1937. Ryan, John K., "Are the Comic·s Moral?" Forum. May, 1936. Smith, Sidney, 11 Sidney Smith and His Gumps, 11 The American Magazine. March, 1923. 103

"The Fortune Quarterly Survey: VIII," Fortune. April, 1937.

Thompson, Lovell, f1America 1 s Day-Dream, 11 The Saturday;: Review of Literature. November:l3, 1937.

D. NEWSPAPERS

11 Advertis1ng News, 11 New York Times. April 1, 1937. April 11, 1937. Comic Sections in University of Texas Newspaper Collection files. Law, David, 11 Cartoons, 11 New York Times. February 7, 1937.

E. PAMPHLETS

• 11 How to Sell Comics, 11 anonymous. "The Story of NEA," NEA Service, Inc. New York. APPENDIX A

COPY OF QUESTIONNAIRE Since we are all readers of comic strips, we are interested in learning the reasons for their wide popularity. The information gathered by ~eans of these questionnaires is to be used in an effort to explain this popularity and to determine the social significance of current comics. It is not necessary to sign your name, but please answer as accurately as possible all the questions listed below.

l. What newspapers do you read? ~~~~~~~~~---=-

2. Is this choice determined by the comic strips? --- 3~~ '!f.l.ich strips do you read? ~---~-----~--

4. What is your favorite strip?~------~---- 5. What is it in this strip that you like? ------

6. Which strips do you dislike? ------

7. What is it in these strips that you do not like?

8. What section of the paper do you read first? ____

9. Do you laugh at comics? --~----~--~--- 10. Do you ever identify your friends with characters in

the comic strips? ~----~--~-~~------105

11. Do you know anyone who has a nickname taken from a comic character? 12. Have you ever observed anyone using gestures or ex-

Presaions taken from comics? Often? Seldom? -~------~ 13. Check as many of the following as you have used or meant to use as a result of your reading of the comic strips: a). Food , what kind? ----~- b). Clothing what type?

c). How to be on better terms with friends or family?~ d). Ways of "getting even 11 e). Practical jokes ---- f). Witty sayings and apt expressions, such as,

14. Age --- 15. Sex: Male --- Female ---- 16. Occupation or profession ---~-~---~----

If you will jot down any ideas you may have about comics, why people read them, what they mean to readers, etc., 1t will hwlp us greatly. 10s,

APPENDIX B

COPY OF LETTER SENT TO SYNDICATES Gentlemen: To aid me in the writing of a master's thesis on 11 The Social Significance of Newspaper Comies," please favor me with the following data: Number of comics you sell ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Number of Papers buying comics ~~~~~~~~~~~~-

App r o~imate circulation of comics ~~~~~~~~~~~

Foreign countries buying comics ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any additional information concerning the social significance of comics that you would care to g1ve will be greatly appreciated. Respectfully yours,

The vita has been removed from the digitized version of this document.